Chapter 27 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The garden was dark. Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom. The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower. No light was to be seen. The last guest had departed.
Chapter 27 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
the organic process of bearing flowers
From this reading “Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.”
wood of any of various cherry trees especially the black cherry
From this reading “Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.”
well in the past; former
From this reading “The last guest had departed.”
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading “Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.”
plural of “lily” — any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading “Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.”
a framework that supports climbing plants
From this reading “Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.”
(used especially of ideas or principles) deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held
From this reading “Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.”
a gradual decrease in magnitude or extent
From this reading “The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.”
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 “The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.”
any of numerous trees and shrubs producing a small fleshy round fruit with a single hard stone; many also produce a valuable hardwood
In this reading “Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.”
In this reading “The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.”
In this reading “The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.”
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 Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading No light was to be seen.
the organic process of bearing flowers
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
wood of any of various cherry trees especially the black cherry
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading The garden was dark.
well in the past; former
From this reading The last guest had departed.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading The garden was dark.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading The last guest had departed.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The last guest had departed.
only a very short time before
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
immediately past
From this reading The last guest had departed.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading No light was to be seen.
plural of “lily” — any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
not any; not one
From this reading No light was to be seen.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
and nothing more
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
a framework that supports climbing plants
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
(used especially of ideas or principles) deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading No light was to be seen.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The garden was dark.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No light was to be seen.
the upper part of anything
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
having come into contact
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
a gradual decrease in magnitude or extent
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The garden was dark.
a Caucasian
From this reading Only the bloom of a cherry tree and a line of lilies planted the length of the pergola showed white against the gloom.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading The waning moon hardly touched the top of the garden wall now, but fell full on the palace windows and the tower.
Chapter 27 of The Clock and the Key by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Vesey holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 27 holds 186 sentences of The Clock and the Key, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 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 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 27 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.
