Chapter 29 of The City of the Discreet is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIX
Chapter 29 of The City of the Discreet is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss. “Not a thing,” replied María Lucena. “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet. They say that he and Pacheco kidnapped the Countess.” “The devil!
Chapter 29 of The City of the Discreet is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
take into custody
From this reading ““He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.”
female equivalent of a count or earl
From this reading “They say that he and Pacheco kidnapped the Countess.””
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading ““The devil!”
inflected form of “kidnap” — take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
From this reading “They say that he and Pacheco kidnapped the Countess.””
possessive form of “mason” — American Revolutionary leader from Virginia whose objections led to the drafting of the Bill of Rights (1725-1792)
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading “THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.”
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading ““He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.”
the natives or inhabitants of Switzerland
From this reading “THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.”
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 “Not a thing,” replied María Lucena.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
take into custody
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
female equivalent of a count or earl
From this reading They say that he and Pacheco kidnapped the Countess.”
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading “The devil!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
inflected form of “kidnap” — take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
From this reading They say that he and Pacheco kidnapped the Countess.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
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 “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Not a thing,” replied María Lucena.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Not a thing,” replied María Lucena.
possessive form of “mason” — American Revolutionary leader from Virginia whose objections led to the drafting of the Bill of Rights (1725-1792)
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Not a thing,” replied María Lucena.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They say that he and Pacheco kidnapped the Countess.”
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “Not a thing,” replied María Lucena.
express in words
From this reading They say that he and Pacheco kidnapped the Countess.”
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
the natives or inhabitants of Switzerland
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading They say that he and Pacheco kidnapped the Countess.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
a special situation
From this reading “Not a thing,” replied María Lucena.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
precisely as stated
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
but in spite of that
From this reading “He left here the very night they tried to arrest him, and he hasn’t showed up yet.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading THE MASON’S MESSAGE “So you know nothing about him?” asked the Swiss.
Chapter 29 of The City of the Discreet by Pío Baroja holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 29 holds 168 sentences of The City of the Discreet, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 29 of The City of the Discreet by Pío Baroja exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 29 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 City of the Discreet by Pío Baroja on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6657 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56324 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56324, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 554 minutes of reading across 1332 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The City of the Discreet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The City of the Discreet 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 City of the Discreet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
