Chapter 1 of The Last Stetson is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Last Stetson is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By John Fox Jr. A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland. Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face. The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper. Old Gabe was speaking his mind.
Chapter 1 of The Last Stetson is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times
From this reading “The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.”
English general; son of George II; fought unsuccessfully in the battle of Fontenoy (1721-1765)
From this reading “A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.”
the act of removing the contents of something
From this reading “The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.”
alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
From this reading “By John Fox Jr.”
funnel-shaped receptacle; contents pass by gravity into a receptacle below
From this reading “The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.”
June 21, when the sun is at its northernmost point
From this reading “A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.”
move about in a confused manner
From this reading “Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.”
a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases
From this reading “The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.”
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 A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
a youthful male person
From this reading The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By John Fox Jr.
tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times
From this reading The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
English general; son of George II; fought unsuccessfully in the battle of Fontenoy (1721-1765)
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
the act of removing the contents of something
From this reading The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
From this reading By John Fox Jr.
the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
funnel-shaped receptacle; contents pass by gravity into a receptacle below
From this reading The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading By John Fox Jr.
a son who has the same first name as his father
From this reading By John Fox Jr.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
June 21, when the sun is at its northernmost point
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
move about in a confused manner
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Old Gabe was speaking his mind.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
above and across; more than
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases
From this reading The boy Isom was emptying a sack of corn into the hopper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading Old Gabe was speaking his mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A MIDSUMMER freshet was running over old Gabe Bunch's water-wheel into the Cumberland.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Inside the mill Steve Marcum lay in one dark corner with a slouched hat over his face.
Chapter 1 of The Last Stetson by John, Jr. Fox holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 202 sentences of The Last Stetson, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Last Stetson by John, Jr. Fox exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Stetson by John, Jr. Fox on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 606 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3024 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3024, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 50 minutes of reading across 122 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Last Stetson section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Last Stetson 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 Stetson, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
