Chapter 8 of Ships that pass in the night is here in full — 121 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Ships that pass in the night is here in full — 121 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BERNARDINE PREACHES. AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold. The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse. Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine. "The poor lonely fellow!" she said, time after time.
Chapter 8 of Ships that pass in the night is here in full — 121 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
according with custom or propriety
From this reading “The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.”
many times at short intervals
From this reading “Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine.”
lacking practical experience or training
From this reading “The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.”
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading “"The poor lonely fellow!" she said, time after time.”
third-person singular of “preach” — deliver a sermon
From this reading “BERNARDINE PREACHES.”
with speed
From this reading “The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.”
only a very short time before
From this reading “AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.”
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading “The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.”
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 AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
later than; following
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine.
according with custom or propriety
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BERNARDINE PREACHES.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
a maid who is employed to clean and care for bedrooms (now primarily in hotels)
From this reading Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
the organ of sight
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
a boy or man
From this reading "The poor lonely fellow!" she said, time after time.
many times at short intervals
From this reading Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
lacking practical experience or training
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading "The poor lonely fellow!" she said, time after time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine.
used to form the superlative
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
a form of address for a man
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading "The poor lonely fellow!" she said, time after time.
third-person singular of “preach” — deliver a sermon
From this reading BERNARDINE PREACHES.
with speed
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "The poor lonely fellow!" she said, time after time.
only a very short time before
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "The poor lonely fellow!" she said, time after time.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Marie, the chambermaid, knew it, and spoke of it frequently to Bernardine.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "The poor lonely fellow!" she said, time after time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading AFTER this, scarcely a day passed but Bernardine went to see Mr. Reffold.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading The most inexperienced eye could have known that he was becoming rapidly worse.
Chapter 8 of Ships that pass in the night by Beatrice Harraden holds 121 sentences, grouped into 25 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 8 holds 121 sentences of Ships that pass in the night, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Ships that pass in the night by Beatrice Harraden exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 121 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 8 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 Ships that pass in the night by Beatrice Harraden on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2788 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12476 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12476, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 232 minutes of reading across 558 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ships that pass in the night section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Ships that pass in the night 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 Ships that pass in the night, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
