Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
The Velvet Glove
The Velvet Glove

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of The Velvet Glove is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Velvet Glove
Context Illustration Reading 23/38 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"A statement--no.
It is useless since they have killed me.
I will make a statement ...
Elsewhere."
And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Velvet Glove

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of The Velvet Glove is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 23/38 · 5 reading units · Lines 111–115

Line 1
"A statement--no.
Line 2
It is useless since they have killed me.
/ɪt ɪz ˈjuːsləs sɪns ðeɪ hæv kɪld miː/
Line 3
I will make a statement ...
/aɪ wɪl meɪk ə ˈsteɪtmənt/
Line 4
Elsewhere."
/ˈelswer/
Line 5
And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.
/ənd hɪz læf wɑːz nɑːt ˈplezənt tuː ðə iːr/

Learner Dictionary

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.

ear noun US /iːr/

the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium

From this reading “And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.”

Elsewhere adverb US /ˈelswer/

in or to another place

From this reading “Elsewhere."”

killed verb US /kɪld/

past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly

From this reading “It is useless since they have killed me.”

laugh noun US /læf/

the sound of laughing

From this reading “And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.”

pleasant adjective US /ˈplezənt/

affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings

From this reading “And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.”

since preposition US /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading “It is useless since they have killed me.”

statement noun US /ˈsteɪtmənt/

a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc

From this reading “"A statement--no.”

useless adjective US /ˈjuːsləs/

having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully

From this reading “It is useless since they have killed me.”

All words in this reading · 24

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading "A statement--no.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.

earnounUS /iːr/

the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium

From this reading And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.

ElsewhereadverbUS /ˈelswer/

in or to another place

From this reading Elsewhere."

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading It is useless since they have killed me.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading I will make a statement ...

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading It is useless since they have killed me.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It is useless since they have killed me.

killedverbUS /kɪld/

past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly

From this reading It is useless since they have killed me.

laughnounUS /læf/

the sound of laughing

From this reading And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.

makeverbUS /meɪk/

engage in

From this reading I will make a statement ...

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading It is useless since they have killed me.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading "A statement--no.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.

pleasantadjectiveUS /ˈplezənt/

affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings

From this reading And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.

sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading It is useless since they have killed me.

statementnounUS /ˈsteɪtmənt/

a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc

From this reading "A statement--no.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading It is useless since they have killed me.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.

uselessadjectiveUS /ˈjuːsləs/

having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully

From this reading It is useless since they have killed me.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading And his laugh was not pleasant to the ear.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading I will make a statement ...

Chapter 1 of The Velvet Glove by Henry Seton Merriman holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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.

What does chapter 1 of The Velvet Glove contain?

Chapter 1 holds 192 sentences of The Velvet Glove, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of The Velvet Glove by Henry Seton Merriman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of The Velvet Glove?

Work through the 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 39 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Velvet Glove

Common questions about reading The Velvet Glove by Henry Seton Merriman on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Velvet Glove?

Yes. All 4921 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10342 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Velvet Glove is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #10342, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Velvet Glove take to read?

About 410 minutes of reading across 985 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Velvet Glove section by section

How to work through The Velvet Glove section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Velvet Glove to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Velvet Glove

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Velvet Glove, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Evasio
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Velvet Glove; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
People
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Velvet Glove; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Whose
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Velvet Glove; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Presence
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Velvet Glove; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.