Chapter 21 of The Sleuth of St. James's Square is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Sleuth of St. James's Square is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The woman sat in a chair beyond the table. She was young, but she looked worn and faded. Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out. Her hands moved nervously in the frayed coat-cuffs. “But we haven't any more money,” she said.
Chapter 21 of The Sleuth of St. James's Square is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading “She was young, but she looked worn and faded.”
worn away or tattered along the edges
From this reading “Her hands moved nervously in the frayed coat-cuffs.”
a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
From this reading “Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “Her hands moved nervously in the frayed coat-cuffs.”
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading “Her hands moved nervously in the frayed coat-cuffs.”
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading “Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.”
the act of testing something
From this reading “Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.”
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading “She was young, but she looked worn and faded.”
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 woman sat in a chair beyond the table.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was young, but she looked worn and faded.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “But we haven't any more money,” she said.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading The woman sat in a chair beyond the table.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She was young, but she looked worn and faded.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading The woman sat in a chair beyond the table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hands moved nervously in the frayed coat-cuffs.
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading She was young, but she looked worn and faded.
worn away or tattered along the edges
From this reading Her hands moved nervously in the frayed coat-cuffs.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Her hands moved nervously in the frayed coat-cuffs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But we haven't any more money,” she said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The woman sat in a chair beyond the table.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She was young, but she looked worn and faded.
a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
From this reading Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading “But we haven't any more money,” she said.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “But we haven't any more money,” she said.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Her hands moved nervously in the frayed coat-cuffs.
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading Her hands moved nervously in the frayed coat-cuffs.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “But we haven't any more money,” she said.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The woman sat in a chair beyond the table.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was young, but she looked worn and faded.
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading The woman sat in a chair beyond the table.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The woman sat in a chair beyond the table.
the act of testing something
From this reading Misery and the long strain of the trial had worn her out.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was young, but she looked worn and faded.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “But we haven't any more money,” she said.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The woman sat in a chair beyond the table.
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading She was young, but she looked worn and faded.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading She was young, but she looked worn and faded.
Chapter 21 of The Sleuth of St. James's Square by Melville Davisson Post holds 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 21 holds 217 sentences of The Sleuth of St. James's Square, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 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 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 21 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 Sleuth of St. James's Square by Melville Davisson Post on this page, its source edition and its audio.
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.
