Chapter VI of The Leopard's Spots, “An Experiment in Matrimony,” is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter VI of The Leopard's Spots, “An Experiment in Matrimony,” is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again. “What’s dat? Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?” “Yes,” said the Agent. “You must be legally married.”
Chapter VI of The Leopard's Spots, “An Experiment in Matrimony,” is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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.
an administrative unit of government
From this reading “NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.”
ruin completely
From this reading “Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?””
(Roman mythology) god of the underworld; counterpart of Greek Hades
From this reading “Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?””
a fixed charge for a privilege or for professional services
From this reading “NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.”
possessive form of “freedman” — a person who has been freed from slavery
by law; conforming to the law
From this reading ““You must be legally married.””
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading “NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.”
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading “NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.”
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 ““You must be legally married.””
a license authorizing two people to marry
In this reading “NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.”
anew
In this reading “NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.”
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 NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
anew
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
an administrative unit of government
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
ruin completely
From this reading Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
a digital tape recording of sound
From this reading “What’s dat?
(Roman mythology) god of the underworld; counterpart of Greek Hades
From this reading Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?”
the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
half the width of an em
From this reading Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?”
a fixed charge for a privilege or for professional services
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
possessive form of “freedman” — a person who has been freed from slavery
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
having much knowledge or education
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
by law; conforming to the law
From this reading “You must be legally married.”
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
joined in matrimony
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?”
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
above and across; more than
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Yes,” said the Agent.
past form of “summon” — call in an official matter, such as to attend court
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?”
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’s dat?
at the time that
From this reading NELSE was informed by the Agent of the Freedman’s Bureau when summoned before that tribunal that he must pay a fee of one dollar for a marriage license and be married over again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dis yer war bust up me en Eve’s marryin’?”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes,” said the Agent.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You must be legally married.”
Chapter 6 of The Leopard's Spots by Thomas, Jr. Dixon holds 257 sentences, grouped into 52 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 6 holds 257 sentences of The Leopard's Spots, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Leopard's Spots by Thomas, Jr. Dixon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 257 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 6 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.
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Yes. All 8950 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54765 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54765, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1790 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Leopard's Spots section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Leopard's Spots 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 Leopard's Spots, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
