Chapter 2 of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And thou thyself, my lord," he said. "Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister! Who will be thy bride?" Visconti smiled. "These marriages are for ambition.
Chapter 2 of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
a cherished desire
From this reading “"These marriages are for ambition.”
a woman who has recently been married
From this reading “Who will be thy bride?"”
plural of “marriage” — the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading “"These marriages are for ambition.”
take in marriage
From this reading “"Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “Visconti smiled.”
French royal house from 1328 to 1589
From this reading “"Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!”
Italian filmmaker (1906-1976)
From this reading “Visconti smiled.”
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading “"Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!”
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.
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 "Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!
a cherished desire
From this reading "These marriages are for ambition.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And thou thyself, my lord," he said.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "These marriages are for ambition.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Who will be thy bride?"
a woman who has recently been married
From this reading Who will be thy bride?"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "These marriages are for ambition.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "And thou thyself, my lord," he said.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading "And thou thyself, my lord," he said.
plural of “marriage” — the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading "These marriages are for ambition.
take in marriage
From this reading "Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "And thou thyself, my lord," he said.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "And thou thyself, my lord," he said.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading "Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Visconti smiled.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading "These marriages are for ambition.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "And thou thyself, my lord," he said.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading "Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And thou thyself, my lord," he said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!
French royal house from 1328 to 1589
From this reading "Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!
Italian filmmaker (1906-1976)
From this reading Visconti smiled.
which person or people
From this reading Who will be thy bride?"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Who will be thy bride?"
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading "Thou wilt marry a Valois to thy sister!
Chapter 2 of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy by Marjorie Bowen holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 429 sentences of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy by Marjorie Bowen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy by Marjorie Bowen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6642 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48963 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48963, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 553 minutes of reading across 1329 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy 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 Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
