Chapter 1 of Four Ghost Stories is here in full — 639 sentences across 128 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Four Ghost Stories is here in full — 639 sentences across 128 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc. Etc. London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH. 5th DECEMBER 1887. LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
Chapter 1 of Four Ghost Stories is here in full — 639 sentences across 128 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/127 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc.”
plural of “carrot” — deep orange edible root of the cultivated carrot plant
From this reading “Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc.”
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading “5th DECEMBER 1887.”
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading “LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."”
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading “London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.”
an official residence provided by a church for its parson or vicar or rector
From this reading “Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc.”
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading “LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."”
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading “London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.”
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 “LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."”
your own wife
In this reading “LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."”
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 5th DECEMBER 1887.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 5th DECEMBER 1887.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
plural of “carrot” — deep orange edible root of the cultivated carrot plant
From this reading Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading 5th DECEMBER 1887.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
a polite name for any woman
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
an official residence provided by a church for its parson or vicar or rector
From this reading Author of 'Carrots,' 'Hathercourt Rectory,' Etc.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
term of address for a man
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
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 LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY A TRUE GHOST STORY "One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead."
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading London Macmillan and Co. and New York LILIAN AND GEORGINA MOLESWORTH.
Chapter 1 of Four Ghost Stories by Mrs. Molesworth holds 639 sentences, grouped into 128 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 639 sentences of Four Ghost Stories, unabridged, divided into 128 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Four Ghost Stories by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 639 sentences, grouped into 128 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 128 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 128 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 Four Ghost Stories by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1909 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31019 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31019, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 159 minutes of reading across 382 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Four Ghost Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Four Ghost Stories 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 Four Ghost Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
