Chapter 1 of Mr. Meeson's Will is here in full — 190 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mr. Meeson's Will is here in full — 190 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOW EUSTACE WAS DISINHERITED. There was a pause—a dreadful pause. The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear. Mr. Meeson gasped. Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Meeson's Will is here in full — 190 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
replying
From this reading “The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.”
the capital of the state of Maine
From this reading “Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.”
a written order directing a bank to pay money
From this reading “Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.”
make overcast or cloudy
From this reading “The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.”
of metal e.g.
From this reading “Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.”
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “Mr. Meeson gasped.”
move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading “The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.”
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 There was a pause—a dreadful pause.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
replying
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
the capital of the state of Maine
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
a written order directing a bank to pay money
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
make overcast or cloudy
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
of metal e.g.
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
deprived of your rightful heritage
From this reading HOW EUSTACE WAS DISINHERITED.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading There was a pause—a dreadful pause.
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW EUSTACE WAS DISINHERITED.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading Mr. Meeson gasped.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW EUSTACE WAS DISINHERITED.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Meeson gasped.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Meeson gasped.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading There was a pause—a dreadful pause.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a pause—a dreadful pause.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The flash had left the cloud, but the answering thunder had not burst upon the ear.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading HOW EUSTACE WAS DISINHERITED.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Then he took up the cheque which Augusta had thrown upon the table and slowly crumpled it.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Meeson's Will by H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard holds 190 sentences, grouped into 38 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 190 sentences of Mr. Meeson's Will, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mr. Meeson's Will by H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 190 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 Mr. Meeson's Will by H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2825 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11913 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11913, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 235 minutes of reading across 565 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mr. Meeson's Will section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Mr. Meeson's Will 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 Mr. Meeson's Will, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
