Chapter 2 of Bitter-Sweet: A Poem is here in full — 378 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Bitter-Sweet: A Poem is here in full — 378 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.] That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature! He must go Up to his chamber. Come, Grace, take him off-- Basket and all. Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
Chapter 2 of Bitter-Sweet: A Poem is here in full — 378 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
bestow a quality on
From this reading “Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.”
great merriment
From this reading “That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!”
full of or characterized by loud and nonmusical sounds
From this reading “That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!”
characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental aptitude)
From this reading “That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!”
plural of “sleep” — a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.”
the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth
From this reading “That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!”
plural of “wake” — the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event)
From this reading “[_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]”
a young person of either sex
From this reading “That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!”
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 [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
(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 Come, Grace, take him off-- Basket and all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Come, Grace, take him off-- Basket and all.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading Come, Grace, take him off-- Basket and all.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
a natural or artificial enclosed space
From this reading He must go Up to his chamber.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come, Grace, take him off-- Basket and all.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He must go Up to his chamber.
(Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence
From this reading Come, Grace, take him off-- Basket and all.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He must go Up to his chamber.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Come, Grace, take him off-- Basket and all.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He must go Up to his chamber.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
bestow a quality on
From this reading Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
great merriment
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading He must go Up to his chamber.
full of or characterized by loud and nonmusical sounds
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Come, Grace, take him off-- Basket and all.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental aptitude)
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
move hurridly
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice (usually denoting characteristic manner of speaking)
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
plural of “sleep” — a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
carry out
From this reading Come, Grace, take him off-- Basket and all.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He must go Up to his chamber.
up to a particular time
From this reading Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He must go Up to his chamber.
plural of “wake” — the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event)
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
in the company of; together with
From this reading [_The children rush out of the room with a shout, which wakes the baby_.]
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Mary will lend a hand, And keep you company until he sleeps.
a young person of either sex
From this reading That noisy little youngster on the floor Slept through theology but wakes with mirth-- Precocious little creature!
Chapter 2 of Bitter-Sweet: A Poem by J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland holds 378 sentences, grouped into 76 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 378 sentences of Bitter-Sweet: A Poem, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Bitter-Sweet: A Poem by J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 378 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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 Bitter-Sweet: A Poem by J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1493 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6442 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6442, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 124 minutes of reading across 299 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bitter-Sweet: A Poem section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Bitter-Sweet: A Poem 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 Bitter-Sweet: A Poem, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
