Chapter 6 of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MY SMOKING-TABLE. Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table. I had to pass that boy every morning. In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side. He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.
Chapter 6 of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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.
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading “He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.”
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.”
travel across or pass over
From this reading “Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.”
in a disrespectful and mocking manner
From this reading “He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.”
having a point
From this reading “He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.”
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading “Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.”
a facial expression of dislike or displeasure
From this reading “In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.”
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading “In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.”
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 Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
a person who polishes shoes and boots
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
a youthful male person
From this reading I had to pass that boy every morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
travel across or pass over
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
in a disrespectful and mocking manner
From this reading He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading I had to pass that boy every morning.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading I had to pass that boy every morning.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading MY SMOKING-TABLE.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.
go across or through
From this reading I had to pass that boy every morning.
having a point
From this reading He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
a facial expression of dislike or displeasure
From this reading In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MY SMOKING-TABLE.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I had to pass that boy every morning.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Had it not been for a bootblack at Charing Cross I should probably never have bought the smoking-table.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He always pointed derisively (as I thought) at my boots.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I had to pass that boy every morning.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.
in the company of; together with
From this reading In vain did I scowl at him, or pass with my head to the side.
Chapter 6 of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie holds 61 sentences, grouped into 13 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 6 holds 61 sentences of My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 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 61 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 6 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.
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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.
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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.
