Chapter 25 of Mary Barton is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of Mary Barton is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. WILSON'S DETERMINATION. "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear." CRABBE. "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
Chapter 25 of Mary Barton is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
plural of “conjecture” — a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence)
From this reading “"Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."”
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading “WILSON'S DETERMINATION.”
fraught with uncertainty or doubt
From this reading “"Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."”
plural of “hint” — an indirect suggestion
From this reading “"Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."”
past form of “presume” — take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
From this reading “"Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."”
plural of “report” — a written document describing the findings of some individual or group
From this reading “"Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."”
plural of “whisper” — speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “"Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."”
possessive form of “wilson” — author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading “WILSON'S DETERMINATION.”
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 "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
rid of obstructions
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
plural of “conjecture” — a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence)
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CRABBE.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading WILSON'S DETERMINATION.
fraught with uncertainty or doubt
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
one or the other of two
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
plural of “hint” — an indirect suggestion
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
without good reason
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
engage in
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
not any; not one
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
not one, and not any
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
past form of “presume” — take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
plural of “question” — an instance of questioning
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
plural of “report” — a written document describing the findings of some individual or group
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
express in words
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
carry out
From this reading "Curious conjectures he may always make, And either side of dubious questions take."
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
plural of “whisper” — speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading "Something there was, what, none presumed to say, Clouds lightly passing on a smiling day,-- Whispers and hints which went from ear to ear, And mixed reports no judge on earth could clear."
possessive form of “wilson” — author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading WILSON'S DETERMINATION.
Chapter 25 of Mary Barton by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell holds 154 sentences, grouped into 31 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 25 holds 154 sentences of Mary Barton, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of Mary Barton by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 25 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.
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About 600 minutes of reading across 1590 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mary Barton section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Mary Barton 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 Mary Barton, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
