Chapter 12 of Old People and the Things That Pass is here in full — 313 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 Old People and the Things That Pass is here in full — 313 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels: "My dear boy, my _dear_ boy, how are you? And so this is your little wife! My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!" His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
Chapter 12 of Old People and the Things That Pass is here in full — 313 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.
the capital and largest city of Belgium; seat of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
From this reading “Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:”
past form of “embrace” — include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading “His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.”
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading “My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!"”
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading “His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.”
come together
From this reading “Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:”
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading “Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:”
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading “His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.”
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 “My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!"”
In this reading “"My dear boy, my _dear_ boy, how are you?”
In this reading “Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:”
In this reading “Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:”
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.
(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 My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And so this is your little wife!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "My dear boy, my _dear_ boy, how are you?
weapons considered collectively
From this reading His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
a youthful male person
From this reading "My dear boy, my _dear_ boy, how are you?
the capital and largest city of Belgium; seat of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
a young person of either sex
From this reading My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!"
dearly loved
From this reading "My dear boy, my _dear_ boy, how are you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
past form of “embrace” — include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "My dear boy, my _dear_ boy, how are you?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And so this is your little wife!
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!"
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading And so this is your little wife!
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
come together
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
a form of address for a man
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My dear boy, my _dear_ boy, how are you?
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading And so this is your little wife!
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And so this is your little wife!
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Old Mr. Pauws came to meet them at the station, in the evening, at Brussels:
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading His arms, thrown wide, embraced first Lot and then Elly.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading And so this is your little wife!
hope for; have a wish
From this reading My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!"
in the company of; together with
From this reading My dear child, I wish you joy with all my heart!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "My dear boy, my _dear_ boy, how are you?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And so this is your little wife!
Chapter 12 of Old People and the Things That Pass by Louis Couperus holds 313 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 313 sentences of Old People and the Things That Pass, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Old People and the Things That Pass by Louis Couperus exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 313 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 Old People and the Things That Pass by Louis Couperus on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6492 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48271 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48271, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 541 minutes of reading across 1299 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old People and the Things That Pass section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Old People and the Things That Pass 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 Old People and the Things That Pass, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
