Chapter 14 of Happy-Thought Hall is here in full — 27 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Happy-Thought Hall is here in full — 27 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OUR POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS. Knock at the door. Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers. I promise to see to it. "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
Chapter 14 of Happy-Thought Hall is here in full — 27 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/5 · 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.
plural of “arrangement” — the thing arranged or agreed to
From this reading “OUR POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS.”
plural of “complaint” — an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
From this reading “Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.”
the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
From this reading “Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.”
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “Knock at the door.”
plural of “newspaper” — a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading “Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.”
of or relating to the system for delivering mail
From this reading “OUR POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS.”
a man who delivers the mail
From this reading “"George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."”
an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading “Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.”
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 “Knock at the door.”
In this reading “Knock at the door.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
plural of “arrangement” — the thing arranged or agreed to
From this reading OUR POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Knock at the door.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
plural of “complaint” — an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Knock at the door.
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 "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I promise to see to it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I promise to see to it.
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading Knock at the door.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
the literary culture
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
plural of “newspaper” — a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading OUR POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS.
of or relating to the system for delivering mail
From this reading OUR POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS.
a man who delivers the mail
From this reading "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
make a promise or commitment
From this reading I promise to see to it.
express in words
From this reading "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I promise to see to it.
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Knock at the door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Complaints made to the President of Happy-Thought Hall of the non-delivery or late delivery of letters, and newspapers.
at the time that
From this reading "George," I say to our servant, "let me see the postman when he comes."
Chapter 14 of Happy-Thought Hall by F. C. (Francis Cowley) Burnand holds 27 sentences, grouped into 6 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 14 holds 27 sentences of Happy-Thought Hall, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Happy-Thought Hall by F. C. (Francis Cowley) Burnand exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 27 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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 14 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 Happy-Thought Hall by F. C. (Francis Cowley) Burnand on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3094 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26281 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26281, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 257 minutes of reading across 619 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Happy-Thought Hall section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Happy-Thought Hall 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 Happy-Thought Hall, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
