Chapter 40 of Jack Sheppard: A Romance is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of Jack Sheppard: A Romance is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Closing Scene. Tyburn was now at hand. Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object. It was the gallows. Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
Chapter 40 of Jack Sheppard: A Romance is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
inflected form of “arise” — come into existence; take on form or shape
From this reading “Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.”
the act of closing something
From this reading “The Closing Scene.”
causing dejection
From this reading “Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.”
plural of “exclamation” — an abrupt excited utterance
From this reading “Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.”
an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging
From this reading “It was the gallows.”
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.”
a small worthless amount
From this reading “Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.”
-ing form of “pity” — share the suffering of
From this reading “Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.”
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 Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
inflected form of “arise” — come into existence; take on form or shape
From this reading Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Tyburn was now at hand.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
the act of closing something
From this reading The Closing Scene.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
causing dejection
From this reading Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
plural of “exclamation” — an abrupt excited utterance
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging
From this reading It was the gallows.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Tyburn was now at hand.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the gallows.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Tyburn was now at hand.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
above and across; more than
From this reading Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
-ing form of “pity” — share the suffering of
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading The Closing Scene.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading Over the sea of heads arose a black and dismal object.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Closing Scene.
in the direction of
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tyburn was now at hand.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Tyburn was now at hand.
belonging to which person
From this reading Jack, whose back was towards it, did not see it; but he heard, from the pitying exclamations of the crowd, that it was in view.
Chapter 40 of Jack Sheppard: A Romance by William Harrison Ainsworth holds 56 sentences, grouped into 12 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 40 holds 56 sentences of Jack Sheppard: A Romance, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of Jack Sheppard: A Romance by William Harrison Ainsworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 56 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 40 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 Jack Sheppard: A Romance by William Harrison Ainsworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9404 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16215 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16215, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1881 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Jack Sheppard: A Romance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Jack Sheppard: A Romance 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 Jack Sheppard: A Romance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
