Chapter XVII of The Great House, “To the Rescue,” is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVII of The Great House, “To the Rescue,” is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke. Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age. If I had not seen it, I couldn’t believe it!” “I suppose it is John Audley?” “Yes.”
Chapter XVII of The Great House, “To the Rescue,” is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
how long something has existed
From this reading “Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.”
get or gather together
From this reading “Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.”
(of time) having passed or slipped by
From this reading “Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.”
expose or make accessible to some action or influence
From this reading “Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.”
roused to anger
From this reading “Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.”
English historian noted for his constitutional history of medieval England (1825-1901)
From this reading “Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.”
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.
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 Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
how long something has existed
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I suppose it is John Audley?”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading If I had not seen it, I couldn’t believe it!”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
get or gather together
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I had not seen it, I couldn’t believe it!”
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
(of time) having passed or slipped by
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
expose or make accessible to some action or influence
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading If I had not seen it, I couldn’t believe it!”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If I had not seen it, I couldn’t believe it!”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If I had not seen it, I couldn’t believe it!”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “I suppose it is John Audley?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading If I had not seen it, I couldn’t believe it!”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “I suppose it is John Audley?”
roused to anger
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading If I had not seen it, I couldn’t believe it!”
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading If I had not seen it, I couldn’t believe it!”
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
English historian noted for his constitutional history of medieval England (1825-1901)
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
express a supposition
From this reading “I suppose it is John Audley?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Stubbs was the first to collect himself, but a minute elapsed before he spoke.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading Then, “He must be mad,” he cried, “mad, to expose himself to the weather at his age.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes.”
Chapter 17 of The Great House by Stanley John Weyman holds 287 sentences, grouped into 58 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 17 holds 287 sentences of The Great House, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Great House by Stanley John Weyman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 287 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 17 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 Great House by Stanley John Weyman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9435 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39294 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39294, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1887 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Great House 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 Great House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
