Chapter 8 of The Black Robe is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Black Robe is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PRIEST OR THE WOMAN? LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room. “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together. She was attired with her customary love of simplicity. White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
Chapter 8 of The Black Robe is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading “She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.”
in accordance with convention or custom
From this reading “She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.”
savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type
From this reading “LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room.”
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading “White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.”
make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
From this reading “White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.”
resembling or reminiscent of silver
From this reading “White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.”
the quality of being simple or uncompounded
From this reading “She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.”
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading ““I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.”
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 “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
in accordance with convention or custom
From this reading She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.
exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury
From this reading White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
put on clothes
From this reading White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type
From this reading LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
and nothing more
From this reading White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading THE PRIEST OR THE WOMAN?
make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
From this reading White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading THE PRIEST OR THE WOMAN?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.
resembling or reminiscent of silver
From this reading White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
the quality of being simple or uncompounded
From this reading She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PRIEST OR THE WOMAN?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading LORD LORING hurried away to his dressing room.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.
a Caucasian
From this reading White lace was the only ornament on her dress of delicate silvery gray.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She was attired with her customary love of simplicity.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading THE PRIEST OR THE WOMAN?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I won’t be more than ten minutes,” he said--and left Romayne and Stella together.
Chapter 8 of The Black Robe by Wilkie Collins holds 238 sentences, grouped into 48 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 8 holds 238 sentences of The Black Robe, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Black Robe by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 238 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 8 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.
