Chapter 26 of The Second Fiddle is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Second Fiddle is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella. I wonder if you will know it is a love-letter. It won't sound particularly like one. It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage. I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.
Chapter 26 of The Second Fiddle is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.”
the act of giving
From this reading “I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.”
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading “It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.”
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading “It won't sound particularly like one.”
plural of “reason” — a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading “I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.”
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading “It won't sound particularly like one.”
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading “This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.”
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading “I wonder if you will know it is a love-letter.”
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 “I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.”
undergo or live through a difficult experience
In this reading “It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.”
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 wonder if you will know it is a love-letter.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.
the act of giving
From this reading I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.
the act of departing
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wonder if you will know it is a love-letter.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I wonder if you will know it is a love-letter.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I wonder if you will know it is a love-letter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I wonder if you will know it is a love-letter.
immediately past
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It won't sound particularly like one.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It won't sound particularly like one.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading It won't sound particularly like one.
plural of “reason” — a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading It won't sound particularly like one.
United States minimalist painter (born in 1936)
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
express in words
From this reading It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I wonder if you will know it is a love-letter.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It's to tell you that I can't go through with our marriage.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading I can't give you my reasons, and I can't face you without giving them to you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It won't sound particularly like one.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading I wonder if you will know it is a love-letter.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading This is going to be my last love-letter to you, Stella.
Chapter 26 of The Second Fiddle by Phyllis Bottome holds 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 26 holds 193 sentences of The Second Fiddle, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Second Fiddle by Phyllis Bottome exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 26 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 Second Fiddle by Phyllis Bottome on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4282 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41107 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41107, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 356 minutes of reading across 857 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Second Fiddle section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Second Fiddle 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 Second Fiddle, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
