Chapter 23 of Letters of Two Brides is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Letters of Two Brides is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him. The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal. Oh! Louise, I am indeed a happy mother. My children are an endless source of joy to me.
Chapter 23 of Letters of Two Brides is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
(Roman Catholic Church) one of a group of more than 100 prominent bishops in the Sacred College who advise the Pope and elect new Popes
From this reading “The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.”
attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
From this reading “The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.”
without doubt; certainly
From this reading “As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.”
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading “My children are an endless source of joy to me.”
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading “As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.”
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading “The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading “The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.”
the place where something begins, where it springs into being
From this reading “My children are an endless source of joy to me.”
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 As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
(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 The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading Louise, I am indeed a happy mother.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading My children are an endless source of joy to me.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
(Roman Catholic Church) one of a group of more than 100 prominent bishops in the Sacred College who advise the Pope and elect new Popes
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading My children are an endless source of joy to me.
attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
an official engaged in international negotiations
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
without doubt; certainly
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading My children are an endless source of joy to me.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Louise, I am indeed a happy mother.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Louise, I am indeed a happy mother.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Louise, I am indeed a happy mother.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading My children are an endless source of joy to me.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Louise, I am indeed a happy mother.
engage in
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading My children are an endless source of joy to me.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Louise, I am indeed a happy mother.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My children are an endless source of joy to me.
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh!
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
the place where something begins, where it springs into being
From this reading My children are an endless source of joy to me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading My children are an endless source of joy to me.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading As for Rene, the navy will doubtless make a diplomatist of him.
a late time of life
From this reading The little rogue, at seven years old, has all the cunning of an old Cardinal.
Chapter 23 of Letters of Two Brides by Honoré de Balzac holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 23 holds 180 sentences of Letters of Two Brides, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Letters of Two Brides by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 23 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.
