Chapter 12 of Northern Lights is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Northern Lights is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You're going to get religion now--here. You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert. You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down. You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so. You're a weak vessel--cracked, perhaps.
Chapter 12 of Northern Lights is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 of skin roughened as a result of cold or exposure
From this reading “You're a weak vessel--cracked, perhaps.”
used as expletives
From this reading “You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.”
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading “You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.”
compassionate feelings that support a willingness to forgive
From this reading “You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.”
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading “"You're going to get religion now--here.”
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.”
plural of “trick” — a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.”
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading “You're a weak vessel--cracked, perhaps.”
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 “You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.”
In this reading “You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.”
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 You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
used of skin roughened as a result of cold or exposure
From this reading You're a weak vessel--cracked, perhaps.
used as expletives
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
compassionate feelings that support a willingness to forgive
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "You're going to get religion now--here.
the act of departing
From this reading "You're going to get religion now--here.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "You're going to get religion now--here.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "You're going to get religion now--here.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.
by chance
From this reading You're a weak vessel--cracked, perhaps.
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading "You're going to get religion now--here.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading You ain't a scoundrel at heart--a friend of mine says so.
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You're going to get religion now--here.
plural of “trick” — a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading You're a weak vessel--cracked, perhaps.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading You're a weak vessel--cracked, perhaps.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You're going to pray for what you didn't get--and almost got--in the desert.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You're going to get religion now--here.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You're going to ask forgiveness for all your damn tricks, and pray like a fanning-mill for the Spirit to come down.
Chapter 12 of Northern Lights by Gilbert Parker holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Northern Lights, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Northern Lights by Gilbert Parker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Northern Lights by Gilbert Parker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6434 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26905 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26905, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 536 minutes of reading across 1287 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Northern Lights section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Northern Lights 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 Northern Lights, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
