Chapter 26 of White Lightning is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of White Lightning is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes. Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room. When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him. “I’ll go to luncheon. If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.”
Chapter 26 of White Lightning is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
frightening because of an awareness of danger
From this reading “If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.””
a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading “If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.””
savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type
From this reading “Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.”
plural of “oak” — the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.”
third-person singular of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading “If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.””
past form of “spruce” — make neat, smart, or trim
From this reading “When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.”
the practice of measuring angles and distances on the ground so that they can be accurately plotted on a map
From this reading “When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.”
surface layer of ground containing a mat of grass and grass roots
From this reading “When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.”
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.
a room in which you can change clothes
In this reading “Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.”
a man who is very old
In this reading “The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.”
In this reading “When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.”
In this reading “The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.”
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 When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
frightening because of an awareness of danger
From this reading If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
any thing at all
From this reading If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.
the act of closing something
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
having spots or patches of color
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type
From this reading Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “I’ll go to luncheon.
a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’ll go to luncheon.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.”
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.
a midday meal
From this reading “I’ll go to luncheon.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.
plural of “oak” — the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
third-person singular of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
precisely, exactly
From this reading If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.”
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.
term of address for a man
From this reading Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.
past form of “spruce” — make neat, smart, or trim
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
having a supporting base
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
the practice of measuring angles and distances on the ground so that they can be accurately plotted on a map
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
surface layer of ground containing a mat of grass and grass roots
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The old man lay back and rested, closing his eyes.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sir Clifford rose and showed Marvin to his lordship’s dressing room.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading If anything alarming occurs, touch the button at his right.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
at the time that
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading When the guest emerged spruced up a bit, and was standing at the window surveying the dappled sward beneath the oaks, the physician joined him.
Chapter 26 of White Lightning by Edwin Herbert Lewis holds 102 sentences, grouped into 21 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 102 sentences of White Lightning, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of White Lightning by Edwin Herbert Lewis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 102 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 White Lightning by Edwin Herbert Lewis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5880 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58594 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58594, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 490 minutes of reading across 1176 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through White Lightning section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of White Lightning 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 White Lightning, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
