Chapter 1 of The Clockmaker is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Clockmaker is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton. Garrit aniles ex re fabellas --Horace. The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale. Halifax, N. S. 1836.
Chapter 1 of The Clockmaker is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
United States writer of detective thrillers featuring the character of Philip Marlowe (1888-1959)
From this reading “The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.”
third-person singular of “conceal” — prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading “The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.”
plural of “dictate” — an authoritative rule
From this reading “The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.”
manner of acting or controlling yourself
From this reading “The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.”
provincial capital and largest city of Nova Scotia
From this reading “Halifax, N. S.”
a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
From this reading “The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.”
plural of “saying” — a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading “The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.”
a slippery smoothness
From this reading “The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.”
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 1836.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Garrit aniles ex re fabellas --Horace.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
United States writer of detective thrillers featuring the character of Philip Marlowe (1888-1959)
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
someone whose occupation is making or repairing clocks and watches
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
third-person singular of “conceal” — prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
a lawyer who pleads cases in court
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
plural of “dictate” — an authoritative rule
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
manner of acting or controlling yourself
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
a man who was formerly a certain woman's husband
From this reading Garrit aniles ex re fabellas --Horace.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Garrit aniles ex re fabellas --Horace.
fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Garrit aniles ex re fabellas --Horace.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
provincial capital and largest city of Nova Scotia
From this reading Halifax, N. S.
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading Garrit aniles ex re fabellas --Horace.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
concerned with principles of right and wrong or conforming to standards of behavior and character based on those principles
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading Halifax, N. S.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
a rare heavy polyvalent metallic element that resembles manganese chemically and is used in some alloys; is obtained as a by-product in refining molybdenum
From this reading Garrit aniles ex re fabellas --Horace.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Halifax, N. S.
a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
(Old Testament) Hebrew prophet and judge who anointed Saul as king
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
plural of “saying” — a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
a slippery smoothness
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
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 The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading The Clockmaker; or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
at the time that
From this reading The cheerful sage, when solemn dictates fail, Conceals the moral counsel in a tale.
Chapter 1 of The Clockmaker by Thomas Chandler Haliburton holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 418 sentences of The Clockmaker, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Clockmaker by Thomas Chandler Haliburton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Clockmaker by Thomas Chandler Haliburton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2452 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5817 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5817, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 204 minutes of reading across 491 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Clockmaker section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Clockmaker 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 Clockmaker, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
