Chapter 16 of The Black Diamond is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Black Diamond is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly. ‘Morgan, you mustn’t be rude!’ Mary would protest. ‘Mayn’t I ask him, mam?’ Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?
Chapter 16 of The Black Diamond is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
a quantity of no importance
From this reading “‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.”
a member of a Mayan people of southwestern Guatemala
From this reading “‘Mayn’t I ask him, mam?’”
(ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Irish descent
From this reading “Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?”
United States anthropologist who studied the Seneca (1818-1881)
From this reading “‘Morgan, you mustn’t be rude!’”
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading “‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.”
a formal and solemn declaration of objection
From this reading “Mary would protest.”
socially incorrect in behavior
From this reading “‘Morgan, you mustn’t be rude!’”
signal by winking
From this reading “Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?”
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.
give one's silent approval to
In this reading “Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?”
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 Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading ‘Mayn’t I ask him, mam?’
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?
a quantity of no importance
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading ‘Morgan, you mustn’t be rude!’
in a cajoling manner
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘Mayn’t I ask him, mam?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘Mayn’t I ask him, mam?’
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?
a member of a Mayan people of southwestern Guatemala
From this reading ‘Mayn’t I ask him, mam?’
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Mary would protest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Mayn’t I ask him, mam?’
(ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Irish descent
From this reading Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
United States anthropologist who studied the Seneca (1818-1881)
From this reading ‘Morgan, you mustn’t be rude!’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Morgan, you mustn’t be rude!’
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
a formal and solemn declaration of objection
From this reading Mary would protest.
socially incorrect in behavior
From this reading ‘Morgan, you mustn’t be rude!’
express in words
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
in or at that place or location
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?
signal by winking
From this reading Mick would wink at him: ‘And how would I know what’s in there?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘Morgan, you mustn’t be rude!’
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘Is there aught in your pocket, Mis’r Connor, to-night?’ he would say coaxingly.
Chapter 16 of The Black Diamond by Francis Brett Young holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 406 sentences of The Black Diamond, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Black Diamond by Francis Brett Young exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Black Diamond by Francis Brett Young on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10566 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48813 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48813, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2114 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Diamond section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Black Diamond 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 Black Diamond, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
