Chapter 4 of The Necromancers is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Necromancers is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Not in the least," said Laurie. "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago." "Trance?" gasped Laurie. "Certainly. A very deep and satisfactory trance.
Chapter 4 of The Necromancers is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
in the past
From this reading “"Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “"Certainly.”
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading “A very deep and satisfactory trance.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “"Trance?" gasped Laurie.”
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading “"Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."”
giving satisfaction
From this reading “A very deep and satisfactory trance.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading “"Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."”
a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation
From this reading “"Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."”
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 A very deep and satisfactory trance.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
in the past
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A very deep and satisfactory trance.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "Certainly.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading A very deep and satisfactory trance.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading "Trance?" gasped Laurie.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Not in the least," said Laurie.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Not in the least," said Laurie.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading "Not in the least," said Laurie.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not in the least," said Laurie.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
the time that has elapsed
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Not in the least," said Laurie.
giving satisfaction
From this reading A very deep and satisfactory trance.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Not in the least," said Laurie.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
precisely as stated
From this reading A very deep and satisfactory trance.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, then, you passed into trance about five minutes--" "_What?_" "You passed into trance about five minutes past six; you came out of it five minutes ago."
Chapter 4 of The Necromancers by Robert Hugh Benson holds 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 4 holds 391 sentences of The Necromancers, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Necromancers by Robert Hugh Benson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 4 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 Necromancers by Robert Hugh Benson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5213 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14275 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14275, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 434 minutes of reading across 1043 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Necromancers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Necromancers 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 Necromancers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
