Chapter 8 of Some Persons Unknown is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Some Persons Unknown is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly. "That was all I wanted you to say. Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him! Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story. You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
Chapter 8 of Some Persons Unknown is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
deserving of contempt or scorn
From this reading “Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.”
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.”
affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)
From this reading “"Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.”
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “"Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.”
make an effort or attempt
From this reading “Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!”
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading “"That was all I wanted you to say.”
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading “Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!”
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.
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 Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
(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 "That was all I wanted you to say.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
deserving of contempt or scorn
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
dearly loved
From this reading "Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.
at any time
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "That was all I wanted you to say.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)
From this reading "Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
and nothing more
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.
express in words
From this reading "That was all I wanted you to say.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading "Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That was all I wanted you to say.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "That was all I wanted you to say.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
make an effort or attempt
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading "That was all I wanted you to say.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "That was all I wanted you to say.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Then all will be well; and you may forget my contemptible little story.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Thank you, dear," said Miss Winfrey, kissing Milly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're the first to whom I've ever told it as it really was."
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading Only try for a time to think less of yourself and more of him!
Chapter 8 of Some Persons Unknown by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 8 holds 405 sentences of Some Persons Unknown, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Some Persons Unknown by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 8 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 Some Persons Unknown by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4071 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45732 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45732, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 339 minutes of reading across 815 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Some Persons Unknown section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Some Persons Unknown 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 Some Persons Unknown, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
