Chapter 12 of Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’ ’Don’t know that. Not to me, anyhow. She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything. I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
Chapter 12 of Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading “Not to me, anyhow.”
something that interests you because it is important or affects you
From this reading “I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.”
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading “I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.”
an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
From this reading “’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’”
no person; not anyone
From this reading “I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.”
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading “She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything.”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.”
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
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 I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading Not to me, anyhow.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
something that interests you because it is important or affects you
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ’Don’t know that.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading ’Don’t know that.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Not to me, anyhow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
no person; not anyone
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not to me, anyhow.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She’s not mistress; it is Mehalah that orders, and does everything.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ’Don’t know that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Not to me, anyhow.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading I don’t reckon an old woman’s life is worth a crown, not to nobody but herself, may be; but that is her concern not mine.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ’The life of your mistress was worth something, I hope, Abby.’
Chapter 12 of Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 413 sentences of Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8454 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54404 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54404, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1691 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes 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 Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
