Chapter 12 of Checkmate is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Checkmate is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A TETE-A-TETE. Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing. He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered. Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled? How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
Chapter 12 of Checkmate is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/69 · 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.
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading “He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.”
a decorative texture or appearance of a surface (or the substance that gives it that appearance)
From this reading “Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.”
the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
From this reading “He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.”
reaching a higher intensity
From this reading “Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?”
plural of “lash” — any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
From this reading “How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!”
made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing; reflecting a sheen or glow
From this reading “How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!”
in a softened tone
From this reading “How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!”
a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color
From this reading “Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?”
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 “He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.”
In this reading “He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.”
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 TETE-A-TETE.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?
either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.
divisible by two
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
opinion or judgment
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.
a decorative texture or appearance of a surface (or the substance that gives it that appearance)
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
From this reading He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.
set up or found
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
reaching a higher intensity
From this reading Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
plural of “lash” — any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
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 How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing; reflecting a sheen or glow
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?
in a softened tone
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading How lovely her long lashes, and her even little teeth, and the lustrous darkness of her eyes, in that subdued light!
a private conversation between two people
From this reading A TETE-A-TETE.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color
From this reading Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
precisely as stated
From this reading He fancied a very slight flush on her cheek as he entered.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Was there really a heightening of that beautiful tint as she smiled?
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Up to the drawing-room went Mr. Longcluse, and there he found Miss Arden finishing a drawing.
Chapter 12 of Checkmate by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu holds 349 sentences, grouped into 70 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 12 holds 349 sentences of Checkmate, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Checkmate by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 349 sentences, grouped into 70 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 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 70 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 12 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 Checkmate by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9388 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38460 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38460, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1878 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Checkmate section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Checkmate 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 Checkmate, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
