Chapter 24 of Beyond the Black Waters is here in full — 47 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of Beyond the Black Waters is here in full — 47 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHRISTMAS. The mail came, but not the comfort. The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar. He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents. A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
Chapter 24 of Beyond the Black Waters is here in full — 47 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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.
past form of “attack” — launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with
From this reading “A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.”
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading “He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.”
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading “The mail came, but not the comfort.”
an annual award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievements in motion picture production and performance
From this reading “The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.”
-ing form of “resemble” — appear like; be similar or bear a likeness to
From this reading “A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.”
in an unfortunate way
From this reading “He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.”
with tenderness; in a tender manner
From this reading “He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.”
something that causes irritation and annoyance
From this reading “A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.”
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.
In this reading “A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.”
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 The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
past form of “attack” — launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.
lacking funds
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The mail came, but not the comfort.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The mail came, but not the comfort.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading CHRISTMAS.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading The mail came, but not the comfort.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
bringing death
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading The mail came, but not the comfort.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The mail came, but not the comfort.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.
and nothing more
From this reading The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
an annual award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievements in motion picture production and performance
From this reading The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
established beyond doubt
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
-ing form of “resemble” — appear like; be similar or bear a likeness to
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
in an unfortunate way
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
with tenderness; in a tender manner
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The mail came, but not the comfort.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
something that causes irritation and annoyance
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The only letter was a black-edged one addressed to Oscar.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He came to his wife with the letter open in his hand, and sadly and tenderly broke to her its contents.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading A fit, resembling that which had attacked Mrs. Thorn in the early part of the year, had this time proved fatal.
Chapter 24 of Beyond the Black Waters by A. L. O. E. holds 47 sentences, grouped into 10 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 24 holds 47 sentences of Beyond the Black Waters, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Beyond the Black Waters by A. L. O. E. exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 47 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 24 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 Beyond the Black Waters by A. L. O. E. on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3336 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59619 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59619, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 278 minutes of reading across 668 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Beyond the Black Waters section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Beyond the Black Waters 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 Beyond the Black Waters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
