Chapter 26 of An imperial lover is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of An imperial lover is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MADAME ZOTOF. MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot. As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly. “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone. “I have no doubt that she is waiting for us.”
Chapter 26 of An imperial lover is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading ““Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.”
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading “As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.”
playing or singing with instrumental or vocal accompaniment
From this reading “MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.”
the sound of laughing
From this reading “As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.”
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading “MADAME ZOTOF.”
housing available for people to live in
From this reading “MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.”
with low volume
From this reading “As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.”
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading ““Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.”
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.
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.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.
playing or singing with instrumental or vocal accompaniment
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading “I have no doubt that she is waiting for us.”
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “I have no doubt that she is waiting for us.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “I have no doubt that she is waiting for us.”
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “I have no doubt that she is waiting for us.”
the sound of laughing
From this reading As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading MADAME ZOTOF.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.
not any; not one
From this reading “I have no doubt that she is waiting for us.”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
a male character in French pantomime; usually dressed in white with a whitened face
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
housing available for people to live in
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
with low volume
From this reading As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I have no doubt that she is waiting for us.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading “Now we must face Madame Zotof,” she said in an amused tone.
in the direction of
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “I have no doubt that she is waiting for us.”
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “I have no doubt that she is waiting for us.”
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading MADAME DE BROUSSON and I walked slowly toward our quarters, attended by Pierrot.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MADAME ZOTOF.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As we approached the house, I heard Zénaïde laugh softly.
Chapter 26 of An imperial lover by Mary Imlay Taylor holds 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 26 holds 142 sentences of An imperial lover, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of An imperial lover by Mary Imlay Taylor exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 26 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 An imperial lover by Mary Imlay Taylor on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4329 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72814 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72814, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 360 minutes of reading across 866 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through An imperial lover section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of An imperial lover 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 An imperial lover, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
