Chapter 4 of Dracula's Guest is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Dracula's Guest is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing. The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears. When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him. Joshua struck a tragic attitude. “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
Chapter 4 of Dracula's Guest is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
move towards
From this reading ““Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.”
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading “The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.”
possessive form of “husband” — a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
(Old Testament) Moses' successor who led the Israelites into the Promised Land; best remembered for his destruction of Jericho
From this reading “Joshua struck a tragic attitude.”
a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds
From this reading “Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.”
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading “When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.”
very sad; especially involving grief or death or destruction
From this reading “Joshua struck a tragic attitude.”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.”
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 Joshua struck a tragic attitude.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
move towards
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.
a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways
From this reading Joshua struck a tragic attitude.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity)
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
possessive form of “husband” — a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
(Old Testament) Moses' successor who led the Israelites into the Promised Land; best remembered for his destruction of Jericho
From this reading Joshua struck a tragic attitude.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
hear with intention
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
the force of workers available
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
above and across; more than
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds
From this reading Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading Joshua struck a tragic attitude.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
very sad; especially involving grief or death or destruction
From this reading Joshua struck a tragic attitude.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
precisely as stated
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mary was sitting at the piano but not playing.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The dim twilight had waked some very tender feelings in her breast, and her eyes were full of gentle tears.
at the time that
From this reading When the men came in she stole over to her husband’s side and kissed him.
the words that are spoken
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Mary,” he said in a deep voice, “before you approach me, listen to the words of Fate.
Chapter 4 of Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker holds 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 396 sentences of Dracula's Guest, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2793 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10150 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10150, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 232 minutes of reading across 559 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dracula's Guest section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Dracula's Guest 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 Dracula's Guest, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
