Chapter 1 of The Iris is here in full — 2357 sentences across 472 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Iris is here in full — 2357 sentences across 472 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE IRIS. THE IRIS: An Illuminated Souvenir, FOR MDCCCLII. EDITED BY JOHN S. HART, LL. D. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Chapter 1 of The Iris is here in full — 2357 sentences across 472 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/471 · 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.
possessive form of “clerk” — an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading “Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”
the legislature of the United States government
From this reading “Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”
improved or corrected by critical editing
From this reading “EDITED BY JOHN S. HART, LL.”
United States playwright who collaborated with George S. Kaufman (1904-1961)
From this reading “EDITED BY JOHN S. HART, LL.”
provided with artificial light
From this reading “THE IRIS: An Illuminated Souvenir, FOR MDCCCLII.”
plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
From this reading “THE IRIS.”
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading “Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”
something of sentimental value
From this reading “THE IRIS: An Illuminated Souvenir, FOR MDCCCLII.”
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 “Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”
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 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading THE IRIS: An Illuminated Souvenir, FOR MDCCCLII.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading EDITED BY JOHN S. HART, LL.
possessive form of “clerk” — an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
the legislature of the United States government
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading D.
a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
lying toward or situated in the east
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
improved or corrected by critical editing
From this reading EDITED BY JOHN S. HART, LL.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE IRIS: An Illuminated Souvenir, FOR MDCCCLII.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
United States playwright who collaborated with George S. Kaufman (1904-1961)
From this reading EDITED BY JOHN S. HART, LL.
provided with artificial light
From this reading THE IRIS: An Illuminated Souvenir, FOR MDCCCLII.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
From this reading THE IRIS.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading EDITED BY JOHN S. HART, LL.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading EDITED BY JOHN S. HART, LL.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE IRIS: An Illuminated Souvenir, FOR MDCCCLII.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading EDITED BY JOHN S. HART, LL.
something of sentimental value
From this reading THE IRIS: An Illuminated Souvenir, FOR MDCCCLII.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE IRIS.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Chapter 1 of The Iris by John S. (John Seely) [Editor] Hart holds 2357 sentences, grouped into 472 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 2357 sentences of The Iris, unabridged, divided into 472 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Iris by John S. (John Seely) [Editor] Hart exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 2357 sentences, grouped into 472 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 472 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 472 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 Iris by John S. (John Seely) [Editor] Hart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2965 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55942 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55942, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 247 minutes of reading across 593 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Iris section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Iris 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 Iris, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
