Chapter 17 of The Palace of Darkened Windows is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Palace of Darkened Windows is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed. Then feet upon the stairs, and a hand at the door. Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness. Outside a gale was blowing. The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.
Chapter 17 of The Palace of Darkened Windows is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
expected hopefully
From this reading “The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.”
processing that involves blowing a gas
From this reading “Outside a gale was blowing.”
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading “Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.”
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading “AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.”
an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading “The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.”
a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on Beaufort scale
From this reading “Outside a gale was blowing.”
inflected form of “slam” — close violently
From this reading “AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.”
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading “Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.”
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 AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then feet upon the stairs, and a hand at the door.
expected hopefully
From this reading The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
processing that involves blowing a gas
From this reading Outside a gale was blowing.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Then feet upon the stairs, and a hand at the door.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.
a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on Beaufort scale
From this reading Outside a gale was blowing.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Then feet upon the stairs, and a hand at the door.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Outside a gale was blowing.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
inflected form of “slam” — close violently
From this reading AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Then feet upon the stairs, and a hand at the door.
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Then feet upon the stairs, and a hand at the door.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then feet upon the stairs, and a hand at the door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Then feet upon the stairs, and a hand at the door.
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading AT BAY Voices sounded below; footsteps hurried; a door slammed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Arlee struggled to her feet in sudden terror; the candle was out and the room was in darkness.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The door opened, but the figure which hurried in was not the one her fright anticipated.
Chapter 17 of The Palace of Darkened Windows by Mary Hastings Bradley holds 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 272 sentences of The Palace of Darkened Windows, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Palace of Darkened Windows by Mary Hastings Bradley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 Palace of Darkened Windows by Mary Hastings Bradley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5417 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16054 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16054, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 451 minutes of reading across 1084 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Palace of Darkened Windows section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Palace of Darkened Windows 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 Palace of Darkened Windows, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
