Chapter 7 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped. Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak. "Hearken!" said he. "Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?" "That is a question easy of the answering," said I.
Chapter 7 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
replying
From this reading “"That is a question easy of the answering," said I.”
a slow mode of locomotion on hands and knees or dragging the body
From this reading “On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.”
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading “On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.”
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading “Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.”
causing physical or psychological pain
From this reading “Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.”
make a shift in or exchange of
From this reading “Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.”
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading “"Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?"”
be the cause or source of
From this reading “"Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?"”
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.
In this reading “On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.”
In this reading “On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.”
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 "That is a question easy of the answering," said I.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
replying
From this reading "That is a question easy of the answering," said I.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
a slow mode of locomotion on hands and knees or dragging the body
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading "That is a question easy of the answering," said I.
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
listen; used mostly in the imperative
From this reading "Hearken!" said he.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "That is a question easy of the answering," said I.
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading "Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?"
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?"
causing physical or psychological pain
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading "That is a question easy of the answering," said I.
move hurridly
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Hearken!" said he.
make a shift in or exchange of
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
express in speech
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That is a question easy of the answering," said I.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "That is a question easy of the answering," said I.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading "Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?"
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
in or at that place or location
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
up to a particular time
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?"
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
belonging to which person
From this reading Then he whose knee I had such painful knowledge of made shift to speak.
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading "Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?"
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading On they came, creeping step by step, as though expecting I might rush upon them, until they were within three yards of me, and there they stopped.
be the cause or source of
From this reading "Wilt yield, or must we kill thee?"
Chapter 7 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion by W. Bourne Cooke holds 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 7 holds 392 sentences of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion by W. Bourne Cooke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 7 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.
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About 303 minutes of reading across 729 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
