Chapter 1 of Bertha Weisser's wish is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Bertha Weisser's wish is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish. A CHRISTMAS STORY. M. L. B. “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY. NEW YORK: HURD AND HOUGHTON.
Chapter 1 of Bertha Weisser's wish is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/6 · 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.
ask for or request earnestly
From this reading ““Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.”
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading ““Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “A CHRISTMAS STORY.”
past form of “display” — to show, make visible or apparent
From this reading “Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.”
United States publisher who founded a printing shop that became an important book publisher (1823-1895)
From this reading “NEW YORK: HURD AND HOUGHTON.”
a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading “Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.”
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
From this reading ““Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.”
the words of something written
From this reading “Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.”
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.
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 A CHRISTMAS STORY.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.
aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
From this reading M. L. B.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.
ask for or request earnestly
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading A CHRISTMAS STORY.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
past form of “display” — to show, make visible or apparent
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
United States publisher who founded a printing shop that became an important book publisher (1823-1895)
From this reading NEW YORK: HURD AND HOUGHTON.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEW YORK: HURD AND HOUGHTON.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.
a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)
From this reading M. L. B.
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading M. L. B.
leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading NEW YORK: HURD AND HOUGHTON.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading A CHRISTMAS STORY.
the words of something written
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BERTHA WEISSER’S WISH Bertha Weisser’s Wish.
produce a literary work
From this reading “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all thy laws in our hearts we beseech Thee.—” BOSTON: E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading NEW YORK: HURD AND HOUGHTON.
Chapter 1 of Bertha Weisser's wish by Mary L. Bissell holds 30 sentences, grouped into 6 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 30 sentences of Bertha Weisser's wish, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Bertha Weisser's wish by Mary L. Bissell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 30 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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.
Common questions about reading Bertha Weisser's wish by Mary L. Bissell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1065 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70279 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70279, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 88 minutes of reading across 213 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bertha Weisser's wish section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Bertha Weisser's wish 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 Bertha Weisser's wish, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
