Chapter 1 of The Last of the De Mullins is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Last of the De Mullins is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_(meekly)_ Very well, Harriet. If you think so. MRS. CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once. [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
Chapter 1 of The Last of the De Mullins 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.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading “CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.”
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading “[_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.”
plural of “draw” — a gully that is shallower than a ravine
From this reading “[_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.”
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading “[_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.”
in a hurried or hasty manner
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “[_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.”
in a submissive or spiritless manner
From this reading “_(meekly)_ Very well, Harriet.”
plural of “open” — a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
From this reading “[_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.”
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.”
pull back or move away or backward
In this reading “[_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.”
move upward
In this reading “CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.”
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.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
plural of “draw” — a gully that is shallower than a ravine
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _(meekly)_ Very well, Harriet.
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If you think so.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
in a submissive or spiritless manner
From this reading _(meekly)_ Very well, Harriet.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
on one occasion
From this reading CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.
plural of “open” — a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading If you think so.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading [_Mrs. De Mullin goes to the door on the left, opens it, then draws back hastily_.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading If you think so.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading CLOUSTON You had better go up to him at once.
precisely as stated
From this reading _(meekly)_ Very well, Harriet.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading _(meekly)_ Very well, Harriet.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading If you think so.
Chapter 1 of The Last of the De Mullins by St. John Hankin holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 418 sentences of The Last of the De Mullins, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Last of the De Mullins by St. John Hankin exactly as it stands in the 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 Last of the De Mullins by St. John Hankin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1688 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54699 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54699, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 140 minutes of reading across 338 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Last of the De Mullins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Last of the De Mullins 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 Last of the De Mullins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
