Chapter 17 of The Triflers 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 Triflers is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him. "Has Trix gone?" demanded Peter. "Yes." "She shouldn't have done that," he complained. Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
Chapter 17 of The Triflers 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.
take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading “PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.”
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading “PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.”
past form of “complain” — express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
From this reading “"She shouldn't have done that," he complained.”
a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
From this reading “Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.”
a gambling card game of Spanish origin; 3 or 4 cards are dealt face up and players bet that one of them will be matched before the others as the cards are dealt from the pack one at a time
From this reading “Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.”
expressed without speech
From this reading “PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.”
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading “PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.”
walk on one's toes
From this reading “PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.”
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 Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
Having no one else present.
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief (“comfy” is informal)
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
past form of “complain” — express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
From this reading "She shouldn't have done that," he complained.
a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "Has Trix gone?" demanded Peter.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "She shouldn't have done that," he complained.
opinion or judgment
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
destroyed or killed
From this reading "Has Trix gone?" demanded Peter.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Has Trix gone?" demanded Peter.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "She shouldn't have done that," he complained.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She shouldn't have done that," he complained.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
in the recent past
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
a gambling card game of Spanish origin; 3 or 4 cards are dealt face up and players bet that one of them will be matched before the others as the cards are dealt from the pack one at a time
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
expressed without speech
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
held or filled or in use
From this reading Marjory made him comfortable in the chair Monte had lately occupied, finding a cushion for his head.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She shouldn't have done that," he complained.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "She shouldn't have done that," he complained.
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "She shouldn't have done that," he complained.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
walk on one's toes
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Has Trix gone?" demanded Peter.
in the company of; together with
From this reading PETER Beatrice brought Peter at ten, and, in spite of the mute appeal of Marjory's eyes, stole off on tiptoe and left her alone with him.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes."
Chapter 17 of The Triflers by Frederick Orin Bartlett 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 Triflers, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Triflers by Frederick Orin Bartlett 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 Triflers by Frederick Orin Bartlett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5919 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20458 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20458, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 493 minutes of reading across 1184 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Triflers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Triflers 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 Triflers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
