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The Crisis — Complete
The Crisis — Complete

Chapter XXI · Chapter 21

Chapter 21 of The Crisis — Complete is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Crisis — Complete
Context Illustration Reading 1/30 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Winter had vanished.
Spring was come with a hush.
Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.
Was the flag still there?
God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Crisis — Complete

Chapter XXI · Chapter 21

Chapter 21 of The Crisis — Complete is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/30 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Winter had vanished.
/ˈwɪntər hæd ˈvænɪʃt/
Line 2
Spring was come with a hush.
/sprɪŋ wɑːz kʌm wɪð ə hʌʃ/
Line 3
Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.
/təˈwɔːrd ə ˈlɪtəl ˈaɪlənd set ɪn ðə bluː ˈwɔːtərz ʌv ˈtʃɑːrlstən ˈhɑːrbər ˈæŋkʃəs aɪz wɜːr streɪnd/
Line 4
Was the flag still there?
/wɑːz ðə flæɡ stɪl ðer/
Line 5
God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Charleston noun US /ˈtʃɑːrlstən/

state capital of West Virginia in the central part of the state on the Kanawha river

From this reading “Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.”

flag noun US /flæɡ/

emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design

From this reading “Was the flag still there?”

guns noun US /ɡʌnz/

plural of “gun” — a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)

From this reading “God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.”

harbor verb US /ˈhɑːrbər/

maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)

From this reading “Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.”

hush verb US /hʌʃ/

become quiet or still; fall silent

From this reading “Spring was come with a hush.”

mothers noun US /ˈmʌðərz/

plural of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading “God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.”

strained adjective US /streɪnd/

lacking natural ease

From this reading “Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.”

wives noun US /waɪvz/

plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage

From this reading “God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.”

All words in this reading · 41

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Spring was come with a hush.

aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/

Having no one else present.

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

anxiousadjectiveUS /ˈæŋkʃəs/

eagerly desirous

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

blueadjectiveUS /bluː/

of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

CharlestonnounUS /ˈtʃɑːrlstən/

state capital of West Virginia in the central part of the state on the Kanawha river

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

comeverbUS /kʌm/

move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading Spring was come with a hush.

countverbUS /kaʊnt/

determine the number or amount of

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

eyesnounUS /aɪz/

opinion or judgment

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

flagnounUS /flæɡ/

emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design

From this reading Was the flag still there?

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

GodnounUS /ɡɑːd/

the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

gunsnounUS /ɡʌnz/

plural of “gun” — a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Winter had vanished.

harborverbUS /ˈhɑːrbər/

maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

hoursnounUS /ˈaʊərz/

a period of time assigned for work

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

hushverbUS /hʌʃ/

become quiet or still; fall silent

From this reading Spring was come with a hush.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

islandnounUS /ˈaɪlənd/

a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

listenedverbUS /ˈlɪsənd/

past form of “listen” — hear with intention

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

mothersnounUS /ˈmʌðərz/

plural of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

nightnounUS /naɪt/

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

setverbUS /set/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

SpringnounUS /sprɪŋ/

the season of growth

From this reading Spring was come with a hush.

stilladjectiveUS /stɪl/

not in physical motion

From this reading Was the flag still there?

strainedadjectiveUS /streɪnd/

lacking natural ease

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

Sumter

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading Was the flag still there?

TowardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

vanishedadjectiveUS /ˈvænɪʃt/

having passed out of existence

From this reading Winter had vanished.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Spring was come with a hush.

watersnounUS /ˈwɔːtərz/

United States actress and singer (1896-1977)

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading Toward a little island set in the blue waters of Charleston harbor anxious eyes were strained.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

WinternounUS /ˈwɪntər/

the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox

From this reading Winter had vanished.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Spring was come with a hush.

wivesnounUS /waɪvz/

plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage

From this reading God alone may count the wives and mothers who listened in the still hours of the night for the guns of Sumter.

Chapter 21 of The Crisis — Complete by Winston Churchill holds 154 sentences, grouped into 31 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 21 of The Crisis — Complete contain?

Chapter 21 holds 154 sentences of The Crisis — Complete, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 21 of The Crisis — Complete by Winston Churchill exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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.

How do I study chapter 21 of The Crisis — Complete?

Work through the 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 31 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.

Can chapter 21 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 21 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.

Questions about reading The Crisis — Complete

Common questions about reading The Crisis — Complete by Winston Churchill on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Crisis — Complete?

Yes. All 11964 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5396 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Crisis — Complete is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #5396, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Crisis — Complete take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 2393 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Crisis — Complete section by section

How to work through The Crisis — Complete section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Crisis — Complete to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Crisis — Complete

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Crisis — Complete, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Hopper
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Crisis — Complete; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Being
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Crisis — Complete; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Caught
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Crisis — Complete; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Unpardonable
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Crisis — Complete; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.