Chapter 24 of Sir Nigel is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of Sir Nigel is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself. “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he. “The Devil is ever loose in a fog. Well is he named the Prince of Darkness.” A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
Chapter 24 of Sir Nigel is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
From this reading “A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.”
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading ““The Devil is ever loose in a fog.”
having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships
From this reading “A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.”
subject to death
From this reading “A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.”
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading “A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.”
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading “A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.”
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading “A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.”
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading “A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.”
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 “The Devil is ever loose in a fog.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
placed crosswise
From this reading The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Well is he named the Prince of Darkness.”
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading “The Devil is ever loose in a fog.
at any time
From this reading “The Devil is ever loose in a fog.
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading “The Devil is ever loose in a fog.
having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “The Devil is ever loose in a fog.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading “The Devil is ever loose in a fog.
the force of workers available
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
plural of “mind” — that which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
subject to death
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
past form of “name” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Well is he named the Prince of Darkness.”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
not any; not one
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Well is he named the Prince of Darkness.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself.
above and across; more than
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)
From this reading Well is he named the Prince of Darkness.”
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The old shipman shook his head and crossed himself.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
United States actress and singer (1896-1977)
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
(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 Well is he named the Prince of Darkness.”
which person or people
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men who feared no mortal foe shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.
a late time of life
From this reading “In thirty years upon the waters I have never heard the like,” said he.
Chapter 24 of Sir Nigel by Arthur Conan Doyle holds 170 sentences, grouped into 34 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 24 holds 170 sentences of Sir Nigel, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Sir Nigel by Arthur Conan Doyle exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 24 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 Sir Nigel by Arthur Conan Doyle on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6718 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2845 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2845, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 559 minutes of reading across 1344 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sir Nigel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Sir Nigel 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 Sir Nigel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
