Chapter 4 of The Purcell Papers — Volume 2 is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Purcell Papers — Volume 2 is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'No,' was the brief reply. 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them. You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?' 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.' 'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.
Chapter 4 of The Purcell Papers — Volume 2 is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
of short duration or distance
From this reading “'No,' was the brief reply.”
plural of “claw” — sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles
From this reading “'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.”
plural of “drop” — a shape that is spherical and small
From this reading “'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'”
plural of “jewel” — a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading “'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.”
bedding made of two layers of cloth filled with stuffing and stitched together
From this reading “'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'”
get by special effort
From this reading “'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.”
make steady
From this reading “You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.”
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 You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'
anew
From this reading 'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'
of short duration or distance
From this reading 'No,' was the brief reply.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'
plural of “claw” — sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
plural of “drop” — a shape that is spherical and small
From this reading 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading 'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'
a malicious woman with a fierce temper
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.
plural of “jewel” — a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
not any; not one
From this reading 'No,' was the brief reply.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'
above and across; more than
From this reading 'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.
bedding made of two layers of cloth filled with stuffing and stitched together
From this reading 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading 'No,' was the brief reply.
get by special effort
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
a male human offspring
From this reading 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'
make steady
From this reading You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'No,' was the brief reply.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading 'Not twenty drops,' replied his son, 'and those on the quilt.'
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading 'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading 'Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'No,' was the brief reply.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading 'I'm glad it's over,' whispered my uncle again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're a steady hand, by G----! not much blood--eh?'
Chapter 4 of The Purcell Papers — Volume 2 by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu holds 130 sentences, grouped into 26 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 130 sentences of The Purcell Papers — Volume 2, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Purcell Papers — Volume 2 by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 4 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 Purcell Papers — Volume 2 by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1162 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #510 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #510, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 96 minutes of reading across 233 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Purcell Papers — Volume 2 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Purcell Papers — 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 Purcell Papers — Volume 2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
