Chapter 1 of The Sleuth of St. James's Square is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Sleuth of St. James's Square is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.” He was an immense creature. He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him. The great bulk of him flowed out and filled the chair. It did not seem to be fat that enveloped him.
Chapter 1 of The Sleuth of St. James's Square is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part
From this reading “The great bulk of him flowed out and filled the chair.”
serving to support or corroborate
From this reading ““THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.””
past form of “envelop” — enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
From this reading “It did not seem to be fat that enveloped him.”
a title used to address dignitaries (such as ambassadors or governors); usually preceded by “Your” or “His” or “Her”
From this reading ““THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.””
past form of “flow” — move or progress freely as if in a stream
From this reading “The great bulk of him flowed out and filled the chair.”
the text appearing in a book, newspaper, or other printed publication
From this reading ““THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.””
past form of “provide” — give something useful or necessary to
From this reading “He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.”
in a vertical position; not sloping
From this reading “He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.”
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 “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He was an immense creature.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The great bulk of him flowed out and filled the chair.
completely unclothed
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It did not seem to be fat that enveloped him.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part
From this reading The great bulk of him flowed out and filled the chair.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
serving to support or corroborate
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading He was an immense creature.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading It did not seem to be fat that enveloped him.
past form of “envelop” — enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
From this reading It did not seem to be fat that enveloped him.
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
a title used to address dignitaries (such as ambassadors or governors); usually preceded by “Your” or “His” or “Her”
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
having an (over)abundance of flesh
From this reading It did not seem to be fat that enveloped him.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading The great bulk of him flowed out and filled the chair.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
past form of “flow” — move or progress freely as if in a stream
From this reading The great bulk of him flowed out and filled the chair.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The great bulk of him flowed out and filled the chair.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was an immense creature.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading He was an immense creature.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It did not seem to be fat that enveloped him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It did not seem to be fat that enveloped him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The great bulk of him flowed out and filled the chair.
the text appearing in a book, newspaper, or other printed publication
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
past form of “provide” — give something useful or necessary to
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It did not seem to be fat that enveloped him.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
a special situation
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
in a vertical position; not sloping
From this reading He sat in an upright chair that seemed to have been provided especially for him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “THE first confirmatory evidence of the thing, Excellency, was the print of a woman's bare foot.”
Chapter 1 of The Sleuth of St. James's Square by Melville Davisson Post holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 186 sentences of The Sleuth of St. James's Square, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Sleuth of St. James's Square by Melville Davisson Post exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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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Yes. All 5594 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2861 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2861, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 466 minutes of reading across 1119 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sleuth of St. James's Square section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Sleuth of St. James's Square 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 Sleuth of St. James's Square, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
