A Tale of Two Cities — Page 2
Whenever the leader made this rattle, the passenger started, as a nervous passenger might, and was disturbed in mind.
Sooft der Anführer dieses Rasseln erzeugte, fuhr der Passagier zusammen, wie ein nervöser Passagier es tun könnte, und war in seinem Gemüt beunruhigt.
There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it had roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none.
In allen Senken lag ein dampfender Nebel, und er hatte sich in seiner Trostlosigkeit den Hügel hinauf verbreitet, wie ein böser Geist, der Ruhe sucht und keine findet.
A clammy and intensely cold mist, it made its slow way through the air in ripples that visibly followed and overspread one another, as the waves of an unwholesome sea might do.
Ein feuchter und durchdringend kalter Nebel, er bahnte sich seinen langsamen Weg durch die Luft in Wellen, die sich sichtbar folgten und übereinander ausbreiteten, wie die Wellen eines ungesunden Meeres es tun könnten.
It was dense enough to shut out everything from the light of the coach-lamps but these its own workings, and a few yards of road; and the reek of the labouring horses steamed into it, as if they had made it all.
Er war dicht genug, um alles vom Licht der Kutschenlampen auszusperren, außer seinen eigenen Bewegungen und ein paar Yards Straße; und der Gestank der sich abmühenden Pferde stieg in ihn auf, als hätten sie ihn selbst erschaffen.
Two other passengers, besides the one, were plodding up the hill by the side of the mail.
Zwei weitere Passagiere, außer dem einen, stapften neben der Post den Hügel hinauf.
All three were wrapped to the cheekbones and over the ears, and wore jack-boots.
Alle drei waren bis zu den Wangenknochen und über die Ohren eingehüllt und trugen Schaftstiefel.
Not one of the three could have said, from anything he saw, what either of the other two was like; and each was hidden under almost as many wrappers from the eyes of the mind, as from the eyes of the body, of his two companions.
Keiner der drei hätte anhand dessen, was er sah, sagen können, wie einer der anderen beiden aussah; und jeder war unter fast ebenso vielen Hüllen vor den Augen des Geistes verborgen wie vor den körperlichen Augen seiner zwei Begleiter.
In those days, travellers were very shy of being confidential on a short notice, for anybody on the road might be a robber or in league with robbers.
In jenen Tagen waren Reisende sehr zurückhaltend damit, auf kurze Bekanntschaft hin vertraulich zu werden, denn jeder auf der Straße konnte ein Räuber sein oder mit Räubern unter einer Decke stecken.
Vocabulary
- der
- The (definite article, masculine singular)
- Anführer
- Leader; person who guides or commands others
- dieses
- This; that (demonstrative pronoun, neuter)
- Rasseln
- Rattling; clattering noise or sound
- erzeugte
- Produced; created or generated something
- fuhr
- Drove; traveled by vehicle or rode
- Passagier
- Passenger; person traveling in vehicle
- zusammen
- Together; in combination with another person
- wie
- How; in what way or manner
- ein
- A; indefinite article, masculine or neuter
- nervöser
- Nervous; anxious or easily agitated
- es
- It; third person singular neuter pronoun
- tun
- Do; to perform or carry out action
- könnte
- Could; able to or might possibly
- und
- And; conjunction connecting words or clauses
- war
- Was; past tense of to be
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or position
- seinem
- His; possessive pronoun, dative masculine
- Gemüt
- Mood; temperament or emotional state
- beunruhigt
- Troubled; disturbed or made anxious
- In
- In; preposition indicating location or time
- allen
- All; every or the whole of something
- lag
- Lay; past tense of to lie or recline
- Nebel
- Fog; mist or thick water vapor
- er
- He; third person singular masculine pronoun
- hatte
- Had; past tense of to have
- sich
- Himself; reflexive pronoun for himself
- seiner
- His; possessive pronoun, genitive feminine
- den
- The; definite article, accusative masculine
- Hügel
- Hill; raised landform or elevation
- hinauf
- Up; upward direction or movement
- verbreitet
- Spread; distributed or disseminated widely
- böser
- Evil; wicked or malevolent
- Geist
- Spirit; ghost or supernatural being
- Ruhe
- Rest; peace or absence of activity
- sucht
- Seeks; searches for or looks for
- keine
- None; no or not any at all
- findet
- Finds; discovers or comes upon something
- Ein
- A; indefinite article, masculine or neuter
- feuchter
- Damp; slightly wet or moist
- kalter
- Cold; low temperature or frigid
- seinen
- His; possessive pronoun, accusative masculine
- langsamen
- Slow; moving at reduced speed
- Weg
- Way; path or direction of travel
- durch
- Through; passing from one side to other
- die
- The; definite article, feminine or plural
- Luft
- Air; gaseous atmosphere surrounding earth
- Wellen
- Waves; undulating movements in water
- sichtbar
- Visible; able to be seen clearly
- folgten
- Followed; came after or went behind
- eines
- Of a; genitive form of indefinite article
- ungesunden
- Unhealthy; not conducive to health
- Meeres
- Sea; body of salt water
- könnten
- Could; able to or might possibly
- Er
- He; third person singular masculine pronoun
- dicht
- Dense; closely packed or thick
- genug
- Enough; sufficient in quantity or degree
- um
- Around; preposition indicating enclosure or purpose
- alles
- Everything; all things without exception
- vom
- From the; contraction of von dem
- Licht
- Light; illumination or radiant energy
- außer
- Except; excluding or other than
- eigenen
- Own; belonging to oneself or itself
- Bewegungen
- Movements; changes of position or place
- paar
- Couple; two people or things together
- Straße
- Street; public road in town
- Gestank
- Stench; bad or foul smell
- Pferde
- Horses; large domesticated animals for riding
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