Chapter 2 of The Changeling is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Changeling is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ONLY WITNESS GONE. One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square. There were three coaches. From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure. He had been sitting alone in the carriage.
Chapter 2 of The Changeling is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
befitting or characteristic of a young boy
From this reading “From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.”
plural of “coach” — (sports) someone in charge of training an athlete or a team
From this reading “One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.”
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.”
being one more than seventeen
From this reading “One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.”
a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
From this reading “One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.”
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading “One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.”
near that time or date
From this reading “From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.”
someone who sees an event and reports what happened
From this reading “THE ONLY WITNESS GONE.”
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 “One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.”
In this reading “One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.”
a teenager or a young adult male
In this reading “From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.”
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 One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
Having no one else present.
From this reading He had been sitting alone in the carriage.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He had been sitting alone in the carriage.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
befitting or characteristic of a young boy
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading He had been sitting alone in the carriage.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
plural of “coach” — (sports) someone in charge of training an athlete or a team
From this reading There were three coaches.
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
being one more than seventeen
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
destroyed or killed
From this reading THE ONLY WITNESS GONE.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had been sitting alone in the carriage.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had been sitting alone in the carriage.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
and nothing more
From this reading THE ONLY WITNESS GONE.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading He had been sitting alone in the carriage.
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
make square
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
not in physical motion
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ONLY WITNESS GONE.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were three coaches.
near that time or date
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading There were three coaches.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were three coaches.
someone who sees an event and reports what happened
From this reading THE ONLY WITNESS GONE.
a late time of life
From this reading One afternoon, about eighteen years later, certain mourning-coaches, returning home from a funeral, drew up before a house in Bryanston Square.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading From the first descended a young man of twenty or thereabouts, still slight and boyish in figure.
Chapter 2 of The Changeling by Walter Besant holds 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 160 sentences of The Changeling, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Changeling by Walter Besant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Changeling by Walter Besant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7114 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49035 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49035, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 592 minutes of reading across 1423 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Changeling section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Changeling 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 Changeling, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
