Chapter 2 of The Colonel's Dream is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Colonel's Dream is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I like you already," replied Phil gallantly. "You are a very nice lady. What shall I call you?" "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect. Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
Chapter 2 of The Colonel's Dream is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
third-person singular of “breathe” — draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading “Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.”
money collected under a tariff
From this reading “Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.”
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading “"Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “"Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.”
in a gallant manner
From this reading “"I like you already," replied Phil gallantly.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “"You are a very nice lady.”
in or characteristic of a region of the United States south of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading “"Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.”
an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer
From this reading “"Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.”
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 "You are a very nice lady.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading "I like you already," replied Phil gallantly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You are a very nice lady.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
third-person singular of “breathe” — draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading What shall I call you?"
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
money collected under a tariff
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
in a gallant manner
From this reading "I like you already," replied Phil gallantly.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I like you already," replied Phil gallantly.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "You are a very nice lady.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "I like you already," replied Phil gallantly.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading "You are a very nice lady.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I like you already," replied Phil gallantly.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "I like you already," replied Phil gallantly.
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading What shall I call you?"
in or characteristic of a region of the United States south of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer
From this reading "Call her Miss Laura, Phil--it is the Southern fashion--a happy union of familiarity and respect.
precisely as stated
From this reading "You are a very nice lady.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What shall I call you?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading Already they come back to me, Laura--one breathes them with the air--the gentle Southern customs.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I like you already," replied Phil gallantly.
Chapter 2 of The Colonel's Dream by Charles W. (Charles Waddell) Chesnutt holds 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 430 sentences of The Colonel's Dream, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Colonel's Dream by Charles W. (Charles Waddell) Chesnutt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Colonel's Dream by Charles W. (Charles Waddell) Chesnutt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4261 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19746 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19746, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 355 minutes of reading across 853 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Colonel's Dream section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Colonel's Dream 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 Colonel's Dream, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
