Chapter 2 of The Conscript Mother is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Conscript Mother is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room. She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale. She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice. “Bianca told you? He wanted me to thank you for the cigarettes.
Chapter 2 of The Conscript Mother is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “He wanted me to thank you for the cigarettes.”
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading “She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.”
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading “She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice.”
deprived of life; no longer living
From this reading “She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice.”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice.”
possessive form of “nurse” — one skilled in caring for young children or the sick (usually under the supervision of a physician)
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading “She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.”
always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences
From this reading “She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.”
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 “She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.”
put clothing on one's body
In this reading “She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.”
obtain, especially accidentally
In this reading “She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.”
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 She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Bianca told you?
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading He wanted me to thank you for the cigarettes.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He wanted me to thank you for the cigarettes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He wanted me to thank you for the cigarettes.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
deprived of life; no longer living
From this reading She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He wanted me to thank you for the cigarettes.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice.
possessive form of “nurse” — one skilled in caring for young children or the sick (usually under the supervision of a physician)
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.
in the near future
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
an Italian title of address equivalent to Mrs. when used before a name
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading He wanted me to thank you for the cigarettes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “Bianca told you?
always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She ran up-stairs to put on her nurse’s uniform; presently the signora came into the room.
precisely as stated
From this reading She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading She nodded and spoke in a dull, lifeless voice.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading He wanted me to thank you for the cigarettes.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was dressed all in black and her face was very pale.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Bianca told you?
Chapter 2 of The Conscript Mother by Robert Herrick holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 412 sentences of The Conscript Mother, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Conscript Mother by Robert Herrick exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Conscript Mother by Robert Herrick on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 801 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67218 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67218, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 66 minutes of reading across 161 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Conscript Mother section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Conscript Mother 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 Conscript Mother, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
