Chapter 18 of St. Elmo is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of St. Elmo is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Mr. Hammond, are you ill? What can be the matter?" Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder. His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him. "Oh, child!
Chapter 18 of St. Elmo is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
not accessible to view
From this reading “His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.”
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading “His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.”
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading “His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “"Mr. Hammond, are you ill?”
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.”
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading “Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.”
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading “Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.”
the act of testing something
From this reading “His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Mr. Hammond, are you ill?
weapons considered collectively
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What can be the matter?"
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading What can be the matter?"
a young person of either sex
From this reading "Oh, child!
not accessible to view
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mr. Hammond, are you ill?
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading "Mr. Hammond, are you ill?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading What can be the matter?"
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Mr. Hammond, are you ill?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, child!
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What can be the matter?"
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Edna threw down her books and put her hand on the old man's shoulder.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
the act of testing something
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His face was concealed in his arms, and his half-stifled groan told that some fierce trial had over-taken him.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What can be the matter?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Mr. Hammond, are you ill?
Chapter 18 of St. Elmo by Augusta J. (Augusta Jane) Evans holds 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 18 holds 271 sentences of St. Elmo, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of St. Elmo by Augusta J. (Augusta Jane) Evans exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 18 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 St. Elmo by Augusta J. (Augusta Jane) Evans on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8016 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4553 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4553, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1604 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through St. Elmo section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of St. Elmo 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 St. Elmo, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
