The Unjust Steward

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of The Unjust Steward is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant • Curated US English Learning Edition

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THE POSITION OF ELSIE.

Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

Elsie went up to her room full of thought.

It had always been impressed upon her from her earliest consciousness that her father’s peace and comfort, his preservation from all unnecessary cares, from all noises and disturbing influence of every kind was one of the chiefest and most important duties of the family.

It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.

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LEARNER DICTIONARY

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/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XVII Reading 1/29

The Unjust Steward Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of The Unjust Steward is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

THE POSITION OF ELSIE. Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening. Elsie went up to her room full of thought. It had always been impressed upon her from her earliest consciousness that her father’s peace and comfort, his preservation from all unnecessary cares, from all noises and disturbing influence of every kind was one of the chiefest and most important duties of the family. It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.

The Unjust Steward

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of The Unjust Steward is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/29 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

THE POSITION OF ELSIE.

Line 2

Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

/ˈmɪsɪz bjuːˈkænən wɑːz ə ˈwʊmən ʌv ɡreɪt sens jet pərˈhæps ʃiː ˈnevər meɪd juːs ʌv ə mɔːr ɪˈfektɪv ˈɑːrɡjəmənt ðæn ðæt wɪð wɪtʃ ʃiː kənˈkluːdəd ðə ˌkɑːnvərˈseɪʃən ʌv ðæt ˈiːvnɪŋ/

Line 3

Elsie went up to her room full of thought.

Line 4

Line 5

It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.

/ɪt hæd bɪn meɪd ðə ruːl ʌv hɜːr oʊn ˈtʃaɪldɪʃ ˈkɑːndəkt frʌm ðə ˈveri bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ/

Learner Dictionary

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.

Buchanan noun US /bjuːˈkænən/

15th President of the United States (1791-1868)

From this reading “Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.”

childish adjective US /ˈtʃaɪldɪʃ/

indicating a lack of maturity

From this reading “It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.”

disturbing adjective US /dɪˈstɜːrbɪŋ/

causing distress or worry or anxiety

From this reading “It had always been impressed upon her from her earliest consciousness that her father’s peace and comfort, his preservation from all unnecessary cares, from all noises and disturbing influence of every kind was one of the chiefest and most important duties of the family.”

earliest adjective US /ˈɜːrliəst/

(comparative and superlative of “early”) more early than; most early

effective adjective US /ɪˈfektɪv/

producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect

From this reading “Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.”

noises noun US /ˈnɔɪzɪz/

plural of “noise” — sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)

preservation noun US /ˌprezərˈveɪʃən/

the activity of protecting something from loss or danger

unnecessary adjective US /ənˈnesəseri/

not necessary

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

disturbing influence adjective + noun

In this reading “It had always been impressed upon her from her earliest consciousness that her father’s peace and comfort, his preservation from all unnecessary cares, from all noises and disturbing influence of every kind was one of the chiefest and most important duties of the family.”

most important adverb + adjective

important duties adjective + noun counted as “important duty”

made use adjective + noun

In this reading “Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.”

went up verb + adjective counted as “go up”

move upward

In this reading “Elsie went up to her room full of thought.”

very beginning adjective + noun

In this reading “It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.”

All words in this reading · 69

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading It had always been impressed upon her from her earliest consciousness that her father’s peace and comfort, his preservation from all unnecessary cares, from all noises and disturbing influence of every kind was one of the chiefest and most important duties of the family.

alwaysadverbUS /ˈɔːlweɪz/

at all times; all the time and on every occasion

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

argumentnounUS /ˈɑːrɡjəmənt/

a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

beginningnounUS /bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ/

the event consisting of the start of something

From this reading It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.

BuchanannounUS /bjuːˈkænən/

15th President of the United States (1791-1868)

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

caresnounUS /kerz/

plural of “care” — the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something

chiefest

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

childishadjectiveUS /ˈtʃaɪldɪʃ/

indicating a lack of maturity

From this reading It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.

comfortnounUS /ˈkʌmfərt/

a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain

concludedadjectiveUS /kənˈkluːdəd/

having come or been brought to a conclusion

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

conductverbUS /ˈkɑːndəkt/

direct the course of; manage or control

From this reading It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.

consciousnessnounUS /ˈkɑːnʃəsnəs/

an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation

conversationnounUS /ˌkɑːnvərˈseɪʃən/

the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

disturbingadjectiveUS /dɪˈstɜːrbɪŋ/

causing distress or worry or anxiety

dutiesnounUS /ˈduːtiz/

plural of “duty” — the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force

earliestadjectiveUS /ˈɜːrliəst/

(comparative and superlative of “early”) more early than; most early

effectiveadjectiveUS /ɪˈfektɪv/

producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

ELSIE

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE POSITION OF ELSIE.

eveningnounUS /ˈiːvnɪŋ/

the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

familynounUS /ˈfæməli/

a social unit living together

father'snounUS /ˈfɑːðərz/

possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

fulladjectiveUS /fʊl/

containing as much or as many as is possible or normal

From this reading Elsie went up to her room full of thought.

greatadjectiveUS /ɡreɪt/

relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Elsie went up to her room full of thought.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

importantadjectiveUS /ˌɪmˈpɔːrtənt/

of great significance or value

impressedadjectiveUS /ˌɪmˈprest/

deeply or markedly affected or influenced

influencenounUS /ˈɪnfluːəns/

a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

kindadjectiveUS /kaɪnd/

having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior

madeadjectiveUS /meɪd/

produced by a manufacturing process

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

mostadverbUS /moʊst/

used to form the superlative

MrsnounUS /ˈmɪsɪz/

a form of address for a married woman

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/

not ever; at no time in the past or future

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

noisesnounUS /ˈnɔɪzɪz/

plural of “noise” — sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE POSITION OF ELSIE.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

ownverbUS /oʊn/

have ownership or possession of

From this reading It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.

peacenounUS /piːs/

the state prevailing during the absence of war

perhapsadverbUS /pərˈhæps/

by chance

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

POSITIONnounUS /pəˈzɪʃən/

the particular portion of space occupied by something

From this reading THE POSITION OF ELSIE.

preservationnounUS /ˌprezərˈveɪʃən/

the activity of protecting something from loss or danger

roomnounUS /ruːm/

an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling

From this reading Elsie went up to her room full of thought.

rulenounUS /ruːl/

a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior

From this reading It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.

sensenounUS /sens/

a general conscious awareness

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE POSITION OF ELSIE.

thoughtnounUS /θɔːt/

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading Elsie went up to her room full of thought.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Elsie went up to her room full of thought.

unnecessaryadjectiveUS /ənˈnesəseri/

not necessary

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

From this reading Elsie went up to her room full of thought.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

usenounUS /juːs/

the act of using

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

veryadjectiveUS /ˈveri/

precisely as stated

From this reading It had been made the rule of her own childish conduct from the very beginning.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

wentverbUS /went/

inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading Elsie went up to her room full of thought.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

womannounUS /ˈwʊmən/

an adult female person (as opposed to a man)

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading Mrs. Buchanan was a woman of great sense, yet perhaps she never made use of a more effective argument than that with which she concluded the conversation of that evening.

Chapter 17 of The Unjust Steward by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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.

What does chapter 17 of The Unjust Steward contain?

Chapter 17 holds 148 sentences of The Unjust Steward, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 17 of The Unjust Steward by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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.

How do I study chapter 17 of The Unjust Steward?

Work through the 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 30 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.

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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.

Questions about reading The Unjust Steward

Common questions about reading The Unjust Steward by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Unjust Steward?

Yes. All 3388 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55166 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #55166, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Unjust Steward take to read?

About 282 minutes of reading across 678 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Unjust Steward

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Unjust Steward, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Elsie: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Unjust Steward; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Roderick: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Unjust Steward; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Buchanan: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Unjust Steward; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Daughter: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Unjust Steward; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XVII

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Vocabulary met early in The Unjust Steward