Chapter 9 of The Legacy of Cain is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Legacy of Cain is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls. It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me. Indeed, I felt lonely all day without my sister. When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea. The housemaid opened the door to me.
Chapter 9 of The Legacy of Cain is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.”
comparative of “hard” — with effort or force or vigor
From this reading “It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.”
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading “When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.”
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading “Indeed, I felt lonely all day without my sister.”
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.”
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.”
the profession of a teacher
From this reading “It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.”
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading “To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.”
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 Indeed, I felt lonely all day without my sister.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Indeed, I felt lonely all day without my sister.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The housemaid opened the door to me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
at any time
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Indeed, I felt lonely all day without my sister.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
comparative of “hard” — with effort or force or vigor
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
a female domestic
From this reading The housemaid opened the door to me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Indeed, I felt lonely all day without my sister.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading Indeed, I felt lonely all day without my sister.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Indeed, I felt lonely all day without my sister.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading The housemaid opened the door to me.
on the contrary
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading Indeed, I felt lonely all day without my sister.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
the profession of a teacher
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading To-day I went as usual to the Scripture-class for girls.
at the time that
From this reading When I got home, I rather hoped that some friend might have come to see us, and have been asked to stay to tea.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading It was harder work than ever, teaching without Eunice to help me.
Chapter 9 of The Legacy of Cain by Wilkie Collins holds 200 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 9 holds 200 sentences of The Legacy of Cain, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Legacy of Cain by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 200 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 9 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 Legacy of Cain by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8449 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1975 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1975, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1690 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Legacy of Cain section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Legacy of Cain 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 Legacy of Cain, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
