Chapter 14 of The Story of Francis Cludde is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Story of Francis Cludde is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT BAY IN THE GATEHOUSE. What was to be done? That was the question, and a terrible question it was. Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it. In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
Chapter 14 of The Story of Francis Cludde is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading “AT BAY IN THE GATEHOUSE.”
lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
From this reading “Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.”
unfavorable to life or growth
From this reading “Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.”
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading “In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.”
the manner in which something is greeted
From this reading “In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.”
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading “In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.”
taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; often used in combination
From this reading “Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.”
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.”
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.
at or in the front
In this reading “In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.”
In this reading “In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.”
forced to turn and face attackers
In this reading “AT BAY IN THE GATEHOUSE.”
In this reading “Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.”
move upward
In this reading “In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.”
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 That was the question, and a terrible question it was.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading That was the question, and a terrible question it was.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT BAY IN THE GATEHOUSE.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading AT BAY IN THE GATEHOUSE.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What was to be done?
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading What was to be done?
lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
a house built at a gateway; usually the gatekeeper's residence
From this reading AT BAY IN THE GATEHOUSE.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading AT BAY IN THE GATEHOUSE.
unfavorable to life or growth
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading That was the question, and a terrible question it was.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
come together
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
above and across; more than
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading That was the question, and a terrible question it was.
the manner in which something is greeted
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; often used in combination
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading That was the question, and a terrible question it was.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That was the question, and a terrible question it was.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AT BAY IN THE GATEHOUSE.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What was to be done?
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What was to be done?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What was to be done?
in or at the place that
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading Behind us we had the inhospitable country, dark and dreary, the night wind sweeping over it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading In front, where the lights twinkled and the smoke of the town went up, we were like to meet with a savage reception.
Chapter 14 of The Story of Francis Cludde by Stanley John Weyman holds 402 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 14 holds 402 sentences of The Story of Francis Cludde, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Story of Francis Cludde by Stanley John Weyman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 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 14 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 Francis Cludde by Stanley John Weyman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7434 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39296 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39296, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1487 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Story of Francis Cludde section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Story of Francis Cludde 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 Francis Cludde, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
