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Vailima Letters Being Correspondence

Chapter XXIX · Chapter 29

Chapter 29 of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence is here in full — 20 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Robert Louis Stevenson • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for Vailima Letters
Being Correspondence

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

_August_, 1893.

MY DEAR COLVIN,—Quite impossible to write.

Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

Let me humbly give you news.

Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XXIX Reading 1/4

Vailima Letters Being Correspondence

Chapter XXIX · Chapter 29

Chapter 29 of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence is here in full — 20 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/4 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

_August_, 1893.

Line 2

MY DEAR COLVIN,—Quite impossible to write.

Line 3

Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

Line 4

Let me humbly give you news.

Line 5

Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Shadow noun US /ˈʃæd.oʊ/

A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.

From this reading “Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.”

All words in this reading · 58

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.

1893

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _August_, 1893.

7

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

at

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

August

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _August_, 1893.

been

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

blue

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

burning

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

clouds

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

COLVIN

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MY DEAR COLVIN,—Quite impossible to write.

days

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

DEAR

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MY DEAR COLVIN,—Quite impossible to write.

due

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

family

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

Fanny

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

Flock

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

Flower

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

for

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

give

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Let me humbly give you news.

has

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

huge

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

humbly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Let me humbly give you news.

impossible

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MY DEAR COLVIN,—Quite impossible to write.

indigo

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

is

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

lamp

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

Let

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Let me humbly give you news.

letter

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

me

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Let me humbly give you news.

member

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

morning

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

most

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

MY

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MY DEAR COLVIN,—Quite impossible to write.

nasty

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

near

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

news

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Let me humbly give you news.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

on

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

only

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

or

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

powerful

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

Quite

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MY DEAR COLVIN,—Quite impossible to write.

rainy-like

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

sea

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

seems

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

shadownounUS /ˈʃæd.oʊ/

A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

she

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

some

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

still

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

the

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MY DEAR COLVIN,—Quite impossible to write.

to-day

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

whole

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Fanny seems on the whole the most, or the only, powerful member of the family; for some days she has been the Flower of the Flock.

with

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

write

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MY DEAR COLVIN,—Quite impossible to write.

you

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Let me humbly give you news.

Your

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Your letter is due to-day; a nasty, rainy-like morning with huge blue clouds, and a huge indigo shadow on the sea, and my lamp still burning at near 7.

Chapter 29 of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence by Robert Louis Stevenson holds 20 sentences, grouped into 4 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 29 of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence contain?

Chapter 29 holds 20 sentences of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence, unabridged, divided into 4 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 29 of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence by Robert Louis Stevenson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 20 sentences, grouped into 4 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.

How do I study chapter 29 of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence?

Work through the 4 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 4 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.

Can chapter 29 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 29 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.

Questions about reading Vailima Letters Being Correspondence

Common questions about reading Vailima Letters Being Correspondence by Robert Louis Stevenson on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence?

Yes. All 4155 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #387 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #387, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Vailima Letters Being Correspondence take to read?

About 346 minutes of reading across 831 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Vailima Letters Being Correspondence section by section

How to work through Vailima Letters Being Correspondence section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 40 chapters of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Vailima Letters Being Correspondence

Words and structures a reader meets early in Vailima Letters Being Correspondence, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Mountain: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Samoa: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Monday: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
November: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Vailima Letters Being Correspondence; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.