Chapter 12 of The Memoirs of a White Elephant is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Memoirs of a White Elephant is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda. Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace. What a darling she was! How pretty, and fragile.... She was like a Flower!
Chapter 12 of The Memoirs of a White Elephant is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/6 · 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 absent
From this reading “PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.”
a special loved one
From this reading “What a darling she was!”
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “She was like a Flower!”
easily broken or damaged or destroyed
From this reading “How pretty, and fragile....”
a source of great wealth (especially a mine)
From this reading “PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.”
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading “Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.”
covered with water
From this reading “Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.”
plural of “robe” — any loose flowing garment
From this reading “Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.”
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 “Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.”
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 PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
the state of being absent
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading How pretty, and fragile....
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
brought into existence
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
a special loved one
From this reading What a darling she was!
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading She was like a Flower!
easily broken or damaged or destroyed
From this reading How pretty, and fragile....
a source of great wealth (especially a mine)
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How pretty, and fragile....
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading She was like a Flower!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
covered with water
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
wife of Siva and a benevolent aspect of Devi: Hindu goddess of plenty
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading How pretty, and fragile....
The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
plural of “robe” — any loose flowing garment
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading What a darling she was!
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading PARVATI During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What a darling she was!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a darling she was!
in the company of; together with
From this reading Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
Chapter 12 of The Memoirs of a White Elephant by Judith Gautier holds 30 sentences, grouped into 6 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 30 sentences of The Memoirs of a White Elephant, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Memoirs of a White Elephant by Judith Gautier exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 30 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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 The Memoirs of a White Elephant by Judith Gautier on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1896 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46983 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46983, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 158 minutes of reading across 380 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Memoirs of a White Elephant section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Memoirs of a White Elephant 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 The Memoirs of a White Elephant, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
