Chapter 34 of The Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIV
Chapter 34 of The Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NIGHT. When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair. She did not know where to turn or what to do. She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed. She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
Chapter 34 of The Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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 state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading “When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.”
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading “She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.”
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading “She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.”
temporary living quarters
From this reading “She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.”
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading “When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.”
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading “She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.”
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading “She did not know where to turn or what to do.”
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.
by a factor of three
In this reading “She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.”
In this reading “She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.”
In this reading “When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did not know where to turn or what to do.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading She did not know where to turn or what to do.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
divisible by two
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading She did not know where to turn or what to do.
temporary living quarters
From this reading She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading NIGHT.
not any; not one
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She did not know where to turn or what to do.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading She did not know where to turn or what to do.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
carry out
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She did not know where to turn or what to do.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading She had tried three times to get lodgings, and had failed.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading She did not know where to turn or what to do.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She did not know where to turn or what to do.
at the time that
From this reading When Marion Durrant went down the steps of No. 8, Garthorne Street, that evening, she was in despair.
in or at the place that
From this reading She did not know where to turn or what to do.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She would not go to an hotel; and even if she did, she now felt certain they would not take her in.
Chapter 34 of The Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance by Richard Dowling holds 248 sentences, grouped into 50 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 34 holds 248 sentences of The Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 34 of The Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance by Richard Dowling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 248 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 34 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 Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance by Richard Dowling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5921 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42599 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42599, 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 Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance 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 Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
