Chapter 1 of The History of the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 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 the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER. DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo. P. Burnham; [See Letter, page 130.] THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. A Humorous Record.
Chapter 1 of The History of the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; “Great Britain” is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
From this reading “H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.”
United States architect who designed the first important skyscraper with a skeleton (1846-1912)
From this reading “P. Burnham; [See Letter, page 130.]”
a band (usually elastic) worn around the leg to hold up a stocking (or around the arm to hold up a sleeve)
From this reading “H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.”
adult female chicken
From this reading “THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER.”
full of or characterized by humor
From this reading “A Humorous Record.”
plural of “robe” — any loose flowing garment
From this reading “H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.”
United States classical archaeologist (born in Canada) noted for leading the excavation of the Athenian agora (1906-2000)
From this reading “DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo.”
queen of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India from 1837 to 1901; the last Hanoverian ruler of England (1819-1901)
From this reading “H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.”
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 “H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.”
In this reading “DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo.”
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 P. Burnham; [See Letter, page 130.]
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A Humorous Record.
a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; “Great Britain” is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
United States architect who designed the first important skyscraper with a skeleton (1846-1912)
From this reading P. Burnham; [See Letter, page 130.]
showing who or what does the action
From this reading DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo.
a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
a band (usually elastic) worn around the leg to hold up a stocking (or around the arm to hold up a sleeve)
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
a nonmetallic univalent element that is normally a colorless and odorless highly flammable diatomic gas; the simplest and lightest and most abundant element in the universe
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
adult female chicken
From this reading THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER.
the aggregate of past events
From this reading THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER.
full of or characterized by humor
From this reading A Humorous Record.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading P. Burnham; [See Letter, page 130.]
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
impressiveness in scale or proportion
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
used to form the superlative
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
impressive in appearance
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading P. Burnham; [See Letter, page 130.]
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading P. Burnham; [See Letter, page 130.]
a word picture of a person's appearance and character
From this reading DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo.
the act of having and controlling property
From this reading DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo.
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
From this reading A Humorous Record.
plural of “robe” — any loose flowing garment
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading P. Burnham; [See Letter, page 130.]
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
United States classical archaeologist (born in Canada) noted for leading the excavation of the Athenian agora (1906-2000)
From this reading DAGUERREOTYPED BY THOMPSON, From the Portrait in possession of Geo.
queen of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India from 1837 to 1901; the last Hanoverian ruler of England (1819-1901)
From this reading H.M.G. Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
Chapter 1 of The History of the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record by Geo. P. (George Pickering) Burnham holds 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 72 sentences of The History of the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The History of the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record by Geo. P. (George Pickering) Burnham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record by Geo. P. (George Pickering) Burnham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2987 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40872 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40872, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 248 minutes of reading across 598 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The History of the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The History of the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record 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 the Hen Fever. A Humorous Record, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
