Chapter 22 of The Poisoned Pen is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of The Poisoned Pen is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson. On it was stamped "Returned to sender. Owner not found." Kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully. "On the contrary," he remarked, half to himself, "the owner was found.
Chapter 22 of The Poisoned Pen is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading “In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.”
a town in northwestern Canada in the Yukon on the Yukon River; a boom town around 1900 when gold was discovered in the Klondike
From this reading “In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.”
35th President of the United States; established the Peace Corps; assassinated in Dallas (1917-1963)
From this reading “In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.”
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading “In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.”
(Old Testament) the guardian archangel of the Jews
From this reading “In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.”
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading “Owner not found."”
someone who transmits a message
From this reading “On it was stamped "Returned to sender.”
past form of “stamp” — walk heavily
From this reading “On it was stamped "Returned to sender.”
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.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading Kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully.
very opposed in nature or character or purpose
From this reading "On the contrary," he remarked, half to himself, "the owner was found.
a town in northwestern Canada in the Yukon on the Yukon River; a boom town around 1900 when gold was discovered in the Klondike
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
set up or found
From this reading Owner not found."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading "On the contrary," he remarked, half to himself, "the owner was found.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "On the contrary," he remarked, half to himself, "the owner was found.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading On it was stamped "Returned to sender.
35th President of the United States; established the Peace Corps; assassinated in Dallas (1917-1963)
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
immediately past
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully.
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
(Old Testament) the guardian archangel of the Jews
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Owner not found."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On it was stamped "Returned to sender.
above and across; more than
From this reading Kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully.
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading Owner not found."
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading "On the contrary," he remarked, half to himself, "the owner was found.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading On it was stamped "Returned to sender.
someone who transmits a message
From this reading On it was stamped "Returned to sender.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully.
past form of “stamp” — walk heavily
From this reading On it was stamped "Returned to sender.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading On it was stamped "Returned to sender.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading In the last mail that night Kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to Michael Dawson.
Chapter 22 of The Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve holds 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 22 holds 181 sentences of The Poisoned Pen, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 22 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, unabridged. 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.
