Chapter 1 of The History of Little Jack, a Foundling is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The History of Little Jack, a Foundling is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE HISTORY OF LITTLE JACK, _A FOUNDLING_. BY THOMAS DAY, ESQ. AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF SANDFORD AND MERTON. MDCCCXXVI. MALCOLM & GRIFFIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW.
Chapter 1 of The History of Little Jack, a Foundling is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF SANDFORD AND MERTON.”
a child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown
largest city in Scotland; a port on the Clyde in west central Scotland; one of the great shipbuilding centers of the world
From this reading “MALCOLM & GRIFFIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW.”
winged monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion
From this reading “MALCOLM & GRIFFIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW.”
the aggregate of past events
From this reading “THE HISTORY OF LITTLE JACK, _A FOUNDLING_.”
United States religious and writer (1915-1968)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF SANDFORD AND MERTON.”
plural of “printer” — someone whose occupation is printing
From this reading “MALCOLM & GRIFFIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW.”
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading “BY THOMAS DAY, ESQ.”
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 THE HISTORY OF LITTLE JACK, _A FOUNDLING_.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF SANDFORD AND MERTON.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF SANDFORD AND MERTON.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY THOMAS DAY, ESQ.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading BY THOMAS DAY, ESQ.
a title of respect for a member of the English gentry ranking just below a knight; placed after the name
From this reading BY THOMAS DAY, ESQ.
a child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown
From this reading THE HISTORY OF LITTLE JACK, _A FOUNDLING_.
largest city in Scotland; a port on the Clyde in west central Scotland; one of the great shipbuilding centers of the world
From this reading MALCOLM & GRIFFIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW.
winged monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion
From this reading MALCOLM & GRIFFIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW.
the aggregate of past events
From this reading THE HISTORY OF LITTLE JACK, _A FOUNDLING_.
a small worthless amount
From this reading THE HISTORY OF LITTLE JACK, _A FOUNDLING_.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading THE HISTORY OF LITTLE JACK, _A FOUNDLING_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MALCOLM & GRIFFIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MDCCCXXVI.
United States religious and writer (1915-1968)
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF SANDFORD AND MERTON.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE HISTORY OF LITTLE JACK, _A FOUNDLING_.
plural of “printer” — someone whose occupation is printing
From this reading MALCOLM & GRIFFIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF SANDFORD AND MERTON.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HISTORY OF LITTLE JACK, _A FOUNDLING_.
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading BY THOMAS DAY, ESQ.
Chapter 1 of The History of Little Jack, a Foundling by Thomas Day holds 375 sentences, grouped into 75 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 375 sentences of The History of Little Jack, a Foundling, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The History of Little Jack, a Foundling by Thomas Day exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 375 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 History of Little Jack, a Foundling by Thomas Day on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 375 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42805 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42805, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 31 minutes of reading across 75 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The History of Little Jack, a Foundling section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The History of Little Jack, a Foundling 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 History of Little Jack, a Foundling, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
