Chapter 12 of The Poisoned Pen is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Poisoned Pen is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage. "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas. He had signed no such paper then. He could not have signed it since, and you could not have received it. I brand that document as a forgery."
Chapter 12 of The Poisoned Pen is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
a name given to a product or service
From this reading “I brand that document as a forgery."”
writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading “I brand that document as a forgery."”
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
From this reading “"Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.”
a copy that is represented as the original
From this reading “"It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage.”
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 “"Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.”
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading “He had signed no such paper then.”
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading “"It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage.”
having a handwritten signature
From this reading “He had signed no such paper then.”
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 "It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He could not have signed it since, and you could not have received it.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I brand that document as a forgery."
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
a name given to a product or service
From this reading I brand that document as a forgery."
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not have signed it since, and you could not have received it.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage.
writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading I brand that document as a forgery."
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
a copy that is represented as the original
From this reading "It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had signed no such paper then.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He could not have signed it since, and you could not have received it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had signed no such paper then.
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 "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He could not have signed it since, and you could not have received it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage.
not any; not one
From this reading He had signed no such paper then.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading He had signed no such paper then.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading "It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage.
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading He could not have signed it since, and you could not have received it.
cut with a saw
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
having a handwritten signature
From this reading He had signed no such paper then.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading He could not have signed it since, and you could not have received it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's a forgery," cried Stacey in rage.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading He had signed no such paper then.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I brand that document as a forgery."
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He had signed no such paper then.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Not an hour before I came into this place I saw Henry Douglas.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading He could not have signed it since, and you could not have received it.
Chapter 12 of The Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 12 holds 197 sentences of The Poisoned Pen, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 12 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 Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6378 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1923 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1923, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 531 minutes of reading across 1276 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Poisoned Pen section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Poisoned Pen 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 Poisoned Pen, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
