Chapter 2 of The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France is here in full — 454 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 Broken Soldier and the Maid of France is here in full — 454 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why, no! I did not dare. She would never have forgiven me. So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank. It was ten days before my furlough was out.
Chapter 2 of The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France is here in full — 454 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.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading “So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.”
take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading “I did not dare.”
inflected form of “forgive” — stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading “She would never have forgiven me.”
dismiss, usually for economic reasons
From this reading “It was ten days before my furlough was out.”
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading “So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.”
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading “So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.”
apparatus used to communicate at a distance over a wire (usually in Morse code)
From this reading “So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading “It was ten days before my furlough was out.”
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 So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It was ten days before my furlough was out.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading I did not dare.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading It was ten days before my furlough was out.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading I did not dare.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
inflected form of “forgive” — stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading She would never have forgiven me.
dismiss, usually for economic reasons
From this reading It was ten days before my furlough was out.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading She would never have forgiven me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I did not dare.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was ten days before my furlough was out.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She would never have forgiven me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It was ten days before my furlough was out.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading She would never have forgiven me.
not any; not one
From this reading "Why, no!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I did not dare.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It was ten days before my furlough was out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She would never have forgiven me.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
apparatus used to communicate at a distance over a wire (usually in Morse code)
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading It was ten days before my furlough was out.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading So I slipped down to the post-office at Bar-sur-Aube and stole a telegraph blank.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was ten days before my furlough was out.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, no!
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She would never have forgiven me.
Chapter 2 of The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France by Henry Van Dyke holds 454 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 454 sentences of The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France by Henry Van Dyke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 454 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 Broken Soldier and the Maid of France by Henry Van Dyke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 911 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15978 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15978, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 75 minutes of reading across 183 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France 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 Broken Soldier and the Maid of France, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
