Chapter 16 of The Sacred Herb is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Sacred Herb is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DR. HORACE INTERVENES. In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop. Prelice's head was whirling. Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
Chapter 16 of The Sacred Herb is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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 formal public statement
From this reading “In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.”
not clear to the understanding
From this reading “In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.”
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading “HORACE INTERVENES.”
third-person singular of “intervene” — get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force
From this reading “HORACE INTERVENES.”
possessive form of “mona” — an island to the northwest of Wales
From this reading “In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.”
to hold fast or prevent from moving
From this reading “In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.”
a relation between people; (“relationship” is often used where “relation” would serve, as in `the relationship between inflation and unemployment', but the preferred usage of “relationship” is for human relations or states of relatedness)
From this reading “Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.”
the act of rotating in a circle or spiral
From this reading “Prelice's head was whirling.”
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 “In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.”
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 In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
a formal public statement
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
from appearances alone
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
past form of “care” — feel concern or interest
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DR.
let fall to the ground
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
not clear to the understanding
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
a young female
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Prelice's head was whirling.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading HORACE INTERVENES.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
third-person singular of “intervene” — get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force
From this reading HORACE INTERVENES.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
immediately past
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
held dear
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
possessive form of “mona” — an island to the northwest of Wales
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
to hold fast or prevent from moving
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Prelice's head was whirling.
a relation between people; (“relationship” is often used where “relation” would serve, as in `the relationship between inflation and unemployment', but the preferred usage of “relationship” is for human relations or states of relatedness)
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Prelice's head was whirling.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading In the dead silence which followed Mona's enigmatic announcement a pin could have been heard to drop.
the act of rotating in a circle or spiral
From this reading Prelice's head was whirling.
which person or people
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Here, at last, was the explanation, and he would now know the true relationship between the girl he loved and Ned, who apparently cared nothing for her.
Chapter 16 of The Sacred Herb by Fergus Hume holds 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 207 sentences of The Sacred Herb, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Sacred Herb by Fergus Hume exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 Sacred Herb by Fergus Hume on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5717 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55642 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55642, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 476 minutes of reading across 1144 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sacred Herb section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Sacred Herb 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 Sacred Herb, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
