Chapter 24 of A Black Adonis is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of A Black Adonis is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN AWFUL NIGHT. It was an awful night for Wilton Fern. The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart. It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal. Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
Chapter 24 of A Black Adonis is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
having help; often used as a combining form
From this reading “The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.”
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading “It was an awful night for Wilton Fern.”
an attacker who gouges out the antagonist's eye
From this reading “The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.”
compacted by ironing
From this reading “The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.”
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading “Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.”
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading “The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.”
at any time that; every time that
From this reading “Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.”
a carpet woven on a Jacquard loom with loops like a Brussels carpet but having the loops cut to form a close velvety pile
From this reading “It was an awful night for Wilton Fern.”
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 “The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.”
In this reading “Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.”
In this reading “It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.”
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 It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.
having help; often used as a combining form
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
Having no one else present.
From this reading It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN AWFUL NIGHT.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading AN AWFUL NIGHT.
have
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading It was an awful night for Wilton Fern.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It was an awful night for Wilton Fern.
an attacker who gouges out the antagonist's eye
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was an awful night for Wilton Fern.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
a form of address for a man
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading AN AWFUL NIGHT.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
compacted by ironing
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It was better than being entirely alone, but not a great deal.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was an awful night for Wilton Fern.
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading The presence in the house of Mr. Gouger and Mr. Boggs aided him but little to bear the weight that pressed upon his heart.
at any time that; every time that
From this reading Together they listened whenever their ears caught an unusual sound.
a carpet woven on a Jacquard loom with loops like a Brussels carpet but having the loops cut to form a close velvety pile
From this reading It was an awful night for Wilton Fern.
Chapter 24 of A Black Adonis by Linn Boyd Porter holds 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 24 holds 155 sentences of A Black Adonis, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of A Black Adonis by Linn Boyd Porter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 24 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 A Black Adonis by Linn Boyd Porter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5408 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26599 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26599, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 450 minutes of reading across 1082 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Black Adonis section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of A Black Adonis 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 A Black Adonis, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
