Chapter 17 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly. She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair. The woman peered at her doubtingly. She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed. "Are you walking?" she asked.
Chapter 17 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading “She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.”
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading “She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.”
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading “She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.”
against your will
From this reading “Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.”
being perceived or observed
From this reading “She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “The woman peered at her doubtingly.”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.”
close enough to be walked to
From this reading “"Are you walking?" she asked.”
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 She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Are you walking?" she asked.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Are you walking?" she asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The woman peered at her doubtingly.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
against your will
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
being perceived or observed
From this reading She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.
on one occasion
From this reading She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading The woman peered at her doubtingly.
by chance
From this reading She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The woman peered at her doubtingly.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading "Are you walking?" she asked.
in a weak or pale or languid manner
From this reading Mrs. Cresswell looked down at herself involuntarily and smiled wanly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She did look like a man, with her hat and coat and short hair.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The woman peered at her doubtingly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Are you walking?" she asked.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading She was, as Mrs. Cresswell noticed, a young woman, once pretty, perhaps, and a little over-dressed.
Chapter 17 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 394 sentences of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8019 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15265 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15265, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1604 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel 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 Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
