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The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete
The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete

Chapter XV · Chapter 15

Chapter 15 of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete
Context Illustration Reading 1/13 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The fight was over.
The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.
The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.
A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.
Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete

Chapter XV · Chapter 15

Chapter 15 of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/13 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The fight was over.
/ðə faɪt wɑːz ˈoʊvər/
Line 2
The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.
/ðə ˈtʃaɪldɪʃ ˈstrʌɡəl əˈɡenst mɪsˈruːl hæd kʌm tuː ə ˈtʃaɪldɪʃ end/
Line 3
The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.
/ðə ˈlɪtəl tɔɪ ˈlɔɪəlɪsts hæd bɪn ˈbroʊkən ɔːl tuː ˈpiːsəz/
Line 4
A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.
Line 5
Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

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.

citadel noun US /ˈsɪt.ə.del/

A fortress protecting a city, metaphorically representing the invincible inner sanctuary of the rational mind.

From this reading “A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.”

conquerors noun US /ˈkɑːŋkərərz/

plural of “conqueror” — someone who is victorious by force of arms

From this reading “Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.”

Frenchmen noun US /ˈfrentʃmen/

plural of “frenchman” — a person of French nationality

From this reading “A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.”

haphazard adjective US /hæpˈhæzərd/

dependent upon or characterized by chance

From this reading “Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.”

loyalists noun US /ˈlɔɪəlɪsts/

plural of “loyalist” — a person who is loyal to their allegiance (especially in times of revolt)

From this reading “The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.”

misrule noun US /mɪsˈruːl/

government that is inefficient or dishonest

From this reading “The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.”

Obeying verb US /oʊˈbeɪɪŋ/

-ing form of “obey” — be obedient to

From this reading “Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.”

shied verb US /ʃaɪd/

inflected form of “shy” — start suddenly, as from fright

From this reading “A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.”

All words in this reading · 60

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 childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.

ancientadjectiveUS /ˈeɪn.ʃənt/

Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.

bloodnounUS /blʌd/

The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

BritishnounUS /ˈbrɪtɪʃ/

the people of Great Britain

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

brokenadjectiveUS /ˈbroʊkən/

physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split

From this reading The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.

chargeverbUS /tʃɑːrdʒ/

to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

childishadjectiveUS /ˈtʃaɪldɪʃ/

indicating a lack of maturity

From this reading The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.

citadelnounUS /ˈsɪt.ə.del/

A fortress protecting a city, metaphorically representing the invincible inner sanctuary of the rational mind.

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

comeverbUS /kʌm/

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

From this reading The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.

conquerorsnounUS /ˈkɑːŋkərərz/

plural of “conqueror” — someone who is victorious by force of arms

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

defeatnounUS /dɪˈfiːt/

an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

disasternounUS /dɪˈzæstər/

a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

endnounUS /end/

either extremity of something that has length

From this reading The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.

fewadjectiveUS /fjuː/

a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

fightverbUS /faɪt/

be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight

From this reading The fight was over.

flag-staff

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

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

FrenchmennounUS /ˈfrentʃmen/

plural of “frenchman” — a person of French nationality

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.

haphazardadjectiveUS /hæpˈhæzərd/

dependent upon or characterized by chance

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

harmlessadjectiveUS /ˈhɑːrmləs/

not causing or capable of causing harm

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

instinctsnounUS /ˈɪnstɪŋkts/

plural of “instinct” — inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

kickedverbUS /kɪkt/

past form of “kick” — drive or propel with the foot

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

languagenounUS /ˈlæŋɡwədʒ/

a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.

loyalistsnounUS /ˈlɔɪəlɪsts/

plural of “loyalist” — a person who is loyal to their allegiance (especially in times of revolt)

From this reading The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.

madeadjectiveUS /meɪd/

produced by a manufacturing process

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

misrulenounUS /mɪsˈruːl/

government that is inefficient or dishonest

From this reading The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.

ObeyingverbUS /oʊˈbeɪɪŋ/

-ing form of “obey” — be obedient to

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading The fight was over.

patriotismnounUS /ˈpeɪtriətɪzəm/

love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

piecesnounUS /ˈpiːsəz/

plural of “piece” — a separate part of a whole

From this reading The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.

racenounUS /reɪs/

any competition

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

religionnounUS /rɪˈlɪdʒən/

a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

shiedverbUS /ʃaɪd/

inflected form of “shy” — start suddenly, as from fright

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

sidelongadjective

(used especially of glances) directed to one side with or as if with doubt or suspicion or envy

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

spluttered

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

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

stonesnounUS /stoʊnz/

plural of “stone” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

struggleverbUS /ˈstrʌɡəl/

make a strenuous or labored effort

From this reading The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.

tailnounUS /teɪl/

the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The fight was over.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

thenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

thousandnounUS /ˈθaʊzənd/

the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The childish struggle against misrule had come to a childish end.

toynounUS /tɔɪ/

an artifact designed to be played with

From this reading The little toy loyalists had been broken all to pieces.

turnedadjectiveUS /tɜːrnd/

moved around an axis or center

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading Obeying the instincts of blood, religion, race, and language, they had made a haphazard, sidelong charge upon their ancient conquerors, had spluttered and kicked a little, and had then turned tail upon disaster and defeat.

vagueadjectiveUS /veɪɡ/

not clearly expressed or understood

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The fight was over.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading A few thousand Frenchmen, with a vague patriotism, had shied some harmless stones at the British flag-staff on the citadel: that was all.

Chapter 15 of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete by Gilbert Parker holds 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 15 of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete contain?

Chapter 15 holds 69 sentences of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 15 of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete by Gilbert Parker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 15 of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete?

Work through the 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 14 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 15 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 15 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 Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete

Common questions about reading The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete by Gilbert Parker on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete?

Yes. All 2226 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6217 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #6217, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete take to read?

About 185 minutes of reading across 446 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete section by section

How to work through The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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  2. Read one section

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  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Matter
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Power
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Inquisitive
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Postmaster
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Pomp of the Lavilettes, Complete; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.