Chapter 7 of After Dark is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of After Dark is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The day wore on. By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room. At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list. It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare. Evening came.
Chapter 7 of After Dark is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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.
brought together in one place
From this reading “By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.”
past form of “condemn” — express strong disapproval of
From this reading “By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.”
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading “It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.”
plural of “prisoner” — a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading “By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.”
plural of “three” — the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.”
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading “By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.”
plural of “two” — the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.”
proved to be true
From this reading “It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.”
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 By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
brought together in one place
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
past form of “condemn” — express strong disapproval of
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The day wore on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Evening came.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
according to the clock
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The day wore on.
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
above and across; more than
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
plural of “prisoner” — a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The day wore on.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
plural of “three” — the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
plural of “two” — the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
proved to be true
From this reading It was read and verified by an officer of the court; and then the jailer took his prisoners back to St. Lazare.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By ones and twos and threes at a time, the condemned prisoners came from the tribunal, and collected in the waiting-room.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At two o’clock all was ready for the calling over of the death-list.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading The day wore on.
Chapter 7 of After Dark by Wilkie Collins holds 63 sentences, grouped into 13 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 7 holds 63 sentences of After Dark, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of After Dark by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 63 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 7 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 After Dark by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5294 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1626 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1626, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 441 minutes of reading across 1059 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through After Dark section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of After Dark 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 After Dark, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
