<?php
function character_limiter($str, $n = 500, $end_char = '&#8230;')
{
	if (strlen($str) < $n)
	{
		return $str;
	}

	$str = preg_replace("/\s+/", ' ', str_replace(array("\r\n", "\r", "\n"), ' ', $str));

	if (strlen($str) <= $n)
	{
		return $str;
	}

	$out = "";
	foreach (explode(' ', trim($str)) as $val)
	{
		$out .= $val.' ';

		if (strlen($out) >= $n)
		{
			$out = trim($out);
			return (strlen($out) == strlen($str)) ? $out : $out.$end_char;
		}
	}
}

$string = 'one two three four';
$limited = character_limiter($string, 7, '');
$string = explode($limited, $string);
$string[0] = $limited;
print_r($string);
?>


=========================


Array ( [0] => one two [1] => three four )