Chapter 14 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours. Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green." Swinburne. After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect? It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
Chapter 14 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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 onerous or difficult concern
From this reading “CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.”
a distinguishing emblem
From this reading “CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.”
a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion
From this reading “After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?”
superlative of “harsh” — unpleasantly stern
From this reading “It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.”
varying in color when seen in different lights or from different angles
From this reading “After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?”
plural of “rule” — a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading “It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.”
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."”
past form of “tarnish” — make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically
From this reading “Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."”
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 “CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.”
have as a guest
In this reading “It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.”
In this reading “After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."
later than; following
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.
an onerous or difficult concern
From this reading CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.
attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.
a distinguishing emblem
From this reading CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
a young female
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
coins made of gold
From this reading Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
superlative of “harsh” — unpleasantly stern
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
varying in color when seen in different lights or from different angles
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
plural of “rule” — a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
English poet (1837-1909)
From this reading Swinburne.
past form of “tarnish” — make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically
From this reading Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green."
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
a formal word for “on”
From this reading CLOUDS UPON THE CHARM "The burden of bright colours.
plural of “wave” — one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading It is one of Fate's harshest rules that in one way or another we pay for our ecstasies.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading After an evening of ecstasy such as Olwen had lived through upon those iridescent waves, what could the girl expect?
Chapter 14 of The Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck holds 111 sentences, grouped into 23 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 14 holds 111 sentences of The Disturbing Charm, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 111 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 14 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.
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Yes. All 5925 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36442 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36442, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 493 minutes of reading across 1185 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Disturbing Charm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of The Disturbing Charm 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 Disturbing Charm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
