Chapter 5 of The Wooing of Wistaria is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Wooing of Wistaria is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
How long she lay thus she could not have told. Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face. A gentle voice whispered: “The gods are good—good! Take heart! They will not desert us!
Chapter 5 of The Wooing of Wistaria is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
intentionally conceived
From this reading “Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.”
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading “They will not desert us!”
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading “Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.”
plural of “god” — 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 “A gentle voice whispered: “The gods are good—good!”
in a gradual manner
From this reading “Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.”
supporting yourself on your knees
From this reading “Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.”
-ing form of “smooth” — make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
From this reading “Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.”
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading “Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.”
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 “Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.”
In this reading “A gentle voice whispered: “The gods are good—good!”
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 Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading A gentle voice whispered: “The gods are good—good!
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
intentionally conceived
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading How long she lay thus she could not have told.
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading They will not desert us!
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading A gentle voice whispered: “The gods are good—good!
plural of “god” — 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 A gentle voice whispered: “The gods are good—good!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading A gentle voice whispered: “The gods are good—good!
in a gradual manner
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
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 Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading How long she lay thus she could not have told.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Take heart!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How long she lay thus she could not have told.
supporting yourself on your knees
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading How long she lay thus she could not have told.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading How long she lay thus she could not have told.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading How long she lay thus she could not have told.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading How long she lay thus she could not have told.
-ing form of “smooth” — make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
carry out
From this reading Take heart!
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They will not desert us!
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading How long she lay thus she could not have told.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading How long she lay thus she could not have told.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They will not desert us!
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading A gentle voice whispered: “The gods are good—good!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading A gentle voice whispered: “The gods are good—good!
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading Gradually she became conscious that some one was kneeling beside her, and that a soft and tender hand was smoothing back the wild hair that escaped about her face.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading They will not desert us!
Chapter 5 of The Wooing of Wistaria by Onoto Watanna holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 5 holds 412 sentences of The Wooing of Wistaria, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Wooing of Wistaria by Onoto Watanna exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 5 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 Wooing of Wistaria by Onoto Watanna on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5285 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59413 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59413, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 440 minutes of reading across 1057 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Wooing of Wistaria section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Wooing of Wistaria 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 Wooing of Wistaria, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
