Chapter 21 of The dark mother is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The dark mother is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face. “Glad you’re here, Rennard. Business particularly boring, to-day. Fun particularly needed, to-night.” This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
Chapter 21 of The dark mother is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
From this reading “Business particularly boring, to-day.”
wanted intensely
From this reading “This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.”
past form of “flare” — burn brightly
From this reading “A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.”
activities that are enjoyable or amusing
From this reading “Fun particularly needed, to-night.””
with neatness
From this reading “A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.”
resisting control or authority
From this reading “This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.”
characterized by dignity and propriety
From this reading “This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.”
neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading “A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.”
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 “A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.”
bring forth, usually something desirable
In this reading “A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.”
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 A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
From this reading Business particularly boring, to-day.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading Business particularly boring, to-day.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
relating to or characteristic of Christianity
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
wanted intensely
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
in a drab manner
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
past form of “flare” — burn brightly
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
activities that are enjoyable or amusing
From this reading Fun particularly needed, to-night.”
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading “Glad you’re here, Rennard.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Glad you’re here, Rennard.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
with neatness
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
necessary for relief or supply
From this reading Fun particularly needed, to-night.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading Business particularly boring, to-day.
excessive or affected modesty
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
resisting control or authority
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Glad you’re here, Rennard.
characterized by dignity and propriety
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Business particularly boring, to-day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fun particularly needed, to-night.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
which person or people
From this reading This was Christian Hill--sedate, rebellious--a man of business who craved intoxicants of life.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A man came up, neatly and drably dressed, with a red tie that flared against the pale primness of his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Glad you’re here, Rennard.
Chapter 21 of The dark mother by Waldo David Frank holds 405 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 21 holds 405 sentences of The dark mother, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The dark mother by Waldo David Frank exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 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 21 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 dark mother by Waldo David Frank on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The dark mother section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The dark mother 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 dark mother, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
