Chapter 1 of The Rainbow Feather is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Rainbow Feather is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_. _The Rainbow Feather_. "'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm. Aye! a bewtiful han' for a bewtiful maid. I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
Chapter 1 of The Rainbow Feather is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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 compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
From this reading “BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.”
attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading “"'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.”
join tongue and groove, in carpentry
imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time from 206 BC to AD 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of Chinese civilization
From this reading “"'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.”
a two-wheeled horse-drawn covered carriage with the driver's seat above and behind the passengers
From this reading “BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.”
Scottish philosopher skeptical philosophy restricted human knowledge to that which can be perceived by the senses (1711-1776)
From this reading “BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.”
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading “BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.”
an arc of colored light in the sky caused by refraction of the sun's rays by rain
From this reading “_The Rainbow Feather_.”
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.
a two-wheeled horse-drawn covered carriage with the driver's seat above and behind the passengers
In this reading “BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.”
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 BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aye! a bewtiful han' for a bewtiful maid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aye! a bewtiful han' for a bewtiful maid.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
a compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading "'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
dearly loved
From this reading I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
a special loved one
From this reading "'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
From this reading I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
join tongue and groove, in carpentry
From this reading _The Rainbow Feather_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.
imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time from 206 BC to AD 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of Chinese civilization
From this reading "'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.
a two-wheeled horse-drawn covered carriage with the driver's seat above and behind the passengers
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
Scottish philosopher skeptical philosophy restricted human knowledge to that which can be perceived by the senses (1711-1776)
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
a female domestic
From this reading Aye! a bewtiful han' for a bewtiful maid.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
being five more than ninety
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
an arc of colored light in the sky caused by refraction of the sun's rays by rain
From this reading _The Rainbow Feather_.
the fifth day of the week; the fourth working day
From this reading "'The lef' han', dearie, an' gowld for th' charm.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "Claude Duval of Ninety-Five" etc_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I 'udn't rade false for--eh, dear life, what is't?
Chapter 1 of The Rainbow Feather by Fergus Hume holds 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 178 sentences of The Rainbow Feather, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Rainbow Feather by Fergus Hume exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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.
Common questions about reading The Rainbow Feather by Fergus Hume on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4135 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55312 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55312, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 344 minutes of reading across 827 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rainbow Feather section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Rainbow Feather 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 Rainbow Feather, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
