Chapter 2 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LORD DANGARS. Often done it--caught fish, no girls. DUNSTAN RENSHAW. Wait. The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
Chapter 2 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading “Often done it--caught fish, no girls.”
your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief
From this reading “The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.”
possessive form of “host” — a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading “The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.”
something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone
From this reading “The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.”
an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates
From this reading “The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.”
an educational institution
From this reading “The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.”
a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
From this reading “The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.”
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.
run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along
In this reading “The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.”
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 stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Often done it--caught fish, no girls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LORD DANGARS.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Often done it--caught fish, no girls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DUNSTAN RENSHAW.
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading Often done it--caught fish, no girls.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Often done it--caught fish, no girls.
your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
possessive form of “host” — a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Often done it--caught fish, no girls.
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading LORD DANGARS.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
not any; not one
From this reading Often done it--caught fish, no girls.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
many times at short intervals
From this reading Often done it--caught fish, no girls.
something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DUNSTAN RENSHAW.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
an educational institution
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Wait.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading The stream must run off your host’s property through the recreation grounds of a young ladies’ school.
Chapter 2 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Wing Pinero holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 432 sentences of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Wing Pinero exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Profligate: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Wing Pinero on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2154 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49778 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49778, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 179 minutes of reading across 431 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Profligate: A Play in Four Acts 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 Profligate: A Play in Four Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
