Chapter 1 of Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season. Now First Edited From The Original MSS. (Mess). By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside. M.DCCC.L. Prime Movers.
Chapter 1 of Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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.
improved or corrected by critical editing
From this reading “Now First Edited From The Original MSS.”
offering fun and gaiety
From this reading “Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.”
(New Testament) the Apostle closely associated with St. Paul and traditionally assumed to be the author of the third Gospel
From this reading “By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.”
a state of confusion and disorderliness
From this reading “(Mess).”
plural of “mover” — workman employed by a moving company
From this reading “M.DCCC.L. Prime Movers.”
preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed
From this reading “Now First Edited From The Original MSS.”
first in rank or degree
From this reading “M.DCCC.L. Prime Movers.”
a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
From this reading “Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading M.DCCC.L. Prime Movers.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
improved or corrected by critical editing
From this reading Now First Edited From The Original MSS.
a title of respect for a member of the English gentry ranking just below a knight; placed after the name
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
offering fun and gaiety
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Now First Edited From The Original MSS.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Now First Edited From The Original MSS.
resulting from one's intentions
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)
From this reading M.DCCC.L. Prime Movers.
a painter or drawer of portraits
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
(New Testament) the Apostle closely associated with St. Paul and traditionally assumed to be the author of the third Gospel
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading M.DCCC.L. Prime Movers.
a state of confusion and disorderliness
From this reading (Mess).
plural of “mover” — workman employed by a moving company
From this reading M.DCCC.L. Prime Movers.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now First Edited From The Original MSS.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now First Edited From The Original MSS.
preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed
From this reading Now First Edited From The Original MSS.
first in rank or degree
From this reading M.DCCC.L. Prime Movers.
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now First Edited From The Original MSS.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Brown Did, Thought, And Intended To Do, During That Festive Season.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By LUKE LIMNER, Esq. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street, Cheapside.
Chapter 1 of Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What by John Leighton holds 366 sentences, grouped into 74 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 366 sentences of Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What by John Leighton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 366 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What by John Leighton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 366 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20251 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20251, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 30 minutes of reading across 74 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What 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 Christmas Comes but Once a Year Showing What, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
