Chapter 6 of The Spell is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Spell is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his. Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles. "Jack dear," she cried, "you are not well! You are unhappy, too! Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
Chapter 6 of The Spell is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
eagerly desirous
From this reading “Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.”
(of memory) deficient in retentiveness or range
From this reading “Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.”
(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
From this reading “Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.”
in a keen or penetrating way
From this reading “Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.”
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading “Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.”
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading “You are unhappy, too!”
in a vertical position; not sloping
From this reading “Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.”
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 “Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"”
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 Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
eagerly desirous
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Jack dear," she cried, "you are not well!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Jack dear," she cried, "you are not well!
dearly loved
From this reading "Jack dear," she cried, "you are not well!
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
(of memory) deficient in retentiveness or range
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
a small worthless amount
From this reading "Jack dear," she cried, "you are not well!
in a keen or penetrating way
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Jack dear," she cried, "you are not well!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Helen opened her eyes suddenly and looked full into his.
express in words
From this reading Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading You are unhappy, too!
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading You are unhappy, too!
in a vertical position; not sloping
From this reading Startled at the expression on his face, she sat upright, keenly anxious and forgetful of her own troubles.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
(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 "Jack dear," she cried, "you are not well!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Tell me what it all means, and let us understand it together!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Jack dear," she cried, "you are not well!
Chapter 6 of The Spell by William Dana Orcutt holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 415 sentences of The Spell, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Spell by William Dana Orcutt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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.
Common questions about reading The Spell by William Dana Orcutt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5413 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35607 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35607, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 451 minutes of reading across 1083 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Spell section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Spell 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 Spell, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
