Chapter 2 of Historical Romances is here in full — 585 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Historical Romances is here in full — 585 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD. MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger. For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost. Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table. "That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.
Chapter 2 of Historical Romances is here in full — 585 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/117 · 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 emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
From this reading “MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.”
inflected form of “clap” — put quickly or forcibly
From this reading “Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table.”
plural of “companion” — a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading “"That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.”
to certain extent or degree
From this reading “MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.”
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading “For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.”
past form of “glare” — look at with a fixed gaze
From this reading “For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.”
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading “THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “"That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.”
able to be negotiated or arranged by compromise
In this reading “Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table.”
temporarily
In this reading “For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.”
In this reading “MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.”
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 For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
inflected form of “clap” — put quickly or forcibly
From this reading Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table.
plural of “companion” — a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading "That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
past form of “glare” — look at with a fixed gaze
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
the force of workers available
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
a particular point in time
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For a moment they glared at me as if they had seen a ghost.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then the wine-merchant clapped his hand on the table.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "That is enough!" he said, with a look at his companions.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD.
the words that are spoken
From this reading MY words fairly startled the three men out of their anger.
Chapter 2 of Historical Romances by Stanley John Weyman holds 585 sentences, grouped into 117 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 585 sentences of Historical Romances, unabridged, divided into 117 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Historical Romances by Stanley John Weyman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 585 sentences, grouped into 117 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 117 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 117 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 Historical Romances by Stanley John Weyman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 19958 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39136 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39136, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3992 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Historical Romances section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Historical Romances 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 Historical Romances, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
