Chapter 18 of Quicksilver is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Quicksilver is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Then, my dear? Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall? Yes, you do. Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation. I'm going to take that cane, my dear, and defy the law."
Chapter 18 of Quicksilver is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
close fighting during the culmination of a military attack
From this reading “Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.”
a stick that people can lean on to help them walk
From this reading “Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?”
resist or confront with resistance
From this reading “I'm going to take that cane, my dear, and defy the law."”
changing to a lower state (a less respected state)
From this reading “Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.”
stem of the rattan palm used for making canes and umbrella handles
From this reading “Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?”
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading “Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.”
impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on
From this reading “Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.”
give a thrashing to; beat hard
From this reading “Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.”
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 Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
close fighting during the culmination of a military attack
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
a youthful male person
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
a stick that people can lean on to help them walk
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
dearly loved
From this reading "Then, my dear?
resist or confront with resistance
From this reading I'm going to take that cane, my dear, and defy the law."
changing to a lower state (a less respected state)
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
the act of departing
From this reading I'm going to take that cane, my dear, and defy the law."
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm going to take that cane, my dear, and defy the law."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
stem of the rattan palm used for making canes and umbrella handles
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Then, my dear?
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
carry out
From this reading I'm going to take that cane, my dear, and defy the law."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then, my dear?
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
give a thrashing to; beat hard
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
(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, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Well, my dear, the law says it is an assault to thrash a boy, and that he ought to be left to the law to punish, which means prison and degradation.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, you do.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Do you know that thin Malacca cane in the hall?
Chapter 18 of Quicksilver by George Manville Fenn holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 18 holds 407 sentences of Quicksilver, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Quicksilver by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Quicksilver by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7575 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21363 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21363, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1515 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Quicksilver section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Quicksilver 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 Quicksilver, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
