Chapter 1 of Christian Melville is here in full — 10 sentences across 2 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Christian Melville is here in full — 10 sentences across 2 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHRISTIAN MELVILLE. CHRISTIAN MELVILLE. AUTHOR OF “MATTHEW PAXTON.” “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW. LONDON: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, BROADWAY, LUDGATE.
Chapter 1 of Christian Melville is here in full — 10 sentences across 2 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/2 · 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 street in Manhattan that passes through Times Square; famous for its theaters
From this reading “LONDON: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, BROADWAY, LUDGATE.”
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading ““There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.”
common Old World heath represented by many varieties; low evergreen grown widely in the northern hemisphere
From this reading ““There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.”
British artist and writer of nonsense verse (1812-1888)
From this reading ““There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.”
United States poet remembered for his long narrative poems (1807-1882)
From this reading ““There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.”
(New Testament) disciple of Jesus; traditionally considered to be the author of the first Gospel
From this reading “AUTHOR OF “MATTHEW PAXTON.””
United States writer of novels and short stories (1819-1891)
From this reading “CHRISTIAN MELVILLE.”
English architect (1801-1865)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF “MATTHEW PAXTON.””
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 ““There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.”
wild or uncultivated flowering plant
In this reading ““There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.”
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 “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MATTHEW PAXTON.”
a street in Manhattan that passes through Times Square; famous for its theaters
From this reading LONDON: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, BROADWAY, LUDGATE.
relating to or characteristic of Christianity
From this reading CHRISTIAN MELVILLE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
having or displaying warmth or affection
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading LONDON: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, BROADWAY, LUDGATE.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
common Old World heath represented by many varieties; low evergreen grown widely in the northern hemisphere
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
British artist and writer of nonsense verse (1812-1888)
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, BROADWAY, LUDGATE.
United States poet remembered for his long narrative poems (1807-1882)
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, BROADWAY, LUDGATE.
(New Testament) disciple of Jesus; traditionally considered to be the author of the first Gospel
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MATTHEW PAXTON.”
United States writer of novels and short stories (1819-1891)
From this reading CHRISTIAN MELVILLE.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MATTHEW PAXTON.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
English architect (1801-1865)
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MATTHEW PAXTON.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, BROADWAY, LUDGATE.
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading LONDON: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, BROADWAY, LUDGATE.
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading “There he stands in the foul weather, The foolish, fond Old Year, Crown’d with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, A King--a King!”--LONGFELLOW.
Chapter 1 of Christian Melville by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 10 sentences, grouped into 2 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 10 sentences of Christian Melville, unabridged, divided into 2 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Christian Melville by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 10 sentences, grouped into 2 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 2 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 2 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 Christian Melville by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1011 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71919 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71919, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 84 minutes of reading across 203 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Christian Melville section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Christian Melville 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 Christian Melville, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
