Chapter 16 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DEVILRY. When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight. It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear. The man looked steadily. "She's come in since we passed here before."
Chapter 16 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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 heavy open wagon usually having two wheels and drawn by an animal
From this reading “When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.”
-ing form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading “It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.”
a mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid
From this reading “When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.”
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading “When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.”
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading “When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.”
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading “The man looked steadily.”
familiar with many parts of the world
From this reading “When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.”
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 When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "She's come in since we passed here before."
a youthful male person
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
a heavy open wagon usually having two wheels and drawn by an animal
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
-ing form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "She's come in since we passed here before."
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
wicked and cruel behavior
From this reading DEVILRY.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
a mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "She's come in since we passed here before."
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The man looked steadily.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man looked steadily.
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading "She's come in since we passed here before."
cut with a saw
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "She's come in since we passed here before."
an instance of visual perception
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading "She's come in since we passed here before."
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading The man looked steadily.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
familiar with many parts of the world
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "She's come in since we passed here before."
at the time that
From this reading When the cart and its little company had travelled for almost another hour, a dark object in the midst of the line of foam caught their sight.
which person or people
From this reading It was the boy who first saw it, and he suddenly leaned forward, clutching O'Shea's arm as if in fear.
Chapter 16 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale by L. (Lily) Dougall holds 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 16 holds 119 sentences of The Mermaid: A Love Tale, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale by L. (Lily) Dougall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 16 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 Mermaid: A Love Tale by L. (Lily) Dougall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mermaid: A Love Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Mermaid: A Love Tale 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 Mermaid: A Love Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
