Chapter 2 of Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand: "I hope you won't be annoyed. Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home. I'm sorry...." "It doesn't matter!" she whispered.
Chapter 2 of Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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.
aroused to impatience or anger
From this reading “"I hope you won't be annoyed.”
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading “Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:”
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.”
curved or curving in and out
From this reading “Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:”
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “I'm sorry...."”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:”
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading “Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “"It doesn't matter!" she whispered.”
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:”
a reception held in your own home
In this reading “Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.”
In this reading “Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:”
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 Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
aroused to impatience or anger
From this reading "I hope you won't be annoyed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I hope you won't be annoyed.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
small very thin pancake
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It doesn't matter!" she whispered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading "I hope you won't be annoyed.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I hope you won't be annoyed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm sorry...."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It doesn't matter!" she whispered.
lacking spirit or liveliness
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "It doesn't matter!" she whispered.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
on one occasion
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It doesn't matter!" she whispered.
curved or curving in and out
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading I'm sorry...."
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Quaerts called; and Dina had told the servants that we were at home.
at the time that
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "It doesn't matter!" she whispered.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Next evening, when Cecile entered the Van Attemas' drawing-room, slowly with languorous steps, in the sinuous black of her crape, Dolf at once came to her and took her hand:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I hope you won't be annoyed.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I hope you won't be annoyed.
Chapter 2 of Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel by Louis Couperus holds 278 sentences, grouped into 56 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 278 sentences of Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel by Louis Couperus exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 278 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel by Louis Couperus on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2222 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37770 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37770, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 185 minutes of reading across 445 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel 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 Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
