Chapter 16 of Bats in the Wall is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Bats in the Wall is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE THREE OAKS. The Three Oaks was haunted. At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true. To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost. Nor was this necessary.
Chapter 16 of Bats in the Wall is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
in actual fact
From this reading “To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.”
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading “To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.”
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading “The Three Oaks was haunted.”
absolutely essential
From this reading “Nor was this necessary.”
plural of “oak” — the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “THE THREE OAKS.”
a human being
From this reading “To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.”
required or under orders
From this reading “At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.”
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 “To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.”
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.
in actual fact
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
set up or found
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading The Three Oaks was haunted.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
absolutely essential
From this reading Nor was this necessary.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Nor was this necessary.
plural of “oak” — the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading THE THREE OAKS.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
a human being
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
required or under orders
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE THREE OAKS.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Nor was this necessary.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading THE THREE OAKS.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Three Oaks was haunted.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading At least every one said so, and what every one says is supposed to be true.
which person or people
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading To be sure, it would have been difficult to have found any person who had actually seen the ghost.
Chapter 16 of Bats in the Wall by P. T. Raymond holds 167 sentences, grouped into 34 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 16 holds 167 sentences of Bats in the Wall, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Bats in the Wall by P. T. Raymond exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 167 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 16 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 Bats in the Wall by P. T. Raymond on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3210 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45492 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45492, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 267 minutes of reading across 642 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bats in the Wall section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Bats in the Wall 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 Bats in the Wall, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
