In the Dead of Night — Volume 3

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3 is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By T. W. (Thomas Wilkinson) Speight • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for In the Dead of Night — Volume 3

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

A WAY OUT OF THE DIFFICULTY.

Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

His heart was heavy, and his step slow.

He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter I Reading 1/49

In the Dead of Night — Volume 3 T. W. (Thomas Wilkinson) Speight

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3 is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

A WAY OUT OF THE DIFFICULTY. Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank. His heart was heavy, and his step slow. He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly. There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

In the Dead of Night — Volume 3

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3 is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/49 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

A WAY OUT OF THE DIFFICULTY.

/ə weɪ aʊt ʌv ðə ˈdɪfəkəlti/

Line 2

Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

Line 3

His heart was heavy, and his step slow.

/hɪz hɑːrt wɑːz ˈhevi ənd hɪz step sloʊ/

Line 4

He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

Line 5

There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

Learner Dictionary

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.

bitterness noun US /ˈbɪtərnəs/

a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will

From this reading “There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.”

borrow verb US /ˈbɑːroʊ/

get temporarily

From this reading “He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.”

castles noun US /ˈkæsəlz/

plural of “castle” — a large and stately mansion

From this reading “There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.”

Cope verb US /koʊp/

succeed in doing, achieving, or producing (something) with the limited or inadequate means available

From this reading “There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.”

farthing noun US /ˈfɑːrðɪŋ/

a former British bronze coin worth a quarter of a penny

From this reading “He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.”

humiliation noun US /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃən/

state of disgrace or loss of self-respect

From this reading “He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.”

receipt noun US /rɪˈsiːt/

the act of receiving

From this reading “Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.”

wrack noun US /ræk/

dried seaweed especially that cast ashore

From this reading “There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

Two hours noun + noun

In this reading “Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.”

after the receipt preposition + article + noun counted as “after … receipt”

In this reading “Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.”

second letter noun + noun

In this reading “Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.”

come into verb + particle

obtain, especially accidentally

In this reading “He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.”

any man adjective + noun

In this reading “He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.”

in the air preposition + article + noun counted as “in … air”

on everybody's mind

In this reading “There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.”

All words in this reading · 69

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading A WAY OUT OF THE DIFFICULTY.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

airnounUS /er/

a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading His heart was heavy, and his step slow.

anyadjectiveUS /ˈeni/

one or some or every or all without specification

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

banknounUS /bæŋk/

sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

bitterlyadverbUS /ˈbɪtərli/

with bitterness; in a resentful manner

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

bitternessnounUS /ˈbɪtərnəs/

a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

borrowverbUS /ˈbɑːroʊ/

get temporarily

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

brilliantadjectiveUS /ˈbrɪljənt/

of surpassing excellence

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

calledverbUS /kɔːld/

past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

castlesnounUS /ˈkæsəlz/

plural of “castle” — a large and stately mansion

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

comeverbUS /kʌm/

move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

confessverbUS /kənˈfes/

confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

CopeverbUS /koʊp/

succeed in doing, achieving, or producing (something) with the limited or inadequate means available

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

Culpepper

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

DIFFICULTYnounUS /ˈdɪfəkəlti/

an effort that is inconvenient

From this reading A WAY OUT OF THE DIFFICULTY.

estatenounUS /ɪˈsteɪt/

everything you own; all of your assets (whether real property or personal property) and liabilities

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

farthingnounUS /ˈfɑːrðɪŋ/

a former British bronze coin worth a quarter of a penny

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

feltverbUS /felt/

mat together and make felt-like

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

friendnounUS /frend/

a person you know well and regard with affection and trust

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/

the -ing form of “have”

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading His heart was heavy, and his step slow.

heavyadjectiveUS /ˈhevi/

of comparatively great physical weight or density

From this reading His heart was heavy, and his step slow.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

hoursnounUS /ˈaʊərz/

a period of time assigned for work

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

how

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

humiliationnounUS /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃən/

state of disgrace or loss of self-respect

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

leastadjectiveUS /liːst/

the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

leavingnounUS /ˈliːvɪŋ/

the act of departing

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

letternounUS /ˈletər/

a written message addressed to a person or organization

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

McDermott's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

MrsnounUS /ˈmɪsɪz/

a form of address for a married woman

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/

not ever; at no time in the past or future

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading A WAY OUT OF THE DIFFICULTY.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

OUTadjectiveUS /aʊt/

not allowed to continue to bat or run

From this reading A WAY OUT OF THE DIFFICULTY.

receiptnounUS /rɪˈsiːt/

the act of receiving

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

secondnounUS /ˈsekənd/

1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

slowadjectiveUS /sloʊ/

not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time

From this reading His heart was heavy, and his step slow.

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

SquirenounUS /skwaɪr/

young nobleman attendant on a knight

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

stepnounUS /step/

any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal

From this reading His heart was heavy, and his step slow.

Sugden's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading A WAY OUT OF THE DIFFICULTY.

ThereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

tooadverbUS /tuː/

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

TwonounUS /tuː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

utterlyadverbUS /ˈʌtərli/

completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

vanishedadjectiveUS /ˈvænɪʃt/

having passed out of existence

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

veryadjectiveUS /ˈveri/

precisely as stated

From this reading He had never had to borrow a farthing from any man—at least, never since he had come into the estate—and he felt the humiliation, as he himself called it, very bitterly.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Two hours after the receipt of Mrs. McDermott’s second letter, Squire Culpepper was on his way to Sugden’s bank.

WAYnounUS /weɪ/

how something is done or how it happens

From this reading A WAY OUT OF THE DIFFICULTY.

wracknounUS /ræk/

dried seaweed especially that cast ashore

From this reading There was something of bitterness, too, in having to confess to his friend Cope how all his brilliant castles in the air had vanished utterly, leaving not a wrack behind.

Chapter 1 of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3 by T. W. (Thomas Wilkinson) Speight holds 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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.

What does chapter 1 of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3 contain?

Chapter 1 holds 247 sentences of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3 by T. W. (Thomas Wilkinson) Speight exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3?

Work through the 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 50 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 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.

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Yes. All 3014 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57947 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #57947, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 251 minutes of reading across 603 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in In the Dead of Night — Volume 3

Words and structures a reader meets early in In the Dead of Night — Volume 3, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Difficulty: A word that appears in the opening chapter of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Hours: A word that appears in the opening chapter of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Receipt: A word that appears in the opening chapter of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Mcdermott: A word that appears in the opening chapter of In the Dead of Night — Volume 3; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter I

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Vocabulary met early in In the Dead of Night — Volume 3