Chapter 15 of Mrs. Tree is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Mrs. Tree is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you! You are looking wretched, simply wretched! How thankful I am that I came!" Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion. She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
Chapter 15 of Mrs. Tree is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
past form of “crackle” — make a crackling sound
From this reading “She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.”
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading “MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!”
past form of “embrace” — include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading “Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion.”
a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading “MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!”
plural of “ornament” — something used to beautify
From this reading “She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.”
having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
From this reading “She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.”
feeling or showing gratitude
From this reading “How thankful I am that I came!"”
(Roman mythology) goddess of the hearth and its fire whose flame was tended by vestal virgins; counterpart of Greek Hestia
From this reading “MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!”
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 “She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.”
In this reading “Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion.”
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 MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading How thankful I am that I came!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You are looking wretched, simply wretched!
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading How thankful I am that I came!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion.
past form of “crackle” — make a crackling sound
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
put on clothes
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
an unrestrained expression of emotion
From this reading Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion.
past form of “embrace” — include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How thankful I am that I came!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading How thankful I am that I came!"
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading You are looking wretched, simply wretched!
a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
plural of “ornament” — something used to beautify
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
and nothing more
From this reading You are looking wretched, simply wretched!
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
feeling or showing gratitude
From this reading How thankful I am that I came!"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading How thankful I am that I came!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
(Roman mythology) goddess of the hearth and its fire whose flame was tended by vestal virgins; counterpart of Greek Hestia
From this reading MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mrs. Pryor embraced her cousin with effusion.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading She was short and fair, with prominent eyes and teeth, and she wore a dress that crackled and ornaments that clinked.
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading You are looking wretched, simply wretched!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading MARIA "My dearest Vesta, what a pleasure to see you!
Chapter 15 of Mrs. Tree by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards holds 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 15 holds 183 sentences of Mrs. Tree, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Mrs. Tree by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 15 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 Mrs. Tree by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2808 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30439 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30439, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 234 minutes of reading across 562 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mrs. Tree section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Mrs. Tree 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 Mrs. Tree, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
