Chapter 12 of The breath of slander is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The breath of slander is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NORINE’S POSITION. Yes, he was dead. Norine never doubted it. The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter. She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
Chapter 12 of The breath of slander is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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 state of being decayed or destroyed
From this reading “She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.”
having made preparations
From this reading “The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.”
past form of “doubt” — consider unlikely or have doubts about
From this reading “Norine never doubted it.”
conceived of or imagined or hoped for
From this reading “The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.”
feel sadness
From this reading “She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.”
past form of “mourn” — feel sadness
From this reading “She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.”
plural of “proof” — any factual evidence that helps to establish the truth of something
From this reading “The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.”
perplexed (as if being expected to know something that you do not know)
From this reading “The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.”
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 proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.”
In this reading “The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.”
In this reading “She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.”
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 She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Yes, he was dead.
the state of being decayed or destroyed
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
having made preparations
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
past form of “doubt” — consider unlikely or have doubts about
From this reading Norine never doubted it.
conceived of or imagined or hoped for
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
divisible by two
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Yes, he was dead.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Norine never doubted it.
feeling or showing love and affection
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
feel sadness
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
past form of “mourn” — feel sadness
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Norine never doubted it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Norine never doubted it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NORINE’S POSITION.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
and nothing more
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading NORINE’S POSITION.
plural of “proof” — any factual evidence that helps to establish the truth of something
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
perplexed (as if being expected to know something that you do not know)
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yes, he was dead.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The proofs were too strong to admit of doubt, even if she had been disposed to admit one; but she never dreamed of questioning the matter.
the time of a woman's life when she is a widow
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading She was certain of her desolation, certain of her widowhood, and she mourned as only a tender, loving woman can mourn.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, he was dead.
Chapter 12 of The breath of slander by Ida Reade Allen holds 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 110 sentences of The breath of slander, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The breath of slander by Ida Reade Allen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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.
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About 390 minutes of reading across 938 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The breath of slander, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
