Chapter 26 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A moment we listened. St. Hilary lighted a cigarette. “Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple. There might have been kisses, who knows?” “But why did she not recognize you sooner?”
Chapter 26 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
past form of “chuckle” — laugh quietly or with restraint
From this reading ““Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “St. Hilary lighted a cigarette.”
extravagantly or foolishly loving and indulgent
From this reading ““Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.”
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading ““Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.”
enter uninvited
From this reading ““Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.”
plural of “kiss” — the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading “There might have been kisses, who knows?””
set afire or burning
From this reading “St. Hilary lighted a cigarette.”
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading ““But why did she not recognize you sooner?””
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.
to intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate
In this reading ““Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.”
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 moment we listened.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading There might have been kisses, who knows?”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But why did she not recognize you sooner?”
past form of “chuckle” — laugh quietly or with restraint
From this reading “Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading St. Hilary lighted a cigarette.
a pair who associate with one another
From this reading “Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “But why did she not recognize you sooner?”
extravagantly or foolishly loving and indulgent
From this reading “Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading There might have been kisses, who knows?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading St. Hilary lighted a cigarette.
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading “Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.
enter uninvited
From this reading “Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.
plural of “kiss” — the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading There might have been kisses, who knows?”
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading There might have been kisses, who knows?”
set afire or burning
From this reading St. Hilary lighted a cigarette.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading A moment we listened.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading There might have been kisses, who knows?”
a particular point in time
From this reading A moment we listened.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “But why did she not recognize you sooner?”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading “But why did she not recognize you sooner?”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “But why did she not recognize you sooner?”
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading “But why did she not recognize you sooner?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading St. Hilary lighted a cigarette.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There might have been kisses, who knows?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Idiot,” he chuckled, “to intrude on a doting couple.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading A moment we listened.
which person or people
From this reading There might have been kisses, who knows?”
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “But why did she not recognize you sooner?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “But why did she not recognize you sooner?”
Chapter 26 of The Clock and the Key by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Vesey holds 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 26 holds 194 sentences of The Clock and the Key, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 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 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 26 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.
