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The Talisman
The Talisman

Chapter XVI · Chapter 16

Chapter 16 of The Talisman is here in full — 67 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Talisman
Context Illustration Reading 1/13 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.
SONG.
The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.
Her form was slight, though exquisitely moulded.
She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.
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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 Talisman

Chapter XVI · Chapter 16

Chapter 16 of The Talisman is here in full — 67 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/13 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.
Line 2
SONG.
/sɔːŋ/
Line 3
The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.
Line 4
Her form was slight, though exquisitely moulded.
Line 5
She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

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.

accounted verb US /əˈkaʊntɪd/

past form of “account” — be the sole or primary factor in the existence, acquisition, supply, or disposal of something

From this reading “The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.”

chat verb US /tʃæt/

talk socially without exchanging too much information

From this reading “'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.”

exquisitely adverb US /ˌekˈskwɪzɪtli/

in a delicate manner

From this reading “Her form was slight, though exquisitely moulded.”

graced verb US /ɡreɪst/

past form of “grace” — make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.

From this reading “She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.”

heroic adjective US /hɪˈroʊɪk/

very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale)

From this reading “The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.”

juvenile adjective US /ˈdʒuːvənəl/

of or relating to or characteristic of or appropriate for children or young people

From this reading “She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.”

profusion noun US /prəˈfjuːʒən/

the property of being extremely abundant

From this reading “She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.”

Sanchez noun US /ˈsæntʃez/

Venezuelan master terrorist raised by a Marxist-Leninist father; trained and worked with many terrorist groups (born in 1949)

From this reading “The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.”

All words in this reading · 71

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 She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

accountedverbUS /əˈkaʊntɪd/

past form of “account” — be the sole or primary factor in the existence, acquisition, supply, or disposal of something

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

anyadjectiveUS /ˈeni/

one or some or every or all without specification

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

beautifuladjectiveUS /ˈbjuːtəfəl/

delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

Berengaria

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

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

chatverbUS /tʃæt/

talk socially without exchanging too much information

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

commonadjectiveUS /ˈkɑːmən/

belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

complexionnounUS /kəmˈplekʃən/

the coloring of a person's face

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

countrynounUS /ˈkʌntri/

a politically organized body of people under a single government

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

daughternounUS /ˈdɔːtər/

a female human offspring

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

exquisitelyadverbUS /ˌekˈskwɪzɪtli/

in a delicate manner

From this reading Her form was slight, though exquisitely moulded.

extremelyadverbUS /ekˈstriːmli/

to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

fairadjectiveUS /fer/

free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

featuresnounUS /ˈfiːtʃərz/

plural of “feature” — a prominent attribute or aspect of something

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

formnounUS /fɔːrm/

the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something

From this reading Her form was slight, though exquisitely moulded.

gracedverbUS /ɡreɪst/

past form of “grace” — make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

hairnounUS /her/

a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

heroicadjectiveUS /hɪˈroʊɪk/

very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale)

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

high-born

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

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

juvenileadjectiveUS /ˈdʒuːvənəl/

of or relating to or characteristic of or appropriate for children or young people

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

KingnounUS /kɪŋ/

a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

LikeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

lookverbUS /lʊk/

perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

makeverbUS /meɪk/

engage in

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

mostadverbUS /moʊst/

used to form the superlative

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

moulded

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

From this reading Her form was slight, though exquisitely moulded.

Navarre

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

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

one-and-twenty

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

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

otheradjectiveUS /ˈʌðər/

not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

periodnounUS /ˈpɪriəd/

an amount of time

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

profusionnounUS /prəˈfjuːʒən/

the property of being extremely abundant

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

Queen-Consort

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

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

realitynounUS /ˌriːˈælətiː/

all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

reallyadverbUS /ˈrɪli/

in accordance with truth or fact or reality

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

Richard

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

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

SancheznounUS /ˈsæntʃez/

Venezuelan master terrorist raised by a Marxist-Leninist father; trained and worked with many terrorist groups (born in 1949)

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

sensenounUS /sens/

a general conscious awareness

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

severaladjectiveUS /ˈsevrəl/

(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

slightnounUS /slaɪt/

a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)

From this reading Her form was slight, though exquisitely moulded.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

SONGnounUS /sɔːŋ/

a short musical composition with words

From this reading SONG.

sureadjectiveUS /ʃʊr/

having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

There's

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

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading Her form was slight, though exquisitely moulded.

TisnounUS /tɪz/

plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

witnounUS /wɪt/

a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

womannounUS /ˈwʊmən/

an adult female person (as opposed to a man)

From this reading 'Tis not her sense, for sure in that There's nothing more than common; And all her wit is only chat, Like any other woman.

womennounUS /ˈwɪmən/

plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)

From this reading The high-born Berengaria, daughter of Sanchez, King of Navarre, and the Queen-Consort of the heroic Richard, was accounted one of the most beautiful women of the period.

yearsnounUS /jɪrz/

a late time of life

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

youngeradjectiveUS /ˈjʌŋɡər/

used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father

From this reading She was graced with a complexion not common in her country, a profusion of fair hair, and features so extremely juvenile as to make her look several years younger than she really was, though in reality she was not above one-and-twenty.

Chapter 16 of The Talisman by Walter Scott holds 67 sentences, grouped into 14 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 16 of The Talisman contain?

Chapter 16 holds 67 sentences of The Talisman, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 16 of The Talisman by Walter Scott exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 67 sentences, grouped into 14 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 16 of The Talisman?

Work through the 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 14 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 16 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 16 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 Talisman

Common questions about reading The Talisman by Walter Scott on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Talisman?

Yes. All 4130 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1377 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Talisman is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #1377, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Talisman take to read?

About 344 minutes of reading across 826 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Talisman section by section

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

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Talisman 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 Talisman

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

Retired
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Talisman; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Wilderness
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Talisman; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Paradise
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Talisman; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Regained
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Talisman; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.