Chapter 1 of The Purchase Price is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Purchase Price is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold." "Madam!" "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer. Have matters changed since then?" "Madam, from the first you were splendid!
Chapter 1 of The Purchase Price is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 13/65 · 5 reading units · Lines 61–65
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.
teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports
From this reading “"And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.”
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading “"And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “"Madam!"”
a female domestic
From this reading “"And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.”
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “Have matters changed since then?"”
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading “"And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.”
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading “"And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.”
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading “"Madam, from the first you were splendid!”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading Have matters changed since then?"
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
at any time
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have matters changed since then?"
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
a woman of refinement
From this reading "Madam!"
a female domestic
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Have matters changed since then?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
cut with a saw
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
express in words
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Have matters changed since then?"
term of address for a man
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading "Madam, from the first you were splendid!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
at the time that
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "And when the door of the coach closed on myself and my maid,--when we rolled on away from the city, in spite of all I could do or say--, why, then, sir, you were my jailer.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading When you met me--the first time I ever saw you, sir,--I felt my heart turn cold."
Chapter 1 of The Purchase Price by Emerson Hough holds 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 1 holds 326 sentences of The Purchase Price, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Purchase Price by Emerson Hough exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 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.
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Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Purchase Price 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 Purchase Price, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
