Chapter 8 of The White Hand and the Black is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The White Hand and the Black is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon. Then they halted. They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine. "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni. "The death of the spear is not for such as thee."
Chapter 8 of The White Hand and the Black is here in full — 408 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.
a region marking a boundary
From this reading “They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.”
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading “They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.”
any of numerous agile ruminants related to sheep but having a beard and straight horns
From this reading “"I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.”
horrible in fierceness or savagery
From this reading “For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.”
inflected form of “overhang” — project over
From this reading “They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.”
a deep narrow steep-sided valley (especially one formed by running water)
From this reading “They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.”
past form of “slaughter” — kill (animals) usually for food consumption
From this reading “"I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.”
a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon
From this reading “"The death of the spear is not for such as thee."”
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 “They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.”
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 had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "The death of the spear is not for such as thee."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
a region marking a boundary
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
a steep high face of rock
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading "The death of the spear is not for such as thee."
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
an alert and refreshed state
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
any of numerous agile ruminants related to sheep but having a beard and straight horns
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading Then they halted.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
resulting from one's intentions
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The death of the spear is not for such as thee."
set afire or burning
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
horrible in fierceness or savagery
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "The death of the spear is not for such as thee."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
inflected form of “overhang” — project over
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
past form of “proceed” — continue talking
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
a deep narrow steep-sided valley (especially one formed by running water)
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
past form of “slaughter” — kill (animals) usually for food consumption
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon
From this reading "The death of the spear is not for such as thee."
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "The death of the spear is not for such as thee."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading "I had intended thee to be slaughtered like a goat, Teliso," said Nteseni.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then they halted.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading For about half an hour thus they proceeded, their way lighted by the lurid glow of the blood moon.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading They had come to the brink of a high cliff which overhung a wild desolate ravine.
Chapter 8 of The White Hand and the Black by Bertram Mitford holds 408 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 8 holds 408 sentences of The White Hand and the Black, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The White Hand and the Black by Bertram Mitford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 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 8 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 White Hand and the Black by Bertram Mitford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5671 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32911 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32911, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 472 minutes of reading across 1135 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The White Hand and the Black section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The White Hand and the Black 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 White Hand and the Black, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
