Chapter 34 of The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIV
Chapter 34 of The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In a month he would have been my husband. In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat. He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing. And I answered, "It shall be as you have said." Now he is dead.
Chapter 34 of The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
the formal act of approving
From this reading “He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing.”
a caustic substance produced by heating limestone
From this reading “In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.”
one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading “In a month he would have been my husband.”
a perceptual structure
From this reading “In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.”
quiet, dark, or concealed
From this reading “In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.”
the rays of the sun
From this reading “He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing.”
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading “In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.”
a sudden desire
From this reading “He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing.”
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 In a month he would have been my husband.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading And I answered, "It shall be as you have said."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And I answered, "It shall be as you have said."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading In a month he would have been my husband.
the formal act of approving
From this reading He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing.
lacking funds
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Now he is dead.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In a month he would have been my husband.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In a month he would have been my husband.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading In a month he would have been my husband.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In a month he would have been my husband.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Now he is dead.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And I answered, "It shall be as you have said."
a polite name for any woman
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
a caustic substance produced by heating limestone
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading In a month he would have been my husband.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading In a month he would have been my husband.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now he is dead.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
a perceptual structure
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading And I answered, "It shall be as you have said."
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
quiet, dark, or concealed
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading And I answered, "It shall be as you have said."
the rays of the sun
From this reading He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading In a month, here, underneath this lime, We would have broke the pattern; He for me, and I for him, He as Colonel, I as Lady, On this shady seat.
a sudden desire
From this reading He had a whim That sunlight carried blessing.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading In a month he would have been my husband.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And I answered, "It shall be as you have said."
Chapter 34 of The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 by Burton Egbert Stevenson holds 171 sentences, grouped into 35 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 34 holds 171 sentences of The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 34 of The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 by Burton Egbert Stevenson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 171 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 34 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 Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 by Burton Egbert Stevenson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7672 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2620 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2620, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1535 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 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 Home Book of Verse — Volume 2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
