Chapter 17 of The Senator's Favorite is here in full — 40 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Senator's Favorite is here in full — 40 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"HAD I BUT MET YOU FIRST." "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!" --MRS. ALEX. MCVEIGH MILLER.
Chapter 17 of The Senator's Favorite is here in full — 40 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/8 · 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.
third-person singular of “attend” — be present at (meetings, church services, university), etc.
From this reading “"But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"”
decree or designate beforehand
From this reading “"But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"”
United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
From this reading “MCVEIGH MILLER.”
a support placed beneath or against something to keep it from shaking or falling
From this reading “"But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"”
marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences
From this reading “"But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"”
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading “"But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"”
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading “"But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"”
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading “"But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"”
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.
In this reading “"But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"”
In this reading “"But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"”
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 to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ALEX.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
third-person singular of “attend” — be present at (meetings, church services, university), etc.
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
the act of breaking something
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
the act of burning something
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "HAD I BUT MET YOU FIRST."
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
absence of light or illumination
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
decree or designate beforehand
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
plural of “end” — either extremity of something that has length
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading "HAD I BUT MET YOU FIRST."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "HAD I BUT MET YOU FIRST."
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "HAD I BUT MET YOU FIRST."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MCVEIGH MILLER.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading "HAD I BUT MET YOU FIRST."
United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
From this reading MCVEIGH MILLER.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading --MRS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
an Italian poet famous for love lyrics (1304-1374)
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
a support placed beneath or against something to keep it from shaking or falling
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
in or at the place that
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "But cruel fate that shapes our ends, Dark doom that poet love attends, The fate unhappy Petrarch sung In fair Italia's burning tongue; Such fate as reckless tears apart The tendrils of the breaking heart, From every prop where it would twine, That cruel fate, alas, is mine, For love of you!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "HAD I BUT MET YOU FIRST."
Chapter 17 of The Senator's Favorite by Alex. McVeigh, Mrs. Miller holds 40 sentences, grouped into 8 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 40 sentences of The Senator's Favorite, unabridged, divided into 8 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Senator's Favorite by Alex. McVeigh, Mrs. Miller exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 40 sentences, grouped into 8 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 8 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 8 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 Senator's Favorite by Alex. McVeigh, Mrs. Miller on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3807 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55237 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55237, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 317 minutes of reading across 762 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Senator's Favorite section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Senator's Favorite 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 Senator's Favorite, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
