Chapter 1 of Oswald Langdon is here in full — 24 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Oswald Langdon is here in full — 24 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice. Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face? Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference. A block away the boy resumes his calls: "All about the murder of a young girl!
Chapter 1 of Oswald Langdon is here in full — 24 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/4 · 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.
troubled emotionally and usually deeply
From this reading “Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.”
third-person singular of “assume” — take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
From this reading “Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.”
direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading “Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.”
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading “A block away the boy resumes his calls:”
having or expressing dignity; especially formality or stateliness in bearing or appearance
From this reading “Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.”
unbiased impartial unconcern
From this reading “Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.”
plural of “resume” — short descriptive summary (of events)
From this reading “A block away the boy resumes his calls:”
made afraid
From this reading “Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?”
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 Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "All about the murder of a young girl!
troubled emotionally and usually deeply
From this reading Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.
(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 "All about the murder of a young girl!
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
from appearances alone
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
third-person singular of “assume” — take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
From this reading Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.
direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading A block away the boy resumes his calls:
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading A block away the boy resumes his calls:
a youthful male person
From this reading A block away the boy resumes his calls:
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading A block away the boy resumes his calls:
the appearance conveyed by a person's face
From this reading Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.
having or expressing dignity; especially formality or stateliness in bearing or appearance
From this reading Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
a young female
From this reading "All about the murder of a young girl!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A block away the boy resumes his calls:
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
unbiased impartial unconcern
From this reading Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading "All about the murder of a young girl!
a boy who delivers newspapers
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
with speed
From this reading Quickly the agitated countenance assumes a look of dignified indifference.
plural of “resume” — short descriptive summary (of events)
From this reading A block away the boy resumes his calls:
made afraid
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
absorbed in your own interests or thoughts etc
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Passing along the street, apparently self-absorbed, there seems little in this man to attract notice.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why does the scared newsboy hurry by, thinking of that strange face?
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading "All about the murder of a young girl!
Chapter 1 of Oswald Langdon by Levi Jackson Hamilton holds 24 sentences, grouped into 5 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 24 sentences of Oswald Langdon, unabridged, divided into 5 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Oswald Langdon by Levi Jackson Hamilton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 24 sentences, grouped into 5 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 5 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 5 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 Oswald Langdon by Levi Jackson Hamilton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5878 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22221 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22221, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 489 minutes of reading across 1176 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Oswald Langdon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Oswald Langdon 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 Oswald Langdon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
