Chapter 1 of The Splendid Fairing is here in full — 1137 sentences across 228 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Splendid Fairing is here in full — 1137 sentences across 228 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"All night long the water is crying to me." Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day. A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time. A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores. A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.
Chapter 1 of The Splendid Fairing is here in full — 1137 sentences across 228 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/227 · 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.
positioned so as to be ready for confrontation or danger
From this reading “A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.”
tending to float on a liquid or rise in air or gas
From this reading “A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.”
devoid of warmth and cordiality; expressive of unfriendliness or disdain
From this reading “A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.”
the natural process by which the body repairs itself
From this reading “A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.”
an irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will
From this reading “A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.”
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading “A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.”
mentally healthy; free from mental disorder
From this reading “A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.”
plural of “sore” — an open skin infection
From this reading “A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.”
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 “"All night long the water is crying to me."”
In this reading “A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.”
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 A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
(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 "All night long the water is crying to me."
positioned so as to be ready for confrontation or danger
From this reading A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.
possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
tending to float on a liquid or rise in air or gas
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day.
free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits
From this reading A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.
-ing form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
demanding attention
From this reading "All night long the water is crying to me."
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day.
devoid of warmth and cordiality; expressive of unfriendliness or disdain
From this reading A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day.
the natural process by which the body repairs itself
From this reading A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "All night long the water is crying to me."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day.
and nothing more
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
set down according to a plan
From this reading A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.
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 "All night long the water is crying to me."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "All night long the water is crying to me."
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.
as might be expected
From this reading A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "All night long the water is crying to me."
an irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.
by chance
From this reading Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day.
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
mentally healthy; free from mental disorder
From this reading A clean, frosty day might have braced the naturally sane old mind.
occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
plural of “sore” — an open skin infection
From this reading A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading A tender, laughing day might have laid a healing finger on old sores.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "All night long the water is crying to me."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "All night long the water is crying to me."
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading "All night long the water is crying to me."
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A brave, buoyant day, with a racing wind, might have scattered the clinging obsession just in time.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Perhaps it would never have happened but for the day.
Chapter 1 of The Splendid Fairing by Constance Holme holds 1137 sentences, grouped into 228 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 1 holds 1137 sentences of The Splendid Fairing, unabridged, divided into 228 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Splendid Fairing by Constance Holme exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1137 sentences, grouped into 228 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 228 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 228 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 1 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 Splendid Fairing by Constance Holme on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3880 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40545 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40545, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 323 minutes of reading across 776 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Splendid Fairing section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Splendid Fairing 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 Splendid Fairing, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
