Chapter 2 of A Prince of Swindlers is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Prince of Swindlers is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to. Now where is my Babuji?" Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him. "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel." "Lead on then.
Chapter 2 of A Prince of Swindlers is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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 “advantage” — the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading “If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.”
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading “Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.”
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.”
be worthy or deserving
From this reading “If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.”
someone employed to conduct others
From this reading “"If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."”
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading “"If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."”
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading “"If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."”
attain success or reach a desired goal
From this reading “If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.”
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 “Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.”
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 Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
plural of “advantage” — the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now where is my Babuji?"
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
be worthy or deserving
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
someone employed to conduct others
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
take somebody somewhere
From this reading "Lead on then.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Now where is my Babuji?"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now where is my Babuji?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Lead on then.
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
formerly a term of respect for important white Europeans in colonial India; used after the name
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
Identical; not different.
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
express in words
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
attain success or reach a desired goal
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Almost at the same instant a figure appeared from the shadow of the building and approached him.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Lead on then.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
in or at the place that
From this reading Now where is my Babuji?"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "If the Sahib will permit me, I will guide him by a short road to his hotel."
in the company of; together with
From this reading If with these advantages I don’t succeed, well, all I can say is, I don’t deserve to.
Chapter 2 of A Prince of Swindlers by Guy Boothby holds 448 sentences, grouped into 90 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 448 sentences of A Prince of Swindlers, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Prince of Swindlers by Guy Boothby exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 448 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 Prince of Swindlers by Guy Boothby on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3114 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54771 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54771, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 259 minutes of reading across 623 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Prince of Swindlers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of A Prince of Swindlers 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 Prince of Swindlers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
