THE MYSTERIOUS SKETCH, by Erckmann-Chatrian
mysterious - mystérieux
sketch - croquis, croquer, esquisser, esquisse, ébauche, sketch
Opposite the chapel of saint Sebalt in Nuremberg, at the corner of Trabaus Street, there stands a little tavern, tall and narrow, with a toothed gable and dusty windows, whose roof is surmounted by a plaster Virgin. It was there that I spent the unhappiest days of my life.
chapel - chapelle
saint - Saint
corner - coin, rencogner, piéger, acculer, négocier un prix de gros
tavern - taverne
narrow - étroite, pressé, étroit
gable - pignon
dusty - poussiéreux
whose - a qui, de qui, dont, duquel (de + lequel), duquel
roof - toit
surmounted - surmonté, surmonter
plaster - le plâtre, onguent, plâtre, enduit, enduire, plâtrer
Virgin - vierge
unhappiest - le plus malheureux, malheureux, triste, mécontent
I had gone to Nuremberg to study the old German masters; but in default of ready money, I had to paint portraits-and such portraits! Fat old women with their cats on their laps, big-wigged aldermen, burgomasters in three-cornered hats-all horribly bright with ochre and vermilion. From portraits I descended to sketches, and from sketches to silhouettes.
German - Allemand, Allemande, Germain, Germaine
default - par défaut, défaut, rench: t-needed r
portraits - portraits, portrait
such - tel, tellement, ainsi
laps - tours, (lap) tours
wigged - perruqué, perruque
aldermen - des échevins, échevin, conseiller municipal
burgomasters - burgomasters, bourgmestre
cornered - coincé, coin, rencogner, piéger, acculer
horribly - horriblement
bright - lumineux, éclatant, clair
ochre - ocre
vermilion - vermillon, vermeil
descended - descendu, descendre
sketches - des croquis, croquer, esquisser, esquisse, ébauche
silhouettes - des silhouettes, silhouette
Nothing is more annoying than to have your landlord come to you every day with pinched lips, shrill voice, and impudent manner to say: "Well, sir, how soon are you going to pay me? Do you know how much your bill is? No; that doesn't worry you! You eat, drink, and sleep calmly enough. God feeds the sparrows.
annoying - ennuyeux, gener, ennuyer, embeter, agacer, asticoter
landlord - propriétaire, patron
pinched - pincé, pincer, chiper, pincement, pincée
lips - levres, levre
shrill - strident, criard
voice - voix
impudent - impudent
manner - maniere, maniere, façon, mode
worry - s'inquiéter, inquiéter, harceler, souci, angoisse
calmly - calmement, paisiblement
God - dieu, idolâtrer, déifier
feeds - aliments, nourrir
sparrows - moineaux, moineau, bruant, piaf
Your bill now amounts to two hundred florins and ten kreutzers-it is not worth talking about."
amounts - montants, montant, quantité, monter, correspondre
worth - valeur
Those who have not heard any one talk in this way can form no idea of it; love of art, imagination, and the sacred enthusiasm for the beautiful are blasted by the breath of such an attack. You become awkward and timid; all your energy evaporates, as well as your feeling of personal dignity, and you bow respectfully at a distance to the burgomaster Schneegans.
those - ceux-ci, ces, celles-la, ceux-la
imagination - l'imagination, imagination
sacred - sacrée, sacré, saint
enthusiasm - l'enthousiasme, enthousiasme, passion
blasted - blasté, souffle
breath - respiration, souffle, haleine
attack - attaque, attaquer, apostropher, invectiver
awkward - maladroit, gauche, embarrassant, inconvenant
timid - timide, craintif
energy - l'énergie, énergie, courage
evaporates - s'évapore, évaporer
dignity - dignité, forme, rang
bow - l'arc, arc
respectfully - respectueusement
distance - distance, éloigner, checks'éloigner
Burgomaster - le bourgmestre, bourgmestre
One night, not having a sou, as usual, and threatened with imprisonment by this worthy Mister Rap, I determined to make him a bankrupt by cutting my throat. Seated on my narrow bed, opposite the window, in this agreeable mood, I gave myself up to a thousand philosophical reflections, more or less comforting.
sou - sou
usual - habituel/habituelle
threatened - menacé, menacer
imprisonment - l'emprisonnement, emprisonnement
worthy - digne
mister - Monsieur
rap - rap, claque
determined - déterminé, déterminer
bankrupt - faillite
throat - gorge, goulot
seated - assis, place, siege, assise, séant, fond
agreeable - agréable, complaisant
mood - l'humeur, humeur, changeant, ambiance, diapason
myself - moi-meme, me, m'
philosophical - philosophique
reflections - réflexions, réflexion, reflet, qualifiereaning 4
comforting - réconfortant, confort, consoler
"What is man?" I asked myself. "An omnivorous animal; his jaws, provided with canines, incisors, and molars, prove it. The canines are made to tear meat; the incisors to bite fruits; and the molars to masticate, grind, and triturate animal and vegetable substances that are pleasant to smell and to taste.
omnivorous - omnivore
jaws - mâchoires, mâchoire
provided with - Fourni avec
canines - canines, canin
incisors - incisives, incisive
molars - molaires, molaire
Prove - prouver, éprouvent, éprouvons, éprouvez, prouvent
tear - déchirure, déchirer, fissure, larme, pleur
bite - mordre, maintenir, garder, tomber dans le panneau, marcher
masticate - mastiquer
grind - broyage, crisser, moudre
triturate - triturer
substances - substances, substance, fond, biens-p
pleasant - agréable, plaisant
smell - odeur, parfum, gout, odorat, sentir, humer
taste - gout, gout, saveur, avant-gout, gouter, avoir un gout
But when he has nothing to masticate, this being is an absurdity in Nature, a superfluity, a fifth wheel to the coach."
nature - nature
superfluity - superfluité, superflu
fifth wheel - la cinquieme roue du carosse
coach - entraîneur, coche, voiture, entraineur, entraineuse, autocar
Such were my reflections. I dared not open my razor for fear that the invincible force of my logic would inspire me with the courage to make an end of it all. After having argued so finely, I blew out my candle, postponing the sequel till the morrow.
dared - osé, oser
razor - rasoir
fear - peur, angoisse, craignent, crainte, crains, craignons
invincible - invincible
force - force, forcez, contrainte, forçons, contraindre, forcent
logic - logique
inspire - inspirer
courage - bravoure, courage, cour, vaillance
argued - argumenté, affirmer, débattre, se disputer, se quereller
finely - finement
blew out - a explosé
candle - bougie, chandelle
postponing - le report, repousser, remettre, reporter, différer
sequel - suite
morrow - lendemain, matin
That abominable Rap had completely stupefied me. I could do nothing but silhouettes, and my sole desire was to have some money to rid myself of his odious presence. But on this night a singular change came over my mind.
abominable - abominable
completely - completement, completement
stupefied - stupéfait, stupéfier, abrutir, hébéter, sidérer, abasourdir
sole - unique, seul, semelle, plante, sole
desire - désirer, désir
rid - rid, débarrasser
odious - odieux
presence - présence
singular - singulier
mind - l'esprit, esprit, raison, intelligence, mémoire
I awoke about one o'clock-I lit my lamp, and, enveloping myself in my grey gabardine, I drew upon the paper a rapid sketch after the Dutch school-something strange and bizarre, which had not the slightest resemblance to my ordinary conceptions.
awoke - s'est réveillé, (se) réveiller, (s')éveiller
enveloping - enveloppant, envelopper
upon - sur, a
rapid - rapide, rapides
Dutch - néerlandais, hollandais
strange - étrange, anormal, inconnu, étranger
bizarre - bizarre
slightest - le moins du monde, insignifiant, léger
resemblance - ressemblance, comparaison, probabilité
ordinary - piece, ordinaire, quelconque
conceptions - conceptions, conception
Imagine a dreary courtyard enclosed by high dilapidated walls. These walls are furnished with hooks, seven or eight feet from the ground. You see, at a glance, that it is a butchery.
dreary - lugubre, terne, insipide, maussade
courtyard - cour
dilapidated - délabré, délabrer, dilapider
furnished - meublé, meubler, fournir, livrer
hooks - des crochets, crochet, agrafe, hook, accrocher, ferrer
ground - sol, foncierere, terre, terrain, (grind) sol
glance - regard, jeter un coup d’oil
butchery - boucherie
On the left, there extends a lattice structure; you perceive through it a quartered beef suspended from the roof by enormous pulleys. Great pools of blood run over the flagstones and unite in a ditch full of refuse.
extends - s'étend, étendre, prolonger
lattice - treillis, quadrillage, grille, lattis, réseau, treillage
structure - structure
perceive - percevoir
beef - bouf, bouf
suspended - suspendue, suspendre
enormous - énorme
pulleys - poulies, poulie
run over - écrasé
flagstones - les dalles, dalle, lauze
unite - s'unir, unir
ditch - fossé
refuse - refuser, refusons, refusent, refusez
The light falls from above, between the chimneys where the weathercocks stand out from a bit of the sky the size of your hand, and the roofs of the neighbouring houses throw bold shadows from story to story.
chimneys - les cheminées, cheminée
weathercocks - girouettes, girouette
bit - bit, mordis, mordit, mordîmes, mordirent, (bite), mordre
sky - ciel, nue
size - taille, ampleur, pointure
roofs - les toits, toit
throw - lancer, jetent, jetez, jetons, mise bas
bold - audacieux, gros, épais
shadows - ombres, ombre, prendre en filature, t+filer
At the back of this place is a shed, beneath the shed a pile of wood, and upon the pile of wood some ladders, a few bundles of straw, some coils of rope, a chicken-coop, and an old dilapidated rabbit-hutch.
shed - hangar, verser, stand, kiosque, échoppe
beneath - dessous
pile - pile, tapée, pilotis, foule, amas
wood - du bois, (de) bois
ladders - des échelles, échelle
bundles - des liasses, faisceau, fagot, paquet, ballot (of goods)
straw - paille, fétu, jaune paille
Coils - bobines, enrouler
rope - corde, funiculaire
coop - coop, cage, poulailler
rabbit-hutch - (rabbit-hutch) clapier a lapin
How did these heterogeneous details suggest themselves to my imagination? I don't know; I had no reminiscences, and yet every stroke of the pencil seemed the result of observation, and strange because it was all so true. Nothing was lacking.
heterogeneous - hétérogene
suggest - proposer, suggérer
themselves - eux-memes, se, eux-memes, elles-memes
reminiscences - des réminiscences, réminiscence
stroke - accident vasculaire cérébral, caresser
seemed - semblait, sembler, paraître, avoir l'air
observation - observation, remarque
lacking - manquant, manquer de qqch
But on the right, one corner of the sketch remained a blank. I did not know what to put there.... Something suddenly seemed to writhe there, to move! Then I saw a foot, the sole of a foot. Notwithstanding this improbable position, I followed my inspiration without reference to my own criticism.
remained - est restée, reste, rester, demeurer
blank - vide, blanc, vierge, balles a blanc, préforme, espace
suddenly - soudain, soudainement, tout d'un coup
writhe - se tordre, se débattre, se démener, se tortiller
notwithstanding - nonobstant
improbable - invraisemblable, improbable
position - position, poste
inspiration - l'inspiration, inspiration
reference - référence, recommandation, faire référence a, référencer
criticism - critiques, critique
This foot was joined to a leg-over this leg, stretched out with effort, there soon floated the skirt of a dress. In short, there appeared by degrees an old woman, pale, dishevelled, and wasted, thrown down at the side of a well, and struggling to free herself from a hand that clutched her throat.
stretched - étiré, étendre, s'étendre, s'étirer, étirement
effort - l'effort, effort
floated - flotté, flotter
appeared - est apparu, apparaître, paraître, sembler
by degrees - par degrés
pale - pâle, hâve
wasted - gaspillé, gaspiller
thrown down - jeté a terre
side - côté, parti, flanc
struggling - en difficulté, luttant, (struggle), lutte, lutter, s'efforcer
clutched - serré, se raccrocher (a)
It was a murder scene that I was drawing. The pencil fell from my hand.
murder - meurtre, homicide, assassinat, occire
scene - scene, scene, scene de ménage
This woman, in the boldest attitude, with her thighs bent on the curb of the well, her face contracted by terror, and her two hands grasping the murderer's arm, frightened me. I could not look at her. But the man-he, the person to whom that arm belonged-I could not see him. It was impossible for me to finish the sketch.
boldest - le plus audacieux, hardi, audacieux
attitude - posture, état d'esprit, attitude
thighs - cuisses, cuisse
bent on - Etre déterminé a
curb - de la bordure, restreindre, endiguer
contracted - sous contrat, contracter
terror - la terreur, terreur, effroi, terrorisme
grasping - saisir, agripper, comprendre
murderer - meurtrier, meurtriere, assassin, assassine
frightened - effrayé, effrayer, redouter, terrifier
whom - que, qui
belonged - a appartenu, appartenir a
impossible - impossible, insupportable
"I am tired," I said, my forehead dripping with perspiration; "there is only this figure to do; I will finish it tomorrow. It will be easy then."
forehead - front
dripping - goutte a goutte, dégoulinade
perspiration - la transpiration, transpiration
figure - figure, forme, personnage, personnalité, chiffre
And again I went to bed, thoroughly frightened by my vision.
thoroughly - a fond, absolument, completement
vision - vision, vue, aspiration, apparition
The next morning, I got up very early. I was dressing in order to resume my interrupted work, when two little knocks were heard on my door.
resume - cv, resume, reprendent, reprends, reprenez, reprenons
interrupted - interrompu, interrompre, couper
knocks - coups, coup, frapper
"Come in!"
The door opened. An old man, tall, thin, and dressed in black, appeared on the threshold. This man's face, his eyes set close together and his large nose like the beak of an eagle, surmounted by a high bony forehead, had something severe about it. He bowed to me gravely.
threshold - seuil, seuil de tolérance
set - set, Seth
beak - bec
eagle - aigle, eagle, réussir un aigle
bony - osseux
severe - sévere, grave, sévere
bowed - incliné, (s')incliner devant, saluer d'un signe de tete
gravely - gravement
"Mister Christian Vénius, the painter?" said he.
Christian - chrétien, chrétienne, Christian
painter - peintre, peintre en bâtiments
"That is my name, sir."
He bowed again, adding:
"The Baron Frederick Van Spreckdal."
Baron - baron
van - van, (de) camion(nette)
The appearance of the rich amateur, Van Spreckdal, judge of the criminal court, in my poor lodging, greatly disturbed me. I could not help throwing a stealthy glance at my old worm-eaten furniture, my damp hangings and my dusty floor. I felt humiliated by such dilapidation; but Van Spreckdal did not seem to take any account of these details; and sitting down at my little table:
appearance - l'apparence, apparition, apparence, comparution
amateur - amateur, amatrice, amateuse
judge - juge, juger
criminal - criminel, criminelle
Court - la cour, cour, tribunal, court de tennis, court, courtiser
lodging - l'hébergement, logement, hébergement, verse, (lodge), cabane
greatly - grandement
disturbed - perturbé, déranger, perturber, gener
throwing - jetant, (throw) jetant
stealthy - furtif, subreptice
worm - ver, vermine, scarabée, vis sans fin, dragon, remords, ramper
furniture - mobilier, meubles
damp - humide, moite, mouillé, humidité, grisou, amortir
humiliated - humilié, humilier
dilapidation - la vétusté, délabrement, checkdilapidation, checkdétournement
Seem - sembler, paraître, avoir l'air
account - compte, supputation, demande
sitting down - assis
"Mister Vénius," he resumed, "I come--" But at this instant his glance fell upon the unfinished sketch-he did not finish his phrase.
resumed - reprise, reprendre
instant - instantanée, moment
unfinished - inachevé
I was sitting on the edge of my little bed; and the sudden attention that this personage bestowed upon one of my productions made my heart beat with an indefinable apprehension.
edge - bord, côté, arete, carre
sudden - soudain, soudaine, subit
attention - attention, attentions, garde a vous
personage - personnage
bestowed - accordé, disposer de, accorder, remettre, conférer
productions - productions, production
heart - cour
beat - battre
indefinable - indéfinissable
At the end of a minute, Van Spreckdal lifted his head:
lifted - soulevée, soulever
"Are you the author of that sketch?" he asked me with an intent look.
author - auteur, auteure, autrice, écrire, créer
intent - l'intention, intention, résolu, déterminé, buté
"Yes, sir."
"What is the price of it?"
"I never sell my sketches. It is the plan for a picture."
"Ah!" said he, picking up the paper with the tips of his long yellow fingers.
picking - le prélevement, (pic) le prélevement
tips - des conseils, bout, pointe
fingers - doigts, pointer, tripoter, doigter
He took a lens from his waistcoat pocket and began to study the design in silence.
lens - lentille, cristallin, filmer
waistcoat - gilet
Pocket - poche, empocher, de poche
silence - le silence, silence
The sun was now shining obliquely into the garret. Van Spreckdal never said a word; the hook of his immense nose increased, his heavy eyebrows contracted, and his long pointed chin took a turn upward, making a thousand little wrinkles in his long, thin cheeks. The silence was so profound that I could distinctly hear the plaintive buzzing of a fly that had been caught in a spider's web.
shining - brillant, briller, éclairer
obliquely - de maniere indirecte
garret - garret, galetas
Hook - crochet, agrafe, hook, accrocher
immense - immense
increased - augmenté, augmenter, croître, accroître, augmentation
heavy - lourd, emporté
eyebrows - sourcils, sourcil
chin - menton
upward - a la hausse
wrinkles - rides, ride
cheeks - joues, joue, fesse, culot, toupet, potence de bringuebale
profound - profond
distinctly - distinctement
buzzing - bourdonnement, vrombissement, (buzz), coup de fil, bourdonner
caught - pris, prise, touche, loquet, loqueteau, verrou, hic, couille
spider - araignée
web - réseau, panier, poche, âme, âme (de rail), palmure, bobine
"And the dimensions of this picture, Mister Vénius?" he said without looking at me.
dimensions - dimensions, dimension
"Three feet by four."
"The price?"
"Fifty ducats."
ducats - ducats, ducat
Van Spreckdal laid the sketch on the table, and drew from his pocket a large purse of green silk shaped like a pear; he drew the rings of it--
laid - posé, poser
purse - sac a main, bourse, portemonnaie, portefeuille, sac a main
silk - soie
shaped - en forme, forme
pear - poire, poirier
rings - anneaux, anneau, bague
"Fifty ducats," said he, "here they are."
I was simply dazzled.
Simply - tout simplement, simplement
dazzled - éblouie, éblouir
The Baron rose and bowed to me, and I heard his big ivory-headed cane resounding on each step until he reached the bottom of the stairs. Then recovering from my stupour, I suddenly remembered that I had not thanked him, and I flew down the five flights like lightning; but when I reached the bottom, I looked to the right and left; the street was deserted.
rose - Rose, (rise)
ivory - ivoire
cane - canne, tige, bastonnade, canne blanche, bâtonner
resounding - retentissant, retentir
step - étape, marche
reached - atteint, arriver/parvenir a
bottom - fond, bas, dessous, arriere-train, cul
stairs - escaliers, marche, escalier, volée
recovering from - dont vous vous remettez
stupour - stupeur
lightning - la foudre, éclair, éloise, foudre
deserted - désertée, abandonner
"Well," I said, "this is strange."
And I went upstairs again all out of breath.
The surprising way in which Van Spreckdal had appeared to me threw me into deep wonderment. "Yesterday," I said to myself, as I contemplated the pile of ducats glittering in the sun, "yesterday I formed the wicked intention of cutting my throat, all for the want of a few miserable florins, and now today Fortune has showered them from the clouds.
surprising - surprenant, étonnant, surprenante
threw - jeté, jeter, lancer
deep - profond, épais, grave, foncé, foncée, profondeurs
wonderment - l'émerveillement
contemplated - envisagée, envisager, étudier, contempler
glittering - scintillant, étincelant, (glitter), étincellement, paillette
wicked - méchante, chicaneur, torve, (wick) méchante
intention - intention
miserable - misérable
Fortune - la fortune, destin, bonne chance, fortune
clouds - nuages, s'obscurcir
Indeed it was fortunate that I did not open my razor; and, if the same temptation ever comes to me again, I will take care to wait until the morrow."
indeed - certainement, vraiment, en effet, bien sur, certes
temptation - la tentation, tentation
care - soins, s'occuper, soin, souci
After making these judicious reflections, I sat down to finish the sketch; four strokes of the pencil and it would be finished. But here an incomprehensible difficulty awaited me. It was impossible for me to take those four sweeps of the pencil; I had lost the thread of my inspiration, and the mysterious personage no longer stood out in my brain.
judicious - judicieux
strokes - coups, coup
incomprehensible - incompréhensible
difficulty - difficulté
awaited - attendue, attendre, s'attendre a, servir, guetter
sweeps - balayage, balayer
thread - fil, processus léger, exétron, fil de discussion, filer
brain - cerveau, or when used as food, tete, processeur
I tried in vain to evoke him, to sketch him, and to recover him; he no more accorded with the surroundings than with a figure by Raphael in a Teniers inn-kitchen. I broke out into a profuse perspiration.
in vain - en vain
evoke - évoquer, remémorer
recover - récupérer, captons, capter, recouvrent, recouvrer, recouvrons
accorded - accordé, entente, accorder
Inn - l'auberge, auberge
broke out - a éclaté
At this moment, Rap opened the door without knocking, according to his praiseworthy custom. His eyes fell upon my pile of ducats and in a shrill voice he cried:
knocking - frapper, frappant, (knock), coup
according - selon, entente, accorder
praiseworthy - digne d'éloges, louable
custom - coutume, us, connaissance, droit de douane, sur mesure
cried - pleuré, pleurer, crier, hurler, gueuler, pleur, cri
"Eh! eh! so I catch you. Will you still persist in telling me, Mr. Painter, that you have no money?"
eh - eh
catch - attraper, prise, touche, loquet, loqueteau, verrou, hic
persist - persister
Mr - monsieur
And his hooked fingers advanced with that nervous trembling that the sight of gold always produces in a miser.
hooked - accroché, crochet, agrafe, hook, accrocher, ferrer
advanced - avancé, élever, avancer, avancée, progression, progres
nervous - nerveux
sight - vue, quelque chose a voir, truc a voir, mire, viseur
gold - l'or, or
produces - produit, produire, produits-p
miser - avare, crevard, grigou, grippe-sou
For a few seconds I was stupefied.
The memory of all the indignities that this individual had inflicted upon me, his covetous look, and his impudent smile exasperated me. With a single bound, I caught hold of him, and pushed him out of the room, slamming the door in his face.
memory - mémoire, souvenir
individual - individu, individuel, checkindividuelle
inflicted - infligé, infliger
covetous - convoiteux
smile - sourire
exasperated - exaspéré, exaspérer
single - seul, célibataire f, célibataire, simple
bound - lié, entrain, (bind), lier, attacher, nouer, connecter, coupler
hold - tenir, stopper, tiens, tiennent, tenons
pushed - poussé, pousser
slamming - claquer, (slam) claquer
This was done with the crack and rapidity of a spring snuff-box.
crack - crack, croustiller, fissure, craquement, fracas, craquer
rapidity - rapidité, célérité
snuff - tabac a priser, coryza
But from outside the old usurer screamed like an eagle:
usurer - usurier, usuriere
screamed - crié, cri, crier
"My money, you thief, my money!"
thief - voleur, voleuse
The lodgers came out of their rooms, asking:
"What is the matter? What has happened?"
matter - matiere, matiere, affaire, question, cause, substance
I opened the door suddenly and quickly gave Mister Rap a kick in the spine that sent him rolling down more than twenty steps.
kick - coup de pied, bottons, bottent, escabeau, bottez, botter
spine - la colonne vertébrale, colonne vertébrale, échine, dos, épine
rolling - rouler, enroulant, roulant, (roll) rouler
steps - étapes, pas
"That's what's the matter!" I cried, quite beside myself. Then I shut the door and bolted it, while bursts of laughter from the neighbours greeted Mister Rap in the passage.
beside - a côté, aupres
shut - fermé, fermer
bolted - boulonné, verrou
bursts - éclatements, éclater, faire éclater, rompre, briser, éclatement
laughter - rires, rire
greeted - salué, saluer, accueillir
passage - passage, corridoir, couloir
I was satisfied with myself; I rubbed my hands together. This adventure had put new life into me; I resumed my work, and was about to finish the sketch when I heard an unusual noise.
satisfied - satisfaits, satisfaire
rubbed - frotté, friction, hic, frotter, polir
adventure - l'aventure, aventure
unusual - inhabituel, insolite, inusuel
noise - bruit, vacarme, brouhaha, boucan
Butts of muskets were grounded on the pavement. I looked out of my window and saw three soldiers in full uniform with grounded arms in front of my door.
Butts - les fesses, donner un coup de tete a/dans
muskets - mousquets, mousquet
pavement - revetement, chaussée, pavement
soldiers - soldats, soldat, mouillette
uniform - uniforme
I said to myself in my terror: "Can it be that that scoundrel of a Rap has had any bones broken?"
scoundrel - canaille, scélérat, scélérate, gredin, gredine
bones - os
And here is the strange peculiarity of the human mind: I, who the night before had wanted to cut my own throat, shook from head to foot, thinking that I might well be hanged if Rap were dead.
peculiarity - singularité, bizarrerie, étrangeté, particularité, distinction
human - humain
shook - secoué, (shake), secouer, agiter, se serrer la main, secousse
hanged - pendu
dead - morts, mort, milieu, cour, profondeurs
The stairway was filled with confused noises. It was an ascending flood of heavy footsteps, clanking arms, and short syllables.
stairway - escalier
confused - confus, rendre perplexe, confondre
noises - bruits, bruit, vacarme, brouhaha, boucan, tintamarre
ascending - ascendante, monter
flood - inondation, inonder, submerger, noyer
Footsteps - des pas, empreinte, trace de pas, pas, bruit de pas, marche
clanking - cliquetis, (clank) cliquetis
syllables - syllabes, syllabe
Suddenly somebody tried to open my door. It was shut.
Then there was a general clamour.
general - général, communal, en chef, universal, d'ensemble
clamour - clameur, jacasser
"In the name of the law-open!"
law - loi
I arose, trembling and weak in the knees.
arose - s'est élevé, se lever, relever
weak - faible, débile
"Open!" the same voice repeated.
I thought to escape over the roofs; but I had hardly put my head out of the little snuff-box window, when I drew back, seized with vertigo. I saw in a flash all the windows below with their shining panes, their flower-pots, their bird-cages, and their gratings.
escape - échapper, s'échapper, éviter, échapper (a quelqu'un), évasion
hardly - a peine, dur, durement, guere, a peine
seized with - saisir
vertigo - vertige, labyrinthite
flash - flash, clignoter
shining - brillant, tibia
panes - vitres, vitre
pots - des casseroles, pot
cages - cages, cage, encager
gratings - grilles, grille
Lower, the balcony; still lower, the street-lamp; still lower again, the sign of the "Red Cask" framed in iron-work; and, finally, three glittering bayonets, only awaiting my fall to run me through the body from the sole of my foot to the crown of my head.
lower - plus bas, abaisser, en privé, rabattre, baissent
balcony - balcon
sign - signe, signent, signez, placard, caractériser
cask - tonneau, fut, barrique
framed - encadré, encadrer, cadre, armature, ossature
iron - le fer, fer, repasser
finally - enfin, définitivement
bayonets - baionnettes, baionnette
awaiting - en attente, attendre, s'attendre a, servir, guetter
fall to - Tomber
crown - couronne, couronner
On the roof of the opposite house a tortoise-shell cat was crouching behind a chimney, watching a band of sparrows fighting and scolding in the gutter.
tortoise-shell - (tortoise-shell) carapace de tortue
crouching - accroupi, s'accroupir
chimney - cheminée
fighting - combattre, combat, bagarre, (fight) combattre
scolding - gronder, grognant, (scold), chipie, furie, mégere
gutter - gouttiere, rigole
One cannot imagine to what clearness, intensity, and rapidity the human eye acquires when stimulated by fear.
clearness - clarté
intensity - l'intensité, intensité
acquires - acquiert, acquérir
stimulated - stimulée, stimuler
At the third summons I heard:
third - troisieme, troisieme, trois, tiers, tierce
summons - convoque, convocation, (summon) convoque
"Open, or we shall force it!"
shall - doit, rench: 'shall' followed by the infinitive is translated using the future tense'
Seeing that flight was impossible, I staggered to the door and drew the bolt.
staggered - en décalé, tituber
bolt - boulon, verrouiller, pene
Two hands immediately fell upon my collar. A dumpy, little man, smelling of wine, said:
immediately - immédiatement, tout de suite, aussitôt
collar - col, collier
dumpy - bouché, boulot
little man - petit homme
smelling - l'odeur, (smell), odeur, parfum, gout, odorat, sentir, humer
"I arrest you!"
arrest - l'arrestation, arrestation, arreter
He wore a bottle-green redingote, buttoned to the chin, and a stovepipe hat. He had large brown whiskers, rings on every finger, and was named Passauf.
redingote - redingote
buttoned - boutonné, bouton
stovepipe - tuyau de poele
whiskers - moustaches, favoris-p, poil de barbe, moustache, vibrisse
finger - doigt, pointer, tripoter, doigter
He was the chief of police.
chief - chef
Five bull-dogs with flat caps, noses like pistols, and lower jaws turning upward, observed me from outside.
Bull - le taureau, taureau
flat caps - des casquettes
pistols - pistolets, pistolet
observed - observée, observer, remarquer, respecter, garder
"What do you want?" I asked Passauf.
"Come downstairs," he cried roughly, as he gave a sign to one of his men to seize me.
roughly - en gros, rudement, approximativement
seize - saisir, emparer
This man took hold of me, more dead than alive, while several other men turned my room upside down.
alive - en vie, vivant
several - plusieurs
I went downstairs supported by the arms like a person in the last stages of consumption-with hair dishevelled and stumbling at every step.
went downstairs - est descendu en bas
supported - soutenue, (sup)porter, soutenir
Last - derniere, dernier, durer, dernierere, durez, passé, durent
stages - étapes, étape, phase, scene, caleche, platine, mettre en scene
consumption - la consommation, consommation
stumbling - trébucher, chute, faux pas, bourde
They thrust me into a cab between two strong fellows, who charitably let me see the ends of their clubs, held to their wrists by a leather string-and then the carriage started off.
thrust - estocade, poussée, propulser
cab - cab, fiacre
fellows - des camarades, homme, type
charitably - charitablement
held - détenus, (main)tenir
wrists - poignets, poignet
leather - cuir, de cuir
string - corde, suite, série, chaîne de caracteres, cordes, cannabis
carriage - transport, rench: t-needed r, carrosse, port, chariot
I heard behind us the feet of all the urchins of the town.
urchins - oursins, garnement
"What have I done?" I asked one of my keepers.
keepers - les gardiens, gardien, gardienne, perle, conservateur
He looked at the other with a strange smile and said:
"Hans-he asks what he has done!"
That smile froze my blood.
froze - gelé, geler
Soon a deep shadow enveloped the carriage; the horses'hoofs resounded under an archway. We were entering the Raspelhaus. Of this place one might say:
shadow - l'ombre, ombre, prendre en filature, filer
enveloped - enveloppé, envelopper
hoofs - sabots, sabot
resounded - a retenti, retentir
archway - arcade
entering - entrant, (enter), entrer, rench: t-needed r, taper
"Dans cet antre,
antre - antre
Je vois fort bien comme l'on entre,
fort - fort
Et ne vois point comme on en sort."
et - et
ne - NE
en - en
sort - tri, assortir, esrece, assortis, sorte
All is not rose-coloured in this world; from the claws of Rap I fell into a dungeon, from which very few poor devils have a chance to escape.
claws - griffes, griffe
dungeon - oubliette, donjon, cachot
devils - diables, Diable, Satan, type
chance - chance, hasard
Large dark courtyards and rows of windows like a hospital, and furnished with gratings; not a sprig of verdure, not a festoon of ivy, not even a weathercock in perspective-such was my new lodging. It was enough to make one tear his hair out by the roots.
courtyards - des cours, cour
rows - rangées, rang(ée)
sprig - brin, rameau
verdure - verdure, vigueur
festoon - feston, guirlande, guirlande lumineuse, enguirlander
ivy - le lierre, lierre
weathercock - girouette
perspective - perspective, perspectif
roots - des racines, racine
The police officers, accompanied by the jailer, took me temporarily to a lock-up.
officers - des agents, fonctionnaire, officier
accompanied - accompagné, accompagner
jailer - geôlier, geôliere, gâfe
temporarily - temporairement
lock-up - (lock-up) fermer
The jailer, if I remember rightly, was named Kasper Schlüssel; with his grey woollen cap, his pipe between his teeth, and his bunch of keys at his belt, he reminded me of the Owl-God of the Caribs. He had the same golden yellow eyes, that see in the dark, a nose like a comma, and a neck that was sunk between the shoulders.
rightly - a juste titre
woollen - lainage
cap - cap, bonnet, calotte, casquette, toque, képi
pipe - cornemuse, conduit, tuyau, barre verticale, tube, pipe
bunch of keys - un trousseau de clés
belt - ceinture, courroie, région
reminded - rappelée, rappeler
Owl - hibou, chouette
comma - virgule, virguler
neck - cou, kiki
sunk - coulé, enfoncés, enfoncé, enfoncées, enfoncée
Schlüssel shut me up as calmly as one locks up his socks in a cupboard, while thinking of something else. As for me, I stood for more than ten minutes with my hands behind my back and my head bowed. At the end of that time I made the following reflection: "When falling, Rap cried out, 'I am assassinated,'but he did not say by whom.
locks up - Verrouiller
socks - chaussettes
cupboard - placard, armoire, buffet
stood for - représentait
reflection - réflexion, reflet, eaning 4
assassinated - assassiné, assassiner
I will say it was my neighbour, the old merchant with the spectacles: he will be hanged in my place."
merchant - marchand, marchande
spectacles - lunettes, spectacle
This idea comforted my heart, and I drew a long breath. Then I looked about my prison. It seemed to have been newly whitewashed, and the walls were bare of designs, except in one corner, where a gallows had been crudely sketched by my predecessor. The light was admitted through a bull's-eye about nine or ten feet from the floor; the furniture consisted of a bundle of straw and a tub.
comforted - réconforté, confort, consoler
prison - prison
newly - nouvellement, récemment
whitewashed - blanchi, lait de chaux, badigeon, blanchir, badigeonner
bare - a nu, dénudé, dégarnir, nu
Except - sauf, faire une exception
gallows - la potence, potence, (gallow) la potence
crudely - grossierement, crument
sketched - esquissé, croquer, esquisser, esquisse, ébauche
predecessor - prédécesseur, prédécesseuse, prédécessrice, précédent
admitted - admis, admettre, avouer, reconnaître
consisted - consisté, consister (en)
bundle - bundle, faisceau, fagot, paquet, ballot (of goods)
tub - baignoire, bassine, rafiot
I sat down upon the straw with my hands around my knees in deep despondency. It was with great difficulty that I could think clearly; but suddenly imagining that Rap, before dying, had denounced me, my legs began to tingle, and I jumped up coughing, as if the hempen cord were already tightening around my neck.
despondency - le découragement, désespoir, abattement
Clearly - en clair, clairement
dying - teignant, mourant, (dye) teignant
denounced - dénoncé, dénoncer, qualifier
tingle - picoter, picotement
jumped up - a sauté
coughing - toux, toussant, (cough), tousser
cord - corde, cordon
tightening - le resserrement, serrer, se resserrer, resserrer les taux
At the same moment, I heard Schlüssel walking down the corridor; he opened the lock-up, and told me to follow him. He was still accompanied by the two officers, so I fell into step resolutely.
corridor - couloir, corridor, couloir aérien
lock - serrure, clôturer, cerrure, arret, obturer, pene
resolutely - résolument
We walked down long galleries, lighted at intervals by small windows from within. Behind a grating I saw the famous Jic-Jack, who was going to be executed on the morrow. He had on a strait-jacket and sang out in a raucous voice:
galleries - galeries, galerie, balcon
intervals - intervalles, intervalle
within - a l'intérieur, dedans, avant, d'ici
grating - grinçant, grille, (grate) grinçant
Jack - Jeannot, Jacques, Jacob, Jack
executed - exécuté, exécuter, mettre a mort
Strait - le détroit, détroit
raucous - rauque, chahuteur, tapageur
"Je suis le roi de ces montagnes."
suis - suis
le - LE
ces - ces, EC (ere commune)
Seeing me, he called out:
"Eh! comrade! I'll keep a place for you at my right."
comrade - camarade f, camarade
The two police officers and the Owl-God looked at each other and smiled, while I felt the goose-flesh creep down the whole length of my back.
smiled - souriait, sourire
goose - l'oie, oie
flesh - de la chair, chair, peau, viande, corps, pulpe
creep - rampant, ramper, rampement, fatigue, fluage, reptation
Length - longueur, durée
Schlüssel shoved me into a large and very dreary hall, with benches arranged in a semicircle. The appearance of this deserted hall, with its two high grated windows, and its Christ carved in old brown oak with His arms extended and His head sorrowfully inclined upon His shoulder, inspired me with I do not know what kind of religious fear that accorded with my actual situation.
shoved - poussé, enfoncer, pousser
hall - couloir, corridor, salle, salon, manoir, foyer
benches - des bancs, banc
arranged - arrangé, arranger, organiser
semicircle - demi-cercle
grated - râpé, grille (de foyer)
Christ - le christ, Christ, Messie, bon Dieu de merde
oak - chene, chene, chenes
extended - étendu, étendre, prolonger
sorrowfully - avec tristesse
inspired - inspirée, inspirer
religious - religieux
actual - réel, effectif, checkeffectif, checkprésent
All my ideas of false accusation disappeared, and my lips tremblingly murmured a prayer.
accusation - accusation
disappeared - a disparu, disparaître
tremblingly - en tremblant
murmured - murmuré, murmure, rumeur, souffle, murmurer
prayer - oraison, priere
I had not prayed for a long time; but misfortune always brings us to thoughts of submission. Man is so little in himself!
prayed - prié, prier
misfortune - malchance, mésaventure, malheur
thoughts - réflexions, idée, pensée
submission - soumission
Opposite me, on an elevated seat, two men were sitting with their backs to the light, and consequently their faces were in shadow. However, I recognized Van Spreckdal by his aquiline profile, illuminated by an oblique reflection from the window. The other person was fat, he had round, chubby cheeks and short hands, and he wore a robe, like Van Spreckdal.
elevated - élevé, (elevate), élever, augmenter
seat - siege, place, siege, assise, séant, fond
consequently - en conséquence
recognized - reconnu, reconnaître
profile - contour, profil
illuminated - éclairé, illuminer
round - ronde, cyclo, arrondissent, arrondis, arrondir
Chubby - potelé, dodu
robe - robe de chambre, robe
Below was the clerk of the court, Conrad; he was writing at a low table and was tickling the tip of his ear with the feather-end of his pen. When I entered, he stopped to look at me curiously.
low - faible, inférieure
clerk - greffier
tickling - des chatouilles, (tickle), chatouiller
tip - pourboire, pronostic, indication, terminaison
feather - plume, fanon, mettre en drapeau, emplumer, checkempenner
entered - a pénétré, entrer, rench: -neededr, taper, saisir
curiously - curieusement
They made me sit down, and Van Spreckdal, raising his voice, said to me:
"Christian Vénius, where did you get this sketch?"
He showed me the nocturnal sketch which was then in his possession. It was handed to me. After having examined it, I replied:
nocturnal - nocturne
possession - bien, possession, propriété, possessions
examined - examinés, examiner
replied - a répondu, répondre, réponse
"I am the author of it."
A long silence followed; the clerk of the court, Conrad, wrote down my reply. I heard his pen scratch over the paper, and I thought: "Why did they ask me that question? That has nothing to do with the kick I gave Rap in the back."
reply - répondre, réponse
scratch - gratter, égratigner, piquer, rayer, biffer, oblitérer
"You are the author of it?" asked Van Spreckdal. "What is the subject?"
"It is a subject of pure fancy."
pure - pure, pur, pudique
fancy - fantaisie, imaginer, songer
"You have not copied the details from some spot?"
copied - copié, copie, exemplaire, copier
spot - spot, tache, bouton, peu, endroit, zone, détecter, trouver
"No, sir; I imagined it all."
"Accused Christian," said the judge in a severe tone, "I ask you to reflect. Do not lie."
accused - accusé, accuser
tone - ton, tonalité, tonale
reflect - refléter, réfléchir, se refléter, suivre
lie - mentir, mensonge, mentez, gésir, gis, mentons
"I have spoken the truth."
truth - la vérité, vérité
"Write that down, clerk," said Van Spreckdal.
The pen scratched again.
scratched - égratigné, gratter, égratigner, piquer, rayer, biffer
"And this woman," continued the judge-"this woman who is being murdered at the side of the well-did you imagine her also?"
continued - suite, continuer
murdered - assassiné, meurtre, homicide, assassinat, occire
"Certainly."
Certainly - certainement, surement, sans nul doute, sans aucun doute
"You have never seen her?"
"Never."
Van Spreckdal rose indignantly; then, sitting down again, he seemed to consult his companion in a low voice.
indignantly - avec indignation
consult - consulter
companion - compagnon, compagne
These two dark profiles silhouetted against the brightness of the window, and the three men standing behind me, the silence in the hall-everything made me shiver.
profiles - profils, contour, profil
silhouetted - silhouettée, silhouette
against - contre, face a, pour
brightness - brillance, luminosité, intelligence
shiver - frisson, trembler, frissonner
"What do you want with me? What have I done?" I murmured.
Suddenly Van Spreckdal said to my guardians:
guardians - gardiens, gardien, tuteur, tutrice, curateur, curatrice
"You can take the prisoner back to the carriage; we will go to Metzerstrasse."
prisoner - prisonnier, prisonniere
Then, addressing me:
"Christian Vénius," he cried, "you are in a deplorable situation. Collect your thoughts and remember that if the law of man is inflexible, there still remains for you the mercy of God. This you can merit by confessing your crime."
deplorable - déplorable
collect - collecter, recueillir, recuellir, recueillez, encaisser
inflexible - inflexible
remains - reste, rester, demeurer
mercy - la pitié, miséricorde, pitié
merit - mérite, mériter
confessing - confesser, avouer
crime - délit (max 10 years imprisonment according to law) crime (15 years and more) (nothing strictly between 10 and 15)
These words stunned me like a blow from a hammer. I fell back with extended arms, crying:
stunned - stupéfait, étourdir, étonner, époustoufler
blow - souffler, soufflons, soufflent, soufflez, coup
hammer - marteau, chien, malléus, marteler, (ham)
crying - pleurer, pleur, (cry), crier, hurler, gueuler
"Ah! what a terrible dream!"
dream - reve, reve, songe, voeu
And I fainted.
fainted - s'est évanoui, faible, léger
When I regained consciousness, the carriage was rolling slowly down the street; another one preceded us. The two officers were always with me. One of them on the way offered a pinch of snuff to his companion; mechanically I reached out my hand toward the snuff-box, but he withdrew it quickly.
regained - retrouvée, reconquérir, reprendre
consciousness - la conscience, conscience
slowly - lentement
preceded - précédé, précéder
offered - proposé, offrir, proposer
pinch - pincer, chiper, pincement, pincée
mechanically - mécaniquement
toward - vers, envers, pour, pres de
withdrew - s'est retiré, (se) retirer
My cheeks reddened with shame, and I turned away my head to conceal my emotion.
reddened - rougis, rougir, faire rougir
shame - la honte, honte, vergogne
conceal - dissimuler, cacher
emotion - l'émotion, émotion
"If you look outside," said the man with the snuff-box, "we shall be obliged to put handcuffs on you."
be obliged - etre obligé
handcuffs - des menottes, menotte, menotter
"May the devil strangle you, you infernal scoundrel!" I said to myself. And as the carriage now stopped, one of them got out, while the other held me by the collar; then, seeing that his comrade was ready to receive me, he pushed me rudely to him.
devil - Diable, Satan, type
strangle - étrangler
infernal - infernal
receive - recevoir
rudely - grossierement, bourru
These infinite precautions to hold possession of my person boded no good; but I was far from predicting the seriousness of the accusation that hung over my head until an alarming circumstance opened my eyes and threw me into despair.
infinite - infini, un nombre infini de
precautions - des précautions, précaution
boded - boded, présager
predicting - prédire
seriousness - sérieux, sériosité, gravité
hung over - La gueule de bois
alarming - alarmante, alarme, réveille-matin, réveil, alarmer, fr
circumstance - circonstances, circonstance
despair - le désespoir, désespérer, désespoir
They pushed me along a low alley, the pavement of which was unequal and broken; along the wall there ran a yellowish ooze, exhaling a fetid odour. I walked down this dark place with the two men behind me. A little further there appeared the chiaroscuro of an interior courtyard.
along - le long de, accompagné, rench: t-needed r
alley - allée, ruelle
yellowish - jaunâtre
ooze - suintements, suinter
exhaling - l'expiration, expirer
fetid - fétide
odour - odeur
place with - place avec
further - encourager, ultérieur, plus loin, de plus, (furth)
chiaroscuro - clair-obscur
interior - intérieur
I grew more and more terror-sticken as I advanced. It was no natural feeling: it was a poignant anxiety, outside of nature-like a nightmare. I recoiled instinctively at each step.
sticken - cassé
anxiety - l'anxiété, anxiété, inquiétude, angoisse
nightmare - cauchemar, mauvais reve, tourment
recoiled - a reculé, recul, reculer
"Go on!" cried one of the policemen, laying his hand on my shoulder; "go on!"
laying - pose, (lay) pose
But what was my astonishment when, at the end of the passage, I saw the courtyard that I had drawn the night before, with its walls furnished with hooks, its rubbish-heap of old iron, its chicken-coops, and its rabbit-hutch. Not a dormer window, high or low, not a broken pane, not the slightest detail had been omitted.
astonishment - l'étonnement, étonnement
rubbish-heap - (rubbish-heap) le tas d'ordures
coops - des coopératives, cage, poulailler
rabbit - lapin
hutch - clapier
dormer window - lucarne
pane - panneau, vitre
omitted - omis, omettre
I was thunderstruck by this strange revelation.
revelation - révélation
Near the well were the two judges, Van Spreckdal and Richter. At their feet lay the old woman extended on her back, her long, thin, grey hair, her blue face, her eyes wide open, and her tongue between her teeth.
judges - juges, juger
lay - laique, pondre, pose
wide - large
tongue - langue, languette
It was a horrible spectacle!
horrible - horrible, affreux, épouvantable
spectacle - spectacle
"Well," said Van Spreckdal, with solemn accents, "what have you to say?"
solemn - solennel
accents - des accents, accent
I did not reply.
"Do you remember having thrown this woman, Theresa Becker, into this well, after having strangled her to rob her of her money?"
thrown - jeté, jeter, lancer
strangled - étranglé, étrangler
rob - rob, ravir, piller
"No," I cried, "no! I do not know this woman; I never saw her before. May God help me!"
"That will do," he replied in a dry voice. And without saying another word he went out with his companion.
dry - sec, anhydre, sécher, tfaire sécher
The officers now believed that they had best put handcuffs on me. They took me back to the Raspelhaus, in a state of profound stupidity. I did not know what to think; my conscience itself troubled me; I even asked myself if I really had murdered the old woman!
state - l'État
stupidity - stupidité, idiotie, ânerie, sottise
conscience - conscience
itself - elle-meme, se, soi-meme
troubled - troublé, peine, mal, probleme, emmerde, fr
In the eyes of the officers I was condemned.
condemned - condamnée, condamner, déclarer coupable
I will not tell you of my emotions that night in the Raspelhaus, when, seated on my straw bed with the window opposite me and the gallows in perspective, I heard the watchmen cry in the silence of the night: "Sleep, people of Nuremberg; the Lord watches over you. One o'clock! Two o'clock! Three o'clock!"
emotions - des émotions, émotion
watchmen - les gardiens, guetteur, sentinelle
cry - pleurer, crier, hurler, gueuler, pleur, cri
Lord - châtelain, seigneur, monsieur
Every one may form his own idea of such a night. There is a fine saying that it is better to be hanged innocent than guilty. For the soul, yes; but for the body, it makes no difference; on the contrary, it kicks, it curses its lot, it tries to escape, knowing well enough that its role ends with the rope.
innocent - innocent
guilty - coupable
soul - âme
contrary - contraire, contrepied
kicks - coups de pied, donner un coup de pied (a, dans)
curses - des malédictions, maudire
role - rôle
Add to this, that it repents not having sufficiently enjoyed life and at having listened to the soul when it preached abstinence.
repents - se repent, se repentir
sufficiently - suffisamment
preached - preché, precher, proclamer
abstinence - l'abstinence, abstinence, abstinence sexuelle
"Ah! if I had only known!" it cried, "you would not have led me around by a string with your big words, your beautiful phrases, and your magnificent sentences! You would not have allured me with your fine promises. I should have had many happy moments that are now lost forever. Everything is over! You said to me: 'Control your passions.'Very well! I did control them. Here I am now.
led - dirigé, DEL, LED, (lead) dirigé
magnificent - magnifique
allured - séduit, charme
promises - des promesses, vou, promesse, promettre
forever - a jamais, pour toujours, éternellement, checktoujours
control - contrôler, maîtrise, contrôle, commandes
passions - passions, passion
They are going to hang me, and you-later they will speak of you as a sublime soul, a stoical soul, a martyr to the errors of justice. They will never think about me!"
hang - pendre, planement
sublime - sublime, auguste
stoical - stoique, stoique
martyr - martyr, martyre, chahîd, chahid
errors of justice - des erreurs de justice
Such were the sad reflections of my poor body.
Day broke; at first, dull and undecided, it threw an uncertain light on my bull's-eye window with its cross-bars; then it blazed against the wall at the back. Outside the street became lively. This was a market-day; it was Friday. I heard the vegetable wagons pass and also the country people with their baskets.
dull - émoussé, ennuyeux, barbant, mat, terne, sot, obtus
undecided - hésitant, checkindécis, checkvelléitaire
uncertain - incertaine
Cross - croix, signe de croix, direct du bras arriere, transversal
bars - bars, barre, tablette
blazed - brulé, feu, embrasement
lively - fringant, spirituel
wagons - wagons, charrette
pass - passer, doubler, passe, dépasser, passez, passons, passage
baskets - paniers, panier
Some chickens cackled in their coops in passing and some butter sellers chattered together. The market opposite opened, and they began to arrange the stalls.
cackled - a caqueté, caquet, ricanement, gloussement, caqueter
passing - en passant, passager, éminent, rapide, extremement
sellers - vendeurs, vendeur/-deuse
chattered - bavardé, jacasser, bavarder
arrange - arranger
stalls - des décrochages, stalle
Finally it was broad daylight and the vast murmur of the increasing crowd, housekeepers who assembled with baskets on their arms, coming and going, discussing and marketing, told me that it was eight o'clock.
broad - large
daylight - la lumiere du jour, jour, lumiere du jour
vast - vaste
murmur - murmure, rumeur, souffle, murmurer
increasing - en augmentation, augmentant, (increase), augmenter, croître
crowd - foule, acculer, amas, marée humaine
housekeepers - les femmes de ménage, gouvernante, ménagere
assembled - assemblés, assembler, rassembler
With the light, my heart gained a little courage. Some of my black thoughts disappeared. I desired to see what was going on outside.
Gained - gagné, gagner
desired - souhaitée, désirer, désir
Other prisoners before me had managed to climb up to the bull's-eye; they had dug some holes in the wall to mount more easily. I climbed in my turn, and, when seated in the oval edge of the window, with my legs bent and my head bowed, I could see the crowd, and all the life and movement. Tears ran freely down my cheeks.
prisoners - prisonniers, prisonnier, prisonniere
managed - gérée, gérer, ménager, diriger, manier, parvenir, réussir
climb up - monter
dug - creusée, creusâmes, creusé, creusa, creuserent, (dig) creusée
holes - trous, trou
mount - monter, montent, montez, montons
easily - facilement
oval - ovale
bent - plié, courba, courbai, courbés, courbé, cambrai
movement - mouvement
Tears - des larmes, larme
freely - librement
I thought no longer of suicide-I experienced a need to live and breathe, which was really extraordinary.
suicide - le suicide, suicide, suicidé, suicidée, suicidant, suicidante
experienced - expérimenté, expérience
breathe - respirer, inspirer, expirer, reprendre son souffle
extraordinary - extraordinaire
"Ah!" I said, "to live what happiness! Let them harness me to a wheelbarrow-let them put a ball and chain around my leg-nothing matters if I may only live!"
Happiness - le bonheur, bonheur
harness - harnais, harnacher
wheelbarrow - brouette
chain - chaîne, enchaîner
matters - questions, matiere, affaire, question, cause
The old market, with its roof shaped like an extinguisher, supported on heavy pillars, made a superb picture: old women seated before their panniers of vegetables, their cages of poultry and their baskets of eggs; behind them the Jews, dealers in old clothes, their faces the colour of old box-wood; butchers with bare arms, cutting up meat on their stalls; countrymen, with large hats on the backs of their heads, calm and grave with their hands behind their backs and resting on their sticks of hollywood, and tranquilly smoking their pipes. Then the tumult and noise of the crowd-those screaming, shrill, grave, high, and short words-those expressive gestures-those sudden attitudes that show from a distance the progress of a discussion and depict so well the character of the individual-in short, all this captivated my mind, and notwithstanding my sad condition, I felt happy to be still of the world.
pillars - piliers, pilier, pile
superb - superbe
panniers - des sacoches, sacoche
poultry - de la volaille, volaille, volailles, basse-cour
Jews - les juifs, juif, juive
butchers - bouchers, boucher/-ere
cutting up - a découper
countrymen - compatriotes, citoyen, citoyenne, habitant, habitante
Calm - calme, tranquille, calme plat, calmer, apaiser
grave - tombe
resting - au repos, (rest) au repos
sticks - bâtons, enfoncer
hollywood - Hollywood
tranquilly - tranquillement
smoking - fumant, (smoke) fumant
pipes - des tuyaux, cornemuse, conduit, tuyau, barre verticale, tube
tumult - tumultes, barouf, baroufe, bagarre
screaming - des cris, cri, crier
expressive - expressif
gestures - gestes, geste, signe
attitudes - attitudes, posture, état d'esprit, attitude
progress - progres, progressent, progresser, progressons, progrés
discussion - discussion
depict - représenter, décrire
character - caractere, personnage, caractere
captivated - captivé, captiver
condition - condition
Now, while I looked about in this manner, a man-a butcher-passed, inclining forward and carrying an enormous quarter of beef on his shoulders; his arms were bare, his elbows were raised upward and his head was bent under them. His long hair, like that of Salvator's Sicambrian, hid his face from me; and yet, at the first glance, I trembled.
butcher - boucher, charcutier, abattre, (butch), hommasse
passed - passé, passer (devant), dépasser
inclining - l'inclinaison, inclinant, (incline) l'inclinaison
forward - avant, acheminent, acheminer, avanten, acheminons
elbows - coudes, coude, coup de coude, jouer des coudes
raised - soulevée, (sou)lever
hid - caché, (hide) caché
trembled - tremblait, trembler, vibrer, tremblement, vibration
"It is he!" I said.
All the blood in my body rushed to my heart. I got down from the window trembling to the ends of my fingers, feeling my cheeks quiver, and the pallor spread over my face, stammering in a choked voice:
rushed - précipité, se précipiter, emmener d'urgence
quiver - carquois, trembler
pallor - pâleur
spread - se propager, étaler, écarter, disperser, répandre, éparpiller
stammering - bafouillage, balbutiement, bégaiement, (stammer), balbutier
choked - étouffé, suffoquer, étouffer
"It is he! he is there-there-and I, I have to die to expiate his crime. Oh, God! what shall I do? What shall I do?"
A sudden idea, an inspiration from Heaven, flashed across my mind. I put my hand in the pocket of my coat-my box of crayons was there!
Heaven - le paradis, ciel, paradis, au-dela, cieux
flashed - flashé, éclair, lueur
crayons - des crayons de couleur, pastel, craie de cire
Then rushing to the wall, I began to trace the scene of the murder with superhuman energy. No uncertainty, no hesitation! I knew the man! I had seen him! He was there before me!
rushing - se précipiter, (rush) se précipiter
trace - trace, projection horizontale, décalquer
uncertainty - l'incertitude, incertitude
hesitation - hésitation
At ten o'clock the jailer came to my cell. His owl-like impassibility gave place to admiration.
cell - cellule, cachot
impassibility - l'impassibilité
admiration - l'admiration, admiration
"Is it possible?" he cried, standing at the threshold.
"Go, bring me my judges," I said to him, pursuing my work with an increasing exultation.
pursuing - poursuivre, poursuivant, (pursue), rechercher
exultation - exultation
Schlüssel answered:
"They are waiting for you in the trial-room."
trial - proces, manipulation
"I wish to make a revelation," I cried, as I put the finishing touches to the mysterious personage.
wish - souhait, souhaiter, espérer
touches - touches, toucher, émouvoir, contact
He lived; he was frightful to see. His full-faced figure, foreshortened upon the wall, stood out from the white background with an astonishing vitality.
frightful - effrayante, effrayant
background - arriere-plan, trame, fond
astonishing - étonnante, étonner, surprendre
vitality - vitalité
The jailer went away.
went away - est parti
A few minutes afterward the two judges appeared. They were stupefied. I, trembling, with extended hand, said to them:
afterward - apres
"There is the murderer!"
After a few minutes of silence, Van Spreckdal asked me:
"What is his name?"
"I don't know; but he is at this moment in the market; he is cutting up meat in the third stall to the left as you enter from Trabaus Street."
stall - décrochage, écurie, standing, étable
enter - entrer, rench: t-needed r, taper, saisir
"What do you think?" said he, leaning toward his colleague.
leaning - penchant, adossant, (lean) penchant
colleague - collegue, collegue, confrere, consour, confresour
"send for the man," he replied in a grave tone.
send for - envoyer pour
Several officers retained in the corridor obeyed this order. The judges stood, examining the sketch. As for me, I had dropped on my bed of straw, my head between my knees, perfectly exhausted.
retained - retenue, retenir, conserver, maintenir
obeyed - obéi, obéir, obtempérer
examining - l'examen, examiner
dropped - a déposé, goutte
perfectly - parfaitement
exhausted - épuisé, épuiser, échappement
Soon steps were heard echoing under the archway. Those who have never awaited the hour of deliverance and counted the minutes, which seem like centuries-those who have never experienced the sharp emotions of outrage, terror, hope, and doubt-can have no conception of the inward chills that I experienced at that moment.
echoing - l'écho, écho
deliverance - la délivrance, délivrance
counted - compté, comte
sharp - pointu, affilé, coupant, affuté, tranchant
outrage - l'indignation, outrage, offense, colere, rage, indignation
doubt - des doutes, douter, doute
no conception of - dont vous n'avez aucune idée
inward - vers l'intérieur, intérieur
chills - des frissons, froid
I should have distinguished the step of the murderer, walking between the guards, among a thousand others. They approached. The judges themselves seemed moved. I raised up my head, my heart feeling as if an iron hand had clutched it, and I fixed my eyes upon the closed door. It opened. The man entered.
distinguished - distingué, distinguer
guards - gardiens, garde, protection, gardien, arriere
among - parmi
approached - approché, (s')approcher (de)
fixed - fixé, réparer, fixer, préparer, truquer, tricher, réparation
His cheeks were red and swollen, the muscles in his large contracted jaws twitched as far as his ears, and his little restless eyes, yellow like a wolf's, gleamed beneath his heavy yellowish red eyebrows.
swollen - gonflé, enfler, gonfler
muscles - muscles, muscle
twitched - a tressailli, donner, avoir un mouvement convulsif
restless - inquiet, agité, checkimpatient
wolf - loup, tombeur, dévorer, engloutir
gleamed - brillait, luire
Van Spreckdal showed him the sketch in silence.
sketch in - un croquis
Then that murderous man, with the large shoulders, having looked, grew pale-then, giving a roar which thrilled us all with terror, he waved his enormous arms, and jumped backward to overthrow the guards.
murderous - meurtriere
roar - rugir, hurler, s'esclaffer, rire aux éclats
thrilled - ravie, exciter
waved - salué, vague
jumped - a sauté, (faire) sauter
backward - a l'envers, arriéré, en arriere, a reculons
overthrow - renverser
There was a terrible struggle in the corridor; you could hear nothing but the panting breath of the butcher, his muttered imprecations, and the short words and the shuffling feet of the guard, upon the flagstones.
Struggle - lutte, lutter, s'efforcer, combattre
the panting - le haletement
muttered - marmonné, marmonner
imprecations - des imprécations, exécrer, maudire
shuffling - le brassage, (shuffle), battage, battre, mélanger
guard - garde, protection, gardien, arriere, défense, garder
This lasted only about a minute.
lasted - a duré, dernier
Finally the assassin re-entered, with his head hanging down, his eyes bloodshot, and his hands fastened behind his back. He looked again at the picture of the murderer; he seemed to reflect, and then, in a low voice, as if talking to himself:
assassin - assassin, assassine
hanging - suspension, (hang) suspension
bloodshot - des yeux injectés de sang, injecté
fastened - fixé, attacher, fixer
"Who could have seen me," he said, "at midnight?"
I was saved!
saved - sauvée, sauver, sauvegarder, épargner, préserver, protéger
Many years have passed since that terrible adventure. Thank Heaven! I make silhouettes no longer, nor portraits of burgomasters. Through hard work and perseverance, I have conquered my place in the world, and I earn my living honourably by painting works of art-the sole end, in my opinion, to which a true artist should aspire. But the memory of that nocturnal sketch has always remained in my mind.
Since - depuis lors, depuis, depuis que, puisque, vu que
nor - ni, NON-OU
perseverance - la persévérance, persévérance
conquered - conquis, conquérir
earn - gagner, gagnons, gagnez, gagnent
honourably - honorablement
Sometimes, in the midst of work, the thought of it recurs. Then I lay down my palette and dream for hours.
midst - centre, milieu
recurs - récurrente, se reproduire
palette - palette
How could a crime committed by a man that I did not know-at a place that I had never seen-have been reproduced by my pencil, in all its smallest details?
committed - engagé, confier, commettre, remettre, consigner
reproduced - reproduit, reproduire, se reproduire
Was it chance? No! And moreover, what is chance but the effect of a cause of which we are ignorant?
Moreover - de plus, en plus, au surplus, en outre
effect - effet, effets, effectuer
cause - cause, raison, causer
ignorant - ignorant
Was Schiller right when he said: "The immortal soul does not participate in the weaknesses of matter; during the sleep of the body, it spreads its radiant wings and travels, God knows where! What it then does, no one can say, but inspiration sometimes betrays the secret of its nocturnal wanderings."
immortal - immortel, inoubliable
participate - participer (a)
weaknesses - les faiblesses, faiblesse, point faible, faible
spreads - des tartinades, étaler, écarter, disperser, répandre
wings - des ailes, aile, ailier
Betrays - trahir, livrer
secret - secret
wanderings - errances, errement, errance, divagation
Who knows? Nature is more audacious in her realities than man in his most fantastic imagining.
audacious - audacieux
realities - réalités, réalité, vérité
most fantastic - le plus fantastique