Chapter XXII of The Black Patch, “Revelations,” is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXII of The Black Patch, “Revelations,” is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail. "He's a bad one: look at his eyes." Beatrice had no need to look at them. She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night. Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
Chapter XXII of The Black Patch, “Revelations,” is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading “Beatrice had no need to look at them.”
close interaction
From this reading “She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.”
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.”
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading “Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.”
draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading “"Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.”
inflected form of “shrink” — wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading “She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.”
past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading “"Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.”
a town in central Belgium where in 1815 Napoleon met his final defeat
From this reading “Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.”
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 “Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “"He's a bad one: look at his eyes."”
In this reading “She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.”
be present or associated with an event or entity
In this reading “"Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.”
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 "He's a bad one: look at his eyes."
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "He's a bad one: look at his eyes."
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "He's a bad one: look at his eyes."
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading Beatrice had no need to look at them.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
close interaction
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
opinion or judgment
From this reading "He's a bad one: look at his eyes."
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Beatrice had no need to look at them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "He's a bad one: look at his eyes."
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "He's a bad one: look at his eyes."
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
immediately past
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "He's a bad one: look at his eyes."
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading Beatrice had no need to look at them.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
not any; not one
From this reading Beatrice had no need to look at them.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "He's a bad one: look at his eyes."
draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading "Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
inflected form of “shrink” — wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Beatrice had no need to look at them.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Beatrice had no need to look at them.
past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading "Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
a town in central Belgium where in 1815 Napoleon met his final defeat
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading She knew well the evil that they held, and shrank, as she always did, from contact with this creature of the night.
at the time that
From this reading Certainly Waterloo was much better dressed than when she had seen him last.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Don't go with him, miss," urged Mrs. Quail.
Chapter 22 of The Black Patch by Fergus Hume holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 22 holds 202 sentences of The Black Patch, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Black Patch by Fergus Hume exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 22 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.
