Chapter 18 of The Harbor is here in full — 134 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 Harbor is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They sailed the middle of March. It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed. But at the time it was no smiling matter. I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties. Did Eleanore really care for me?
Chapter 18 of The Harbor is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading “It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.”
fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
From this reading “I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.”
to a high degree; extremely; in high concentration or density
From this reading “I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.”
march in a procession
From this reading “They sailed the middle of March.”
past form of “sail” — traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading “They sailed the middle of March.”
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading “It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.”
plural of “uncertainty” — being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance
From this reading “I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.”
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading “I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.”
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.
look towards one's back
In this reading “It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.”
In this reading “It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.”
simultaneously
In this reading “But at the time it was no smiling matter.”
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 I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
at or in the front
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But at the time it was no smiling matter.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading Did Eleanore really care for me?
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Did Eleanore really care for me?
fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Did Eleanore really care for me?
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
to a high degree; extremely; in high concentration or density
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
march in a procession
From this reading They sailed the middle of March.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading But at the time it was no smiling matter.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Did Eleanore really care for me?
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading They sailed the middle of March.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
used to form the superlative
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
not any; not one
From this reading But at the time it was no smiling matter.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They sailed the middle of March.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Did Eleanore really care for me?
precisely, exactly
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
past form of “sail” — traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading They sailed the middle of March.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading But at the time it was no smiling matter.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They sailed the middle of March.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They sailed the middle of March.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading But at the time it was no smiling matter.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
plural of “uncertainty” — being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is easy to look back now and smile at my small desolate self as I was in the months that followed.
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading I was intensely wretched and I had a right to be, for I could see nothing whatever ahead but the most dire uncertainties.
Chapter 18 of The Harbor by Ernest Poole holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 18 holds 134 sentences of The Harbor, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Harbor by Ernest Poole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 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 Harbor by Ernest Poole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8619 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29932 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29932, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1724 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Harbor section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Harbor 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 Harbor, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
