Chapter 14 of A Secret Service is here in full — 346 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of A Secret Service is here in full — 346 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN IKON OATH. Ivan Liustig was not like any one else. His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character. But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him. They smiled at him, but they loved him.
Chapter 14 of A Secret Service is here in full — 346 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/69 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
an orderly arrangement
From this reading “But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.”
plural of “critic” — a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art
From this reading “But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.”
the basis on which something is grounded
From this reading “His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.”
characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution
From this reading “His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.”
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading “AN IKON OATH.”
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading “AN IKON OATH.”
a town in southeastern Virginia (south of Richmond); scene of heavy fighting during the American Civil War
From this reading “His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.”
structure consisting of the part of a ship above the main deck
From this reading “His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “They smiled at him, but they loved him.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN IKON OATH.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Ivan Liustig was not like any one else.
an orderly arrangement
From this reading But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They smiled at him, but they loved him.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.
an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
intentionally conceived
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
plural of “critic” — a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art
From this reading But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ivan Liustig was not like any one else.
the basis on which something is grounded
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading AN IKON OATH.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ivan Liustig was not like any one else.
the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Ivan Liustig was not like any one else.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ivan Liustig was not like any one else.
held dear
From this reading They smiled at him, but they loved him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Ivan Liustig was not like any one else.
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading AN IKON OATH.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Ivan Liustig was not like any one else.
a town in southeastern Virginia (south of Richmond); scene of heavy fighting during the American Civil War
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading They smiled at him, but they loved him.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
structure consisting of the part of a ship above the main deck
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But they did not array themselves, as his critics, against him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ivan Liustig was not like any one else.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His friends of the Petersburg Circle were conscious of some lack of foundation beneath the graceful superstructure of his character.
Chapter 14 of A Secret Service by William Le Queux holds 346 sentences, grouped into 70 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 14 holds 346 sentences of A Secret Service, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of A Secret Service by William Le Queux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 346 sentences, grouped into 70 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 70 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 14 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Secret Service by William Le Queux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4061 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67278 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67278, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 338 minutes of reading across 813 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Secret Service section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of A Secret Service to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Secret Service, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
