Chapter 1 of Diana is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Diana is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD," "QUEECHY," ETC. ETC. JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET. MDCCCLXXVII. "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
Chapter 1 of Diana is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
superlative of “calm” — not agitated; without losing self-possession
From this reading “"Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.”
plural of “control” — power to direct or determine
From this reading “"Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.”
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading “"Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.”
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading “"Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.”
plural of “roll” — rotary motion of an object around its own axis
From this reading “"Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.”
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading “"Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “"THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD," "QUEECHY," ETC.”
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 “"THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD," "QUEECHY," ETC.”
In this reading “"Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.”
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 JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
superlative of “calm” — not agitated; without losing self-possession
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
plural of “control” — power to direct or determine
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD," "QUEECHY," ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MDCCCLXXVII.
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD," "QUEECHY," ETC.
plural of “roll” — rotary motion of an object around its own axis
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD," "QUEECHY," ETC.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Know well, my soul, God's hand controls Whate'er thou fearest; Round Him in calmest music rolls Whate'er thou hearest.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading "THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD," "QUEECHY," ETC.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading "THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD," "QUEECHY," ETC.
Chapter 1 of Diana by Susan Warner holds 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 280 sentences of Diana, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Diana by Susan Warner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 Diana by Susan Warner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9055 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29824 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29824, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1811 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Diana section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Diana 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 Diana, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
