THE MYSTERIOUS SKETCH, by Erckmann-Chatrian
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. 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!
chapel - capilla
tavern - taberna
gable - aguilón
dusty - polvoriento
plaster - esparadrapo; ungüento, yeso, escayola, enlucido, revoque
Virgin - virgen, doncel, doncella, senorita
German - alemán, alemana, germano, germana
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.
wigged - peluca
aldermen - concejales; concejal, regidor
burgomasters - urgomaestres; burgomaestre
horribly - horriblemente
ochre - ocre
vermilion - vermellón; bermellón, bermejo
silhouettes - siluetas; silueta
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. Your bill now amounts to two hundred florins and ten kreutzers-it is not worth talking about."
pinched - pellizcado; pellizcar, repizcar, afanar, chorizar, pellizco
shrill - chillón; estridente
impudent - imprudente; insolente, descarado, fresco
calmly - con calma; tranquilamente
feeds - alimentos; dar de comer a, alimentar
sparrows - gorriones; pasérido, gorrión, pájaro
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.
timid - tímido
evaporates - se evapora; evaporar
bow - arco; inclinar(se), hacer una reverencia
respectfully - con respeto; respetuosamente
Burgomaster - burgomaestre
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.
rap - golpe seco
bankrupt - en quiebra; quebrado, arruinado
agreeable - lisonjero, agradable, dispuesto, conforme
"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. But when he has nothing to masticate, this being is an absurdity in Nature, a superfluity, a fifth wheel to the coach."
omnivorous - omnívoro
jaws - mandíbulas; maxilar
canines - caninos; canino, perruno
incisors - incisivos; diente incisivo
molars - molares; molar, muela
masticate - masticar
triturate - Triturar
absurdity - absurdo, absurdidad
superfluity - superfluidad
fifth wheel - quinta rueda
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.
razor - navaja, razuradora, cuchilla, gillete, gillette
invincible - invencible, invencible
finely - Finamente
sequel - secuela
morrow - manana; manana
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, aborrecible
stupefied - estupefacto; pasmar, entorpecer, embotar
odious - odioso
singular - singular, único, singular
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 - despertó; despertar(se)
gabardine - gabardina
Dutch - neerlandés, holandés, neerlandés, holandés
resemblance - semejanza, similitud, similaridad, parecido
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 - aburrido, triste
courtyard - patio
dilapidated - deteriorado; deteriorar, derrochar, deteriorarse
furnished - amueblado; amoblar, amueblar, suministrar, proporcionar, dotar
butchery - carnicería
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.
lattice - enrejado; celosía, trama, cuadrícula, retículo, checkrejilla
pulleys - poleas; polea, roldana
flagstones - placas; adoquín, laja
ditch - zanja, foso, cuneta
refuse - rechazar; negarse (a)
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 - chimeneas; chimenea, tubo
weathercocks - veletas; veleta
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.
bundles - paquetes; haz, atado, fajo, atar, liar
straw - paja, pajizo, pajiza
Coils - bobinas; enroscarse
coop - gallinero, jaula
rabbit-hutch - (rabbit-hutch) conejera
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 - heterogéneo
reminiscences - recuerdos; reminiscencia
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. This foot was joined to a leg-over this leg, stretched out with effort, there soon floated the skirt of a dress.
writhe - retorcerse; contorsionar
notwithstanding - a pesar de todo; no obstante
improbable - improbable, inverosímil
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.
by degrees - Poco a poco
dishevelled - desgrenado; desordenar
thrown down - tirado, arrojado
clutched - aferrado; agarrar
It was a murder scene that I was drawing. The pencil fell from my hand.
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.
thighs - muslos; muslo, muslamen
murderer - asesino, asesina, victimario, victimaria
"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."
dripping - goteo; chorreo; (drip) goteo; chorreo
perspiration - sudor
And again I went to bed, thoroughly frightened by my vision.
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.
"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.
beak - pico
eagle - águila
bony - huesudo
bowed - inclinado; inclinar(se), hacer una reverencia
gravely - gravemente
"Mister Christian Vénius, the painter?" said he.
Christian - cristiano, cristiana, Cristián
"That is my name, sir."
He bowed again, adding:
"The Baron Frederick Van Spreckdal."
Baron - barón
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:
lodging - alojamiento, hospedaje, encamado; (lodge); cabana, barraca
stealthy - sigiloso, furtivo
damp - húmedo, humedad, amortiguar
hangings - Colgando
humiliated - humillada; humillar
dilapidation - deterioro; dilapidación
"Mister Vénius," he resumed, "I come--" But at this instant his glance fell upon the unfinished sketch-he did not finish his phrase.
unfinished - inacabado, inconcluso
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.
personage - personaje
bestowed - otorgado; guardar, estibar, depositar, alojar, acordar, conceder
apprehension - aprehensión; arresto, aprensión
At the end of a minute, Van Spreckdal lifted his head:
"Are you the author of that sketch?" he asked me with an intent look.
"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.
He took a lens from his waistcoat pocket and began to study the design in silence.
waistcoat - chaleco, chalequillo
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.
obliquely - oblicuamente
garret - buhardilla
eyebrows - cejas; ceja
chin - barbilla, mentón
upward - hacia arriba
wrinkles - arrugas; arruga
distinctly - laramente; distintamente
plaintive - planidera; morrinoso, melancólico, triste, nostálgico
"And the dimensions of this picture, Mister Vénius?" he said without looking at me.
"Three feet by four."
"The price?"
"Fifty ducats."
ducats - ducados; ducado
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--
purse - bolsa, monedero, fruncir
pear - pera, peral
rings - anillos; anillo
"Fifty ducats," said he, "here they are."
I was simply dazzled.
dazzled - deslumbrado; deslumbrar, obnubilar, encandilar, empaparotar
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.
ivory - marfil, ebúrneo
cane - canón; cana, bastón, bastón blanco
resounding - resonante; resonar
stupour - stupor
lightning - un rayo; relámpago, rayo
"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. 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.
wonderment - asombro; maravilla
glittering - resplandeciente; chispeante; (glitter); brillo, purpurina
wicked - malvado, cruel, insoportable; (wick) malvado, cruel
temptation - tentación
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 - uiciosa; juicioso
incomprehensible - incomprensible
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.
vain - vanidoso, vano, vacuo
accorded - oncedido; acuerdo, convenio, acordar, conceder, conferir
surroundings - alrededores; periferia, rededor, derredor, circundante
Inn - posada, venta
profuse - rofusa; profuso
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:
praiseworthy - encomiable, alabable, digno de alabanza, loable
"Eh! eh! so I catch you. Will you still persist in telling me, Mr. Painter, that you have no money?"
eh - no, qué, cómo
And his hooked fingers advanced with that nervous trembling that the sight of gold always produces in a miser.
miser - miserable; tacano, rata, pesetero, tacano
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.
indignities - indignidades; indignidad, ofensa, afrenta
exasperated - exasperado; exasperar
This was done with the crack and rapidity of a spring snuff-box.
rapidity - rapidez, celeridad
snuff - tabaco; rapé
But from outside the old usurer screamed like an eagle:
usurer - usurero, usurera
"My money, you thief, my money!"
The lodgers came out of their rooms, asking:
lodgers - inquilinos; huésped
"What is the matter? What has happened?"
I opened the door suddenly and quickly gave Mister Rap a kick in the spine that sent him rolling down more than twenty steps.
"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.
bolted - atornillado; pestillo
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.
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 - culos; dar un cabezazo
muskets - mosquetes; mosquete
grounded - uelo
pavement - pavimento, asfalto
I said to myself in my terror: "Can it be that that scoundrel of a Rap has had any bones broken?"
scoundrel - sinvergüenza; bribón, canalla, bellaco, villano
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 - particularidad; peculiaridad
hanged - Colgado
The stairway was filled with confused noises. It was an ascending flood of heavy footsteps, clanking arms, and short syllables.
stairway - escalera
ascending - ascendente; subir, ascender
Footsteps - pasos; huella, paso
clanking - Tocando; (clank) Tocando
syllables - sílabas; sílaba
Suddenly somebody tried to open my door. It was shut.
Then there was a general clamour.
clamour - clamor, griterío
"In the name of the law-open!"
I arose, trembling and weak in the knees.
"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. 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.
seized with - agarrado, pillado, dominado por
vertigo - vértigo, mareo
panes - paneles; cristal, vidrio
cages - jaulas; jaula, cabina, enjaular
gratings - rejillas; rejilla, reja, enjaretado
balcony - balcón, palco
cask - barril; cuba, tonel
bayonets - bayonetas; bayoneta
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) caparazón de tortuga
crouching - agacharse, ponerse/estar en cuclillas
chimney - chimenea, tubo
scolding - reganar; regano, sermón, bronca, rapapolvo; (scold); reganar
gutter - arroyo, cuneta, canal, canalón
One cannot imagine to what clearness, intensity, and rapidity the human eye acquires when stimulated by fear.
clearness - claridad
At the third summons I heard:
summons - Citaciones; (summon) Citaciones
"Open, or we shall force it!"
Seeing that flight was impossible, I staggered to the door and drew the bolt.
staggered - escalonada; tambalearse
bolt - perno; pestillo
Two hands immediately fell upon my collar. A dumpy, little man, smelling of wine, said:
collar - cuello, collar, yugo
dumpy - rechoncho
"I arrest you!"
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.
stovepipe - estufa
whiskers - bigotes; vibrisa, bigote
He was the chief of police.
Five bull-dogs with flat caps, noses like pistols, and lower jaws turning upward, observed me from outside.
Bull - toro
flat caps - gorra plana
pistols - pistolas; pistola
"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.
This man took hold of me, more dead than alive, while several other men turned my room upside down.
upside - al alza; lado bueno, lado positivo, lado favorable
I went downstairs supported by the arms like a person in the last stages of consumption-with hair dishevelled and stumbling at every step.
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 - estocada, empuje, envión, impulso, énfasis, propulsar, asestar
cab - taxi
charitably - caritativamente
I heard behind us the feet of all the urchins of the town.
urchins - erizos; gamín, gamina, golfillo
"What have I done?" I asked one of my keepers.
keepers - custodios; guardián, guardiana, custodio
He looked at the other with a strange smile and said:
"Hans-he asks what he has done!"
That smile froze my blood.
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:
hoofs - cascos; pezuna, casco
resounded - resonó; resonar
archway - arco
"Dans cet antre,
antre - ntre
Je vois fort bien comme l'on entre,
fort - fuerte, fortaleza
Et ne vois point comme on en sort."
et - y; ET
ne - No
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 - garras; garra
dungeon - mazmorra, calabozo
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 - patios; patio
rows - filas; hilera, fila
sprig - ramillete; ramita, muchacho
verdure - verdor, vegetación, verdura
festoon - guirnalda, festón, guirnalda luminosa, panish: t-needed
ivy - hiedra
weathercock - veleta
The police officers, accompanied by the jailer, took me temporarily to a lock-up.
jailer - carcelero, carcelera, guardiacárcel, guardacárcel
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 - verdad
woollen - Lana
Owl - búho, lechuza, tecolote
Caribs - Caribe
comma - coma
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. I will say it was my neighbour, the old merchant with the spectacles: he will be hanged in my place."
locks up - se bloquea
assassinated - asesinado; asesinar
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.
whitewashed - panish: t-needed
gallows - la horca; horca; (gallow) la horca; horca
bundle - haz, atado, fajo, atar, liar
tub - cuba, tina
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 - desánimo; desesperanza, desesperación, descorazonamiento
dying - Muriendo; (dye) Muriendo
coughing - Tos; (cough); toser, tos
cord - cuerda, cable, hilo, cordón
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.
resolutely - Decididamente
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:
grating - rechinante; rejilla, reja
Jack - Juanito, Jacobo, Santiago
Strait - estrecho, paso, aprieto
"Je suis le roi de ces montagnes."
roi - oi; retorno de la inversión
ces - es; E.C
Seeing me, he called out:
"Eh! comrade! I'll keep a place for you at my right."
comrade - companero, colega, camarada, correligionario, camarada
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.
goose - ganso
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 - empujado; empujar
semicircle - semicírculo
grated - rallado; rejilla
Christ - Cristo, Jesucristo, Cristo
oak - roble, encina, carrasca
sorrowfully - con tristeza
All my ideas of false accusation disappeared, and my lips tremblingly murmured a prayer.
tremblingly - Temblando
murmured - murmuró; soplo, murmurar
I had not prayed for a long time; but misfortune always brings us to thoughts of submission. Man is so little in himself!
misfortune - infortunio, gafe, mala suerte, desgracia
thoughts - pensamientos; pensamiento
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.
illuminated - iluminado; iluminar
oblique - oblicua; oblicuo
Chubby - gordito, rechoncho, regordete, morcillón
robe - túnica; bata, hábito, toga
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.
tickling - Cosquillas; (tickle); cosquilla, hacer cosquillas, cosquillear
curiously - con curiosidad; curiosamente
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 - nocturno, noctámbulo, trasnochador
"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."
"You are the author of it?" asked Van Spreckdal. "What is the subject?"
"It is a subject of pure fancy."
"You have not copied the details from some spot?"
"No, sir; I imagined it all."
"Accused Christian," said the judge in a severe tone, "I ask you to reflect. Do not lie."
"I have spoken the truth."
"Write that down, clerk," said Van Spreckdal.
The pen scratched again.
"And this woman," continued the judge-"this woman who is being murdered at the side of the well-did you imagine her also?"
"Certainly."
"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 - con indignación
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.
silhouetted - silueta
brightness - brillo
shiver - tiritando; temblar, tiritar, estremecerse
"What do you want with me? What have I done?" I murmured.
Suddenly Van Spreckdal said to my guardians:
guardians - guardianes; guardián, guardia, apoderado, tutor, custodio, jefe
"You can take the prisoner back to the carriage; we will go to Metzerstrasse."
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 - deplorable, lamentable
inflexible - inflexible
These words stunned me like a blow from a hammer. I fell back with extended arms, crying:
hammer - martillo, percutor, malleus, martillar; (ham); martillo
"Ah! what a terrible dream!"
And I fainted.
fainted - desmayado; débil, tenue
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.
offered - ofrecido; ofrecer
pinch - pellizcar, repizcar, afanar, chorizar, pellizco
mechanically - mecánicamente, maquinalmente
toward - hacia, sobre, para
My cheeks reddened with shame, and I turned away my head to conceal my emotion.
reddened - enrojecido; enrojecer
"If you look outside," said the man with the snuff-box, "we shall be obliged to put handcuffs on you."
be obliged - estar obligado
handcuffs - esposas, esposar
"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.
strangle - estrangular
infernal - infernal
rudely - groseramente
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 - infinito
precautions - precauciones; precaución
boded - Cuerpo
seriousness - seriedad, gravedad
despair - desesperar, desesperanzar, desesperación, desesperanza
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.
alley - callejón; callejuela
unequal - desigual
yellowish - amarillento
ooze - manar, rezumar
exhaling - exhalando; espirar, exhalar
fetid - fétido
odour - olor
chiaroscuro - claroscuro
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 - Pegado
poignant - conmovedor; puntiagudo, punzo-cortante, claro, elocuente
recoiled - retrocedió; retroceso, echarse atrás, recular
instinctively - instintivamente
"Go on!" cried one of the policemen, laying his hand on my shoulder; "go on!"
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 - asombro, estupefacción, sorpresa, extraneza
rubbish-heap - (rubbish-heap) un montón de basura
coops - cooperativas; gallinero, jaula
rabbit - conejo
hutch - conejera
dormer window - ventana de buhardilla
pane - panel; cristal, vidrio
omitted - omitido; omitir, dejar de lado, dejarse en el tintero
I was thunderstruck by this strange revelation.
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.
It was a horrible spectacle!
"Well," said Van Spreckdal, with solemn accents, "what have you to say?"
solemn - solemne
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?"
strangled - estrangulado; estrangular
"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.
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!
stupidity - estupidez, burricie, tontería, idiotez
In the eyes of the officers I was condemned.
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!"
watchmen - vigilantes; guardián, celador, guarda, vigía
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. Add to this, that it repents not having sufficiently enjoyed life and at having listened to the soul when it preached abstinence.
curses - maldiciones; maldecir
repents - se arrepiente; arrepentirse
abstinence - vigilia, abstinencia
"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.
allured - atraído; Attactivo, Encanto
Everything is over! You said to me: 'Control your passions.'Very well! I did control them. Here I am now. 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!"
stoical - estoico
martyr - mártir, martirizar
errors of justice - errores de la justicia
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.
undecided - indecisos; indeciso
uncertain - incierto
blazed - arde; llamarada, incendio; resplandor
wagons - vagones; carro, coche
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 - cacareó; cacareo, cacarear
sellers - vendedores; Vendedor
chattered - charló; chacharear, parlotear
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.
murmur - murmullo; soplo, murmurar
housekeepers - amas de llaves; ama de llaves, ama de casa
With the light, my heart gained a little courage. Some of my black thoughts disappeared. I desired to see what was going on outside.
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. I thought no longer of suicide-I experienced a need to live and breathe, which was really extraordinary.
oval - óvalo, oval, ovalado
"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!"
harness - arnés, arrear, aparejar, aprovechar
wheelbarrow - carretilla, carrucha
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 - carnicero; (butch) carnicero
inclining - Inclinándose; (incline) Inclinándose
trembled - tembló; tiritar, temblar, temblor, vibración, temblequera
"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:
quiver - tiemblo; estremecer(se)
pallor - palidez
stammering - tartamudeando; tartamudeo; (stammer); tartamudear, balbucir
choked - ahogado; ahogar, asfixiar
"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!
crayons - crayones; creyón
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!
superhuman - superhumano; sobrehumano
hesitation - hesitación, vacilación, dudas, titubeo
At ten o'clock the jailer came to my cell. His owl-like impassibility gave place to admiration.
impassibility - Impasibilidad
admiration - admiración
"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.
exultation - exultación
Schlüssel answered:
"They are waiting for you in the trial-room."
"I wish to make a revelation," I cried, as I put the finishing touches to the mysterious personage.
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 - aterrador; temible
foreshortened - escuadra
vitality - vitalidad
The jailer went away.
A few minutes afterward the two judges appeared. They were stupefied. I, trembling, with extended hand, said to them:
afterward - después
"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."
cutting up - cortar
"What do you think?" said he, leaning toward his colleague.
"Send for the man," he replied in a grave tone.
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.
exhausted - exhausto; agotar, cansar, tubo de escape, gas de escape
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. I should have distinguished the step of the murderer, walking between the guards, among a thousand others.
deliverance - entrega, salvación, liberación
inward - hacia dentro; interior, adentro
chills - escalofríos; frío
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. 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 - inflamado; hinchar(se), inflar(se)
twitched - se movió; crispar(se), mover(se) convulsivamente
restless - inquieto
wolf - lobo, mujeriego, devorar, engullir
gleamed - brillaba; relucir, brillar, destellar
Van Spreckdal showed him the sketch in silence.
sketch in - agregar, puntualizar
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. 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.
murderous - asesino, homicida
roar - rugir, bramar, rugido, bramido
backward - hacia atrás; atrasado, rezagado, subdesarrollado
overthrow - derrocar, derribar
the panting - el jadeo
muttered - murmuró; hablar entre dientes, murmurar
shuffling - barajando; (shuffle); barajar, mezclar, barajear, arrastrar
This lasted only about a minute.
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 - asesino, asesina
bloodshot - enrojecida; sanguinolento, inyectados en sangre
"Who could have seen me," he said, "at midnight?"
I was saved!
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.
perseverance - perseverancia
honourably - honorablemente
But the memory of that nocturnal sketch has always remained in my mind. Sometimes, in the midst of work, the thought of it recurs. Then I lay down my palette and dream for hours.
palette - paleta, gama de colores
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?
Was it chance? No! And moreover, what is chance but the effect of a cause of which we are ignorant?
ignorant - ignorante, ignaro, inculto
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 - inmortal, inmortal
radiant - radiante, punto radiante
wanderings - vagabundeos; errabundo, andariego, errante, peripatético, vagar
Who knows? Nature is more audacious in her realities than man in his most fantastic imagining.
audacious - audaz, insolente
most fantastic - el más fantástico