Chapter 3 of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming. No one else approached. The world seemed empty. Twilight began to fall. Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
Chapter 3 of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading “No one else approached.”
English novelist (born in Poland) noted for sea stories and for his narrative technique (1857-1924)
From this reading “Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.”
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading “Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.”
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.”
not solid; having a space or gap or cavity
From this reading “Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.”
so extremely intense as to evoke screams
From this reading “Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.”
unsteady in gait as from infirmity or old age
From this reading “Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “Twilight began to fall.”
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 “Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.”
In this reading “Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.”
In this reading “Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.”
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.
anew
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading No one else approached.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Twilight began to fall.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
English novelist (born in Poland) noted for sea stories and for his narrative technique (1857-1924)
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
determine the number or amount of
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No one else approached.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading The world seemed empty.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading Twilight began to fall.
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
not solid; having a space or gap or cavity
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
not any; not one
From this reading No one else approached.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one else approached.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
cut with a saw
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
so extremely intense as to evoke screams
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The world seemed empty.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The world seemed empty.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Twilight began to fall.
unsteady in gait as from infirmity or old age
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
in the direction of
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading Twilight began to fall.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Two children running by, stopped, gazed, came nearer, and then at what they saw, fled, screaming.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
in the manner of a wolf
From this reading Then in his half-delirium Count Conrad thought again of the dead bird, and laughed wolfishly to himself, making with tottering steps back toward the hollow.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading The world seemed empty.
Chapter 3 of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy by Marjorie Bowen holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 3 holds 415 sentences of The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 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 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 3 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.
