Chapter 10 of Second String is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Second String is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FRIENDS IN NEED. Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing. The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea. It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way. Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
Chapter 10 of Second String is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use
From this reading “Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!”
a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
From this reading “Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!”
the best people or things in a group
From this reading “Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!”
press tightly together or cram
From this reading “Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!”
a person who carries a message
From this reading “The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.”
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading “Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.”
not often
From this reading “It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.”
past form of “tickle” — touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements
From this reading “Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.”
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.
In this reading “Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.”
a boy who earns money by running errands
In this reading “The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.”
In this reading “Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.”
In this reading “The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.”
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 It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
later than; following
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
a youthful male person
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
the best people or things in a group
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading FRIENDS IN NEED.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading FRIENDS IN NEED.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
press tightly together or cram
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
and nothing more
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
a person who carries a message
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading FRIENDS IN NEED.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
not often
From this reading It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
in the near future
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading The messenger boy reached him soon after five, just as he was having his tea.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
a special situation
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
past form of “tickle” — touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading It was not long before the boy was having tea too--such a tea as seldom came his way.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading Old Jack Rock was, in his own phrase, "fair tickled to death" at the whole thing.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Butter and jam together--why, jam on cake, if he liked--and cream in his tea!
Chapter 10 of Second String by Anthony Hope holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 10 holds 393 sentences of Second String, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Second String by Anthony Hope exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 10 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 Second String by Anthony Hope on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9221 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38796 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38796, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1845 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Second String section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Second String 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 Second String, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
