Chapter XX of The Gilded Chair: A Novel, “The Moving Shadow,” is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter XX of The Gilded Chair: A Novel, “The Moving Shadow,” is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room. He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing. Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell. "Nonsense, Caroline," he said. But the bell brought no response.
Chapter XX of The Gilded Chair: A Novel, “The Moving Shadow,” is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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 hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell.”
of or relating to the life and times of kings Charles I or Charles II of England
From this reading “The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.”
Persian prince who was defeated in battle by his brother Artaxerxes II (424-401 BC)
From this reading “Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell.”
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading “The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.”
a single distinct event
From this reading “He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.”
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading “"Nonsense, Caroline," he said.”
a result
From this reading “But the bell brought no response.”
the cognitive condition of someone who understands
From this reading “He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.”
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.
temporarily
In this reading “He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.”
In this reading “The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.”
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 Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell.
Having no one else present.
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
of or relating to the life and times of kings Charles I or Charles II of England
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
Persian prince who was defeated in battle by his brother Artaxerxes II (424-401 BC)
From this reading Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
a single distinct event
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
a particular point in time
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
not any; not one
From this reading But the bell brought no response.
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading "Nonsense, Caroline," he said.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Cyrus Childers put his hand on a bell.
a result
From this reading But the bell brought no response.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The presence of Caroline Childers in the door brought the Duke of Dorset forward into the room.
the cognitive condition of someone who understands
From this reading He alone had some understanding of the incident; but for the moment he said nothing.
Chapter 20 of The Gilded Chair: A Novel by Melville Davisson Post holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 20 holds 148 sentences of The Gilded Chair: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Gilded Chair: A Novel by Melville Davisson Post exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 20 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 Gilded Chair: A Novel by Melville Davisson Post on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3500 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51941 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51941, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 291 minutes of reading across 700 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Gilded Chair: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Gilded Chair: A Novel 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 Gilded Chair: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
