Chapter 26 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 20 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 20 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GRAYSMILL, February 7th. So it's all settled. You are very good to me, my pretty Constance. Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad! I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.
Chapter 26 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 20 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/4 · 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 lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading “You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.”
the month following January and preceding March
From this reading “GRAYSMILL, February 7th.”
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading “I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.”
the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
From this reading “I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.”
occurring every hour or payable by the hour
From this reading “Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!”
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.”
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading “So it's all settled.”
being one more than fifteen
From this reading “Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GRAYSMILL, February 7th.
(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 So it's all settled.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
the month following January and preceding March
From this reading GRAYSMILL, February 7th.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.
the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
From this reading I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GRAYSMILL, February 7th.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
occurring every hour or payable by the hour
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So it's all settled.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.
express in words
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading So it's all settled.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
being one more than fifteen
From this reading Now I say to myself hourly, "In sixteen days I shall see her," and oh, believe me, I am glad!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So it's all settled.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading I think I am beginning to lose my head, that I am fit for all folly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.
precisely as stated
From this reading You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You are very good to me, my pretty Constance.
Chapter 26 of The Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema holds 20 sentences, grouped into 4 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 20 sentences of The Wings of Icarus, unabridged, divided into 4 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 20 sentences, grouped into 4 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 4 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 4 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 Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17255 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17255, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 179 minutes of reading across 432 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Wings of Icarus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Wings of Icarus 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 Wings of Icarus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
