Chapter 18 of Laurel Vane is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Laurel Vane is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I loved him, Mrs. Wentworth. That is all my defense. Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me. Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely! Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
Chapter 18 of Laurel Vane is here in full — 158 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.
lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted
From this reading “Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.”
(military) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies
From this reading “That is all my defense.”
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading “Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!”
an artful or simulated semblance
From this reading “Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"”
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading “Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!”
something that seduces or has the quality to seduce
From this reading “Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.”
wanting in physical strength
From this reading “Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.”
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading “Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.”
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.
place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape
In this reading “Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"”
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 Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading That is all my defense.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
(military) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies
From this reading That is all my defense.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
an artful or simulated semblance
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!
state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I loved him, Mrs. Wentworth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I loved him, Mrs. Wentworth.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is all my defense.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!
held dear
From this reading "I loved him, Mrs. Wentworth.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "I loved him, Mrs. Wentworth.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading That is all my defense.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
something that seduces or has the quality to seduce
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That is all my defense.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
wanting in physical strength
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I loved him, Mrs. Wentworth.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Think what all my life had been--how dull, how sad, how lonely!
at the time that
From this reading Was it easy to put away happiness when it came to me in so fair a guise?"
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Call me weak, cowardly, wicked, if you will; but I could not put the temptation from me.
Chapter 18 of Laurel Vane by Alex. McVeigh, Mrs. Miller holds 158 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 18 holds 158 sentences of Laurel Vane, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Laurel Vane by Alex. McVeigh, Mrs. Miller exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 158 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 18 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 Laurel Vane by Alex. McVeigh, Mrs. Miller on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5121 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49111 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49111, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 426 minutes of reading across 1025 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Laurel Vane section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Laurel Vane 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 Laurel Vane, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
