Chapter 17 of The strange house is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The strange house is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BY THE NURSERY FIRE. STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do. Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind. But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth. Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.
Chapter 17 of The strange house is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
carefully weighed
From this reading “STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.”
a false statement
From this reading “Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.”
consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
From this reading “Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.”
a child's room for a baby
From this reading “BY THE NURSERY FIRE.”
offending against or breaking a law or rule
From this reading “Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.”
the act of punishing
From this reading “Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.”
in a strange manner
From this reading “Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.”
given added strength or support
From this reading “STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.”
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 of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.”
In this reading “STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.”
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 STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY THE NURSERY FIRE.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
carefully weighed
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
a false statement
From this reading Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.
start firing a weapon
From this reading BY THE NURSERY FIRE.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.
greater in size or importance or degree
From this reading Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.
consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
From this reading Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
a child's room for a baby
From this reading BY THE NURSERY FIRE.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
offending against or breaking a law or rule
From this reading Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
the act of punishing
From this reading Great as was his fear of punishment, his fear of offending his God and King was greater.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
in a strange manner
From this reading Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
given added strength or support
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BY THE NURSERY FIRE.
a special situation
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Truth and falsehood were strangely mixed up in his mind.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading But of one thing he was certain, he had not told any one the whole truth.
in the company of; together with
From this reading STRENGTHENED with a new strength, Hugh sat up in bed, and considered what he ought to do.
Chapter 17 of The strange house by Catharine Shaw holds 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 123 sentences of The strange house, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The strange house by Catharine Shaw exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 strange house by Catharine Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The strange house section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The strange house 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 strange house, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
