Chapter 18 of Wager of Battle is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Wager of Battle is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SANDS. Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main! Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain. Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand. EBENEZER ELLIOTT.
Chapter 18 of Wager of Battle is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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 “barrier” — a structure or object that impedes free movement
From this reading “Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.”
the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white
From this reading “Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.”
an engagement fought between two military forces
From this reading “Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.”
plural of “demon” — an evil supernatural being
From this reading “Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.”
possessive form of “ocean” — a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere
From this reading “Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.”
the region of the shore of a lake or sea or ocean
From this reading “THE SANDS.”
Magnificent and splendid appearance; grandeur and brilliance.
From this reading “Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main!”
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 “Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.”
In this reading “Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main!”
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 Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
plural of “barrier” — a structure or object that impedes free movement
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
an engagement fought between two military forces
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
plural of “demon” — an evil supernatural being
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading EBENEZER ELLIOTT.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading EBENEZER ELLIOTT.
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
any creature of exceptional size
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main!
intense and profound fear
From this reading Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main!
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
most important element
From this reading Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
possessive form of “ocean” — a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main!
on one occasion
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
abounding in rocks or stones
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
move by turning over or rotating
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
move hurridly
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
the region of the shore of a lake or sea or ocean
From this reading THE SANDS.
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
Magnificent and splendid appearance; grandeur and brilliance.
From this reading Splendor in heaven, and horror on the main!
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
the rays of the sun
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SANDS.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading Sunshine and storm at once--a troubled day; Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain.
plural of “wave” — one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
in or at the place that
From this reading Now the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking the eternal barriers of the land; And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat hand to hand.
Chapter 18 of Wager of Battle by Henry William Herbert holds 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 18 holds 137 sentences of Wager of Battle, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Wager of Battle by Henry William Herbert exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 18 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 Wager of Battle by Henry William Herbert on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2384 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45341 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45341, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 198 minutes of reading across 477 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wager of Battle section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Wager of Battle 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 Wager of Battle, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
