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Twice-Told Tales

Chapter XVI · Chapter 16

Chapter 16 of Twice-Told Tales is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Nathaniel Hawthorne • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for Twice-Told Tales

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

"Pray excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.

"I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

"Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

"She promised me her hand, fifty years ago!" exclaimed Mr. Medbourne.

Narrator

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.

Chapter XVI Reading 1/26

Twice-Told Tales

Chapter XVI · Chapter 16

Chapter 16 of Twice-Told Tales is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/26 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

"Pray excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.

Line 2

"I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

Line 3

But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

Line 4

"Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

Line 5

"She promised me her hand, fifty years ago!" exclaimed Mr. Medbourne.

{# Open, not a

. The whole point of the reading is the vocabulary, and behind a summary a learner had to know to click before seeing any of it. #}

All words in this reading · 51

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.

a

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

ago

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

am

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

and

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

answered

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

From this reading "Pray excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.

be

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

But

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

Clara

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

Colonel

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

cried

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

Dance

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

dancing

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

days

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

doctor

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

From this reading "Pray excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.

either

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

exclaimed

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

From this reading "She promised me her hand, fifty years ago!" exclaimed Mr. Medbourne.

excuse

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

From this reading "Pray excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.

fifty

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

From this reading "She promised me her hand, fifty years ago!" exclaimed Mr. Medbourne.

Gascoigne

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

gay

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

gentlemen

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

glad

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

hand

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

From this reading "She promised me her hand, fifty years ago!" exclaimed Mr. Medbourne.

her

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

I

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

Killigrew

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

long

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

me

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

From this reading "Pray excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.

Medbourne

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

From this reading "She promised me her hand, fifty years ago!" exclaimed Mr. Medbourne.

Mr

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

my

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

No

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

of

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

old

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

over

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

partner

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

Pray

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

From this reading "Pray excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.

pretty

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

promised

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

From this reading "She promised me her hand, fifty years ago!" exclaimed Mr. Medbourne.

quietly

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

From this reading "Pray excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.

rheumatic

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

She

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

From this reading "She promised me her hand, fifty years ago!" exclaimed Mr. Medbourne.

shouted

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

so

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

the

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

From this reading "Pray excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.

these

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

were

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

From this reading "I am old and rheumatic, and my dancing days were over long ago.

will

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

with

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

From this reading "Dance with me, Clara!" cried Colonel Killigrew "No, no, I will be her partner!" shouted Mr. Gascoigne.

years

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

From this reading "She promised me her hand, fifty years ago!" exclaimed Mr. Medbourne.

young

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

From this reading But either of these gay young gentlemen will be glad of so pretty a partner."

{# Reading first, then the prose written for search engines. Above the player it pushed the five lines, the audio and the vocabulary off the first screen on the page whose whole purpose is to read them. #}

Chapter 16 of Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne holds 130 sentences, grouped into 26 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 16 of Twice-Told Tales contain?

Chapter 16 holds 130 sentences of Twice-Told Tales, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 16 of Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 16 of Twice-Told Tales?

Work through the 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 26 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 16 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 16 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 Twice-Told Tales

Common questions about reading Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Twice-Told Tales?

Yes. All 3412 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #508 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Twice-Told Tales is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #508, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Twice-Told Tales take to read?

About 284 minutes of reading across 683 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Twice-Told Tales section by section

How to work through Twice-Told Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 26 chapters of Twice-Told Tales to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Twice-Told Tales

Words and structures a reader meets early in Twice-Told Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Champion: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Twice-Told Tales; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Wedding: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Twice-Told Tales; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Knell: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Twice-Told Tales; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Minister's: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Twice-Told Tales; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.