Chapter 2 of The Sacred Fount is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Sacred Fount is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it. "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?" "Oh, not yet, I hope. But before _her_--yes: long." He was much amused.
Chapter 2 of The Sacred Fount is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading “He was much amused.”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “"So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"”
let fall to the ground
From this reading “"So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"”
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading “Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.”
yielding a fair profit
From this reading “"So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"”
to a sufficient degree
From this reading “Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.”
propel through the air
From this reading “Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.”
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading “Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.”
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.
In this reading “He was much amused.”
In this reading “Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.”
force to leave or move out
In this reading “Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.”
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 Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
(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 Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading He was much amused.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading But before _her_--yes: long."
the Jewish rite of circumcision performed on a male child on the eighth day of his life
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But before _her_--yes: long."
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
let fall to the ground
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was much amused.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading But before _her_--yes: long."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading "Oh, not yet, I hope.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Oh, not yet, I hope.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
immediately past
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading But before _her_--yes: long."
a form of address for a man
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
to a great degree or extent
From this reading He was much amused.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Oh, not yet, I hope.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, not yet, I hope.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
and nothing more
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
yielding a fair profit
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
to a sufficient degree
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
propel through the air
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Obert was at all events sufficiently struck with my view to throw out a question on it.
an affirmative
From this reading But before _her_--yes: long."
but in spite of that
From this reading "Oh, not yet, I hope.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "So that, paying to his last drop, Mr. Briss, as you call him, can only die of the business?"
Chapter 2 of The Sacred Fount by Henry James holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of The Sacred Fount, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Sacred Fount by Henry James exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Sacred Fount by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4462 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32939 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32939, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 371 minutes of reading across 893 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sacred Fount section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Sacred Fount 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 Sacred Fount, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
