The Drunkard

Chapter XV

Chapter 15 of The Drunkard is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Guy Thorne • Curated US English Learning Edition

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

OVER THE RUBICON "Inside the Horsel here the air is hot; Right little peace one hath for it, God wot; The scented dusty daylight burns the air, And my heart chokes me till I hear it not."

--_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

There was a sort of constraint between them.

It was not awkwardness, it was not shyness.

Nevertheless, they had little to say to each other--yet.

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XV Reading 1/82

The Drunkard

Chapter XV

Chapter 15 of The Drunkard is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

OVER THE RUBICON "Inside the Horsel here the air is hot; Right little peace one hath for it, God wot; The scented dusty daylight burns the air, And my heart chokes me till I hear it not."

Line 2

--_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

Line 3

There was a sort of constraint between them.

/ðer wɑːz ə sɔːrt ʌv kənˈstreɪnt bɪˈtwiːn ðem/

Line 4

It was not awkwardness, it was not shyness.

/ɪt wɑːz nɑːt ˈɔːkwərdnəs ɪt wɑːz nɑːt ˈʃaɪnəs/

Line 5

Nevertheless, they had little to say to each other--yet.

Learner Dictionary

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.

awkwardness noun US /ˈɔːkwərdnəs/

unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training

From this reading “It was not awkwardness, it was not shyness.”

chokes noun US /tʃoʊks/

plural of “choke” — a coil of low resistance and high inductance used in electrical circuits to pass direct current and attenuate alternating current

From this reading “OVER THE RUBICON "Inside the Horsel here the air is hot; Right little peace one hath for it, God wot; The scented dusty daylight burns the air, And my heart chokes me till I hear it not."”

constraint noun US /kənˈstreɪnt/

the state of being physically constrained

From this reading “There was a sort of constraint between them.”

dusty adjective US /ˈdʌsti/

covered with a layer of dust

restaurant noun US /ˈrestərɑːnt/

a building where people go to eat

From this reading “--_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.”

rubicon noun US /ˈruːbɪkɔːn/

the boundary in ancient times between Italy and Gaul; Caesar's crossing it with his army in 49 BC was an act of war

scented adjective US /ˈsentɪd/

having the sense of smell

shyness noun US /ˈʃaɪnəs/

a feeling of fear of embarrassment

From this reading “It was not awkwardness, it was not shyness.”

All words in this reading · 62

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading There was a sort of constraint between them.

airnounUS /er/

a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of

From this reading OVER THE RUBICON "Inside the Horsel here the air is hot; Right little peace one hath for it, God wot; The scented dusty daylight burns the air, And my heart chokes me till I hear it not."

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

anythingpronounUS /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

awkwardnessnounUS /ˈɔːkwərdnəs/

unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training

From this reading It was not awkwardness, it was not shyness.

betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading There was a sort of constraint between them.

burnsnounUS /bɜːrnz/

United States comedian and film actor (1896-1996)

chokesnounUS /tʃoʊks/

plural of “choke” — a coil of low resistance and high inductance used in electrical circuits to pass direct current and attenuate alternating current

constraintnounUS /kənˈstreɪnt/

the state of being physically constrained

From this reading There was a sort of constraint between them.

daylightnounUS /ˈdeɪlaɪt/

the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside

dineverbUS /daɪn/

have supper; eat dinner

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

drovenounUS /droʊv/

a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

dustyadjectiveUS /ˈdʌsti/

covered with a layer of dust

eachdeterminerUS /iːtʃ/

every one of two or more people or things, taken separately

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

GilbertnounUS /ˈɡɪlbərt/

a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

GodnounUS /ɡɑːd/

the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Nevertheless, they had little to say to each other--yet.

hardlyadverbUS /ˈhɑːrdli/

only a very short time before

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

hathauxiliary verbUS /hæθ/

an old form of “has”

hearverbUS /hiːr/

perceive (sound) via the auditory sense

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

hereadverbUS /hiːr/

in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is

Horsel

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

hotadjectiveUS /hɑːt/

used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

InsideadjectiveUS /ˌɪnˈsaɪd/

relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

motor-cab

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

NeverthelessadverbUS /ˌnevərðəˈles/

in spite of what has just been said

From this reading Nevertheless, they had little to say to each other--yet.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading There was a sort of constraint between them.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

otheradjectiveUS /ˈʌðər/

not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

OVERprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

peacenounUS /piːs/

the state prevailing during the absence of war

restaurantnounUS /ˈrestərɑːnt/

a building where people go to eat

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

RightadverbUS /raɪt/

precisely, exactly

Rita

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

RUBICONnounUS /ˈruːbɪkɔːn/

the boundary in ancient times between Italy and Gaul; Caesar's crossing it with his army in 49 BC was an act of war

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

sayverbUS /seɪ/

express in words

From this reading Nevertheless, they had little to say to each other--yet.

scentedadjectiveUS /ˈsentɪd/

having the sense of smell

shynessnounUS /ˈʃaɪnəs/

a feeling of fear of embarrassment

From this reading It was not awkwardness, it was not shyness.

sortnounUS /sɔːrt/

a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality

From this reading There was a sort of constraint between them.

Swinburnenoun

English poet (1837-1909)

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

ThereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading There was a sort of constraint between them.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

tillprepositionUS /tɪl/

up to a particular time

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading There was a sort of constraint between them.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading --_Swinburne._ Gilbert and Rita said hardly anything to each other as the motor-cab drove them to the restaurant where they were to dine.

wot

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading Nevertheless, they had little to say to each other--yet.

Chapter 15 of The Drunkard by Guy Thorne holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

What does chapter 15 of The Drunkard contain?

Chapter 15 holds 414 sentences of The Drunkard, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 15 of The Drunkard by Guy Thorne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

How do I study chapter 15 of The Drunkard?

Work through the 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 83 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.

Can chapter 15 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 15 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.

Questions about reading The Drunkard

Common questions about reading The Drunkard by Guy Thorne on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Drunkard?

Yes. All 8930 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41139 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Drunkard is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #41139, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Drunkard take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1786 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Chapter XV

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