Chapter 6 of The Vast Abyss is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Vast Abyss is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Oh, it's nothing to laugh about, sir. They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums." "What nonsense!" "Well, sir, I don't know about that. He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
Chapter 6 of The Vast Abyss is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading “He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."”
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading “They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."”
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading “He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."”
the sound of laughing
From this reading “"Oh, it's nothing to laugh about, sir.”
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading “"What nonsense!"”
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading “They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."”
past form of “singe” — burn superficially or lightly
From this reading “He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."”
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading “He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."”
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.
melt, break, or become otherwise unusable
In this reading “He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."”
In this reading “"Well, sir, I don't know about that.”
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 They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Oh, it's nothing to laugh about, sir.
(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 He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, sir, I don't know about that.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well, sir, I don't know about that.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, it's nothing to laugh about, sir.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Well, sir, I don't know about that.
the sound of laughing
From this reading "Oh, it's nothing to laugh about, sir.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading "What nonsense!"
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Oh, it's nothing to laugh about, sir.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, it's nothing to laugh about, sir.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
express in words
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
past form of “singe” — burn superficially or lightly
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
term of address for a man
From this reading "Oh, it's nothing to laugh about, sir.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Well, sir, I don't know about that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Oh, it's nothing to laugh about, sir.
(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, sir, I don't know about that.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What nonsense!"
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading He did have one, and singed all his hair off, and blew out his libery window."
in the company of; together with
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They say the place won't be safe, for he'll be having a blow-up one of these days with his contrapshums."
Chapter 6 of The Vast Abyss by George Manville Fenn holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 409 sentences of The Vast Abyss, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Vast Abyss by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Vast Abyss by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7667 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30106 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30106, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1534 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Vast Abyss section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Vast Abyss 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 Vast Abyss, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
