Chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8 is here in full — 1038 sentences across 208 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8 is here in full — 1038 sentences across 208 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_The Surveyor's Tale. By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence. By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD." THE SURVEYOR'S TALE. BY PROFESSOR AYTOUN.
Chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8 is here in full — 1038 sentences across 208 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/207 · 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.
very dark wood of any of several blackwood trees
From this reading “By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."”
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading “By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."”
American theologian whose sermons and writings stimulated a period of renewed interest in religion in America (1703-1758)
From this reading “By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."”
a city in central Italy on the Arno; provincial capital of Tuscany; center of the Italian Renaissance from 14th to 16th centuries
From this reading “By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.”
possessive form of “surveyor” — an engineer who determines the boundaries and elevations of land or structures
From this reading “_The Surveyor's Tale.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “_The Surveyor's Tale.”
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."”
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.
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 By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.
very dark wood of any of several blackwood trees
From this reading By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.
American theologian whose sermons and writings stimulated a period of renewed interest in religion in America (1703-1758)
From this reading By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
a title of respect for a member of the English gentry ranking just below a knight; placed after the name
From this reading By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
a city in central Italy on the Arno; provincial capital of Tuscany; center of the Italian Renaissance from 14th to 16th centuries
From this reading By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.
possessive form of “surveyor” — an engineer who determines the boundaries and elevations of land or structures
From this reading _The Surveyor's Tale.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading _The Surveyor's Tale.
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading By the late Charles Edwards, Esq._ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The Surveyor's Tale.
Italian painter and art historian (1511-1574)
From this reading By Professor Aytoun._ _Di Vasari: A Tale of Florence.
Chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8 by Various holds 1038 sentences, grouped into 208 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 1038 sentences of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8, unabridged, divided into 208 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8 by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1038 sentences, grouped into 208 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 208 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 208 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 Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8 by Various on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2945 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35788 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35788, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 245 minutes of reading across 589 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8 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 Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 8, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
