Chapter 2 of Castle Nowhere is here in full — 411 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 Castle Nowhere is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly. 'Wretch,' he said, 'you set that light.' Old Fog nodded. 'Can anything be done for the men on board? Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
Chapter 2 of Castle Nowhere is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 strong flame that burns brightly
From this reading “Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.”
the flow of blood from a ruptured blood vessel
From this reading “Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.”
wood that is floating or that has been washed ashore
From this reading “Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.”
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading “Old Fog nodded.”
a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
From this reading “Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.”
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
From this reading “Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.”
-ing form of “ware” — spend extravagantly
From this reading “Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.”
performs some wicked deed
From this reading “'Wretch,' he said, 'you set that light.'”
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 Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
react verbally
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
any thing at all
From this reading 'Can anything be done for the men on board?
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading 'Can anything be done for the men on board?
a strong flame that burns brightly
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
the flow of blood from a ruptured blood vessel
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading 'Can anything be done for the men on board?
confined by bonds
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading 'Can anything be done for the men on board?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading 'Can anything be done for the men on board?
wood that is floating or that has been washed ashore
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading Old Fog nodded.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading 'Can anything be done for the men on board?
set up or found
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'Wretch,' he said, 'you set that light.'
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading 'Wretch,' he said, 'you set that light.'
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
the force of workers available
From this reading 'Can anything be done for the men on board?
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Old Fog nodded.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Fog nodded.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading 'Can anything be done for the men on board?
on one occasion
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'Wretch,' he said, 'you set that light.'
except for; apart from
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading 'Wretch,' he said, 'you set that light.'
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'Wretch,' he said, 'you set that light.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
-ing form of “ware” — spend extravagantly
From this reading Waring found his tinder-box, made a blaze of driftwood, and bound up the bleeding arm and leg roughly.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
performs some wicked deed
From this reading 'Wretch,' he said, 'you set that light.'
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'Wretch,' he said, 'you set that light.'
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Answer or I'll end your miserable life at once; I don't know why, indeed, I have tried to save it.'
Chapter 2 of Castle Nowhere by Constance Fenimore Woolson holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 411 sentences of Castle Nowhere, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Castle Nowhere by Constance Fenimore Woolson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 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 Castle Nowhere by Constance Fenimore Woolson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2143 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6436 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6436, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 178 minutes of reading across 429 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Castle Nowhere section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Castle Nowhere 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 Castle Nowhere, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
