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The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History
The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History

Chapter XVIII

Chapter 18 of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History is here in full — 525 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Judith Gautier • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History
Context Illustration Reading 1/105 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE PRINCIPALITY OF NAGATO.
At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.
She also took all her household.
In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.
"There are three of us miserable now," she thought.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History

Chapter XVIII

Chapter 18 of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History is here in full — 525 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/105 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE PRINCIPALITY OF NAGATO.
Line 2
At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.
Line 3
She also took all her household.
/ʃiː ˈɔːlsoʊ tʊk ɔːl hɜːr ˈhaʊshoʊld/
Line 4
In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.
/ɪn ðə mɪdst ʌv hɜːr dɪˈsper ənd ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntɪd lʌv ʃiː felt ə ˈkruːəl ˈpleʒər/
Line 5
"There are three of us miserable now," she thought.
/ðer ɑːr θriː ʌv ʌs ˈmɪzərəbəl naʊ ʃiː θɔːt/

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.

arrangement noun US /ərˈeɪndʒmənt/

the thing arranged or agreed to

From this reading “At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
dangers noun US /ˈdeɪndʒərz/

plural of “danger” — the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury

From this reading “At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
disappointed adjective US /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntɪd/

disappointingly unsuccessful

From this reading “In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
escort noun US /eˈskɔːrt/

someone who escorts and protects a prominent person

From this reading “At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hostilities noun US /hɑːˈstɪlətiz/

fighting; acts of overt warfare

From this reading “At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
household noun US /ˈhaʊshoʊld/

a social unit living together

From this reading “She also took all her household.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
principality noun US /ˌprɪnsɪˈpælɪti/

territory ruled by a prince

From this reading “THE PRINCIPALITY OF NAGATO.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
protect verb US /prəˈtekt/

shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage

From this reading “At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

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.

In the midst preposition + article + noun counted as “in … midst”

the middle or central part or point

In this reading “In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.”

42,254 times in 426,211 chapters
under an escort preposition + article + noun counted as “under … escort”

In this reading “At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.”

356 times in 426,211 chapters
At the beginning preposition + article + noun counted as “at … beginning”

In this reading “At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.”

9,172 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 52

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 In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
accordingadjectiveUS /əˈkɔːrdɪŋ/

(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
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 She also took all her household.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
alsoadverbUS /ˈɔːlsoʊ/

in addition

From this reading She also took all her household.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading "There are three of us miserable now," she thought.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
arrangementnounUS /ərˈeɪndʒmənt/

the thing arranged or agreed to

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
beginningnounUS /bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ/

the event consisting of the start of something

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
betrothedadjective

pledged to be married

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
castlenounUS /ˈkæsəl/

a large and stately mansion

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
crueladjectiveUS /ˈkruːəl/

(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

From this reading In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
dangersnounUS /ˈdeɪndʒərz/

plural of “danger” — the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
despairnounUS /dɪˈsper/

a state in which all hope is lost or absent

From this reading In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
despatched

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

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Pending verification
disappointedadjectiveUS /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntɪd/

disappointingly unsuccessful

From this reading In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
escortnounUS /eˈskɔːrt/

someone who escorts and protects a prominent person

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Fatkoura

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

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Pending verification
feltverbUS /felt/

mat together and make felt-like

From this reading In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Hagui

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

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Pending verification
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hostilitiesnounUS /hɑːˈstɪlətiz/

fighting; acts of overt warfare

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
householdnounUS /ˈhaʊshoʊld/

a social unit living together

From this reading She also took all her household.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
InprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
lovenounUS /lʌv/

a strong positive emotion of regard and affection

From this reading In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
madeadjectiveUS /meɪd/

produced by a manufacturing process

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
midstnounUS /mɪdst/

the location of something surrounded by other things

From this reading In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
miserableadjectiveUS /ˈmɪzərəbəl/

very unhappy; full of misery

From this reading "There are three of us miserable now," she thought.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
NAGATO

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

From this reading THE PRINCIPALITY OF NAGATO.

Pending verification
nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading "There are three of us miserable now," she thought.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE PRINCIPALITY OF NAGATO.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
pleasurenounUS /ˈpleʒər/

a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience

From this reading In the midst of her despair and disappointed love, she felt a cruel pleasure.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
PrincenounUS /prɪns/

a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
PRINCIPALITYnounUS /ˌprɪnsɪˈpælɪti/

territory ruled by a prince

From this reading THE PRINCIPALITY OF NAGATO.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
protectverbUS /prəˈtekt/

shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
providedverbUS /prəˈvaɪdɪd/

past form of “provide” — give something useful or necessary to

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
QueennounUS /kwiːn/

the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
roadnounUS /roʊd/

an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading She also took all her household.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE PRINCIPALITY OF NAGATO.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ThereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading "There are three of us miserable now," she thought.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thoughtnounUS /θɔːt/

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

From this reading "There are three of us miserable now," she thought.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
threenounUS /θriː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading "There are three of us miserable now," she thought.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
tookverbUS /tʊk/

inflected form of “take” — carry out

From this reading She also took all her household.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading At the beginning of hostilities, Fatkoura, according to the arrangement made by the Prince, had been despatched to Hagui, the castle of her betrothed, under an escort provided by the Queen, to protect her from the dangers of the road.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
uspronounUS /ʌs/

the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "There are three of us miserable now," she thought.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Chapter 18 of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History by Judith Gautier holds 525 sentences, grouped into 105 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 18 of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History contain?

Chapter 18 holds 525 sentences of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History, unabridged, divided into 105 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 18 of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History by Judith Gautier exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 525 sentences, grouped into 105 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 18 of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History?

Work through the 105 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 105 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.

Can chapter 18 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 18 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 Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History

Common questions about reading The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History by Judith Gautier on this page, its source edition and its audio.

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Yes. All 6385 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47002 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #47002, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 532 minutes of reading across 1277 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Lemon
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Grove
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Night
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Nearly
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.