Chapter 19 of Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale is here in full — 298 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale is here in full — 298 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.” DRAKE. There is but a word to say of the whaler. We spoke her, of course, and parted, leaving her her boat. She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
Chapter 19 of Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale is here in full — 298 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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.
water containing salts
From this reading ““Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.””
English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)
From this reading “DRAKE.”
suggestive of an elf in strangeness and otherworldliness
From this reading ““Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.””
plural of “leap” — a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
From this reading ““Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.””
the light of the Moon
From this reading ““Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.””
large primitive fishes valued for their flesh and roe; widely distributed in the North Temperate Zone
From this reading ““Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.””
a very large person; impressive in size or qualities
From this reading “She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.”
a seaman who works on a ship that hunts whales
From this reading “There is but a word to say of the whaler.”
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 There is but a word to say of the whaler.
later than; following
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We spoke her, of course, and parted, leaving her her boat.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading We spoke her, of course, and parted, leaving her her boat.
the line or plane indicating the limit or extent of something
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
water containing salts
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There is but a word to say of the whaler.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading We spoke her, of course, and parted, leaving her her boat.
English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)
From this reading DRAKE.
suggestive of an elf in strangeness and otherworldliness
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading We spoke her, of course, and parted, leaving her her boat.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is but a word to say of the whaler.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
plural of “leap” — a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
the act of departing
From this reading We spoke her, of course, and parted, leaving her her boat.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
the light of the Moon
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
leaking out slowly
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
having a margin incised almost to the base so as to create distinct divisions or lobes
From this reading We spoke her, of course, and parted, leaving her her boat.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
express in words
From this reading There is but a word to say of the whaler.
try to get or reach
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading We spoke her, of course, and parted, leaving her her boat.
large primitive fishes valued for their flesh and roe; widely distributed in the North Temperate Zone
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is but a word to say of the whaler.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
up to a particular time
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There is but a word to say of the whaler.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
look attentively
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We spoke her, of course, and parted, leaving her her boat.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
a very large person; impressive in size or qualities
From this reading She passed half an hour, close to us, and then went after her whale.
a seaman who works on a ship that hunts whales
From this reading There is but a word to say of the whaler.
in or at the place that
From this reading “Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading There is but a word to say of the whaler.
Chapter 19 of Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale by James Fenimore Cooper holds 298 sentences, grouped into 60 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 19 holds 298 sentences of Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale by James Fenimore Cooper exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 298 sentences, grouped into 60 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 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 60 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 19 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 Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale by James Fenimore Cooper on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7966 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8647 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8647, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1594 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale 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 Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
