Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
The Princess Tarakanova
The Princess Tarakanova

Chapter XXVIII

Chapter 28 of The Princess Tarakanova is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Princess Tarakanova
Context Illustration Reading 1/14 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
_A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.
The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.
There was a storm.
The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.
The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
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 Princess Tarakanova

Chapter XXVIII

Chapter 28 of The Princess Tarakanova is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/14 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
_A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.
Line 2
The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.
/ðə snoʊ wɪtʃ hæd ˈfɑːlən ɪn ðə ˈmɔːrnɪŋ wɑːz naʊ ɔːl ˈmeltəd ðer wɜːr puːlz ʌv ˈwɔːtər ˈevriwer ðə fjuː ənd fɑːr bɪˈtwiːn ˈkærɪdʒɪz ənd pəˈdestriənz ˈɡluːməli splæʃt əˈlɔːŋ ðə striːts/
Line 3
There was a storm.
/ðer wɑːz ə stɔːrm/
Line 4
The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.
Line 5
The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.
/ðə ˈneɪvə wɑːz ˈswoʊlən æn ˌɪnənˈdeɪʃən wɑːz ˈɪmənənt/

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.

howled verb US /haʊld/

past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries

From this reading “The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.”

imminent adjective US /ˈɪmənənt/

close in time; about to occur

From this reading “The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.”

inundation noun US /ˌɪnənˈdeɪʃən/

the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land

From this reading “The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.”

Neva noun US /ˈneɪvə/

a river in northwestern Russia flowing generally west into the Gulf of Finland

From this reading “The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.”

pedestrians noun US /pəˈdestriənz/

plural of “pedestrian” — a person who travels by foot

From this reading “The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.”

pools noun US /puːlz/

plural of “pool” — an excavation that is (usually) filled with water

From this reading “The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.”

splashed adjective US /splæʃt/

(of a fluid) having been propelled about in flying drops or masses

From this reading “The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.”

windy adjective US /ˈwɪndi/

abounding in or exposed to the wind or breezes

From this reading “_A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

along the streets preposition + article + noun counted as “along … street”

In this reading “The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.”

in the morning preposition + article + noun counted as “in … morning”

In this reading “The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.”

in the garden preposition + article + noun counted as “in … garden”

In this reading “The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.”

All words in this reading · 55

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.

1775

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

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

1st

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

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

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 snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

alongprepositionUS /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

bendingnounUS /ˈbendɪŋ/

movement that causes the formation of a curve

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

carriagesnounUS /ˈkærɪdʒɪz/

plural of “carriage” — a railcar where passengers ride

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

DecembernounUS /dɪˈsembər/

the last (12th) month of the year

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

enormousadjectiveUS /ɪˈnɔːrməs/

extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

eveningnounUS /ˈiːvnɪŋ/

the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

everywhereadverbUS /ˈevriwer/

to or in any or all places

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

fallenadjectiveUS /ˈfɑːlən/

having dropped by the force of gravity

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

faradverbUS /fɑːr/

to a considerable degree; very much

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

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 The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

gardennounUS /ˈɡɑːrdən/

a plot of ground where plants are cultivated

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

gloomilyadverbUS /ˈɡluːməli/

with gloom

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

Hetman

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

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

housenounUS /haʊs/

a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

howledverbUS /haʊld/

past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

imminentadjectiveUS /ˈɪmənənt/

close in time; about to occur

From this reading The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

inundationnounUS /ˌɪnənˈdeɪʃən/

the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land

From this reading The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.

LATEadjectiveUS /leɪt/

being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

meltedadjectiveUS /ˈmeltəd/

changed from a solid to a liquid state

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

morningnounUS /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/

the time period between dawn and noon

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

NevanounUS /ˈneɪvə/

a river in northwestern Russia flowing generally west into the Gulf of Finland

From this reading The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.

nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

particularlyadverbUS /ˌpɑːrˈtɪkjələrli/

to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

pedestriansnounUS /pəˈdestriənz/

plural of “pedestrian” — a person who travels by foot

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

poolsnounUS /puːlz/

plural of “pool” — an excavation that is (usually) filled with water

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

priestnounUS /priːst/

a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

shakingnounUS /ˈʃeɪkɪŋ/

the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

shuttersnounUS /ˈʃʌtərz/

plural of “shutter” — a mechanical device on a camera that opens and closes to control the time of a photographic exposure

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

snownounUS /snoʊ/

precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

splashedadjectiveUS /splæʃt/

(of a fluid) having been propelled about in flying drops or masses

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

stormverbUS /stɔːrm/

behave violently, as if in state of a great anger

From this reading There was a storm.

streetsnounUS /striːts/

plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

swollenadjectiveUS /ˈswoʊlən/

characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance

From this reading The Neva was swollen; an inundation was imminent.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

treesnounUS /triːz/

plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

VISITORnounUS /ˈvɪzɪtər/

someone who visits

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

waternounUS /ˈwɔːtər/

binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

wetadjectiveUS /wet/

covered or soaked with a liquid such as water

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading The snow which had fallen in the morning was now all melted; there were pools of water everywhere; the few and far between carriages and pedestrians gloomily splashed along the streets.

windnounUS /waɪnd/

air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure

From this reading The wind howled over the house of the priest, shaking the shutters, and bending the enormous trees in the garden of the Hetman.

windyadjectiveUS /ˈwɪndi/

abounding in or exposed to the wind or breezes

From this reading _A LATE VISITOR._ The evening of the 1st of December, 1775, was particularly wet and windy.

Chapter 28 of The Princess Tarakanova by G. P. (Grigorii Petrovich) Danilevskii holds 70 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 28 of The Princess Tarakanova contain?

Chapter 28 holds 70 sentences of The Princess Tarakanova, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 28 of The Princess Tarakanova by G. P. (Grigorii Petrovich) Danilevskii exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 70 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 28 of The Princess Tarakanova?

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 28 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 28 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 Princess Tarakanova

Common questions about reading The Princess Tarakanova by G. P. (Grigorii Petrovich) Danilevskii on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Princess Tarakanova?

Yes. All 3093 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53580 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Princess Tarakanova is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #53580, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Princess Tarakanova take to read?

About 257 minutes of reading across 619 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Princess Tarakanova section by section

How to work through The Princess Tarakanova section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Princess Tarakanova to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

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

Vocabulary met early in The Princess Tarakanova

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Princess Tarakanova, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Normal
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Princess Tarakanova; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Within
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Princess Tarakanova; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Italic
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Princess Tarakanova; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Passages
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Princess Tarakanova; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.