Chapter 4 of A Night in the Luxembourg is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of A Night in the Luxembourg is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
So reality always deceives you. How do you manage to be happy? I We have desire. I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal. Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
Chapter 4 of A Night in the Luxembourg is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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 fabrics and paper) grown dark in color over time
From this reading “Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.”
Living forever; never dying or decaying. (Bất tử, trường tồn vĩnh cửu.)
From this reading “I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.”
marked by a lack of interest
From this reading “Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.”
be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading “How do you manage to be happy?”
an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
From this reading “I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.”
make less visible or unclear
From this reading “Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.”
all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you
From this reading “So reality always deceives you.”
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading “Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.”
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 “Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.”
In this reading “I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.”
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 I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading So reality always deceives you.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading How do you manage to be happy?
(of fabrics and paper) grown dark in color over time
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So reality always deceives you.
the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading I We have desire.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading How do you manage to be happy?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading How do you manage to be happy?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I We have desire.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How do you manage to be happy?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I We have desire.
Living forever; never dying or decaying. (Bất tử, trường tồn vĩnh cửu.)
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
marked by a lack of interest
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading How do you manage to be happy?
an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
make less visible or unclear
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you
From this reading So reality always deceives you.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So reality always deceives you.
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading How do you manage to be happy?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading I We have desire.
belonging to which person
From this reading I had spoken like a man, and not like one whose mistress is an immortal.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Elise seemed indifferent to the obscure sorrow that darkened my words.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading So reality always deceives you.
Chapter 4 of A Night in the Luxembourg by Remy de Gourmont holds 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 4 holds 443 sentences of A Night in the Luxembourg, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of A Night in the Luxembourg by Remy de Gourmont exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 A Night in the Luxembourg by Remy de Gourmont on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1796 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46766 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46766, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 149 minutes of reading across 360 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Night in the Luxembourg section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of A Night in the Luxembourg 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 A Night in the Luxembourg, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
