Chapter 40 of The Double Life is here in full — 52 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of The Double Life is here in full — 52 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land. M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.” His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate. He crossed the garden step by step, to look around. His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.
Chapter 40 of The Double Life is here in full — 52 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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 light shade of blue
From this reading “M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.””
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading “His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.”
(behavioral attributes) the way a person behaves toward other people
From this reading “His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.”
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading “His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.”
become covered with mist
From this reading “_The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.”
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading “His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.”
Mexican revolutionary leader (1877-1923)
From this reading “M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.””
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 “His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.”
In this reading “His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.”
In this reading “_The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.”
look about oneself
In this reading “He crossed the garden step by step, to look around.”
move upward
In this reading “M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.””
In this reading “His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.”
In this reading “_The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.”
In this reading “_The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.”
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 _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
farther along in physical or mental development
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading He crossed the garden step by step, to look around.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
a light shade of blue
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He crossed the garden step by step, to look around.
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
placed crosswise
From this reading He crossed the garden step by step, to look around.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
(behavioral attributes) the way a person behaves toward other people
From this reading His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.
occurring at or forming an end or termination
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He crossed the garden step by step, to look around.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
become covered with mist
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
according to the clock
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
above and across; more than
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading He crossed the garden step by step, to look around.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He crossed the garden step by step, to look around.
in the direction of
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading His hand trembled as he cautiously pushed open the little garden gate.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
Mexican revolutionary leader (1877-1923)
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading _The Final Tragedy_ |IT was nine o’clock in the evening, the season was well advanced, and a heavy mist hung over the land.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading M. Longuet went up the long drive toward the “Villa Flots de Azure.”
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading His whole demeanor was one of evil intent.
Chapter 40 of The Double Life by Gaston Leroux holds 52 sentences, grouped into 11 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 40 holds 52 sentences of The Double Life, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of The Double Life by Gaston Leroux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 52 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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 40 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 Life by Gaston Leroux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3405 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53989 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53989, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 681 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Double Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Double Life 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 Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
