Chapter 7 of The Postmaster's Daughter is here in full — 270 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Postmaster's Daughter is here in full — 270 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed. “Thank you.” The self-invited guest took one. He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb. “Ah, those Greeks!” he said sadly.
Chapter 7 of The Postmaster's Daughter is here in full — 270 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
plural of “blind” — people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading “An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.”
past form of “crumble” — fall apart
From this reading “He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.”
distributed or weighted out in carefully determined portions
From this reading “An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.”
plural of “greek” — the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages
From this reading ““Ah, those Greeks!” he said sadly.”
dry to sweet amber wine from the Jerez region of southern Spain or similar wines produced elsewhere; usually drunk as an aperitif
From this reading “An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.”
past form of “sniff” — perceive by inhaling through the nose
From this reading “He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.”
a meeting or conference for the public discussion of some topic especially one in which the participants form an audience and make presentations
From this reading “An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.”
the covering (usually paper or cellophane) in which something is wrapped
From this reading “He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.”
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 An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ah, those Greeks!” he said sadly.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
plural of “blind” — people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
lacking funds
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
past form of “crumble” — fall apart
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
distributed or weighted out in carefully determined portions
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
let have
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
plural of “greek” — the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages
From this reading “Ah, those Greeks!” he said sadly.
a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading The self-invited guest took one.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
discontinued temporarily
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
set afire or burning
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The self-invited guest took one.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
in an unfortunate way
From this reading “Ah, those Greeks!” he said sadly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The self-invited guest took one.
dry to sweet amber wine from the Jerez region of southern Spain or similar wines produced elsewhere; usually drunk as an aperitif
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
past form of “sniff” — perceive by inhaling through the nose
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
a meeting or conference for the public discussion of some topic especially one in which the participants form an audience and make presentations
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “Thank you.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading “Ah, those Greeks!” he said sadly.
the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading The self-invited guest took one.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
at the time that
From this reading An Interrupted Symposium “Have a cigarette,” said Grant to Furneaux, when the blinds were drawn, a lamp lighted, and the sherry dispensed.
the covering (usually paper or cellophane) in which something is wrapped
From this reading He sniffed it, broke the paper wrapping, and crumbled some of the tobacco between finger and thumb.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Thank you.”
Chapter 7 of The Postmaster's Daughter by Louis Tracy holds 270 sentences, grouped into 54 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 7 holds 270 sentences of The Postmaster's Daughter, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Postmaster's Daughter by Louis Tracy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 270 sentences, grouped into 54 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 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 54 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 7 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 Postmaster's Daughter by Louis Tracy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5053 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10110 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10110, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 421 minutes of reading across 1011 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Postmaster's Daughter section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Postmaster's Daughter 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 Postmaster's Daughter, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
