Chapter 13 of Light-Fingered Gentry is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Light-Fingered Gentry is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Obviously," said Fosdick, promptly and easily. "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick. I am getting old." He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt. "I, too, am losing my faculties."
Chapter 13 of Light-Fingered Gentry is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
giving offense to moral sensibilities and injurious to reputation
From this reading “"I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.”
plural of “faculty” — one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
From this reading “"I, too, am losing my faculties."”
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “"I, too, am losing my faculties."”
United States suffragist in Wyoming (1814-1902)
From this reading “He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt.”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading “"Obviously," said Fosdick, promptly and easily.”
(of games) engaged in
From this reading “"I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.”
with little or no delay
From this reading “"Obviously," said Fosdick, promptly and easily.”
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “"I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.”
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.
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 "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am getting old."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Obviously," said Fosdick, promptly and easily.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt.
in a benevolent manner
From this reading He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt.
giving offense to moral sensibilities and injurious to reputation
From this reading "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading "Obviously," said Fosdick, promptly and easily.
plural of “faculty” — one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
From this reading "I, too, am losing my faculties."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Obviously," said Fosdick, promptly and easily.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading I am getting old."
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading "I, too, am losing my faculties."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.
From this reading "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
United States suffragist in Wyoming (1814-1902)
From this reading He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading "Obviously," said Fosdick, promptly and easily.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading I am getting old."
(of games) engaged in
From this reading "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
with little or no delay
From this reading "Obviously," said Fosdick, promptly and easily.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Obviously," said Fosdick, promptly and easily.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "I, too, am losing my faculties."
in the direction of
From this reading He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt.
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading "I see my memory has played me a disgraceful trick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He smiled benevolently at Morris, then toward Westervelt.
Chapter 13 of Light-Fingered Gentry by David Graham Phillips holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 13 holds 408 sentences of Light-Fingered Gentry, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Light-Fingered Gentry by David Graham Phillips exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 13 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 Light-Fingered Gentry by David Graham Phillips on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8149 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48621 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48621, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1630 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Light-Fingered Gentry section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Light-Fingered Gentry 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 Light-Fingered Gentry, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
