Chapter 1 of Hearts and Masks is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Hearts and Masks is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing . (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons. "This is what I want.
Chapter 1 of Hearts and Masks is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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 The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .”
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading “Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .”
anything that covers or conceals
From this reading “Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .”
the attire worn in a play or at a fancy dress ball
From this reading “Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .”
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading “Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .”
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .”
plural of “moon” — the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading “(Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.”
a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer
From this reading “Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .”
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 (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
anything that covers or conceals
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
the attire worn in a play or at a fancy dress ball
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
opinion or judgment
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
an ornamental facade
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
a young female
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This is what I want.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
plural of “moon” — the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
having a supporting base
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing .
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This is what I want.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading (Frontispiece) The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "This is what I want.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "This is what I want.
Chapter 1 of Hearts and Masks by Harold MacGrath holds 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 452 sentences of Hearts and Masks, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Hearts and Masks by Harold MacGrath exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 Hearts and Masks by Harold MacGrath on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2223 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17390 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17390, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 185 minutes of reading across 445 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hearts and Masks section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Hearts and Masks 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 Hearts and Masks, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
