Chapter 7 of The Black Robe is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Black Robe is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE INFLUENCE OF STELLA. ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door. The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring. Father Benwell advanced and made his bow. It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
Chapter 7 of The Black Robe is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
having companions or an escort
From this reading “It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.”
inflected form of “admit” — declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading “The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.”
a movement into or inward
From this reading “ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.”
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.”
bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting
From this reading “It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.”
a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
From this reading “The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.”
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading “The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.”
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading “THE INFLUENCE OF STELLA.”
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 ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
having companions or an escort
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
inflected form of “admit” — declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.
farther along in physical or mental development
From this reading Father Benwell advanced and made his bow.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Father Benwell advanced and made his bow.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
From this reading Father Benwell advanced and made his bow.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
a movement into or inward
From this reading ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Father Benwell advanced and made his bow.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc
From this reading THE INFLUENCE OF STELLA.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading ENTERING the hall, Father Benwell heard a knock at the house door.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Father Benwell advanced and made his bow.
bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE INFLUENCE OF STELLA.
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
From this reading The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading THE INFLUENCE OF STELLA.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE INFLUENCE OF STELLA.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The servants appeared to recognize the knock--the porter admitted Lord Loring.
in an unobtrusive manner
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a perfect obeisance of its kind--respect for Lord Loring, unobtrusively accompanied by respect for himself.
Chapter 7 of The Black Robe by Wilkie Collins holds 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 7 holds 109 sentences of The Black Robe, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Black Robe by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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.
Common questions about reading The Black Robe by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6846 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1587 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1587, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 570 minutes of reading across 1370 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Robe section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Black Robe 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 Robe, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
