Chapter 1 of The Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII is here in full — 1508 sentences across 302 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII is here in full — 1508 sentences across 302 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES. THE DESULTORY MAN. DESULTORY MAN. BY THE AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "THE GYPSY," ETC. PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.
Chapter 1 of The Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII is here in full — 1508 sentences across 302 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/301 · 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.
several things grouped together or considered as a whole
From this reading “COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.”
marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another
From this reading “THE DESULTORY MAN.”
a native or inhabitant of Europe
From this reading “PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.”
a laborer who moves from place to place as demanded by employment
From this reading “BY THE AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "THE GYPSY," ETC.”
plural of “novel” — an extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story
From this reading “COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.”
French prelate and statesman; principal minister to Louis XIII (1585-1642)
From this reading “BY THE AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "THE GYPSY," ETC.”
plural of “romance” — a relationship between two lovers
From this reading “COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.”
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
From this reading “PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.”
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.
In this reading “BY THE AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "THE GYPSY," ETC.”
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.
Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.
From this reading COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "THE GYPSY," ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.
the people of Great Britain
From this reading COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "THE GYPSY," ETC.
several things grouped together or considered as a whole
From this reading COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.
marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another
From this reading THE DESULTORY MAN.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "THE GYPSY," ETC.
a native or inhabitant of Europe
From this reading PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.
a laborer who moves from place to place as demanded by employment
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "THE GYPSY," ETC.
a room where books are kept
From this reading PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE DESULTORY MAN.
belonging to the modern era; since the Middle Ages
From this reading COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.
plural of “novel” — an extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story
From this reading COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.
French prelate and statesman; principal minister to Louis XIII (1585-1642)
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "THE GYPSY," ETC.
plural of “romance” — a relationship between two lovers
From this reading COLLECTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITISH NOVELS AND ROMANCES.
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
From this reading PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PARIS: BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ ST.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DESULTORY MAN.
Chapter 1 of The Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James holds 1508 sentences, grouped into 302 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 1508 sentences of The Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII, unabridged, divided into 302 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1508 sentences, grouped into 302 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 302 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 302 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 Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5558 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49718 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49718, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 463 minutes of reading across 1112 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII 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 Desultory Man — Vol. CXLVII, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
