Chapter 21 of The Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage. Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without. The cottage was fast as a fortress. Stout planks were nailed across either door. Heavy shutters darkened the windows.
Chapter 21 of The Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
(of fabrics and paper) grown dark in color over time
From this reading “Heavy shutters darkened the windows.”
a man who is a native or inhabitant of England
From this reading “THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.”
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading “The cottage was fast as a fortress.”
past form of “nail” — attach something somewhere by means of nails
From this reading “Stout planks were nailed across either door.”
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading “Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.”
plural of “plank” — a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes
From this reading “Stout planks were nailed across either door.”
plural of “shutter” — a mechanical device on a camera that opens and closes to control the time of a photographic exposure
From this reading “Heavy shutters darkened the windows.”
plural of “spear” — a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon
From this reading “Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.”
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 The cottage was fast as a fortress.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Stout planks were nailed across either door.
(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 THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The cottage was fast as a fortress.
a small house with a single story
From this reading THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.
(of fabrics and paper) grown dark in color over time
From this reading Heavy shutters darkened the windows.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Stout planks were nailed across either door.
one or the other of two
From this reading Stout planks were nailed across either door.
a man who is a native or inhabitant of England
From this reading THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading The cottage was fast as a fortress.
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading The cottage was fast as a fortress.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading Heavy shutters darkened the windows.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.
past form of “nail” — attach something somewhere by means of nails
From this reading Stout planks were nailed across either door.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.
plural of “plank” — a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes
From this reading Stout planks were nailed across either door.
plural of “shutter” — a mechanical device on a camera that opens and closes to control the time of a photographic exposure
From this reading Heavy shutters darkened the windows.
plural of “spear” — a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon
From this reading Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.
dependable
From this reading Stout planks were nailed across either door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Stout planks were nailed across either door.
a Caucasian
From this reading Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading Heavy shutters darkened the windows.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading THE ENGLISHMAN All was dark within the kitchen of the cottage.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Spears of white light piercing the gloom told of day without.
Chapter 21 of The Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea by Alfred Ollivant holds 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 215 sentences of The Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea by Alfred Ollivant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea by Alfred Ollivant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8871 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8396 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8396, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1775 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea 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 Gentleman: A Romance of the Sea, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
