Chapter 23 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 260 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 260 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo. Our search for that night was ended. I was free to see Jacqueline at last. Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel. It had been a wonderful day.
Chapter 23 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 260 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/52 · 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 authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.”
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.”
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading “Our search for that night was ended.”
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading “A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.”
past form of “hasten” — act or move at high speed
From this reading “Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.”
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading “A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.”
showing possibility of achievement or excellence
From this reading “Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.”
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading “A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.”
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 “Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.”
In this reading “Our search for that night was ended.”
a conventional expression of farewell
In this reading “A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.”
In this reading “A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.”
express the need or desire for
In this reading “Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.”
In this reading “A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.”
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 A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
later than; following
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I was free to see Jacqueline at last.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It had been a wonderful day.
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
placed crosswise
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading It had been a wonderful day.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading Our search for that night was ended.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Our search for that night was ended.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading I was free to see Jacqueline at last.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It had been a wonderful day.
past form of “hasten” — act or move at high speed
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It had been a wonderful day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I was free to see Jacqueline at last.
immediately past
From this reading I was free to see Jacqueline at last.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
showing possibility of achievement or excellence
From this reading Promising to call for my friend early the next morning, I hastened to the Grand Hotel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading Our search for that night was ended.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I was free to see Jacqueline at last.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Our search for that night was ended.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A clock in the church of San Salvatore was striking the hour of seven as St. Hilary and I, after bidding good night to our friendly priest, crossed the Campo.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading It had been a wonderful day.
Chapter 23 of The Clock and the Key by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Vesey holds 260 sentences, grouped into 52 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 260 sentences of The Clock and the Key, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Clock and the Key by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Vesey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 260 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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.
Common questions about reading The Clock and the Key by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Vesey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4970 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54888 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54888, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 414 minutes of reading across 994 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Clock and the Key section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Clock and the Key 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 Clock and the Key, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
