Chapter 9 of The Black Patch is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Black Patch is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LADY WATSON Beatrice stared. At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound. A pause ensued. Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson. Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?
Chapter 9 of The Black Patch is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
past form of “avert” — prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
From this reading “Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.”
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading “LADY WATSON Beatrice stared.”
unhappy in love; suffering from unrequited love
From this reading “At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.”
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading “Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.”
plural of “emotion” — any strong feeling
From this reading “Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?”
past form of “ensue” — issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end
From this reading “A pause ensued.”
obtain from someone after their death
From this reading “Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?”
United States telephone engineer who assisted Alexander Graham Bell in his experiments (1854-1934)
From this reading “LADY WATSON Beatrice stared.”
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 A pause ensued.
a record or narrative description of past events
From this reading Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
past form of “avert” — prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading LADY WATSON Beatrice stared.
unhappy in love; suffering from unrequited love
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
the appearance conveyed by a person's face
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
plural of “emotion” — any strong feeling
From this reading Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?
past form of “ensue” — issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end
From this reading A pause ensued.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
obtain from someone after their death
From this reading Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading LADY WATSON Beatrice stared.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
engage in
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
the force of workers available
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
unnatural lack of color in the skin (as from bruising or sickness or emotional distress)
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading A pause ensued.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
having your attention fixated as though by a spell
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading LADY WATSON Beatrice stared.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
United States telephone engineer who assisted Alexander Graham Bell in his experiments (1854-1934)
From this reading LADY WATSON Beatrice stared.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading Beatrice did not know what to make of the men: Paslow's averted looks, and worn paleness; Durban's curse for Lady Watson.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Would the fact that she did not inherit the money account for such emotions?
a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading At Vivian's grey drawn face, bereft of youth, and at Durban's savage green countenance, she looked spell-bound.
Chapter 9 of The Black Patch by Fergus Hume holds 284 sentences, grouped into 57 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 9 holds 284 sentences of The Black Patch, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Black Patch by Fergus Hume exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 284 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 9 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 Patch by Fergus Hume on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5681 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55305 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55305, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 473 minutes of reading across 1137 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Patch section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Black Patch 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 Patch, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
