Chapter III of The Unbidden Guest, “Au Revoir,” is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter III of The Unbidden Guest, “Au Revoir,” is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself. He felt it at tea. During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it. He saw everything. He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.
Chapter III of The Unbidden Guest, “Au Revoir,” is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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 event consisting of the start of something
From this reading “It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.”
apart from; not including
From this reading “During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.”
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading “During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.”
a young female
From this reading “He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.”
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading “During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.”
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading “During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.”
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “He felt it at tea.”
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.
In this reading “During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.”
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 It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He felt it at tea.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading He saw everything.
apart from; not including
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
opinion or judgment
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt it at tea.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He felt it at tea.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
a young female
From this reading He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.
a particular point in time
From this reading He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
cut with a saw
From this reading He saw everything.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading He felt it at tea.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading During the meal his mouth never opened, except on business; but his eyes made up for it.
precisely as stated
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not a very good beginning, and the first to feel that was John William himself.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He saw that his mother and Missy would never get on; he knew it the moment they kissed.
Chapter 3 of The Unbidden Guest by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung holds 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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 3 holds 88 sentences of The Unbidden Guest, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Unbidden Guest by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 3 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 Unbidden Guest by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3887 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52562 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52562, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 323 minutes of reading across 778 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Unbidden Guest section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Unbidden Guest 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 Unbidden Guest, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
