Chapter 22 of The Art of Disappearing is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of The Art of Disappearing is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE END OF A MELODRAMA. Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence. Private grief must give way to public necessity. In this case the private grief developed a public necessity. Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.
Chapter 22 of The Art of Disappearing is here in full — 236 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading “Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.”
gradual healing (through rest) after sickness or injury
From this reading “Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.”
being changed over time so as to be e.g. stronger or more complete or more useful
From this reading “In this case the private grief developed a public necessity.”
the body of people who lead a group
From this reading “Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.”
United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion for 12 years (1914-1981)
From this reading “Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.”
an extravagant comedy in which action is more salient than characterization
From this reading “THE END OF A MELODRAMA.”
the condition of being essential or indispensable
From this reading “Private grief must give way to public necessity.”
an effortful attempt to attain a goal
From this reading “Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.”
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 THE END OF A MELODRAMA.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
an occurrence of something
From this reading In this case the private grief developed a public necessity.
gradual healing (through rest) after sickness or injury
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
being changed over time so as to be e.g. stronger or more complete or more useful
From this reading In this case the private grief developed a public necessity.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading THE END OF A MELODRAMA.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Private grief must give way to public necessity.
intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death)
From this reading Private grief must give way to public necessity.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In this case the private grief developed a public necessity.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
the body of people who lead a group
From this reading Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.
United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion for 12 years (1914-1981)
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
an extravagant comedy in which action is more salient than characterization
From this reading THE END OF A MELODRAMA.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Private grief must give way to public necessity.
the condition of being essential or indispensable
From this reading Private grief must give way to public necessity.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE END OF A MELODRAMA.
an effortful attempt to attain a goal
From this reading Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.
confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy
From this reading Private grief must give way to public necessity.
people in general considered as a whole
From this reading Private grief must give way to public necessity.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
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 Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.
past form of “suffer” — undergo or be subjected to
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
express in words
From this reading Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE END OF A MELODRAMA.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading In this case the private grief developed a public necessity.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Private grief must give way to public necessity.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Arthur took pains to tell his story to the leaders.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Private grief must give way to public necessity.
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading Louis kept his bed for some weeks, and suffered a slow convalescence.
Chapter 22 of The Art of Disappearing by John Talbot Smith holds 236 sentences, grouped into 48 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 22 holds 236 sentences of The Art of Disappearing, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Art of Disappearing by John Talbot Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 236 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 22 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 Art of Disappearing by John Talbot Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8152 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27925 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27925, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1631 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Art of Disappearing section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Art of Disappearing 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 Art of Disappearing, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
