Chapter 2 of The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money." "Is not my word enough?" Peyrolles asked, with an ineffective air of dignity. Cocardasse smiled very sweetly. "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
Chapter 2 of The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
in an affable manner
From this reading “"Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."”
plural of “frailty” — the state of being weak in health or body (especially from old age)
From this reading “"The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.”
the quality of being humane
From this reading “"The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.”
not producing an intended effect
From this reading “Peyrolles asked, with an ineffective air of dignity.”
wash or flow against
From this reading “"Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."”
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “"The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.”
something clearly established
From this reading “"Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."”
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading “Cocardasse smiled very sweetly.”
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 "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Peyrolles asked, with an ineffective air of dignity.
in an affable manner
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Peyrolles asked, with an ineffective air of dignity.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Peyrolles asked, with an ineffective air of dignity.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
From this reading Peyrolles asked, with an ineffective air of dignity.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "Is not my word enough?"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
plural of “frailty” — the state of being weak in health or body (especially from old age)
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
the quality of being humane
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
not producing an intended effect
From this reading Peyrolles asked, with an ineffective air of dignity.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is not my word enough?"
wash or flow against
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Is not my word enough?"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Is not my word enough?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
above and across; more than
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Peyrolles asked, with an ineffective air of dignity.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Cocardasse smiled very sweetly.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
something clearly established
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading Cocardasse smiled very sweetly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "The best of us may have a bad memory," he said, and sighed over the frailties of humanity.
precisely as stated
From this reading Cocardasse smiled very sweetly.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Wait," said Cocardasse, amiably, "we must have some surety for the lave of the money."
in the company of; together with
From this reading Peyrolles asked, with an ineffective air of dignity.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading "Is not my word enough?"
Chapter 2 of The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama by Justin H. (Justin Huntly) McCarthy holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama by Justin H. (Justin Huntly) McCarthy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Duke's Motto: A Melodrama by Justin H. (Justin Huntly) McCarthy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4122 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28266 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28266, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 343 minutes of reading across 825 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama 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 Duke's Motto: A Melodrama, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
