Chapter 10 of Vain oblations is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Vain oblations is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist. I think he said that, himself. His mind tried to peer out through it. He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines. Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
Chapter 10 of Vain oblations is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
plural of “aborigine” — an indigenous person who was born in a particular place
From this reading “He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.”
the act of putting a person into a non-elective position
From this reading “Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.”
(informal) very unpleasant
From this reading ““After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.”
a confused multitude of things
From this reading “He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.”
a person who is of equal standing with another in a group
From this reading “His mind tried to peer out through it.”
wet with secreted or exuded moisture such as sweat or tears
From this reading ““After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.”
an established ceremony prescribed by a religion
From this reading “Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.”
without shame
From this reading “Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.”
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.
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 “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
plural of “aborigine” — an indigenous person who was born in a particular place
From this reading He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.
later than; following
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
the act of putting a person into a non-elective position
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
(informal) very unpleasant
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
being one more than seven
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I think he said that, himself.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading I think he said that, himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His mind tried to peer out through it.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I think he said that, himself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading His mind tried to peer out through it.
a confused multitude of things
From this reading He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading His mind tried to peer out through it.
become covered with mist
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading His mind tried to peer out through it.
a person who is of equal standing with another in a group
From this reading His mind tried to peer out through it.
make a promise or commitment
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
wet with secreted or exuded moisture such as sweat or tears
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
plural of “report” — a written document describing the findings of some individual or group
From this reading He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.
an established ceremony prescribed by a religion
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I think he said that, himself.
without shame
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I think he said that, himself.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading I think he said that, himself.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading He got nothing but a jumble of reports from those aborigines.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading His mind tried to peer out through it.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His mind tried to peer out through it.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading His mind tried to peer out through it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “After eight or ten beastly months, despair was reeking round him like a mist.
at the time that
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Time after time they’d promise to let him in on some rite, and then their faces would be shamelessly blank when he kept his appointment.
Chapter 10 of Vain oblations by Katharine Fullerton Gerould holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 10 holds 427 sentences of Vain oblations, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Vain oblations by Katharine Fullerton Gerould exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 10 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 Vain oblations by Katharine Fullerton Gerould on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Vain oblations section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Vain oblations 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 Vain oblations, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
