Chapter 17 of The Ruling Passion is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Ruling Passion is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her. She was a rock. Her round under-jaw was set like a steel trap. Her lips straightened into a white line. Her eyebrows drew together, and her eyes grew black.
Chapter 17 of The Ruling Passion is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
past form of “argue” — present reasons and arguments
From this reading “They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.”
be bossy towards
From this reading “They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.”
plural of “eyebrow” — the arch of hair above each eye
From this reading “Her eyebrows drew together, and her eyes grew black.”
past form of “plead” — appeal or request earnestly
From this reading “They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.”
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading “She was a rock.”
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading “Her round under-jaw was set like a steel trap.”
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading “Her lips straightened into a white line.”
a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned
From this reading “Her round under-jaw was set like a steel trap.”
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 was a rock.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her eyebrows drew together, and her eyes grew black.
past form of “argue” — present reasons and arguments
From this reading They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Her eyebrows drew together, and her eyes grew black.
be bossy towards
From this reading They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading Her eyebrows drew together, and her eyes grew black.
plural of “eyebrow” — the arch of hair above each eye
From this reading Her eyebrows drew together, and her eyes grew black.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her eyebrows drew together, and her eyes grew black.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading Her eyebrows drew together, and her eyes grew black.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Her lips straightened into a white line.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Her round under-jaw was set like a steel trap.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading Her lips straightened into a white line.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading Her lips straightened into a white line.
past form of “plead” — appeal or request earnestly
From this reading They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading She was a rock.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Her round under-jaw was set like a steel trap.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Her round under-jaw was set like a steel trap.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was a rock.
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading Her round under-jaw was set like a steel trap.
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading Her lips straightened into a white line.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Her eyebrows drew together, and her eyes grew black.
a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned
From this reading Her round under-jaw was set like a steel trap.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her round under-jaw was set like a steel trap.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was a rock.
a Caucasian
From this reading Her lips straightened into a white line.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They argued with her, pleaded with her, tried to browbeat her.
Chapter 17 of The Ruling Passion by Henry Van Dyke holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 198 sentences of The Ruling Passion, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Ruling Passion by Henry Van Dyke exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Ruling Passion by Henry Van Dyke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3398 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1048 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1048, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 680 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ruling Passion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Ruling Passion 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 Ruling Passion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
