Chapter 24 of The String of Pearls is here in full — 688 sentences across 138 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of The String of Pearls is here in full — 688 sentences across 138 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER. "Well?" said Todd. "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir. They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now." "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
Chapter 24 of The String of Pearls is here in full — 688 sentences across 138 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/137 · 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.
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading “"What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"”
refrain from harming
From this reading “"Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.”
suffering from lack of food
From this reading “They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."”
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading “"Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.”
Scottish chemist noted for his research into the structure of nucleic acids (born in 1907)
From this reading “JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.”
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading “"Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.”
a numerical quantity measured or assigned or computed
From this reading “"What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"”
someone who visits
From this reading “JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.”
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.
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 JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
destroyed or killed
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
a form of address for a man
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
not any; not one
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well?" said Todd.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
refrain from harming
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
suffering from lack of food
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They are starving--do you hear, Mr. Todd?--they are starving, and have no father now."
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
Scottish chemist noted for his research into the structure of nucleic acids (born in 1907)
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
a numerical quantity measured or assigned or computed
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
someone who visits
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
(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?" said Todd.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
at the time that
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
during the time that
From this reading JOHANNA HAS A VISITOR WHILE TODD IS GONE UPON THE RIVER.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, sir, I was thinking that--that you might spare a trifle for the children, sir.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What was the value of the watch-cases your husband had with him, Mrs. Cummins, when he disappeared?"
Chapter 24 of The String of Pearls by James Malcolm Rymer holds 688 sentences, grouped into 138 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 24 holds 688 sentences of The String of Pearls, unabridged, divided into 138 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of The String of Pearls by James Malcolm Rymer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 688 sentences, grouped into 138 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 138 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 138 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 24 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 String of Pearls by James Malcolm Rymer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 23908 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59828 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59828, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 4782 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The String of Pearls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The String of Pearls 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 String of Pearls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
