Chapter 16 of A Terrible Secret: A Novel is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of A Terrible Secret: A Novel is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SHORT AND SENTIMENTAL. Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears. At noon they will land in Queenstown. "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning. Charley can sing a little still.
Chapter 16 of A Terrible Secret: A Novel 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
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.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.”
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading “Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.”
an early name of Ireland that is now used in poetry
From this reading “"Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.”
people of Ireland or of Irish extraction
From this reading “Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.”
plural of “loom” — a textile machine for weaving yarn into a textile
From this reading “Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.”
the middle of the day
From this reading “At noon they will land in Queenstown.”
given to or marked by sentiment or sentimentality
From this reading “SHORT AND SENTIMENTAL.”
third-person singular of “sing” — deliver by singing
From this reading “"Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.”
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 Charley can sing a little still.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading SHORT AND SENTIMENTAL.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At noon they will land in Queenstown.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Charley can sing a little still.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Charley can sing a little still.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
an early name of Ireland that is now used in poetry
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading At noon they will land in Queenstown.
people of Ireland or of Irish extraction
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading At noon they will land in Queenstown.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Charley can sing a little still.
plural of “loom” — a textile machine for weaving yarn into a textile
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
the middle of the day
From this reading At noon they will land in Queenstown.
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At noon they will land in Queenstown.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
given to or marked by sentiment or sentimentality
From this reading SHORT AND SENTIMENTAL.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading SHORT AND SENTIMENTAL.
deliver by singing
From this reading Charley can sing a little still.
third-person singular of “sing” — deliver by singing
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
not in physical motion
From this reading Charley can sing a little still.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At noon they will land in Queenstown.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Two days later, and Fastnet Rock looms up against the blue sky; the iron-bound Irish coast appears.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "Come back to Erin, mavourneen, mavourneen," sings Charley's voice down the passage, early in the morning.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading At noon they will land in Queenstown.
Chapter 16 of A Terrible Secret: A Novel by May Agnes Fleming holds 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 16 holds 130 sentences of A Terrible Secret: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of A Terrible Secret: A Novel by May Agnes Fleming exactly as it stands in the 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.
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.
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.
Common questions about reading A Terrible Secret: A Novel by May Agnes Fleming on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10227 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7063 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7063, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2046 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Terrible Secret: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 Terrible Secret: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
