Chapter 3 of The Land of Darkness is here in full — 454 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Land of Darkness is here in full — 454 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’ ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow. For the moment a wonderful elation came over me. ‘For my coming!’ But then I paused and shook my head.
Chapter 3 of The Land of Darkness is here in full — 454 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
From this reading “‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.”
an exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression
From this reading “For the moment a wonderful elation came over me.”
indecision in speech or action
From this reading “‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.”
an event that occurs at a critical time
From this reading “‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “But then I paused and shook my head.”
a feeling of great happiness
From this reading “‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “But then I paused and shook my head.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “For the moment a wonderful elation came over me.”
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 “‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.”
temporarily
In this reading “For the moment a wonderful elation came over me.”
communicate the intended meaning or impression
In this reading “For the moment a wonderful elation came over me.”
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 ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
(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 ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But then I paused and shook my head.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading For the moment a wonderful elation came over me.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
an exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression
From this reading For the moment a wonderful elation came over me.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading But then I paused and shook my head.
indecision in speech or action
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
a particular point in time
From this reading For the moment a wonderful elation came over me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading ‘For my coming!’
not any; not one
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
an event that occurs at a critical time
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
above and across; more than
From this reading For the moment a wonderful elation came over me.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading But then I paused and shook my head.
a feeling of great happiness
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading But then I paused and shook my head.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
express in words
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading But then I paused and shook my head.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
used to ask for information about something
From this reading ‘I can get no one to tell me,’ I said, ‘what the occasion of all this rejoicing is.’
in the company of; together with
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading For the moment a wonderful elation came over me.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘It is for your coming,’ he replied, without hesitation, with a smile and a bow.
Chapter 3 of The Land of Darkness by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 454 sentences, grouped into 91 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 3 holds 454 sentences of The Land of Darkness, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Land of Darkness by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 454 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 3 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 Land of Darkness by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1857 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58710 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58710, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 154 minutes of reading across 372 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Land of Darkness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Land of Darkness 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 Land of Darkness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
