Chapter 15 of Smoking flax is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Smoking flax is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
October days! The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye. The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel. The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows. Sunday.
Chapter 15 of Smoking flax is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
plural of “disk” — something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate
From this reading “The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.”
display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously
From this reading “The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.”
plural of “float” — the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment
From this reading “The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.”
atmospheric moisture or dust or smoke that causes reduced visibility
From this reading “The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.”
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading “The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.”
resembling or reminiscent of silver
From this reading “The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.”
possessive form of “summer” — the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving
From this reading “The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.”
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 “The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.”
In this reading “The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.”
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 The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
with boldness, in a bold manner
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading October days!
plural of “disk” — something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
something that provides access (to get in or get out)
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
the organ of sight
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
plural of “float” — the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
coins made of gold
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
atmospheric moisture or dust or smoke that causes reduced visibility
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.
any of various plants of the genus Verbascum having large usually woolly leaves and terminal spikes of yellow or white or purplish flowers
From this reading The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.
the month following September and preceding November
From this reading October days!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
a purple color or pigment
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.
(plural) something that reminds you of someone or something
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
resembling or reminiscent of silver
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
possessive form of “summer” — the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading Sunday.
move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The sumacs drabbled in the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and green, gold and purple shades entrance the eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The mullein stands upon the brown land a lonely sentinel.
an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving
From this reading The thistle-down floats ghost-like through the haze, and silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt the cornrows.
Chapter 15 of Smoking flax by Hallie Erminie Rives holds 55 sentences, grouped into 11 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 55 sentences of Smoking flax, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Smoking flax by Hallie Erminie Rives exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 55 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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 Smoking flax by Hallie Erminie Rives on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Smoking flax section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Smoking flax 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 Smoking flax, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
