Chapter 2 of The Rosary is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Rosary is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock. The hour of silence appeared to be over. The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals. The house awoke to sudden life. There was an opening and shutting of doors.
Chapter 2 of The Rosary is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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.
nearest in space or position; immediately adjoining without intervening space
From this reading “The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.”
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “The house awoke to sudden life.”
past form of “commence” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.”
a man who is a stupid incompetent fool
From this reading “The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.”
plural of “interval” — a definite length of time marked off by two instants
From this reading “The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.”
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading “THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.”
the act of closing something
From this reading “There was an opening and shutting of doors.”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.”
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 birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
nearest in space or position; immediately adjoining without intervening space
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The hour of silence appeared to be over.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading The house awoke to sudden life.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The hour of silence appeared to be over.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
past form of “commence” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
a man who is a stupid incompetent fool
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading There was an opening and shutting of doors.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading The hour of silence appeared to be over.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The house awoke to sudden life.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
plural of “interval” — a definite length of time marked off by two instants
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading The house awoke to sudden life.
a brief written record
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
according to the clock
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The hour of silence appeared to be over.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading There was an opening and shutting of doors.
above and across; more than
From this reading The hour of silence appeared to be over.
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
having a point
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
the act of closing something
From this reading There was an opening and shutting of doors.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading The hour of silence appeared to be over.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading The house awoke to sudden life.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was an opening and shutting of doors.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE SURPRISE PACKET The sun-dial pointed to half past four o'clock.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was an opening and shutting of doors.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading The birds commenced twittering; and a cuckoo, in an adjacent wood, sounded his note at intervals.
Chapter 2 of The Rosary by Florence L. (Florence Louisa) Barclay holds 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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 2 holds 88 sentences of The Rosary, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Rosary by Florence L. (Florence Louisa) Barclay exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 Rosary by Florence L. (Florence Louisa) Barclay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6554 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3659 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3659, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 546 minutes of reading across 1311 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rosary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Rosary 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 Rosary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
