Chapter 15 of The black spaniel, and other stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The black spaniel, and other stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had. He tossed it into the fire. “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.” He put his hand on my arm. “I felt perfectly calm.
Chapter 15 of The black spaniel, and other stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading “He put his hand on my arm.”
make calm or still
From this reading ““I felt perfectly calm.”
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading “He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.”
start firing a weapon
From this reading “He tossed it into the fire.”
being perceived or observed
From this reading “He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading ““I felt perfectly calm.”
with low volume
From this reading ““I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.””
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading “He tossed it into the fire.”
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.
belong to an earlier time
In this reading ““I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.””
a reception held in your own home
In this reading ““I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.””
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 He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading He put his hand on my arm.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
make calm or still
From this reading “I felt perfectly calm.
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading “I felt perfectly calm.
start firing a weapon
From this reading He tossed it into the fire.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He put his hand on my arm.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He tossed it into the fire.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He tossed it into the fire.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
being perceived or observed
From this reading He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He put his hand on my arm.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “I felt perfectly calm.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He put his hand on my arm.
with low volume
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He had let his cigar out, and now he noticed that he had.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He tossed it into the fire.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading He tossed it into the fire.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “I said ‘Good-morning’ to the woman quite quietly, went back to the house, and told my man I shouldn’t be at home that night.”
Chapter 15 of The black spaniel, and other stories by Robert Hichens holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 15 holds 401 sentences of The black spaniel, and other stories, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The black spaniel, and other stories by Robert Hichens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 15 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 spaniel, and other stories by Robert Hichens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6333 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76971 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76971, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 527 minutes of reading across 1267 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The black spaniel, and other stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The black spaniel, and other stories 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 spaniel, and other stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
