Chapter 18 of The black tulip is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The black tulip is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on. “Do you hear, father?” said Rosa. “What?” “Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.” “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
Chapter 18 of The black tulip is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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 verbal act of requesting
From this reading “Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.”
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading ““Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.””
French biochemist who (with Jacques Monod) studied regulatory processes in cells (born in 1920)
From this reading ““Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.””
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading ““There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?”
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading “Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.”
large genus of erect or climbing prickly shrubs including roses
From this reading “Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.”
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading “Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.”
lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance
From this reading ““Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.””
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 Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading “Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.”
affording comfort or solace
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Do you hear, father?” said Rosa.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “Do you hear, father?” said Rosa.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
the act of departing
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.”
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “Do you hear, father?” said Rosa.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.”
French biochemist who (with Jacques Monod) studied regulatory processes in cells (born in 1920)
From this reading “Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.”
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading “Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.”
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
large genus of erect or climbing prickly shrubs including roses
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Do you hear, father?” said Rosa.
only a very short time before
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance
From this reading “Master Jacob calls you, he is uneasy.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What?”
at the time that
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Rosa had scarcely pronounced these consolatory words when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus how matters were going on.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There was such a noise,” said Gryphus; “wouldn’t you have thought he would murder me, this doctor?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Do you hear, father?” said Rosa.
Chapter 18 of The black tulip by Alexandre Dumas holds 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 18 holds 135 sentences of The black tulip, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The black tulip by Alexandre Dumas exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 18 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 tulip by Alexandre Dumas on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3523 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #965 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #965, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 293 minutes of reading across 705 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The black tulip section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The black tulip 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 tulip, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
