Chapter 2 of My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me! How can I but recall and weep? Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch. Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they." And now she sleeps her heavy, heavy sleep.
Chapter 2 of My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/66 · 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.
move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."”
plural of “palm” — the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading “To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!”
the state of being without a flaw or defect
From this reading “To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!”
plural of “sleep” — a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “And now she sleeps her heavy, heavy sleep.”
past form of “spare” — refrain from harming
From this reading “Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."”
sweep across or over
From this reading “To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!”
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading “How can I but recall and weep?”
very cordial
From this reading “To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!”
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 How can I but recall and weep?
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading How can I but recall and weep?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading How can I but recall and weep?
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading And now she sleeps her heavy, heavy sleep.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How can I but recall and weep?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading How can I but recall and weep?
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading And now she sleeps her heavy, heavy sleep.
plural of “palm” — the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
the state of being without a flaw or defect
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading How can I but recall and weep?
express in words
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading And now she sleeps her heavy, heavy sleep.
plural of “sleep” — a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading And now she sleeps her heavy, heavy sleep.
past form of “spare” — refrain from harming
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
sweep across or over
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
having passed out of existence
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her hands' light charm was such, Care vanished at their touch.
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading How can I but recall and weep?
very cordial
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
in the company of; together with
From this reading To see her high perfection sweep The favoured earth, as she With welcoming palms met me!
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading Her feet spared little things that creep; "For stars are not," she'd say, "More wonderful than they."
Chapter 2 of My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale by Thomas Woolner holds 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 330 sentences of My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale by Thomas Woolner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale by Thomas Woolner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 657 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17574 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17574, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 54 minutes of reading across 132 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale 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 My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
