Chapter 1 of A Christmas Mystery is here in full — 336 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Christmas Mystery is here in full — 336 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it. I felt it. It was like the beating of wings." Frontispiece "I told you the place was uncanny." Instinctively they all knelt down.
Chapter 1 of A Christmas Mystery is here in full — 336 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/67 · 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.
the act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading “It was like the beating of wings."”
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading “I felt it.”
as a matter of instinct
From this reading “Instinctively they all knelt down.”
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading “Instinctively they all knelt down.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “"_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.”
a fact that has been verified
From this reading “"_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.”
suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
From this reading “Frontispiece "I told you the place was uncanny."”
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading “It was like the beating of wings."”
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 Instinctively they all knelt down.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
the act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading It was like the beating of wings."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Instinctively they all knelt down.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading I felt it.
an ornamental facade
From this reading Frontispiece "I told you the place was uncanny."
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
as a matter of instinct
From this reading Instinctively they all knelt down.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading Instinctively they all knelt down.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It was like the beating of wings."
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was like the beating of wings."
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Frontispiece "I told you the place was uncanny."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
express in words
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
express in words
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Instinctively they all knelt down.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Frontispiece "I told you the place was uncanny."
a fact that has been verified
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_I cannot tell how the truth may be: I say the tale as 'twas said to me._" "I heard it.
suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
From this reading Frontispiece "I told you the place was uncanny."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was like the beating of wings."
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading It was like the beating of wings."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Frontispiece "I told you the place was uncanny."
Chapter 1 of A Christmas Mystery by William John Locke holds 336 sentences, grouped into 68 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 1 holds 336 sentences of A Christmas Mystery, unabridged, divided into 68 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Christmas Mystery by William John Locke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 336 sentences, grouped into 68 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 68 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 68 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 1 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 A Christmas Mystery by William John Locke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 336 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10707 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10707, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 28 minutes of reading across 68 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Christmas Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of A Christmas Mystery 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 A Christmas Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
