Chapter 17 of Minerva's Manoeuvres is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Minerva's Manoeuvres is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHEN THE LAW IS ON. ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.” She had two purposes in mind. To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery. “Mis.
Chapter 17 of Minerva's Manoeuvres is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 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.
elaboration of an interpretation by the use of decorative (sometimes fictitious) detail
From this reading “To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.”
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading “To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.”
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading “ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.””
(Roman mythology) goddess of wisdom; counterpart of Greek Athena
From this reading “ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.””
plural of “mi” — destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
From this reading ““Mis.”
garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth
From this reading “ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.””
plural of “purpose” — an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading “She had two purposes in mind.”
possessive form of “queen” — the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
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.
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 To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
using artistic forms and conventions to create effects; not natural or spontaneous
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
the act of working out the form of something (as by making a sketch or outline or plan)
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
elaboration of an interpretation by the use of decorative (sometimes fictitious) detail
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had two purposes in mind.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading WHEN THE LAW IS ON.
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading WHEN THE LAW IS ON.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
engage in
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading She had two purposes in mind.
(Roman mythology) goddess of wisdom; counterpart of Greek Athena
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
plural of “mi” — destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
From this reading “Mis.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading WHEN THE LAW IS ON.
garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
have the will and intention to carry out some action
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
plural of “purpose” — an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading She had two purposes in mind.
possessive form of “queen” — the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had two purposes in mind.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WHEN THE LAW IS ON.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading She had two purposes in mind.
the act of using
From this reading To teach Minerva something more of nature and to make a conventionalized design of the ground plan of the flower for use in her everlasting embroidery.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
at the time that
From this reading WHEN THE LAW IS ON.
in the company of; together with
From this reading ETHEL was out in the little orchard south of the house with Minerva, looking for “queen’s lace.”
Chapter 17 of Minerva's Manoeuvres by Charles Battell Loomis holds 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 155 sentences of Minerva's Manoeuvres, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Minerva's Manoeuvres by Charles Battell Loomis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 Minerva's Manoeuvres by Charles Battell Loomis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4595 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56872 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56872, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 382 minutes of reading across 919 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Minerva's Manoeuvres section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of Minerva's Manoeuvres 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 Minerva's Manoeuvres, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
