Chapter 17 of The Later Life is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Later Life is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne. "You're looking so happy to-night, Aunt Constance," said Marianne. "Don't you think so, Aunt Adeline? Tell me why." The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
Chapter 17 of The Later Life is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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 lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading “The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.”
a short vivid experience
From this reading “The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.”
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading “The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.”
plural of “ray” — a column of light (as from a beacon)
From this reading “The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.”
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.”
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading “The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.”
shining with brilliant points of light like stars
From this reading “The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.”
capable of being seen; or open to easy view
From this reading “The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.”
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.
In this reading “The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.”
In this reading “The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.”
In this reading “The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.”
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 The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading "You're looking so happy to-night, Aunt Constance," said Marianne.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't you think so, Aunt Adeline?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
a short vivid experience
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
a young female
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading "You're looking so happy to-night, Aunt Constance," said Marianne.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading "You're looking so happy to-night, Aunt Constance," said Marianne.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Tell me why."
the force of workers available
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
plural of “ray” — a column of light (as from a beacon)
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You're looking so happy to-night, Aunt Constance," said Marianne.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "You're looking so happy to-night, Aunt Constance," said Marianne.
shining with brilliant points of light like stars
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
express in words
From this reading Tell me why."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "Don't you think so, Aunt Adeline?
in spite of the fact that
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You're looking so happy to-night, Aunt Constance," said Marianne.
capable of being seen; or open to easy view
From this reading The girl herself looked happy, radiant as though with visible rays, a great light flashing from her sparkling eyes.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Tell me why."
in the company of; together with
From this reading The men remained behind to smoke; Constance went to the drawing-room with Adeline and Marianne.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Don't you think so, Aunt Adeline?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You're looking so happy to-night, Aunt Constance," said Marianne.
Chapter 17 of The Later Life by Louis Couperus holds 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 194 sentences of The Later Life, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Later Life by Louis Couperus exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Later Life by Louis Couperus on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5253 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37578 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37578, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 437 minutes of reading across 1051 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Later Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Later Life 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 Later Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
