Chapter 3 of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ARCADIA MIXTURE. Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas. He vanishes into his box. Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle. The men on my stair emerged from their holes.
Chapter 3 of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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 department of Greece in the central Peloponnese
From this reading “THE ARCADIA MIXTURE.”
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading “Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.”
(chemistry) a substance consisting of two or more substances mixed together (not in fixed proportions and not with chemical bonding)
From this reading “THE ARCADIA MIXTURE.”
plural of “sparrow” — any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading “Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.”
support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway
From this reading “Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.”
plural of “startle” — a sudden involuntary movement
From this reading “Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.”
cut a female screw thread with a tap
From this reading “Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.”
third-person singular of “vanish” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading “He vanishes into his box.”
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 Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
(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 Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
a department of Greece in the central Peloponnese
From this reading THE ARCADIA MIXTURE.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading He vanishes into his box.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading The men on my stair emerged from their holes.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The men on my stair emerged from their holes.
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He vanishes into his box.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He vanishes into his box.
plural of “hole” — an opening into or through something
From this reading The men on my stair emerged from their holes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He vanishes into his box.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
the force of workers available
From this reading The men on my stair emerged from their holes.
(chemistry) a substance consisting of two or more substances mixed together (not in fixed proportions and not with chemical bonding)
From this reading THE ARCADIA MIXTURE.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The men on my stair emerged from their holes.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
a four-sided polygon
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
plural of “sparrow” — any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
plural of “startle” — a sudden involuntary movement
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
cut a female screw thread with a tap
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ARCADIA MIXTURE.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The men on my stair emerged from their holes.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
third-person singular of “vanish” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading He vanishes into his box.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Already the inn is so quiet that the tap of a pipe on a window-sill startles all the sparrows in the quadrangle.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Darkness comes, and with it the porter to light our stair gas.
Chapter 3 of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie holds 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 3 holds 87 sentences of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 3 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 My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2672 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18934 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18934, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 222 minutes of reading across 535 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke 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 My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
