Chapter 18 of Letters of Two Brides is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Letters of Two Brides is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand. Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone. Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you! You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior. Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
Chapter 18 of Letters of Two Brides is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
be in contradiction with
From this reading “Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?”
a special loved one
From this reading “Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!”
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading “Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.”
United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion for 12 years (1914-1981)
From this reading “You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.”
a unit of apothecary weight equal to 20 grains
From this reading “You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.”
of high or superior quality or performance
From this reading “You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.”
place or situation affording some advantage (especially a comprehensive view or commanding perspective)
From this reading “Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.”
waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently
From this reading “Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!”
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 Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!
be in contradiction with
From this reading Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
a special loved one
From this reading Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
at any time
From this reading Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
something many people believe that is false
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
to an extraordinary extent or degree
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion for 12 years (1914-1981)
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
roused to anger
From this reading Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
a unit of apothecary weight equal to 20 grains
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
of high or superior quality or performance
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You do not question, I fancy, that I am greatly Louis' superior.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!
the act of using
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
place or situation affording some advantage (especially a comprehensive view or commanding perspective)
From this reading Your position of vantage may be read in a gesture, a look, a tone.
waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently
From this reading Oh! darling, how truly are you the mad wanton your mother called you!
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Well, I would ask you, have you ever heard me contradict him?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You never scruple to use the power which his love has placed in your hand.
Chapter 18 of Letters of Two Brides by Honoré de Balzac holds 162 sentences, grouped into 33 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 18 holds 162 sentences of Letters of Two Brides, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Letters of Two Brides by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 162 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Letters of Two Brides by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4507 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1941 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1941, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 375 minutes of reading across 902 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Letters of Two Brides section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of Letters of Two Brides 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 Letters of Two Brides, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
