Chapter 2 of A Gentleman of Leisure is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Gentleman of Leisure is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Generally.” “And now you love her, eh? You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free. You came off it grave and saddened. Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
Chapter 2 of A Gentleman of Leisure is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading “You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.”
marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful
From this reading “You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.”
include or contain; have as a component
From this reading “Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.””
usually; as a rule
From this reading ““Generally.””
death of a person
From this reading “You came off it grave and saddened.”
past form of “sadden” — make unhappy
From this reading “You came off it grave and saddened.”
transport commercially
From this reading “You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.”
from that time on
From this reading “Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.””
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.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
In this reading “You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.”
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 “And now you love her, eh?
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading You came off it grave and saddened.
marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful
From this reading You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.
include or contain; have as a component
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “And now you love her, eh?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
usually; as a rule
From this reading “Generally.”
death of a person
From this reading You came off it grave and saddened.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “And now you love her, eh?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You came off it grave and saddened.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading “And now you love her, eh?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “And now you love her, eh?
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading You came off it grave and saddened.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
past form of “sadden” — make unhappy
From this reading You came off it grave and saddened.
transport commercially
From this reading You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
from that time on
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading You went on board that ship happy, careless, heart-free.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading Thenceforth for you the world could contain but one woman, and her you had lost.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “And now you love her, eh?
Chapter 2 of A Gentleman of Leisure by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 2 holds 415 sentences of A Gentleman of Leisure, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Gentleman of Leisure by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 2 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 A Gentleman of Leisure by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6471 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65172 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65172, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 539 minutes of reading across 1295 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Gentleman of Leisure section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of A Gentleman of Leisure 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 A Gentleman of Leisure, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
