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The Little Nightcap Letters
The Little Nightcap Letters

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of The Little Nightcap Letters is here in full — 521 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Little Nightcap Letters
Context Illustration Reading 1/104 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE LITTLE NIGHTCAP LETTERS.
BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.
NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.
LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.
1869.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Little Nightcap Letters

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of The Little Nightcap Letters is here in full — 521 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/104 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE LITTLE NIGHTCAP LETTERS.
Line 2
BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.
Line 3
NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.
Line 4
LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.
Line 5
1869.

Learner Dictionary

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.

appleton noun US /ˈæpəltən/

English physicist remembered for his studies of the ionosphere (1892-1966)

From this reading “NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.”

author noun US /ˈɔːθər/

writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)

From this reading “BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.”

baby noun US /ˈbeɪbi/

a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk

From this reading “BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.”

britain noun US /ˈbrɪtən/

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 “LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.”

grand adjective US /ɡrænd/

of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope

From this reading “NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.”

letters noun US /ˈletərz/

the literary culture

From this reading “THE LITTLE NIGHTCAP LETTERS.”

london noun US /ˈlʌndən/

the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center

From this reading “LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.”

york noun US /jɔːrk/

the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose

From this reading “NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

BY THE AUTHOR preposition + article + noun counted as “by … author”

In this reading “BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.”

All words in this reading · 24

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.

16

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.

1869

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 1869.

90

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.

92

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.

94

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.

APPLETONnounUS /ˈæpəltən/

English physicist remembered for his studies of the ionosphere (1892-1966)

From this reading NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.

AUTHORnounUS /ˈɔːθər/

writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)

From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.

BABYnounUS /ˈbeɪbi/

a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk

From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.

BRITAINnounUS /ˈbrɪtən/

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 LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.

BYprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.

COMPANYnounUS /ˈkʌmpəniː/

an institution created to conduct business

From this reading NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.

DnounUS /diː/

a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets

From this reading NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.

ETC

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.

GRANDadjectiveUS /ɡrænd/

of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope

From this reading NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.

LETTERSnounUS /ˈletərz/

the literary culture

From this reading THE LITTLE NIGHTCAP LETTERS.

LITTLEadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading THE LITTLE NIGHTCAP LETTERS.

LONDONnounUS /ˈlʌndən/

the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center

From this reading LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.

NEWadjectiveUS /nuː/

not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered

From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.

NIGHTCAPnoun

an alcoholic drink taken at bedtime; often alcoholic

From this reading THE LITTLE NIGHTCAP LETTERS.

NIGHTCAPS

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "NIGHTCAPS," "NEW NIGHTCAPS," "BABY NIGHTCAPS," ETC., ETC.

ST

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE LITTLE NIGHTCAP LETTERS.

YORKnounUS /jɔːrk/

the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose

From this reading NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 90, 92 & 94 GRAND ST.

Chapter 1 of The Little Nightcap Letters by Aunt Fanny holds 521 sentences, grouped into 105 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.

What does chapter 1 of The Little Nightcap Letters contain?

Chapter 1 holds 521 sentences of The Little Nightcap Letters, unabridged, divided into 105 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of The Little Nightcap Letters by Aunt Fanny exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 521 sentences, grouped into 105 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of The Little Nightcap Letters?

Work through the 105 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 105 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Little Nightcap Letters

Common questions about reading The Little Nightcap Letters by Aunt Fanny on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Little Nightcap Letters?

Yes. All 521 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29812 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Little Nightcap Letters is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #29812, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Little Nightcap Letters take to read?

About 43 minutes of reading across 105 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Little Nightcap Letters section by section

How to work through The Little Nightcap Letters section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Little Nightcap Letters to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Little Nightcap Letters

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Little Nightcap Letters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Little
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Little Nightcap Letters; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Nightcap
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Little Nightcap Letters; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Letters
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Little Nightcap Letters; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Author
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Little Nightcap Letters; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.