Chapter 2 of The Beaux-Stratagem is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Beaux-Stratagem is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Arch_. Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody. Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say. {380} _Cher_. Why, did you never make love to anybody before?
Chapter 2 of The Beaux-Stratagem is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
any person at all
From this reading “Why, did you never make love to anybody before?”
a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
every person
From this reading “Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.”
having made preparations
From this reading “Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.”
impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading “Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.”
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.”
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading “Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.”
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {380} _Cher_.
any person at all
From this reading Why, did you never make love to anybody before?
a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
From this reading _Arch_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Why, did you never make love to anybody before?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {380} _Cher_.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Why, did you never make love to anybody before?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
a quad with a square body
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
every person
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
having made preparations
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
engage in
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Why, did you never make love to anybody before?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
express in words
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, did you never make love to anybody before?
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Ay, but if some women had 'em, they would kill everybody.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Prithee, instruct me, I would fain make love to you, but I don't know what to say.
Chapter 2 of The Beaux-Stratagem by George Farquhar holds 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 452 sentences of The Beaux-Stratagem, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Beaux-Stratagem by George Farquhar exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 The Beaux-Stratagem by George Farquhar on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Beaux-Stratagem section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Beaux-Stratagem 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 The Beaux-Stratagem, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
