Chapter 2 of Fire-Tongue is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Fire-Tongue is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane. “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur. “Go along the Strand.” Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand. “Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.
Chapter 2 of Fire-Tongue is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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 court with jurisdiction in equity
From this reading “Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.”
a man paid to drive a privately owned car
From this reading ““Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.”
-ing form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.”
(law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked
From this reading “Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.”
a geographical region of historical importance; a former duchy in what is now southwestern France, western Switzerland, and northwestern Italy
From this reading ““Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.”
a pattern forming a unity within a larger structural whole
From this reading ““Go along the Strand.””
the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time
From this reading “Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.”
conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases
From this reading ““Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.”
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.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading “Go along the Strand.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.
a court with jurisdiction in equity
From this reading Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.
a man paid to drive a privately owned car
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
(often used in combination) having a specified direction
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
-ing form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Go along the Strand.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.
a narrow way or road
From this reading Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.
in the near future
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
(law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading “Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.
a geographical region of historical importance; a former duchy in what is now southwestern France, western Switzerland, and northwestern Italy
From this reading “Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading Paul Harley stepped into his car in Chancery Lane.
a pattern forming a unity within a larger structural whole
From this reading “Go along the Strand.”
a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading “Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Drive in the direction of Hyde Park Corner,” he directed the chauffeur.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading “Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.
the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases
From this reading “Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “Pull up at the Savoy,” he said suddenly through the tube.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Glancing neither right nor left, he entered the car, and presently they were proceeding slowly with the stream of traffic in the Strand.
Chapter 2 of Fire-Tongue by Sax Rohmer holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 185 sentences of Fire-Tongue, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Fire-Tongue by Sax Rohmer exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 Fire-Tongue by Sax Rohmer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4350 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1159 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1159, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 362 minutes of reading across 870 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Fire-Tongue section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Fire-Tongue 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 Fire-Tongue, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
