Chapter 13 of A Spirit in Prison is here in full — 260 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of A Spirit in Prison is here in full — 260 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Artois had intended to go that evening to the island. But he did not fulfil his intention. When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia. A boatman whom he knew met him and said: “Shall I take you to the island, Signore?”
Chapter 13 of A Spirit in Prison is here in full — 260 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/52 · 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.
a former province of northern France near the English Channel (between Picardy and Flanders)
From this reading “Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.”
someone who drives or rides in a boat
From this reading “A boatman whom he knew met him and said:”
put in effect
From this reading “But he did not fulfil his intention.”
maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)
From this reading “When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.”
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading “But he did not fulfil his intention.”
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
From this reading “When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.”
an Italian title of respect for a man; equivalent to the English “sir”; used separately (not prefixed to his name)
From this reading ““Shall I take you to the island, Signore?””
fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.”
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 When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
a former province of northern France near the English Channel (between Picardy and Flanders)
From this reading Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
someone who drives or rides in a boat
From this reading A boatman whom he knew met him and said:
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he did not fulfil his intention.
an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But he did not fulfil his intention.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.
put in effect
From this reading But he did not fulfil his intention.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.
maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But he did not fulfil his intention.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A boatman whom he knew met him and said:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading But he did not fulfil his intention.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Shall I take you to the island, Signore?”
resulting from one's intentions
From this reading Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading But he did not fulfil his intention.
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.
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 boatman whom he knew met him and said:
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading A boatman whom he knew met him and said:
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But he did not fulfil his intention.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
above and across; more than
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading A boatman whom he knew met him and said:
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “Shall I take you to the island, Signore?”
an Italian title of respect for a man; equivalent to the English “sir”; used separately (not prefixed to his name)
From this reading “Shall I take you to the island, Signore?”
fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
carry out
From this reading “Shall I take you to the island, Signore?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Artois had intended to go that evening to the island.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
at the time that
From this reading When the sun began to sink he threw a light coat over his arm and walked down to the harbor of Santa Lucia.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A boatman whom he knew met him and said:
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Shall I take you to the island, Signore?”
Chapter 13 of A Spirit in Prison by Robert Hichens holds 260 sentences, grouped into 52 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.
Chapter 13 holds 260 sentences of A Spirit in Prison, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of A Spirit in Prison by Robert Hichens exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 260 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 13 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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About 600 minutes of reading across 3136 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Spirit in Prison section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of A Spirit in Prison to begin.
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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 Spirit in Prison, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
