Chapter 2 of The Old Maids' Club is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Old Maids' Club is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE HONORARY TRIER. Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club. He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars. Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground. The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
Chapter 2 of The Old Maids' Club is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
terse and witty and like a maxim
From this reading “He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.”
given as an honor without the normal duties
From this reading “THE HONORARY TRIER.”
British actress (born in Canada) (1898-1989)
From this reading “Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.”
plural of “maid” — a female domestic
From this reading “Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.”
an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading “He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.”
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.”
one (as a judge) who examines and settles a case
From this reading “THE HONORARY TRIER.”
someone who visits
From this reading “Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.”
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.
a teenager or a young adult male
In this reading “The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.”
an elderly unmarried woman
In this reading “Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.”
In this reading “Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.”
In this reading “Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.”
In this reading “The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.”
In this reading “Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.”
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.
Having no one else present.
From this reading He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together
From this reading Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.
a state at a particular time
From this reading The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
terse and witty and like a maxim
From this reading He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.
set up or found
From this reading He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
a sacred place of pilgrimage
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
given as an honor without the normal duties
From this reading THE HONORARY TRIER.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
having much knowledge or education
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
British actress (born in Canada) (1898-1989)
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.
plural of “maid” — a female domestic
From this reading Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HONORARY TRIER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He found the fair President throned alone among the epigrammatic antimacassars.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.
one (as a judge) who examines and settles a case
From this reading THE HONORARY TRIER.
someone who visits
From this reading Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Lord Silverdale was the first visitor to the Old Maids' Club.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Lillie received him with dignity and informed him that he stood on holy ground.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The young man was shocked to hear of the change in her condition.
Chapter 2 of The Old Maids' Club by Israel Zangwill holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 195 sentences of The Old Maids' Club, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Old Maids' Club by Israel Zangwill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Old Maids' Club by Israel Zangwill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6063 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45623 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45623, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 505 minutes of reading across 1213 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Maids' Club section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Old Maids' Club 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 Old Maids' Club, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
