Chapter 5 of Caprice is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Caprice is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Oh, how extraordinary.” “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.” “Whatever did you do?” “My dear, I was disgusted. It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.
Chapter 5 of Caprice 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.
the quantity contained in a carton
From this reading ““Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.””
having a strong distaste from surfeit
From this reading ““My dear, I was disgusted.”
cause fear in
From this reading ““Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.””
possessive form of “hare” — swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes
angered at something unjust or wrong
From this reading “It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.”
a protective covering (as for a knife or sword)
From this reading ““Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.””
inflected form of “skip” — bypass
From this reading ““Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.””
the state of being an adult woman
From this reading “It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.”
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 ““Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.””
in a state of proper readiness or preparation or arrangement
In this reading ““Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.””
In this reading ““Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.””
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
the quantity contained in a carton
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
past form of “cause” — give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
dearly loved
From this reading “My dear, I was disgusted.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “Whatever did you do?”
having a strong distaste from surfeit
From this reading “My dear, I was disgusted.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Whatever did you do?”
beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable
From this reading “Oh, how extraordinary.”
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
cause fear in
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
possessive form of “hare” — swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, how extraordinary.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
go away from a place
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, how extraordinary.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
on one occasion
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
angered at something unjust or wrong
From this reading It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.
a protective covering (as for a knife or sword)
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
inflected form of “skip” — bypass
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Once as I was making ready to pay some calls, in order to frighten me, he caused the hare’s foot on my toilet-table to leave its carton sheath and go skipping about the room.”
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading “Whatever did you do?”
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.
the state of being an adult woman
From this reading It really seemed as if the whole of Womanhood was outraged.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Whatever did you do?”
Chapter 5 of Caprice by Ronald Firbank 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 5 holds 415 sentences of Caprice, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Caprice by Ronald Firbank 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 5 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 Caprice by Ronald Firbank on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2064 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70073 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70073, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 172 minutes of reading across 413 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Caprice section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Caprice 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 Caprice, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
