Chapter 20 of A Sailor in Spite of Himself is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of A Sailor in Spite of Himself is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHO WROTE THE CODICIL? "By the great horn-spoon!" It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation. The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon. If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
Chapter 20 of A Sailor in Spite of Himself is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.”
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading “It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.”
an abrupt emphatic exclamation expressing emotion
From this reading “It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.”
a person or firm that employs workers
From this reading “The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.”
give expression to
From this reading “If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.”
an opinion formed by judging something
From this reading “The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.”
a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel
From this reading “The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.”
having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
From this reading “The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.”
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.
form a critical opinion of
In this reading “The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "By the great horn-spoon!"
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.
a supplement to a will; a testamentary instrument intended to alter an already executed will
From this reading WHO WROTE THE CODICIL?
an abrupt emphatic exclamation expressing emotion
From this reading It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.
a person or firm that employs workers
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
give expression to
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity)
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "By the great horn-spoon!"
only a very short time before
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "By the great horn-spoon!"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.
an opinion formed by judging something
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
a form of address for a man
From this reading It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
go across or through
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
express in words
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WHO WROTE THE CODICIL?
in or at that place or location
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
communicated in words
From this reading It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.
having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Mr. Vollar's clerk who uttered the above ejaculation.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading If we were to say that the man was astonished we should but hardly express his feelings.
at the time that
From this reading The time was when Bob Nellis brought the valuable pearl there for his employer to pass judgment upon.
which person or people
From this reading WHO WROTE THE CODICIL?
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading WHO WROTE THE CODICIL?
Chapter 20 of A Sailor in Spite of Himself by Harry Castlemon holds 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 20 holds 217 sentences of A Sailor in Spite of Himself, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of A Sailor in Spite of Himself by Harry Castlemon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 20 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.
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Yes. All 4871 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54741 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54741, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 975 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Sailor in Spite of Himself, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
