The long arm of Fantômas

Chapter XXIX

Chapter 29 of The long arm of Fantômas is here in full — 206 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Pierre Souvestre • Curated US English Learning Edition

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THE “EVER-EVASIVE” ESCAPES AGAIN The Grand Duchess Alexandra gave vent to an exclamation expressive both of surprise and triumph, as she greeted the visitor who stood before her.

The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

“I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.”

The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

“Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

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Chapter XXIX Reading 1/41

The long arm of Fantômas Pierre Souvestre

Chapter XXIX

Chapter 29 of The long arm of Fantômas is here in full — 206 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

THE “EVER-EVASIVE” ESCAPES AGAIN The Grand Duchess Alexandra gave vent to an exclamation expressive both of surprise and triumph, as she greeted the visitor who stood before her. The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured: “I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.” The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned: “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

The long arm of Fantômas

Chapter XXIX

Chapter 29 of The long arm of Fantômas is here in full — 206 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/41 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

THE “EVER-EVASIVE” ESCAPES AGAIN The Grand Duchess Alexandra gave vent to an exclamation expressive both of surprise and triumph, as she greeted the visitor who stood before her.

Line 2

The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

/ðə ˈlætər ˈdrɑːpɪŋ hɪz aɪz ənd əˈsuːmɪŋ ə ˈhʌmbəl ˈɔːlmoʊst ˈæbdʒekt miːn ðə ˈberɪŋ ʌv ə rɪˈpentənt ˈsɪnər ˈmɜːrmərd/

Line 3

“I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.”

/aɪ æm ˈhæpi ˈmædəm tuː rɪˈtɜːrn jɔːr ˈɡriːtɪŋ/

Line 4

The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

Line 5

“Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

/tel miː sɜːr tel miː tɑːm bɑːb wʌt freʃ ˈkraɪsəs wʌt ˈpresɪŋ nəˈsesəti əˈblaɪdʒɪz juː tuː kʌm tuː miː laɪk ðɪs/

Learner Dictionary

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.

abject adjective US /ˈæbdʒekt/

of the most contemptible kind

From this reading “The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:”

assuming adjective US /əˈsuːmɪŋ/

excessively forward

From this reading “The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:”

escapes noun US /ɪˈskeɪps/

plural of “escape” — the act of escaping physically

From this reading “THE “EVER-EVASIVE” ESCAPES AGAIN The Grand Duchess Alexandra gave vent to an exclamation expressive both of surprise and triumph, as she greeted the visitor who stood before her.”

mien noun US /miːn/

dignified manner or conduct

From this reading “The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:”

obliges verb US /əˈblaɪdʒɪz/

third-person singular of “oblige” — force somebody to do something

From this reading ““Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?””

repentant adjective US /rɪˈpentənt/

feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds

From this reading “The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:”

sinner noun US /ˈsɪnər/

a person who sins (without repenting)

From this reading “The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:”

vent noun US /vent/

a hole for the escape of gas or air

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

greatly agitated adverb + adjective

In this reading “The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:”

gave vent verb + noun counted as “give vent”

give expression or utterance to

In this reading “THE “EVER-EVASIVE” ESCAPES AGAIN The Grand Duchess Alexandra gave vent to an exclamation expressive both of surprise and triumph, as she greeted the visitor who stood before her.”

panting breath noun + noun

In this reading “The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:”

stood before verb + particle

All words in this reading · 72

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

abjectadjectiveUS /ˈæbdʒekt/

of the most contemptible kind

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

AGAINadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading THE “EVER-EVASIVE” ESCAPES AGAIN The Grand Duchess Alexandra gave vent to an exclamation expressive both of surprise and triumph, as she greeted the visitor who stood before her.

agitatedadjectiveUS /ˈædʒəteɪtɪd/

troubled emotionally and usually deeply

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

Alexandra

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

almostadverbUS /ˈɔːlmoʊst/

(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading “I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.”

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

assumingadjectiveUS /əˈsuːmɪŋ/

excessively forward

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

bearingnounUS /ˈberɪŋ/

relevant relation or interconnection

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

BobverbUS /bɑːb/

move up and down repeatedly

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

bothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/

the two together, not just one

breathnounUS /breθ/

the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

comeverbUS /kʌm/

move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

crisisnounUS /ˈkraɪsəs/

an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

droppingadjectiveUS /ˈdrɑːpɪŋ/

coming down freely under the influence of gravity

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

DuchessnounUS /ˈdʌtʃəs/

the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right

ESCAPESnounUS /ɪˈskeɪps/

plural of “escape” — the act of escaping physically

EVER-EVASIVE

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

exclamationnounUS /ˌekskləˈmeɪʃən/

an abrupt excited utterance

expressiveadjectiveUS /ɪkˈspresɪv/

characterized by expression

eyesnounUS /aɪz/

opinion or judgment

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

freshadjectiveUS /freʃ/

recently made, produced, or harvested

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

gaveverbUS /ɡeɪv/

inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

GrandadjectiveUS /ɡrænd/

of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope

greatlyadverbUS /ˈɡreɪtli/

to an extraordinary extent or degree

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

greetedverbUS /ˈɡriːtəd/

past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone

greetingnounUS /ˈɡriːtɪŋ/

(usually plural) an acknowledgment or expression of good will (especially on meeting)

From this reading “I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.”

happyadjectiveUS /ˈhæpi/

enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure

From this reading “I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.”

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

humbleadjectiveUS /ˈhʌmbəl/

low or inferior in station or quality

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading “I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.”

latteradjectiveUS /ˈlætər/

referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

likeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

madamnounUS /ˈmædəm/

a woman of refinement

From this reading “I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.”

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

miennounUS /miːn/

dignified manner or conduct

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

murmuredverbUS /ˈmɜːrmərd/

past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

necessitynounUS /nəˈsesəti/

the condition of being essential or indispensable

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

obligesverbUS /əˈblaɪdʒɪz/

third-person singular of “oblige” — force somebody to do something

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

pantingnounUS /ˈpæntɪŋ/

breathing heavily (as after exertion)

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

pressingnounUS /ˈpresɪŋ/

the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

questionedverbUS /ˈkwestʃənd/

past form of “question” — challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

repentantadjectiveUS /rɪˈpentənt/

feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

returnverbUS /rɪˈtɜːrn/

go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before

From this reading “I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.”

scepticaladjective

marked by or given to doubt

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

seemedverbUS /siːmd/

past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

sinnernounUS /ˈsɪnər/

a person who sins (without repenting)

From this reading The latter, dropping his eyes and assuming a humble, almost abject mien, the bearing of a repentant sinner, murmured:

sirnounUS /sɜːr/

term of address for a man

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

stoodverbUS /stʊd/

Maintained an upright posture.

surprisenounUS /sərˈpraɪz/

the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you

TellverbUS /tel/

express in words

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

TomnounUS /tɑːm/

male cat

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

triumphnounUS /ˈtraɪəmf/

a successful ending of a struggle or contest

ventnounUS /vent/

a hole for the escape of gas or air

visitornounUS /ˈvɪzɪtər/

someone who visits

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The grand duchess seemed sceptical; with panting breath, for she was greatly agitated, she questioned:

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “Tell me, sir! tell me, Tom Bob, what fresh crisis, what pressing necessity obliges you to come to me like this?”

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “I am happy, madam, to return your greeting.”

Chapter 29 of The long arm of Fantômas by Pierre Souvestre holds 206 sentences, grouped into 42 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.

What does chapter 29 of The long arm of Fantômas contain?

Chapter 29 holds 206 sentences of The long arm of Fantômas, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 29 of The long arm of Fantômas by Pierre Souvestre exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 206 sentences, grouped into 42 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.

How do I study chapter 29 of The long arm of Fantômas?

Work through the 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 42 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.

Can chapter 29 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 29 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.

Questions about reading The long arm of Fantômas

Common questions about reading The long arm of Fantômas by Pierre Souvestre on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The long arm of Fantômas?

Yes. All 5538 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71587 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The long arm of Fantômas is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #71587, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The long arm of Fantômas take to read?

About 461 minutes of reading across 1108 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The long arm of Fantômas

Words and structures a reader meets early in The long arm of Fantômas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Translated: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The long arm of Fantômas; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
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Chapter XXIX

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