Chapter 12 of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.” —MARLOWE, in _Dido, Queen of Carthage_. Vytal frowned and bit his lip. “When did he go, and whither?” “When, I can say, for I have heard.
Chapter 12 of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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 powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.
From this reading ““From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.””
an ancient city state on the north African coast near modern Tunis; founded by Phoenicians; destroyed and rebuilt by Romans; razed by Arabs in 697
(Roman mythology) a princess of Tyre who was the founder and queen of Carthage; Virgil tells of her suicide when she was abandoned by Aeneas
grow vigorously
From this reading ““From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.””
past form of “frown” — look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “Vytal frowned and bit his lip.”
either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading “Vytal frowned and bit his lip.”
English poet and playwright who introduced blank verse as a form of dramatic expression; was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl (1564-1593)
From this reading “—MARLOWE, in _Dido, Queen of Carthage_.”
an old word meaning “to where”
From this reading ““When did he go, and whither?””
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.
move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
anew
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
The powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading Vytal frowned and bit his lip.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “When, I can say, for I have heard.
an ancient city state on the north African coast near modern Tunis; founded by Phoenicians; destroyed and rebuilt by Romans; razed by Arabs in 697
From this reading —MARLOWE, in _Dido, Queen of Carthage_.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “When did he go, and whither?”
(Roman mythology) a princess of Tyre who was the founder and queen of Carthage; Virgil tells of her suicide when she was abandoned by Aeneas
From this reading —MARLOWE, in _Dido, Queen of Carthage_.
at a previous time
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
grow vigorously
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “When, I can say, for I have heard.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
past form of “frown” — look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading Vytal frowned and bit his lip.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “When did he go, and whither?”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “When, I can say, for I have heard.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “When did he go, and whither?”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading “When, I can say, for I have heard.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Vytal frowned and bit his lip.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “When, I can say, for I have heard.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading —MARLOWE, in _Dido, Queen of Carthage_.
either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading Vytal frowned and bit his lip.
English poet and playwright who introduced blank verse as a form of dramatic expression; was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl (1564-1593)
From this reading —MARLOWE, in _Dido, Queen of Carthage_.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading —MARLOWE, in _Dido, Queen of Carthage_.
on one occasion
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading —MARLOWE, in _Dido, Queen of Carthage_.
express in words
From this reading “When, I can say, for I have heard.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vytal frowned and bit his lip.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “From forth her ashes shall advance her head, And flourish once again that erst was dead.”
at the time that
From this reading “When did he go, and whither?”
an old word meaning “to where”
From this reading “When did he go, and whither?”
Chapter 12 of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony by William Farquhar Payson holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 197 sentences of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony by William Farquhar Payson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony by William Farquhar Payson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5620 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58403 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58403, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 468 minutes of reading across 1124 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony 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 John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
