Chapter 17 of The Story of Antony Grace is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Story of Antony Grace is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down." "This is news," I said. "Yes, and bad news, too," said the old fellow. "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!" "Oh, Mr Jabez," I said: "I am very sorry."
Chapter 17 of The Story of Antony Grace is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 “drake” — English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)
From this reading “"Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"”
plural of “duck” — small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
From this reading “"Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"”
the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize)
From this reading “"Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."”
a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
From this reading “"Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"”
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading “"Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."”
twist or braid together, interlace
From this reading “"Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."”
destroyed physically or morally
From this reading “"Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."”
a fund of money put by as a reserve
From this reading “"Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"”
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.
the cardinal number that is the product of one hundred and five
In this reading “"Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"”
In this reading “"Yes, and bad news, too," said the old fellow.”
In this reading “"Yes, and bad news, too," said the old fellow.”
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 "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "Oh, Mr Jabez," I said: "I am very sorry."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "Yes, and bad news, too," said the old fellow.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
plural of “drake” — English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
plural of “duck” — small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
a boy or man
From this reading "Yes, and bad news, too," said the old fellow.
marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize)
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
ten 10s
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "This is news," I said.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This is news," I said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, Mr Jabez," I said: "I am very sorry."
a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
engage in
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
information about recent and important events
From this reading "This is news," I said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, Mr Jabez," I said: "I am very sorry."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Yes, and bad news, too," said the old fellow.
plural of “pound” — 16 ounces avoirdupois
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
twist or braid together, interlace
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
destroyed physically or morally
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "This is news," I said.
a fund of money put by as a reserve
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading "Oh, Mr Jabez," I said: "I am very sorry."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This is news," I said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
precisely as stated
From this reading "Oh, Mr Jabez," I said: "I am very sorry."
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Five hundred pounds of my savings went--lent money--for him to make ducks and drakes!"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
an affirmative
From this reading "Ruined? yes, a gambling fool; and if Mr Ruddle hadn't been pretty firm, the rascal would have ruined him too--pulled the house down."
Chapter 17 of The Story of Antony Grace by George Manville Fenn holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 405 sentences of The Story of Antony Grace, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Story of Antony Grace by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Story of Antony Grace by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8563 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36852 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36852, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1713 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Story of Antony Grace section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Story of Antony Grace 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 Story of Antony Grace, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
