Chapter 17 of The Story of Francis Cludde is here in full — 243 sentences across 49 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 Francis Cludde is here in full — 243 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A LETTER THAT HAD MANY ESCAPES. "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared. "What has come to the little fool? Has she gone crazy?" I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
Chapter 17 of The Story of Francis Cludde is here in full — 243 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading “"Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.”
a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence)
From this reading “I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.”
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading “Has she gone crazy?"”
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading “"Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.”
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading “"Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.”
plural of “escape” — the act of escaping physically
From this reading “A LETTER THAT HAD MANY ESCAPES.”
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.”
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.
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
In this reading “I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.”
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 A LETTER THAT HAD MANY ESCAPES.
anew
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "What has come to the little fool?
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence)
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading Has she gone crazy?"
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
plural of “escape” — the act of escaping physically
From this reading A LETTER THAT HAD MANY ESCAPES.
divisible by two
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading "What has come to the little fool?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Has she gone crazy?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A LETTER THAT HAD MANY ESCAPES.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What has come to the little fool?
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading A LETTER THAT HAD MANY ESCAPES.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "What has come to the little fool?
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading A LETTER THAT HAD MANY ESCAPES.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Has she gone crazy?"
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A LETTER THAT HAD MANY ESCAPES.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading I shook my head, too completely at sea even to hazard a conjecture.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What has come to the little fool?
at the time that
From this reading "Hoity, toity!" the Duchess cried again, looking from one to another of us when Anne had disappeared.
Chapter 17 of The Story of Francis Cludde by Stanley John Weyman holds 243 sentences, grouped into 49 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 243 sentences of The Story of Francis Cludde, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Story of Francis Cludde by Stanley John Weyman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 243 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 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.
