Chapter 1 of Josiah's Secret: A Play is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Josiah's Secret: A Play is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HUNGERFORD-HOLBROOK CO. WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen. ACT I. (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired. Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).
Chapter 1 of Josiah's Secret: A Play is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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.
United States comedienne remembered as the confused but imperturbable partner of her husband, George Burns (1906-1964)
From this reading “WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.”
plural of “character” — an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading “WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.”
stir (cream) vigorously in order to make butter
From this reading “(Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.”
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading “(Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.”
a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading “Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).”
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading “Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).”
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading “(Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.”
a town in southeastern Wisconsin
From this reading “WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.”
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 “Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).”
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 (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading ACT I.
United States comedienne remembered as the confused but imperturbable partner of her husband, George Burns (1906-1964)
From this reading WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
plural of “character” — an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.
stir (cream) vigorously in order to make butter
From this reading (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading HUNGERFORD-HOLBROOK CO.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HUNGERFORD-HOLBROOK CO.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ACT I.
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.
a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).
having a supporting base
From this reading (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
precisely as stated
From this reading (Samantha’s kitchen, Samantha standing by a big churn looking very tired.
a town in southeastern Wisconsin
From this reading WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Josiah sitting by the table reading a newspaper with great interest).
a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys
From this reading WATERTOWN, N. Y. Characters:--Josiah Allen----Samantha Allen.
Chapter 1 of Josiah's Secret: A Play by Marietta Holley holds 250 sentences, grouped into 50 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 250 sentences of Josiah's Secret: A Play, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Josiah's Secret: A Play by Marietta Holley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 250 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 Josiah's Secret: A Play by Marietta Holley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 250 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59159 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59159, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 20 minutes of reading across 50 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Josiah's Secret: A Play section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Josiah's Secret: A Play 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 Josiah's Secret: A Play, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
