Chapter 1 of The Alchemist's Secret is here in full — 479 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Alchemist's Secret is here in full — 479 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PASSING OF TONY. "Last mail in, Mis' Bascomb?" "Last mail's in, Tony." "Be there anything for me to-night?" Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
Chapter 1 of The Alchemist's Secret is here in full — 479 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/95 · 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.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.”
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading “"Last mail in, Mis' Bascomb?"”
possessive form of “mail” — the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading “"Last mail's in, Tony."”
plural of “mi” — destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
From this reading “"Last mail in, Mis' Bascomb?"”
a specific (often simplistic) category
From this reading “Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.”
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading “Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.”
with speed
From this reading “Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.”
a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading “Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.”
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 Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
any thing at all
From this reading "Be there anything for me to-night?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Last mail in, Mis' Bascomb?"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Be there anything for me to-night?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Be there anything for me to-night?"
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Last mail in, Mis' Bascomb?"
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
immediately past
From this reading "Last mail in, Mis' Bascomb?"
the literary culture
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading "Last mail in, Mis' Bascomb?"
possessive form of “mail” — the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading "Last mail's in, Tony."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Be there anything for me to-night?"
plural of “mi” — destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
From this reading "Last mail in, Mis' Bascomb?"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE PASSING OF TONY.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
above and across; more than
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading THE PASSING OF TONY.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
a specific (often simplistic) category
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
with speed
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PASSING OF TONY.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Be there anything for me to-night?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Be there anything for me to-night?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PASSING OF TONY.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
(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 Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading Widow Bascomb knew perfectly well there was not, but she reached for a small pile of letters in a pigeonhole on her right and glanced over them rapidly.
Chapter 1 of The Alchemist's Secret by Isabel Cecilia Williams holds 479 sentences, grouped into 96 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 479 sentences of The Alchemist's Secret, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Alchemist's Secret by Isabel Cecilia Williams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 479 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 The Alchemist's Secret by Isabel Cecilia Williams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1906 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19224 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19224, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 158 minutes of reading across 382 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Alchemist's Secret section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Alchemist's Secret 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 The Alchemist's Secret, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
