Chapter 5 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler is here in full — 377 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler is here in full — 377 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FIFTY-FIVE TO EIGHTEEN FIFTY-NINE. Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855. There he fell among friends. The American Legation was open to the son of Major Whistler. It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
Chapter 5 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler is here in full — 377 sentences across 76 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.
the people of Great Britain
From this reading “It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.”
a hardy cabbage with coarse curly leaves that do not form a head
From this reading “It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.”
a government administrator
From this reading “It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.”
being one more than seventeen
From this reading “FIFTY-FIVE TO EIGHTEEN FIFTY-NINE.”
the act of exhibiting
From this reading “It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.”
concerning or belonging to all or at least two or more nations
From this reading “It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.”
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading “The American Legation was open to the son of Major Whistler.”
United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading “Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.”
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 “Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.”
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 Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading The American Legation was open to the son of Major Whistler.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading There he fell among friends.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.
the people of Great Britain
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
a hardy cabbage with coarse curly leaves that do not form a head
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
a government administrator
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
being one more than seventeen
From this reading FIFTY-FIVE TO EIGHTEEN FIFTY-NINE.
the act of exhibiting
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading There he fell among friends.
being five more than fifty
From this reading FIFTY-FIVE TO EIGHTEEN FIFTY-NINE.
being nine more than fifty
From this reading FIFTY-FIVE TO EIGHTEEN FIFTY-NINE.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading There he fell among friends.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There he fell among friends.
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.
concerning or belonging to all or at least two or more nations
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
the post or office of legate
From this reading The American Legation was open to the son of Major Whistler.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading The American Legation was open to the son of Major Whistler.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The American Legation was open to the son of Major Whistler.
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.
term of address for a man
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
a male human offspring
From this reading The American Legation was open to the son of Major Whistler.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There he fell among friends.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading FIFTY-FIVE TO EIGHTEEN FIFTY-NINE.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The American Legation was open to the son of Major Whistler.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading Whistler arrived in Paris in the summer of 1855.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading It was the year of the first International Exhibition, and Sir Henry Cole, the British Commissioner, the Thackerays, and the Hadens were there.
Chapter 5 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler by Elizabeth Robins Pennell holds 377 sentences, grouped into 76 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 5 holds 377 sentences of The Life of James McNeill Whistler, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler by Elizabeth Robins Pennell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 377 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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 5 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 Life of James McNeill Whistler by Elizabeth Robins Pennell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8629 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47363 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47363, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Life of James McNeill Whistler section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Life of James McNeill Whistler 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 Life of James McNeill Whistler, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
