Chapter 1 of Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings is here in full — 321 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings is here in full — 321 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Mercy gracious!" "_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's. She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed. One sufficed now. The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
Chapter 1 of Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings is here in full — 321 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/64 · 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.
a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
From this reading “The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.”
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading “The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.”
characterized by charm, good taste, and generosity of spirit
From this reading “"Mercy gracious!"”
small in range or scope
From this reading “The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.”
leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
From this reading “"Mercy gracious!"”
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading “The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.”
past form of “suffice” — be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity
From this reading “She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.”
the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
From this reading “"_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's.”
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 She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
a young person of either sex
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
characterized by charm, good taste, and generosity of spirit
From this reading "Mercy gracious!"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
immediately past
From this reading "_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's.
small in range or scope
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
From this reading "Mercy gracious!"
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading One sufficed now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One sufficed now.
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
not in physical motion
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
past form of “suffice” — be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
From this reading "_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "_Well!"_ The last utterance was Miss Theodosia Baxter's.
in or at the place that
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The child on her front porch, with a still childlier child on the small area of her knees, was not a creature of few words, but now extreme surprise limited speech.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
the words that are spoken
From this reading She was a woman of few words at all times where few sufficed.
Chapter 1 of Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings by Annie Hamilton Donnell holds 321 sentences, grouped into 65 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 321 sentences of Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings, unabridged, divided into 65 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings by Annie Hamilton Donnell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 321 sentences, grouped into 65 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 65 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 65 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 Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings by Annie Hamilton Donnell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3028 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8865 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8865, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 252 minutes of reading across 606 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings 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 Miss Theodosia's Heartstrings, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
