Chapter 17 of John Brent is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of John Brent is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CAITIFF BAFFLES OGRE. Another rush of horses’ feet behind us. What? Elder Sizzum! And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
Chapter 17 of John Brent is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
plural of “baffle” — a flat plate that controls or directs the flow of fluid or energy
From this reading “CAITIFF BAFFLES OGRE.”
headgear for a horse; includes a headstall and bit and reins to give the rider or driver control
From this reading “And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?”
excessively
From this reading “And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?”
plural of “drag” — the phenomenon of resistance to motion through a fluid
From this reading “And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?”
a person who is older than you are
From this reading “Elder Sizzum!”
plural of “lash” — any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
From this reading “And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?”
a cruel wicked and inhuman person
From this reading “CAITIFF BAFFLES OGRE.”
a range horse of the western United States
From this reading “And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?”
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 “And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?”
In this reading “And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?”
In this reading “Another rush of horses’ feet behind us.”
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 And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Another rush of horses’ feet behind us.
plural of “baffle” — a flat plate that controls or directs the flow of fluid or energy
From this reading CAITIFF BAFFLES OGRE.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Another rush of horses’ feet behind us.
headgear for a horse; includes a headstall and bit and reins to give the rider or driver control
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
a cowardly and despicable person
From this reading CAITIFF BAFFLES OGRE.
excessively
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
plural of “drag” — the phenomenon of resistance to motion through a fluid
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
a person who is older than you are
From this reading Elder Sizzum!
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Another rush of horses’ feet behind us.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading Another rush of horses’ feet behind us.
plural of “lash” — any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Another rush of horses’ feet behind us.
a cruel wicked and inhuman person
From this reading CAITIFF BAFFLES OGRE.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
a range horse of the western United States
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
move hurridly
From this reading Another rush of horses’ feet behind us.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Elder Sizzum!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Another rush of horses’ feet behind us.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What?
which person or people
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
belonging to which person
From this reading And that pale, gray shadow of a man, whose pony the Elder drags by the bridle, and lashes cruelly forward,--who?
Chapter 17 of John Brent by Theodore Winthrop holds 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 17 holds 122 sentences of John Brent, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of John Brent by Theodore Winthrop exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 17 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 John Brent by Theodore Winthrop on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5312 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73738 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73738, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 442 minutes of reading across 1063 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through John Brent section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of John Brent 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 John Brent, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
