Chapter 4 of Despair's Last Journey is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Despair's Last Journey is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Paul survived. He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer. He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso. The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them. He made his first visit to the class, and got there early.
Chapter 4 of Despair's Last Journey is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action
From this reading “He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.”
an adult male singer with the lowest voice
From this reading “He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.”
plural of “celebrity” — a widely known person
From this reading “The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.”
unpleasantly stern
From this reading “He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.”
a local church community
From this reading “The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.”
past form of “survive” — continue to live and avoid dying
From this reading “Paul survived.”
past form of “swarm” — be teeming, be abuzz
From this reading “The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.”
relating to or designed for or using the singing voice
From this reading “The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.”
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 He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
an adult male singer with the lowest voice
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
plural of “celebrity” — a widely known person
From this reading The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading He made his first visit to the class, and got there early.
past form of “conceive” — have the idea for
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
open to doubt or suspicion
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading He made his first visit to the class, and got there early.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading He made his first visit to the class, and got there early.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He made his first visit to the class, and got there early.
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
unpleasantly stern
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He made his first visit to the class, and got there early.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.
a local church community
From this reading The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading Paul survived.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
past form of “survive” — continue to live and avoid dying
From this reading Paul survived.
past form of “swarm” — be teeming, be abuzz
From this reading The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading He made his first visit to the class, and got there early.
relating to or designed for or using the singing voice
From this reading The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading He joined the singing-class there, for his voice had suddenly grown harsh and deep, and he conceived himself to be a basso.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He left the church, and returned with a doubtful allegiance to Ebenezer.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading The parish swarmed with vocal celebrities, and he would be one of them.
Chapter 4 of Despair's Last Journey by David Christie Murray holds 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 4 holds 194 sentences of Despair's Last Journey, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Despair's Last Journey by David Christie Murray exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 4 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 Despair's Last Journey by David Christie Murray on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8162 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22276 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22276, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1633 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Despair's Last Journey section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Despair's Last Journey 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 Despair's Last Journey, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
