Chapter 2 of The Last of the De Mullins is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Last of the De Mullins is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen? _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed! MRS. CLOUSTON Are you going out, Hester? Lunch will be ready in half an hour.
Chapter 2 of The Last of the De Mullins is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
From this reading “_[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!”
a strip of land projecting into a body of water
From this reading “_[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!”
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading “_[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!”
a person who does not acknowledge your god
From this reading “How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?”
take the midday meal
From this reading “Lunch will be ready in half an hour.”
hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter
From this reading “_[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!”
plural of “shrug” — a gesture involving the shoulders
From this reading “_[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!”
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading “_[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!”
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 “How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?”
summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
In this reading “How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?”
pursue or resume
In this reading “_[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!”
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 How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Lunch will be ready in half an hour.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading CLOUSTON Are you going out, Hester?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
plural of “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
a strip of land projecting into a body of water
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
a young person of either sex
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CLOUSTON Are you going out, Hester?
the act of departing
From this reading CLOUSTON Are you going out, Hester?
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Lunch will be ready in half an hour.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
a person who does not acknowledge your god
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CLOUSTON Are you going out, Hester?
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Lunch will be ready in half an hour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Lunch will be ready in half an hour.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
take the midday meal
From this reading Lunch will be ready in half an hour.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading CLOUSTON Are you going out, Hester?
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading Lunch will be ready in half an hour.
plural of “shrug” — a gesture involving the shoulders
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading _[Takes up her hat and cape and begins putting them on._ JANET _(shrugs)_ How, indeed!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading How was he to know the poor child was being brought up to be a little heathen?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Lunch will be ready in half an hour.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading CLOUSTON Are you going out, Hester?
Chapter 2 of The Last of the De Mullins by St. John Hankin holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 403 sentences of The Last of the De Mullins, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Last of the De Mullins by St. John Hankin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Last of the De Mullins by St. John Hankin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1688 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54699 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54699, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 140 minutes of reading across 338 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Last of the De Mullins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Last of the De Mullins 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 Last of the De Mullins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
