Idonia: A Romance of Old London

Chapter XXII

Chapter 22 of Idonia: A Romance of Old London is here in full — 101 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Arthur Frederick Wallis • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for Idonia: A Romance of Old London

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

The river had given up its dead.

There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

Wedged deep in the dead man's heart (I heard it said) a certain significant shred of blue silk was found that had been drawn in by the swinging blade, and torn from the murderer's sleeve....

After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XXII Reading 1/20

Idonia: A Romance of Old London Arthur Frederick Wallis

Chapter XXII

Chapter 22 of Idonia: A Romance of Old London is here in full — 101 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned. The river had given up its dead. There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him. Wedged deep in the dead man's heart (I heard it said) a certain significant shred of blue silk was found that had been drawn in by the swinging blade, and torn from the murderer's sleeve.... After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

Idonia: A Romance of Old London

Chapter XXII

Chapter 22 of Idonia: A Romance of Old London is here in full — 101 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/20 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

Line 2

The river had given up its dead.

/ðə ˈrɪvər hæd ˈɡɪvən ʌp ɪts ded/

Line 3

There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

Line 4

Wedged deep in the dead man's heart (I heard it said) a certain significant shred of blue silk was found that had been drawn in by the swinging blade, and torn from the murderer's sleeve....

/wedʒd diːp ɪn ðə ded mænz hɑːrt aɪ hɜːrd ɪt sed ə ˈsɜːrtən səɡˈnɪfɪkənt ʃred ʌv bluː sɪlk wɑːz faʊnd ðæt hæd bɪn drɔːn ɪn baɪ ðə ˈswɪŋɪŋ bleɪd ənd tɔːrn frʌm ðə ˈmɜːrdərərz sliːv/

Line 5

After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

/ˈæftər ðæt ðer ˈniːdəd ˈnʌθɪŋ mɔːr ənd maɪ ˈʌŋkəlz lʌk wɪtʃ ə ˈmoʊmənt sɪns hæd ˈtrembəld tuː ɪts ˈæpədʒiː ʃɑːt ˈdaʊnwərd laɪk ə ˈpɔːrtent stɑːr/

Learner Dictionary

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.

apogee noun US /ˈæpədʒiː/

a final climactic stage

From this reading “After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.”

distorted adjective US /dɪˈstɔːrtəd/

so badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly

From this reading “There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.”

gripped verb US /ɡrɪpt/

inflected form of “grip” — hold fast or firmly

From this reading “There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.”

murderer's noun US /ˈmɜːrdərərz/

possessive form of “murderer” — a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)

From this reading “Wedged deep in the dead man's heart (I heard it said) a certain significant shred of blue silk was found that had been drawn in by the swinging blade, and torn from the murderer's sleeve....”

portent noun US /ˈpɔːrtent/

a sign of something about to happen

From this reading “After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.”

shred noun US /ʃred/

a tiny or scarcely detectable amount

uncle's noun US /ˈʌŋkəlz/

possessive form of “uncle” — the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt

From this reading “There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.”

Wedged adjective US /wedʒd/

wedged or packed in together

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

blue silk adjective + noun

In this reading “Wedged deep in the dead man's heart (I heard it said) a certain significant shred of blue silk was found that had been drawn in by the swinging blade, and torn from the murderer's sleeve....”

dead man's adjective + noun counted as “dead man”

All words in this reading · 79

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Wedged deep in the dead man's heart (I heard it said) a certain significant shred of blue silk was found that had been drawn in by the swinging blade, and torn from the murderer's sleeve....

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

AfterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

apogeenounUS /ˈæpədʒiː/

a final climactic stage

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

appealverbUS /əˈpiːl/

take a court case to a higher court for review

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

bladenounUS /bleɪd/

especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole

blueadjectiveUS /bluː/

of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky

BOTOLPH

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

breastnounUS /brest/

the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

certainadjectiveUS /ˈsɜːrtən/

definite but not specified or identified

corpsenounUS /kɔːrps/

the dead body of a human being

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

deadadjectiveUS /ded/

no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life

From this reading The river had given up its dead.

deepadjectiveUS /diːp/

relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply

distortedadjectiveUS /dɪˈstɔːrtəd/

so badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

downwardadjectiveUS /ˈdaʊnwərd/

extending or moving from a higher to a lower place

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

drawnadjectiveUS /drɔːn/

showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering

foundverbUS /faʊnd/

set up or found

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

givenadjectiveUS /ˈɡɪvən/

acknowledged as a supposition

From this reading The river had given up its dead.

grippedverbUS /ɡrɪpt/

inflected form of “grip” — hold fast or firmly

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

handsnounUS /hændz/

(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

heardadjectiveUS /hɜːrd/

detected or perceived by the sense of hearing

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

HISdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

HOW

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading The river had given up its dead.

likeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

LOSTadjectiveUS /lɔːst/

no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

LUCKnounUS /lʌk/

your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

man'snounUS /mænz/

possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

momentnounUS /ˈmoʊmənt/

a particular point in time

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

murderer'snounUS /ˈmɜːrdərərz/

possessive form of “murderer” — a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)

MYdeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

neededadjectiveUS /ˈniːdəd/

necessary for relief or supply

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

paintedadjectiveUS /ˈpeɪntɪd/

coated with paint

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

portentnounUS /ˈpɔːrtent/

a sign of something about to happen

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

rivernounUS /ˈrɪvər/

a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)

From this reading The river had given up its dead.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

shotnounUS /ʃɑːt/

the act of firing a projectile

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

shrednounUS /ʃred/

a tiny or scarcely detectable amount

significantadjectiveUS /səɡˈnɪfɪkənt/

important in effect or meaning

silknounUS /sɪlk/

a fabric made from the fine threads produced by certain insect larvae

sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

sleevenounUS /sliːv/

the part of a garment that is attached at the armhole and that provides a cloth covering for the arm

smirched

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

starnounUS /stɑːr/

(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

swingingnounUS /ˈswɪŋɪŋ/

changing location by moving back and forth

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

ThereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

throatnounUS /θroʊt/

The passage at the back of the mouth.

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

tidenounUS /taɪd/

the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

tornadjectiveUS /tɔːrn/

having edges that are jagged from injury

trembledverbUS /ˈtrembəld/

past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

turnedadjectiveUS /tɜːrnd/

moved around an axis or center

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

UNCLEnounUS /ˈʌŋkəl/

the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt

From this reading HOW MY UNCLE BOTOLPH LOST HIS LUCK The tide had turned.

uncle'snounUS /ˈʌŋkəlz/

possessive form of “uncle” — the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

From this reading The river had given up its dead.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

WedgedadjectiveUS /wedʒd/

wedged or packed in together

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading After that there needed nothing more, and my uncle's luck, which a moment since had trembled to its apogee, shot downward like a portent star.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

yellowadjectiveUS /ˈjeloʊ/

of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk

From this reading There was no appeal from this distorted corpse, smirched with yellow so about the throat and breast, where my uncle's painted hands had gripped him.

Chapter 22 of Idonia: A Romance of Old London by Arthur Frederick Wallis holds 101 sentences, grouped into 21 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.

What does chapter 22 of Idonia: A Romance of Old London contain?

Chapter 22 holds 101 sentences of Idonia: A Romance of Old London, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 22 of Idonia: A Romance of Old London by Arthur Frederick Wallis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 101 sentences, grouped into 21 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.

How do I study chapter 22 of Idonia: A Romance of Old London?

Work through the 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 21 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.

Can chapter 22 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 22 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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Yes. All 2899 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34105 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #34105, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 241 minutes of reading across 580 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in Idonia: A Romance of Old London

Words and structures a reader meets early in Idonia: A Romance of Old London, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Little: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Idonia: A Romance of Old London; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
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Simonds: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Idonia: A Romance of Old London; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XXII

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