Chapter 12 of The Poniard's Hilt is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Poniard's Hilt is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MIRACLE OF ST. MARTIN. The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof. "I'm at it," he said. "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
Chapter 12 of The Poniard's Hilt is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading “"But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"”
plural of “claw” — sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles
From this reading “"But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"”
French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)
From this reading “MARTIN.”
any amazing or wonderful occurrence
From this reading “THE MIRACLE OF ST.”
past form of “proceed” — continue talking
From this reading “The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.”
any factual evidence that helps to establish the truth of something
From this reading “The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.”
a person who delivers a speech or oration
From this reading “The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.”
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading “The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.”
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.
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.
(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 "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.
react verbally
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "I'm at it," he said.
a region in central France
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
plural of “claw” — sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I'm at it," he said.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm at it," he said.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I'm at it," he said.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)
From this reading MARTIN.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
any amazing or wonderful occurrence
From this reading THE MIRACLE OF ST.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE MIRACLE OF ST.
past form of “proceed” — continue talking
From this reading The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.
any factual evidence that helps to establish the truth of something
From this reading The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
a person who delivers a speech or oration
From this reading The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I'm at it," he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MIRACLE OF ST.
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MIRACLE OF ST.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The rhetorician straightened himself up and proceeded to the proof.
belonging to which person
From this reading "But first of all, brothers, answer me this question: Under whose royal claws did this beautiful land of Auvergne fall?"
Chapter 12 of The Poniard's Hilt by Eugène Sue holds 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 12 holds 130 sentences of The Poniard's Hilt, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Poniard's Hilt by Eugène Sue exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 12 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 Poniard's Hilt by Eugène Sue on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4966 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31782 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31782, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 413 minutes of reading across 994 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Poniard's Hilt section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Poniard's Hilt 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 Poniard's Hilt, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
