Chapter 4 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Together they examined the shelf. There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched. Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it. "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing. He was not there at all!"
Chapter 4 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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 act of consuming food
From this reading “"You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.”
English novelist and Catholic (1904-1991)
From this reading “"You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.”
a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating
From this reading “There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.”
plural of “scone” — small biscuit (rich with cream and eggs) cut into diamonds or sticks and baked in an oven or (especially originally) on a griddle
From this reading “There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.”
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading “Together they examined the shelf.”
lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age
From this reading “There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.”
still full
From this reading “There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.”
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading “Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He was not there at all!"
goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
inflected form of “drink” — take in liquids
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
divisible by two
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading Together they examined the shelf.
the act of consuming food
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
English novelist and Catholic (1904-1991)
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was not there at all!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
not any; not one
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He was not there at all!"
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
thin flat unleavened cake of baked oatmeal
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
plural of “scone” — small biscuit (rich with cream and eggs) cut into diamonds or sticks and baked in an oven or (especially originally) on a griddle
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading Together they examined the shelf.
lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
not in physical motion
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Together they examined the shelf.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Together they examined the shelf.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Together they examined the shelf.
still full
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was the brown loaf, the plate of stale scones, the oatcake, all untouched.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Even the glass of whisky Marriott had poured out stood there with the whisky still in it.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You were feeding--no one," said Greene "Field ate and drank nothing.
Chapter 4 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 4 holds 423 sentences of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 4 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 Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3297 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14471 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14471, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 274 minutes of reading across 660 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Empty House and Other Ghost 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 Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
