Chapter 3 of Octavia, the Octoroon is here in full — 51 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Octavia, the Octoroon is here in full — 51 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BIRTH OF OCTAVIA. Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers." This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation. The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence. She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
Chapter 3 of Octavia, the Octoroon is here in full — 51 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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 sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading “The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.”
past form of “consult” — get or ask advice from
From this reading “She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.”
state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
From this reading “This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation.”
an authoritative person who divines the future
From this reading “She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.”
an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale (especially in tropical areas)
From this reading “This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation.”
regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of
From this reading “The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.”
possessive form of “simon” — one of the twelve Apostles (first century)
From this reading “Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."”
past form of “transpire” — pass through the tissue or substance or its pores or interstices, as of gas
From this reading “She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.”
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.
look on as or consider
In this reading “The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.”
In this reading “This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
(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 Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
the time when something begins (especially life)
From this reading THE BIRTH OF OCTAVIA.
past form of “cause” — give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
From this reading This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation.
past form of “consult” — get or ask advice from
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
all things; all of a situation
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
plural of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
brought together in one place
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
a cry of sorrow and grief
From this reading This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
From this reading This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BIRTH OF OCTAVIA.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE BIRTH OF OCTAVIA.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation.
an authoritative person who divines the future
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale (especially in tropical areas)
From this reading This caused great mourning and lamentation on the plantation.
regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of
From this reading The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
possessive form of “simon” — one of the twelve Apostles (first century)
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BIRTH OF OCTAVIA.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
past form of “transpire” — pass through the tissue or substance or its pores or interstices, as of gas
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Not long after this Simon's mother, Aunt Dinah, "went the way of all the earth, and was gathered to her fathers."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She was, as it were, an oracle, being consulted on everything that transpired on the place.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The old auntie was almost looked upon with reverence.
Chapter 3 of Octavia, the Octoroon by J. F. Lee holds 51 sentences, grouped into 11 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 3 holds 51 sentences of Octavia, the Octoroon, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Octavia, the Octoroon by J. F. Lee exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 51 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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 3 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 Octavia, the Octoroon by J. F. Lee on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 970 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34262 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34262, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 80 minutes of reading across 194 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Octavia, the Octoroon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Octavia, the Octoroon 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 Octavia, the Octoroon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
