Chapter 1 of The Secret of the Night is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Secret of the Night is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.” “Where is he?” “Oh, he is waiting at the lodge.” “I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room. Didn’t you understand me, Ermolai?”
Chapter 1 of The Secret of the Night is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading ““BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.””
be a lodger; stay temporarily
From this reading ““Oh, he is waiting at the lodge.””
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading ““I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.”
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading ““BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.””
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading ““I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.”
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading “Didn’t you understand me, Ermolai?””
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading ““Oh, he is waiting at the lodge.””
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading ““BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.””
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.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Oh, he is waiting at the lodge.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Didn’t you understand me, Ermolai?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Didn’t you understand me, Ermolai?”
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Where is he?”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Where is he?”
be a lodger; stay temporarily
From this reading “Oh, he is waiting at the lodge.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Didn’t you understand me, Ermolai?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, he is waiting at the lodge.”
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading “BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading Didn’t you understand me, Ermolai?”
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “Oh, he is waiting at the lodge.”
in or at the place that
From this reading “Where is he?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I told you to show him to Natacha’s sitting-room.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading “BARINIA, the young stranger has arrived.”
Chapter 1 of The Secret of the Night by Gaston Leroux holds 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 1 holds 212 sentences of The Secret of the Night, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Secret of the Night by Gaston Leroux exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 Secret of the Night by Gaston Leroux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7078 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1686 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1686, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 589 minutes of reading across 1416 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret of the Night section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Secret of the Night 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 Secret of the Night, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
