Chapter 27 of The Beetle: A Mystery is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The Beetle: A Mystery is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little. By degrees his voice grew firmer. Words came from him with greater fluency. ‘I am not yet forty. So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
Chapter 27 of The Beetle: A Mystery is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
plural of “accent” — distinctive manner of oral expression
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.”
plural of “degree” — a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading “By degrees his voice grew firmer.”
comparative of “firm” — marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
From this reading “By degrees his voice grew firmer.”
powerful and effective language
From this reading “Words came from him with greater fluency.”
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.”
an arrangement of points or particles or objects in a regular periodic pattern in 2 or 3 dimensions
From this reading “WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.”
easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind
From this reading “So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.”
-ing form of “state” — express in words
From this reading “So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.”
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 WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
plural of “accent” — distinctive manner of oral expression
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
in the past
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading ‘I am not yet forty.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By degrees his voice grew firmer.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
plural of “degree” — a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading By degrees his voice grew firmer.
comparative of “firm” — marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
From this reading By degrees his voice grew firmer.
powerful and effective language
From this reading Words came from him with greater fluency.
being ten more than thirty
From this reading ‘I am not yet forty.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Words came from him with greater fluency.
greater in size or importance or degree
From this reading Words came from him with greater fluency.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading By degrees his voice grew firmer.
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Words came from him with greater fluency.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading By degrees his voice grew firmer.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I am not yet forty.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
an arrangement of points or particles or objects in a regular periodic pattern in 2 or 3 dimensions
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
being nothing more than specified
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
-ing form of “state” — express in words
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
to a sufficient degree
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
express in words
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading By degrees his voice grew firmer.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
at the time that
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE He began in accents which halted not a little.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Words came from him with greater fluency.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Words came from him with greater fluency.
a late time of life
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
but in spite of that
From this reading ‘I am not yet forty.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading So when I tell you that twenty years ago I was a mere youth I am stating what is a sufficiently obvious truth.
Chapter 27 of The Beetle: A Mystery by Richard Marsh holds 211 sentences, grouped into 43 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 27 holds 211 sentences of The Beetle: A Mystery, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The Beetle: A Mystery by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 211 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 27 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 Beetle: A Mystery by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6966 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5164 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5164, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 580 minutes of reading across 1394 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Beetle: A Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Beetle: A Mystery 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 Beetle: A Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
