Chapter 1 of Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC. LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO. LTD. 4 STATIONERS’-HALL COURT. 1895.
Chapter 1 of Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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 ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.”
Irish mathematician (1806-1865)
From this reading “LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.”
a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans
From this reading “LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.”
plural of “legend” — a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading “AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.”
plural of “lyric” — the text of a popular song or musical-comedy number
From this reading “AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.”
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading “LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.”
plural of “stationer” — a merchant who sells writing materials and office supplies
From this reading “4 STATIONERS’-HALL COURT.”
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1895.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4 STATIONERS’-HALL COURT.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading 4 STATIONERS’-HALL COURT.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading 4 STATIONERS’-HALL COURT.
Irish mathematician (1806-1865)
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.
plural of “legend” — a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LTD.
plural of “lyric” — the text of a popular song or musical-comedy number
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.
plural of “stationer” — a merchant who sells writing materials and office supplies
From this reading 4 STATIONERS’-HALL COURT.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
From this reading AUTHOR OF ‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS,’ ‘THE STORY OF A TRUST,’ ‘TALES OF OUR TOWN,’ ETC.
Chapter 1 of Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance by A. Garland Mears holds 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 139 sentences of Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance by A. Garland Mears exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance by A. Garland Mears on this page, its source edition and its audio.
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 Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance 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 Mercia, the astronomer royal: A romance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
