Chapter 20 of Amusement Only is here in full — 300 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Amusement Only is here in full — 300 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AND THE GENTLEMAN. It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains. Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment. There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant. "It's very odd," he murmured.
Chapter 20 of Amusement Only is here in full — 300 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 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.
confusion resulting from failure to understand
From this reading “Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.”
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.”
intentionally conceived
From this reading “Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.”
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.”
not divisible by two
From this reading “"It's very odd," he murmured.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.”
without doubt; certainly
From this reading “It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.”
void of intelligence or thought
From this reading “There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.”
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 “It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.”
In this reading “It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.”
In this reading “Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.”
In this reading “Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.”
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 Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AND THE GENTLEMAN.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
confusion resulting from failure to understand
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
an occurrence of something
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
intentionally conceived
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
a man of refinement
From this reading AND THE GENTLEMAN.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
not accessible to view
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's very odd," he murmured.
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 There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading "It's very odd," he murmured.
held or filled or in use
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
not divisible by two
From this reading "It's very odd," he murmured.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading Mr. Pownceby looked about him, conscious of a slight feeling of bewilderment.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
express a supposition
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AND THE GENTLEMAN.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
without doubt; certainly
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
except if; if not
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
void of intelligence or thought
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
precisely as stated
From this reading "It's very odd," he murmured.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It was undoubtedly the case, unless they were to suppose that she had hidden under the sofa, or behind the curtains.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading There were the two chairs, exactly as he left them, but the one which Mrs. Pratt had occupied was vacant.
Chapter 20 of Amusement Only by Richard Marsh holds 300 sentences, grouped into 60 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 20 holds 300 sentences of Amusement Only, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Amusement Only by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 300 sentences, grouped into 60 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 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 60 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 20 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 Amusement Only by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6699 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38188 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38188, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 558 minutes of reading across 1340 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Amusement Only section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Amusement Only 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 Amusement Only, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
