Chapter 19 of Cæsar's Column is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Cæsar's Column is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room. A seat was given me. There was a pause of perhaps ten minutes. Not a whisper broke the silence. Then there came a rap at the door.
Chapter 19 of Cæsar's Column is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
the kinship relation between a male offspring and the siblings
From this reading “THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “There was a pause of perhaps ten minutes.”
a reproach for some lapse or misdeed
From this reading “Then there came a rap at the door.”
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading “A seat was given me.”
plural of “secretary” — a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading “THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.”
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “Not a whisper broke the silence.”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.”
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 A seat was given me.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Then there came a rap at the door.
lacking funds
From this reading Not a whisper broke the silence.
the kinship relation between a male offspring and the siblings
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Then there came a rap at the door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Then there came a rap at the door.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading A seat was given me.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
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 THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A seat was given me.
the force of workers available
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading There was a pause of perhaps ten minutes.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not a whisper broke the silence.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading There was a pause of perhaps ten minutes.
by chance
From this reading There was a pause of perhaps ten minutes.
a reproach for some lapse or misdeed
From this reading Then there came a rap at the door.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading A seat was given me.
plural of “secretary” — a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Not a whisper broke the silence.
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading There was a pause of perhaps ten minutes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then there came a rap at the door.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a pause of perhaps ten minutes.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A seat was given me.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading Not a whisper broke the silence.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
which person or people
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
in the company of; together with
From this reading THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room.
Chapter 19 of Cæsar's Column by Ignatius Donnelly holds 138 sentences, grouped into 28 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 19 holds 138 sentences of Cæsar's Column, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Cæsar's Column by Ignatius Donnelly exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 19 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 Cæsar's Column by Ignatius Donnelly on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4928 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5155 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5155, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 410 minutes of reading across 986 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cæsar's Column section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Cæsar's Column 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 Cæsar's Column, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
