Chapter 17 of The Black Robe is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Black Robe is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN THE SMALL HOURS. WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end. He went back to his rooms at the hotel. Penrose was waiting to speak to him. Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.
Chapter 17 of The Black Robe is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance
From this reading “Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.”
the force by which one object attracts another
From this reading “WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.”
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading “WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.”
the faculty and students of a school specializing in one of the fine arts
From this reading “WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.”
possessive form of “secretary” — a person who is head of an administrative department of government
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.”
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading “WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.”
kept from public knowledge by various means
From this reading “Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.”
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.
a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance
From this reading Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
the force by which one object attracts another
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He went back to his rooms at the hotel.
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
the faculty and students of a school specializing in one of the fine arts
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He went back to his rooms at the hotel.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Penrose was waiting to speak to him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He went back to his rooms at the hotel.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading He went back to his rooms at the hotel.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading IN THE SMALL HOURS.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN THE SMALL HOURS.
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 WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
being perceived or observed
From this reading Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Penrose was waiting to speak to him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
apartment consisting of a series of connected rooms used as a living unit (as in a hotel)
From this reading He went back to his rooms at the hotel.
possessive form of “secretary” — a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading IN THE SMALL HOURS.
express in speech
From this reading Penrose was waiting to speak to him.
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
kept from public knowledge by various means
From this reading Romayne noticed signs of suppressed agitation in his secretary’s face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN THE SMALL HOURS.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He went back to his rooms at the hotel.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading Penrose was waiting to speak to him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He went back to his rooms at the hotel.
at the time that
From this reading WHEN Stella left the conservatory, the attraction of the ball for Romayne was at an end.
Chapter 17 of The Black Robe by Wilkie Collins holds 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 17 holds 199 sentences of The Black Robe, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Black Robe by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 The Black Robe by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6846 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1587 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1587, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 570 minutes of reading across 1370 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Robe section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Black Robe 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 The Black Robe, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
