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The Queen's Advocate
The Queen's Advocate

Chapter XXVIII

Cover illustration for The Queen's Advocate
Context Illustration Reading 1/48 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
“I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY.”
The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.
All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.
He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.
Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.
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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 Queen's Advocate

Chapter XXVIII

Reading 1/48 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
“I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY.”
Line 2
The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.
Line 3
All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.
Line 4
He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.
Line 5
Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

After preposition US /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading “All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.”

Dead noun US /dead/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.”

Look noun US /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.”

Looked noun US /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.”

Readily noun US /readily/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.”

Shall modal verb US /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading “The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.”

Though conjunction US /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading “He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.”

All words in this reading · 83

Every word is available to listen to. 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 Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

All

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.

black

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

brilliance

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

CANNOT

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

From this reading “I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY.”

Colonel

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

colour

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

comes

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

confronted

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

COUNTRY

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

From this reading “I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY.”

dangers

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

deadnounUS /dead/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

deep

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

deepened

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

disaster

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

eyes

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

face

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

faces

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

From this reading Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.

fierce

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

forget

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

full

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

high-wrought

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

hours

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading “I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY.”

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

incalculable

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

knew

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

LEAVE

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

From this reading “I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY.”

lines

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

lived

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

looknounUS /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

lookednounUS /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

many

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

mark

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

men's

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

From this reading Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.

menace

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

MYdeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading “I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY.”

night

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

passionate

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

Petrosch

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

readilynounUS /readily/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

ruin

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

scored

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

seen

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

From this reading Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.

shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

shone

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

skin

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

sockets

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

steely

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

strain

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.

sunken

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

ten

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

tension

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

tragedy

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

Twice

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

From this reading Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces.

uncontrollable

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

unnatural

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

utter

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.

wore

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

From this reading The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought strain which his face wore.

years

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

From this reading He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster.