Chapter 17 of The Old Countess is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Old Countess is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HUSBAND AND WIFE. Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless. The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart. She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her. But, was it certain that he would come?
Chapter 17 of The Old Countess is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading “Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.”
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading “The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.”
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.”
possessive form of “husband” — a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading “The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.”
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading “The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.”
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading “Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.”
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading “The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.”
final or last in your life or progress
From this reading “The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.”
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 “Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading HUSBAND AND WIFE.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But, was it certain that he would come?
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading But, was it certain that he would come?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading But, was it certain that he would come?
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading HUSBAND AND WIFE.
possessive form of “husband” — a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But, was it certain that he would come?
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.
final or last in your life or progress
From this reading The supreme joy of her husband's presence drove every other feeling from her heart.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Lady Hope stood in the middle of the room, breathless.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She forgot her brother, her step-child, everything, in the one thought that he was near her.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading HUSBAND AND WIFE.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading But, was it certain that he would come?
Chapter 17 of The Old Countess by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens holds 172 sentences, grouped into 35 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 172 sentences of The Old Countess, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Old Countess by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 172 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 Old Countess by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5179 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29862 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29862, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 431 minutes of reading across 1036 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Countess section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Old Countess 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 Old Countess, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
