Chapter 23 of On the red staircase 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 On the red staircase is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOMYAK. AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me. At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me. Dark as it was, I was certain of my discovery. There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
Chapter 23 of On the red staircase 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.
the act of discovering something
From this reading “Dark as it was, I was certain of my discovery.”
nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do
From this reading “At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.”
plural of “dwarf” — a person who is markedly small
From this reading “There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.”
preferred above all others and treated with partiality
From this reading “AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.”
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading “There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.”
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading “At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.”
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading “AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.”
clearly evident to the mind
From this reading “There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.”
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.
an unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes
In this reading “AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.”
In this reading “At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of 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 At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
later than; following
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
at or in the front
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Dark as it was, I was certain of my discovery.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading Dark as it was, I was certain of my discovery.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Dark as it was, I was certain of my discovery.
the act of discovering something
From this reading Dark as it was, I was certain of my discovery.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
plural of “dwarf” — a person who is markedly small
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
preferred above all others and treated with partiality
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOMYAK.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Dark as it was, I was certain of my discovery.
immediately past
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Dark as it was, I was certain of my discovery.
not any; not one
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
cut with a saw
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading AT last, after so much ill luck, fortune favored me.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
clearly evident to the mind
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At no great distance from Von Gaden’s house, in a lonely street, I saw a small figure dodging along ahead of me.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Dark as it was, I was certain of my discovery.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were many court dwarfs, but there was something about Homyak’s figure and gait that was unmistakable.
Chapter 23 of On the red staircase by Mary Imlay Taylor holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 23 holds 180 sentences of On the red staircase, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of On the red staircase by Mary Imlay Taylor exactly as it stands in the 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.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in On the red staircase, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
