Chapter 13 of My Queen is here in full — 80 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of My Queen is here in full — 80 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DIABOLICAL BARGAIN. As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell. In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly. “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand. Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
Chapter 13 of My Queen is here in full — 80 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each
From this reading “THE DIABOLICAL BARGAIN.”
any of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in China; regarded as dialects of a single language (even though they are mutually unintelligible) because they share an ideographic writing system
From this reading “In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly.”
showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil
From this reading “THE DIABOLICAL BARGAIN.”
a plan or design of something that is laid out
From this reading “Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.”
an addictive narcotic extracted from seed capsules of the opium poppy
From this reading “Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.”
shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort)
From this reading “As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.”
plural of “table” — a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading “Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.”
in a condition for letting out liquid drawn out as by piercing or drawing a plug
From this reading “As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.”
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 “As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.”
In this reading “Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.”
In this reading “In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly.”
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 Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each
From this reading THE DIABOLICAL BARGAIN.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
any of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in China; regarded as dialects of a single language (even though they are mutually unintelligible) because they share an ideographic writing system
From this reading In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly.
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil
From this reading THE DIABOLICAL BARGAIN.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
a plan or design of something that is laid out
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
without a sound
From this reading In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
an addictive narcotic extracted from seed capsules of the opium poppy
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
having a point
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
cut with a saw
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading In an instant a Chinese servant entered noiselessly.
shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort)
From this reading As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
plural of “table” — a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
in a condition for letting out liquid drawn out as by piercing or drawing a plug
From this reading As Carlotta ceased speaking she tapped a curiously shaped bell.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DIABOLICAL BARGAIN.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
in the direction of
From this reading Marion’s eyes followed the motion and saw she had pointed toward an “opium layout” on one of the small tables.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “I want to smoke, John,” said the woman, with a wave of her hand.
Chapter 13 of My Queen by Lurana Sheldon holds 80 sentences, grouped into 16 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 13 holds 80 sentences of My Queen, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of My Queen by Lurana Sheldon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 80 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 13 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 My Queen by Lurana Sheldon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1333 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58022 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58022, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 111 minutes of reading across 267 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My Queen section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of My Queen 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 My Queen, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
