Chapter 12 of Vashti is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Vashti is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Bring her into my office. Steady, men! There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture. Don't stumble over that book on the floor. Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."
Chapter 12 of Vashti is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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 “blind” — people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading “Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."”
(used in the plural) a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance
From this reading “There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.”
making or causing a harsh and irritating sound
From this reading “There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."”
make steady
From this reading “Steady, men!”
walk unsteadily
From this reading “Don't stumble over that book on the floor.”
propel through the air
From this reading “Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."”
torment emotionally or mentally
From this reading “There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.”
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 “There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.”
In this reading “Don't stumble over that book on the floor.”
In this reading “Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."”
In this reading “Don't stumble over that book on the floor.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.
plural of “blind” — people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."
(used in the plural) a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance
From this reading There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading Don't stumble over that book on the floor.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading "Bring her into my office.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don't stumble over that book on the floor.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading Don't stumble over that book on the floor.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Bring her into my office.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "Bring her into my office.
making or causing a harsh and irritating sound
From this reading There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.
the force of workers available
From this reading Steady, men!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Bring her into my office.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading "Bring her into my office.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Don't stumble over that book on the floor.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."
above and across; more than
From this reading Don't stumble over that book on the floor.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."
make steady
From this reading Steady, men!
walk unsteadily
From this reading Don't stumble over that book on the floor.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Don't stumble over that book on the floor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Don't stumble over that book on the floor.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.
propel through the air
From this reading Lay her here on the sofa, and throw open the blinds."
torment emotionally or mentally
From this reading There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading There may be broken bones, and jarring would be torture.
Chapter 12 of Vashti by Augusta J. (Augusta Jane) Evans holds 232 sentences, grouped into 47 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 232 sentences of Vashti, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Vashti by Augusta J. (Augusta Jane) Evans exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 232 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Vashti by Augusta J. (Augusta Jane) Evans on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6667 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31620 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31620, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 555 minutes of reading across 1334 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Vashti section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of Vashti 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 Vashti, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
