Chapter 2 of The Precipice: A Novel 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 Precipice: A Novel is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort. At the last she had such dignity! Her silence seemed fine and brave. She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself. The search has carried her beyond our sight.
Chapter 2 of The Precipice: A Novel 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.
possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading “Her silence seemed fine and brave.”
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading “The search has carried her beyond our sight.”
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading “"There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.”
the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
From this reading “At the last she had such dignity!”
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading “"There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.”
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.”
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading “She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.”
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading “The search has carried her beyond our sight.”
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 looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
later than; following
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
(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 looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her silence seemed fine and brave.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the last she had such dignity!
on the far side of; further than
From this reading The search has carried her beyond our sight.
possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading Her silence seemed fine and brave.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading The search has carried her beyond our sight.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
From this reading At the last she had such dignity!
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading Her silence seemed fine and brave.
set up or found
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading At the last she had such dignity!
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The search has carried her beyond our sight.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her silence seemed fine and brave.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
immediately past
From this reading At the last she had such dignity!
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading The search has carried her beyond our sight.
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading The search has carried her beyond our sight.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Her silence seemed fine and brave.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At the last she had such dignity!
an instance of visual perception
From this reading The search has carried her beyond our sight.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Her silence seemed fine and brave.
not in physical motion
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading At the last she had such dignity!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At the last she had such dignity!
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
a special situation
From this reading "There is one thing, however, that gives me strange comfort.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading She looked at us from a deep still peace as if, after all her losing of the way, she had at last found it and Herself.
Chapter 2 of The Precipice: A Novel by Elia Wilkinson Peattie 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 Precipice: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Precipice: A Novel by Elia Wilkinson Peattie 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 Precipice: A Novel by Elia Wilkinson Peattie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6666 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12177 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12177, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 555 minutes of reading across 1334 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Precipice: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The Precipice: A Novel 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 Precipice: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
