Chapter 12 of Wits' End is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Wits' End is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A BUNDLE OF LETTERS Miss Elliott was right. The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants. The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray. Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality. The sea was shut out by a curtain of fog.
Chapter 12 of Wits' End is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole
From this reading “The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.”
plural of “cottage” — a small house with a single story
From this reading “The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.”
past form of “envelop” — enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
From this reading “The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.”
-ing form of “pearl” — gather pearls, from oysters in the ocean
From this reading “The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.”
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading “The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.”
past form of “shroud” — cover as if with a shroud
From this reading “The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.”
held in check with difficulty
From this reading “Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.”
branch out in a twiglike manner
From this reading “The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.”
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 “The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.”
In this reading “The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.”
prevent from entering; shut out
In this reading “The sea was shut out by a curtain of fog.”
In this reading “The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.”
In this reading “Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.”
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 A BUNDLE OF LETTERS Miss Elliott was right.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.
especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading A BUNDLE OF LETTERS Miss Elliott was right.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The sea was shut out by a curtain of fog.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.
plural of “cottage” — a small house with a single story
From this reading The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading The sea was shut out by a curtain of fog.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A BUNDLE OF LETTERS Miss Elliott was right.
past form of “envelop” — enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading The sea was shut out by a curtain of fog.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
the literary culture
From this reading A BUNDLE OF LETTERS Miss Elliott was right.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading A BUNDLE OF LETTERS Miss Elliott was right.
become covered with mist
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A BUNDLE OF LETTERS Miss Elliott was right.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The sea was shut out by a curtain of fog.
-ing form of “pearl” — gather pearls, from oysters in the ocean
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.
precisely, exactly
From this reading A BUNDLE OF LETTERS Miss Elliott was right.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading The sea was shut out by a curtain of fog.
act as a barrier between; stand between
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.
past form of “shroud” — cover as if with a shroud
From this reading The cottages appeared great confused shapes shrouded in gray.
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading The sea was shut out by a curtain of fog.
held in check with difficulty
From this reading Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
very small
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
branch out in a twiglike manner
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Voices coming from a distance had a queer smothered quality.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A BUNDLE OF LETTERS Miss Elliott was right.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The next morning a soft gray mist enveloped the island, pearling each separate blade of grass and gemming each twig and leaf with tiny brilliants.
Chapter 12 of Wits' End by Amy Ella Blanchard holds 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 271 sentences of Wits' End, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Wits' End by Amy Ella Blanchard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 Wits' End by Amy Ella Blanchard 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 Wits' End section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Wits' End 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 Wits' End, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
