Chapter 1 of Old Christmas is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Old Christmas is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But is old, old, good old Christmas gone? Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left? Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him. Hue and Cry after Christmas. A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Chapter 1 of Old Christmas is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hue and Cry after Christmas.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But is old, old, good old Christmas gone?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But is old, old, good old Christmas gone?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hue and Cry after Christmas.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But is old, old, good old Christmas gone?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But is old, old, good old Christmas gone?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hue and Cry after Christmas.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But is old, old, good old Christmas gone?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But is old, old, good old Christmas gone?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him.
Chapter 1 of Old Christmas by Washington Irving holds 103 sentences, grouped into 21 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 103 sentences of Old Christmas, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Old Christmas by Washington Irving exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 Old Christmas by Washington Irving on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 568 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1850 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1850, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 47 minutes of reading across 114 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Christmas section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Old Christmas 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 Old Christmas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
