Chapter 21 of Affairs of State is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Affairs of State is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself. "Come, Fritz," she said, "we must go. We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him. He took a step toward her, hesitated, stopped. "In a moment, madame," said he.
Chapter 21 of Affairs of State is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/7 · 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.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.”
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading “Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.”
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading “Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.”
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “He took a step toward her, hesitated, stopped.”
accept an excuse for
From this reading “Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.”
become active
From this reading “Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “He took a step toward her, hesitated, stopped.”
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading “He took a step toward her, hesitated, stopped.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come, Fritz," she said, "we must go.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him.
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Come, Fritz," she said, "we must go.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Come, Fritz," she said, "we must go.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading He took a step toward her, hesitated, stopped.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "In a moment, madame," said he.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading "In a moment, madame," said he.
a particular point in time
From this reading "In a moment, madame," said he.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "Come, Fritz," she said, "we must go.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him.
accept an excuse for
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
become active
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Come, Fritz," she said, "we must go.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Come, Fritz," she said, "we must go.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading He took a step toward her, hesitated, stopped.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading He took a step toward her, hesitated, stopped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He took a step toward her, hesitated, stopped.
in the direction of
From this reading He took a step toward her, hesitated, stopped.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Come, Fritz," she said, "we must go.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Pardon As Tellier's voice died away along the hall, a silence fell upon the room which he had left--a silence from which the duchess was the first to rouse herself.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading We have work to do," and she held out her hand to him.
Chapter 21 of Affairs of State by Burton Egbert Stevenson holds 35 sentences, grouped into 7 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 21 holds 35 sentences of Affairs of State, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Affairs of State by Burton Egbert Stevenson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 35 sentences, grouped into 7 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 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 7 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 21 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Affairs of State section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 Affairs of State, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
