Chapter 23 of The Window at the White Cat is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Window at the White Cat is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her. Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown. It was Ellen Butler! She was living, but not much more. We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.
Chapter 23 of The Window at the White Cat is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading “Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.”
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading “It was Ellen Butler!”
past form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading “Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.”
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading “A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.”
a felt hat that is round and hard with a narrow brim
From this reading “A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.”
a woman's dress, usually with a close-fitting bodice and a long flared skirt, often worn on formal occasions
From this reading “Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.”
lacking in or deprived of strength or power
From this reading “We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.”
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 “Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.”
In this reading “We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.”
In this reading “Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.”
In this reading “A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.”
In this reading “A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.”
In this reading “She was living, but not much more.”
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 BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She was living, but not much more.
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading It was Ellen Butler!
past form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
a felt hat that is round and hard with a narrow brim
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Ellen Butler!
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
brought together in one place
From this reading We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
a woman's dress, usually with a close-fitting bodice and a long flared skirt, often worn on formal occasions
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
lacking in or deprived of strength or power
From this reading We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Ellen Butler!
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading She was living, but not much more.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading She was living, but not much more.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading She was living, but not much more.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She was living, but not much more.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
above and across; more than
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
From this reading We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was living, but not much more.
not in physical motion
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading We gathered around and stood looking down at her in helpless pity.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading Her fair hair had fallen loose over her face, and one long, thin hand clutched still at the bosom of her gown.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Ellen Butler!
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading A BOX OF CROWN DERBY We got her into the room and on the couch before I knew her.
Chapter 23 of The Window at the White Cat by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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 23 holds 143 sentences of The Window at the White Cat, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Window at the White Cat by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 23 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 Window at the White Cat by Mary Roberts Rinehart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4758 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34020 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34020, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 396 minutes of reading across 952 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Window at the White Cat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Window at the White Cat 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 Window at the White Cat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
