Chapter 7 of Historical vignettes, 1st series is here in full — 437 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Historical vignettes, 1st series is here in full — 437 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas! How came that into my pocket?” The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head. “You don’t know?” “No, indeed, my lord.”
Chapter 7 of Historical vignettes, 1st series is here in full — 437 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
matters of personal concern
From this reading “The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.”
troubled emotionally and usually deeply
From this reading ““Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas!”
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading “The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.”
a short personal letter
From this reading “The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.”
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.”
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading “The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.”
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading “The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.”
a manservant who acts as a personal attendant to his employer
From this reading “The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.”
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 ““Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas!”
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 The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
matters of personal concern
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
troubled emotionally and usually deeply
From this reading “Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
a short personal letter
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading How came that into my pocket?”
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
in a servile manner
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You don’t know?”
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas!
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How came that into my pocket?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas!
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading “No, indeed, my lord.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading How came that into my pocket?”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “You don’t know?”
held up in the air
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading “No, indeed, my lord.”
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading How came that into my pocket?”
not any; not one
From this reading “No, indeed, my lord.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas!
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading How came that into my pocket?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas!
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading How came that into my pocket?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
a manservant who acts as a personal attendant to his employer
From this reading The valet, busy about his affairs, approached deferentially but curiously, and, at a sign from his master, lifted and examined the billet, and shook his head.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “Phineas,” he said in an agitated voice, “Phineas!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You don’t know?”
Chapter 7 of Historical vignettes, 1st series by Bernard Capes holds 437 sentences, grouped into 88 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 7 holds 437 sentences of Historical vignettes, 1st series, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Historical vignettes, 1st series by Bernard Capes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 437 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 7 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.
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Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Historical vignettes, 1st series section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Historical vignettes, 1st series 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 Historical vignettes, 1st series, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
