Chapter 31 of Checkmate is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Checkmate is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SIR RICHARD'S RESOLUTION. Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude. With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall. His trap awaited him at the door. In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to him.
Chapter 31 of Checkmate is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
expected hopefully
From this reading “His trap awaited him at the door.”
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading “With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.”
beyond belief or understanding
From this reading “In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to him.”
a definite length of time marked off by two instants
From this reading “In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to him.”
a formal expression by a meeting; agreed to by a vote
From this reading “SIR RICHARD'S RESOLUTION.”
possessive form of “richards” — English literary critic who collaborated with C. K. Ogden and contributed to the development of Basic English (1893-1979)
From this reading “SIR RICHARD'S RESOLUTION.”
a state of social isolation
From this reading “Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.”
a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned
From this reading “His trap awaited him at the door.”
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 “Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.”
In this reading “With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.”
In this reading “His trap awaited him at the door.”
appear or become visible; make a showing
In this reading “With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.”
In this reading “In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to 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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading His trap awaited him at the door.
expected hopefully
From this reading His trap awaited him at the door.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading His trap awaited him at the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to him.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to him.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His trap awaited him at the door.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
beyond belief or understanding
From this reading In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to him.
a definite length of time marked off by two instants
From this reading In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to him.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.
a formal expression by a meeting; agreed to by a vote
From this reading SIR RICHARD'S RESOLUTION.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
possessive form of “richards” — English literary critic who collaborated with C. K. Ogden and contributed to the development of Basic English (1893-1979)
From this reading SIR RICHARD'S RESOLUTION.
term of address for a man
From this reading SIR RICHARD'S RESOLUTION.
a state of social isolation
From this reading Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In the interval of his solitude, something incredible has happened to him.
a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned
From this reading His trap awaited him at the door.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two hours had passed, and more, of solitude.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a candle in his hand, and his hat and great-coat on, Sir Richard Arden came out into the hall.
Chapter 31 of Checkmate by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu holds 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 31 holds 157 sentences of Checkmate, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Checkmate by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 31 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 Checkmate by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9388 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38460 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38460, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1878 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Checkmate section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Checkmate 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 Checkmate, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
