Chapter 3 of The Double-Dealer: A Comedy is here in full — 265 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Double-Dealer: A Comedy is here in full — 265 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CYNT. Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand. LADY FROTH. I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner. CYNT.
Chapter 3 of The Double-Dealer: A Comedy is here in full — 265 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/53 · 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.
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading “Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.”
a mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid
From this reading “LADY FROTH.”
a man of refinement
From this reading “I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.”
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading “I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.”
make a vow; promise
From this reading “I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.”
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading “I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.”
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 I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CYNT.
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
a mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid
From this reading LADY FROTH.
a man of refinement
From this reading I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading LADY FROTH.
a woman of refinement
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
carry out
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
make a vow; promise
From this reading I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading I vow Mellefont's a pretty gentleman, but methinks he wants a manner.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Why, faith, madam, he that won't take my word shall never have it under my hand.
Chapter 3 of The Double-Dealer: A Comedy by William Congreve holds 265 sentences, grouped into 53 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 3 holds 265 sentences of The Double-Dealer: A Comedy, unabridged, divided into 53 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Double-Dealer: A Comedy by William Congreve exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 265 sentences, grouped into 53 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 53 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 53 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 3 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 Double-Dealer: A Comedy by William Congreve on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1899 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1191 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1191, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 158 minutes of reading across 380 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Double-Dealer: A Comedy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Double-Dealer: A Comedy 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 Double-Dealer: A Comedy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
