Chapter 16 of The House of Baltazar is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The House of Baltazar is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture. Marcelle learned it at once. The boy exploded with pent-up indignation. Dorothy had turned him down, callously turned him down. Could Marcelle imagine such heartlessness?
Chapter 16 of The House of Baltazar is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading “IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.”
in a callous way
From this reading “Dorothy had turned him down, callously turned him down.”
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading “IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.”
showing the parts of something separated but in positions that show their correct relation to one another
From this reading “The boy exploded with pent-up indignation.”
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “Could Marcelle imagine such heartlessness?”
a feeling of righteous anger
From this reading “The boy exploded with pent-up indignation.”
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading “IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.”
possessive form of “son” — a male human offspring
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “Marcelle learned it at once.”
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.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Marcelle learned it at once.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
a youthful male person
From this reading The boy exploded with pent-up indignation.
in a callous way
From this reading Dorothy had turned him down, callously turned him down.
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Could Marcelle imagine such heartlessness?
anxious embarrassment
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dorothy had turned him down, callously turned him down.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Dorothy had turned him down, callously turned him down.
showing the parts of something separated but in positions that show their correct relation to one another
From this reading The boy exploded with pent-up indignation.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Dorothy had turned him down, callously turned him down.
an absence of concern for the welfare of others
From this reading Could Marcelle imagine such heartlessness?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dorothy had turned him down, callously turned him down.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading Could Marcelle imagine such heartlessness?
a feeling of righteous anger
From this reading The boy exploded with pent-up indignation.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
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 IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marcelle learned it at once.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
on one occasion
From this reading Marcelle learned it at once.
characterized by or showing the suppression of impulses or emotions
From this reading The boy exploded with pent-up indignation.
possessive form of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Could Marcelle imagine such heartlessness?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
up to a particular time
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Dorothy had turned him down, callously turned him down.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading IT was not till long afterwards that Baltazar learned the cause of his son’s discomfiture.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The boy exploded with pent-up indignation.
Chapter 16 of The House of Baltazar by William John Locke holds 233 sentences, grouped into 47 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 16 holds 233 sentences of The House of Baltazar, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The House of Baltazar by William John Locke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 233 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 16 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 House of Baltazar by William John Locke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8115 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60120 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60120, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1623 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The House of Baltazar section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The House of Baltazar 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 House of Baltazar, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
