Chapter 2 of Melomaniacs is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Melomaniacs is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And fastidious! Bon Dieu! I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted. I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled. What a brute!...
Chapter 2 of Melomaniacs is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 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.
past form of “abduct” — take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
From this reading “I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.”
French novelist; he portrays the complexity of 19th century French society (1799-1850)
From this reading “I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.”
a cruelly rapacious person
From this reading “What a brute!...”
a young unmarried woman
From this reading “I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.”
past form of “faint” — pass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the brain
From this reading “I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.”
giving careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness
From this reading “"And fastidious!”
having an agreeably pungent taste
From this reading “I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.”
thrown into a state of agitated confusion; (“rattled” is an informal term)
From this reading “I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.”
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.
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 I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
past form of “abduct” — take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And fastidious!
French novelist; he portrays the complexity of 19th century French society (1799-1850)
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bon Dieu!
a cruelly rapacious person
From this reading What a brute!...
showing who or what does the action
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
a young unmarried woman
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bon Dieu!
take in liquids
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
past form of “faint” — pass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the brain
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
giving careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness
From this reading "And fastidious!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
on one occasion
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
having an agreeably pungent taste
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
thrown into a state of agitated confusion; (“rattled” is an informal term)
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
To recall to mind.
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
express in words
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
up to a particular time
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a brute!...
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
but in spite of that
From this reading I remember well how Balzac stared and said in that great voice of his: 'Guard well thy little damsel, my good Minkiewicz, else he may yet be abducted by a tom-cat,' and then he laughed until the window-panes rattled.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I tell you that he could not drink, and once Balzac told us a piquant story and Frédéric fainted.
Chapter 2 of Melomaniacs by James Huneker holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 418 sentences of Melomaniacs, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Melomaniacs by James Huneker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Melomaniacs by James Huneker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5286 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29751 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29751, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 440 minutes of reading across 1058 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Melomaniacs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Melomaniacs 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 Melomaniacs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
