Chapter 16 of The Beautiful Wretch is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Beautiful Wretch is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ACCEPTED SUITOR. 'Oh, Nan, here is the cab. What shall I say to him? What am I to say to him?' 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
Chapter 16 of The Beautiful Wretch is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading “THE ACCEPTED SUITOR.”
a compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
From this reading “'Oh, Nan, here is the cab.”
in a gradual manner
From this reading “'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.”
the act of departing
From this reading “'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.”
your grandmother
From this reading “'Oh, Nan, here is the cab.”
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading “'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.”
having a supporting base
From this reading “'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.”
a man who courts a woman
From this reading “THE ACCEPTED SUITOR.”
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.
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading THE ACCEPTED SUITOR.
Having no one else present.
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading What am I to say to him?'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
a compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
From this reading 'Oh, Nan, here is the cab.
dearly loved
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
in a gradual manner
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading 'Oh, Nan, here is the cab.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading What shall I say to him?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading What shall I say to him?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Oh, Nan, here is the cab.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
the act of departing
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
your grandmother
From this reading 'Oh, Nan, here is the cab.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading 'Oh, Nan, here is the cab.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
express in words
From this reading What shall I say to him?
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading What shall I say to him?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
having a supporting base
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
a man who courts a woman
From this reading THE ACCEPTED SUITOR.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ACCEPTED SUITOR.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What shall I say to him?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What shall I say to him?
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading 'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the window.
Chapter 16 of The Beautiful Wretch by William Black holds 225 sentences, grouped into 45 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 16 holds 225 sentences of The Beautiful Wretch, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Beautiful Wretch by William Black exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 225 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 16 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 The Beautiful Wretch by William Black on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4890 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24094 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24094, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 407 minutes of reading across 978 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Beautiful Wretch section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Beautiful Wretch 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 The Beautiful Wretch, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
