Chapter 6 of Mermaid is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Mermaid is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
No stock was for sale. This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s. There must be stock for sale! There always was, in a thing like this. What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
Chapter 6 of Mermaid is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
a formal public statement
From this reading “This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.”
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.”
-ing form of “gnash” — grind together, of teeth
From this reading “This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.”
doubt about the truth of something
From this reading “This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.”
blowing tobacco smoke out into the air
From this reading “What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?”
plural of “purchaser” — a person who buys
From this reading “What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?”
remove (cargo, people, etc.) from and leave
From this reading “What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?”
not suspicious
From this reading “What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?”
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.
available for purchase
In this reading “No stock was for sale.”
In this reading “This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.”
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 There always was, in a thing like this.
(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 What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading There always was, in a thing like this.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
a formal public statement
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There must be stock for sale!
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading No stock was for sale.
-ing form of “gnash” — grind together, of teeth
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There always was, in a thing like this.
doubt about the truth of something
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
immediately past
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading There always was, in a thing like this.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading There must be stock for sale!
plural of “newspaper” — a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
not any; not one
From this reading No stock was for sale.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
prevented from decaying or spoiling and prepared for future use
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
blowing tobacco smoke out into the air
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
plural of “purchaser” — a person who buys
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
a particular instance of selling
From this reading No stock was for sale.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
the capital raised by a corporation through the issue of shares entitling holders to an ownership interest
From this reading No stock was for sale.
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There must be stock for sale!
a special situation
From this reading There always was, in a thing like this.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
remove (cargo, people, etc.) from and leave
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
not suspicious
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
the act of using
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No stock was for sale.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What was the use of all this puffing if it was not to unload stock on unsuspecting purchasers?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
in the company of; together with
From this reading This last announcement filled with incredulity the dismayed Richard Hand, reading the newspapers and gnashing his teeth which were not so well preserved as Keturah Smiley’s.
Chapter 6 of Mermaid by Grant M. (Grant Martin) Overton holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 6 holds 401 sentences of Mermaid, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Mermaid by Grant M. (Grant Martin) Overton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 6 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 Mermaid by Grant M. (Grant Martin) Overton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4788 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57531 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57531, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 399 minutes of reading across 958 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mermaid section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Mermaid 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 Mermaid, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
