Chapter 19 of The Mountebank is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of The Mountebank is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton. "Why didn't you tell me?" The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie. "Tell you what, my dear?" said I. "The whole wretched tragedy.
Chapter 19 of The Mountebank is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
Roman general under Julius Caesar in the Gallic wars; repudiated his wife for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra; they were defeated by Octavian at Actium (83-30 BC)
From this reading “If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.”
do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of
From this reading “If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.”
the end of a word (a suffix or inflectional ending or final morpheme)
From this reading “The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.”
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading “The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.”
(Greek mythology) any of three winged sister monsters and the mortal Medusa who had live snakes for hair; a glance at Medusa turned the beholder to stone
From this reading “If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.”
people who have been slain (as in battle)
From this reading “If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.”
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading “"The whole wretched tragedy.”
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading “"The whole wretched tragedy.”
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 If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
Roman general under Julius Caesar in the Gallic wars; repudiated his wife for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra; they were defeated by Octavian at Actium (83-30 BC)
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
(classical mythology) a serpent (or lizard or dragon) able to kill with its breath or glance
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
monster hatched by a reptile from a cock's egg; able to kill with a glance
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
dearly loved
From this reading "Tell you what, my dear?" said I.
do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why didn't you tell me?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
the end of a word (a suffix or inflectional ending or final morpheme)
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
distributed over a considerable extent
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
(Greek mythology) any of three winged sister monsters and the mortal Medusa who had live snakes for hair; a glance at Medusa turned the beholder to stone
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Why didn't you tell me?"
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Tell you what, my dear?" said I.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
fully extended in width
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Tell you what, my dear?" said I.
people who have been slain (as in battle)
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
express in words
From this reading "Why didn't you tell me?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The far-flung gesture of her arm ending in outspread fingers might have been that of Elodie.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading If a glance could destroy, if Lady Auriol had been a Gorgon or a basilisk or a cockatrice, then had I been a slain Anthony Hylton.
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading "The whole wretched tragedy.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Tell you what, my dear?" said I.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading "The whole wretched tragedy.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why didn't you tell me?"
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading "The whole wretched tragedy.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why didn't you tell me?"
Chapter 19 of The Mountebank by William John Locke holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 19 holds 423 sentences of The Mountebank, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of The Mountebank by William John Locke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 19 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 Mountebank by William John Locke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6537 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8430 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8430, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 544 minutes of reading across 1308 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mountebank section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Mountebank 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 Mountebank, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
