Chapter 1 of Our Nig is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Our Nig is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She's good enough for me, any how." One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away. The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again. The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time. Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.
Chapter 1 of Our Nig is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 15/20 · 5 reading units · Lines 71–75
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.
given out in portions
From this reading “The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time.”
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading “Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.”
small crude shelter used as a dwelling
From this reading “The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again.”
a periodic publication containing pictures and stories and articles of interest to those who purchase it or subscribe to it
From this reading “Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.”
land and the buildings on it
From this reading “One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.”
something hard to endure
From this reading “Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.”
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading “The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again.”
be about
From this reading “The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
anew
From this reading The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading She's good enough for me, any how."
given out in portions
From this reading The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time.
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading She's good enough for me, any how."
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She's good enough for me, any how."
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading She's good enough for me, any how."
small crude shelter used as a dwelling
From this reading The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She's good enough for me, any how."
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again.
a periodic publication containing pictures and stories and articles of interest to those who purchase it or subscribe to it
From this reading Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She's good enough for me, any how."
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
land and the buildings on it
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
something hard to endure
From this reading Mag was nearly despairing of meeting its rigor.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The next Saturday night brought Jim to the hovel again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She's good enough for me, any how."
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
be about
From this reading The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The cold was fast coming to tarry its apportioned time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading One more glance about the premises to be sure Pete was away.
Chapter 1 of Our Nig by Harriet E. Wilson holds 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 1 holds 103 sentences of Our Nig, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Our Nig by Harriet E. Wilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 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.
Common questions about reading Our Nig by Harriet E. Wilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1477 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #584 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #584, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 123 minutes of reading across 296 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Our Nig section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Our Nig 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 Our Nig, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
