Chapter VII of Nothing But the Truth, “Varying Vicissitudes,” is here in full — 299 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VII
Chapter VII of Nothing But the Truth, “Varying Vicissitudes,” is here in full — 299 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically. It was from the commodore. “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.” Bob eyed it gloomily. The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
Chapter VII of Nothing But the Truth, “Varying Vicissitudes,” is here in full — 299 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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 commissioned naval officer who ranks above a captain and below a rear admiral; the lowest grade of admiral
From this reading “It was from the commodore.”
to a great extent or degree
From this reading “The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.”
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading “Bob eyed it gloomily.”
a man employed as a servant in a large establishment (as a palace) to run errands and do chores
From this reading “A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.”
with gloom
From this reading “Bob eyed it gloomily.”
possessive form of “heaven” — any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
From this reading “A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.”
thrown into a state of agitated confusion; (“rattled” is an informal term)
From this reading “The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.”
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading ““For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.””
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 A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
a commissioned naval officer who ranks above a captain and below a rear admiral; the lowest grade of admiral
From this reading It was from the commodore.
to a great extent or degree
From this reading The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading Bob eyed it gloomily.
a man employed as a servant in a large establishment (as a palace) to run errands and do chores
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It was from the commodore.
with gloom
From this reading Bob eyed it gloomily.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
possessive form of “heaven” — any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was from the commodore.
in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
on one occasion
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
thrown into a state of agitated confusion; (“rattled” is an informal term)
From this reading The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
From this reading The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was from the commodore.
at the time that
From this reading The commodore must have been considerably rattled when he had sent that.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A footman had brought the message, which Bob now took and opened mechanically.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading “For heaven’s sake,” it ran, “return at once to New York Will explain.”
Chapter 7 of Nothing But the Truth by Frederic Stewart Isham holds 299 sentences, grouped into 60 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 7 holds 299 sentences of Nothing But the Truth, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Nothing But the Truth by Frederic Stewart Isham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 299 sentences, grouped into 60 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 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 60 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 7 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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Yes. All 6678 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43916 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43916, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 556 minutes of reading across 1336 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nothing But the Truth section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Nothing But the Truth 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 Nothing But the Truth, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
