Chapter 12 of Melbourne House is here in full — 311 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Melbourne House is here in full — 311 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OBEDIENCE. Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up. Sam was at the side of the chaise immediately. "Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?" "Guess at Mrs. Benoit's, Miss Daisy.
Chapter 12 of Melbourne House is here in full — 311 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/62 · 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.
a long chair; for reclining
From this reading “Sam was at the side of the chaise immediately.”
any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading “Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.”
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading “"Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?"”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “"Guess at Mrs. Benoit's, Miss Daisy.”
the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person
From this reading “OBEDIENCE.”
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading “Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.”
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “Sam was at the side of the chaise immediately.”
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading “Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.”
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 Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Sam was at the side of the chaise immediately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Guess at Mrs. Benoit's, Miss Daisy.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?"
a long chair; for reclining
From this reading Sam was at the side of the chaise immediately.
any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?"
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading "Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?"
destroyed or killed
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading "Guess at Mrs. Benoit's, Miss Daisy.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?"
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading Sam was at the side of the chaise immediately.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?"
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "Guess at Mrs. Benoit's, Miss Daisy.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Guess at Mrs. Benoit's, Miss Daisy.
the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person
From this reading OBEDIENCE.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading Sam was at the side of the chaise immediately.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Sam was at the side of the chaise immediately.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sam was at the side of the chaise immediately.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading "Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?"
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
at the time that
From this reading Daisy had gone but a little way out of the village, when she suddenly pulled up.
in or at the place that
From this reading "Sam, I want a glass of water; where can I get it?"
Chapter 12 of Melbourne House by Susan Warner holds 311 sentences, grouped into 63 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 311 sentences of Melbourne House, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Melbourne House by Susan Warner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 311 sentences, grouped into 63 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 63 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 63 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 Melbourne House by Susan Warner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13397 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18686 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18686, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2680 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Melbourne House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Melbourne House 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 Melbourne House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
