Cranford — Page 13
Parties in Cranford were solemn festivities, making the ladies feel gravely elated as they sat together in their best dresses.
Gesellschaftsabende in Cranford waren feierliche Feste, die den Damen ein gehobenes Gefühl von Ernst verliehen, während sie in ihren besten Kleidern beieinandersaßen.
As soon as three had arrived, we sat down to "Preference," I being the unlucky fourth.
Sobald drei Damen eingetroffen waren, setzten wir uns zum „Préférence"-Spiel zusammen, wobei ich die unglückliche vierte Person war.
The next four comers were put down immediately to another table; and presently the tea-trays, which I had seen set out in the store-room as I passed in the morning, were placed each on the middle of a card-table.
Die nächsten vier Ankömmlinge wurden sogleich an einen anderen Tisch gesetzt; und bald darauf wurden die Teetabletts, die ich morgens beim Vorbeigehen im Vorratsraum hatte aufgestellt sehen, je in die Mitte eines Kartentisches gestellt.
The china was delicate egg-shell; the old-fashioned silver glittered with polishing; but the eatables were of the slightest description.
Das Porzellan war zartes Eierschalenporzellan; das altmodische Silbergeschirr glänzte vor lauter Polieren; doch die Speisen waren von der bescheidensten Art.
While the trays were yet on the tables, Captain and the Miss Browns came in; and I could see that, somehow or other, the Captain was a favourite with all the ladies present.
Während die Tabletts noch auf den Tischen standen, traten Hauptmann Brown und die Fräulein Brown ein; und ich konnte sehen, dass der Hauptmann auf irgendeine Weise ein Liebling aller anwesenden Damen war.
Ruffled brows were smoothed, sharp voices lowered at his approach.
Gerunzelte Stirnen glätteten sich, scharfe Stimmen senkten sich bei seiner Annäherung.
Miss Brown looked ill, and depressed almost to gloom.
Fräulein Brown sah krank aus und wirkte niedergeschlagen, fast düster.
Miss Jessie smiled as usual, and seemed nearly as popular as her father.
Fräulein Jessie lächelte wie gewöhnlich und schien fast ebenso beliebt zu sein wie ihr Vater.
He immediately and quietly assumed the man's place in the room; attended to every one's wants, lessened the pretty maid-servant's labour by waiting on empty cups and bread-and-butterless ladies; and yet did it all in so easy and dignified a manner, and so much as if it were a matter of course for the strong to attend to the weak, that he was a true man throughout.
Er übernahm sofort und unaufdringlich die Rolle des Mannes im Raum; kümmerte sich um die Bedürfnisse aller, erleichterte der hübschen Dienstmagd die Arbeit, indem er leere Tassen und brotlose Damen bediente; und tat dies alles auf so ungezwungene und würdevolle Weise, und so sehr, als ob es selbstverständlich wäre, dass die Starken für die Schwachen sorgen, dass er in jeder Hinsicht ein wahrer Mann war.
Vocabulary
- Gesellschaftsabende
- Social evenings; gatherings for entertainment and socializing.
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or time.
- waren
- Were; past tense of sein (to be).
- feierliche
- Solemn; ceremonial or formal in nature.
- Feste
- Festivals or celebrations; festive occasions.
- die
- The; definite article (feminine singular or plural).
- den
- The; definite article (masculine accusative or dative).
- Damen
- Ladies; women of social standing or refinement.
- ein
- A, an; indefinite article.
- gehobenes
- Elevated; refined or sophisticated in manner.
- Gefühl
- Feeling; emotion or sensation.
- von
- Of, from; preposition indicating possession or origin.
- Ernst
- Seriousness; gravity or earnest quality.
- verliehen
- Lent or granted; past participle of verleihen.
- während
- While, during; conjunction or preposition for time.
- sie
- She, they; personal pronoun.
- ihren
- Their, her; possessive pronoun (accusative/dative).
- besten
- Best; superlative of gut (good).
- Kleidern
- Clothes; dresses or garments (dative plural).
- beieinandersaßen
- Sat together; past tense of beieinandersitzen.
- Sobald
- As soon as; conjunction indicating immediate succession.
- drei
- Three; the number 3.
- eingetroffen
- Arrived; past participle of eintreffen.
- setzten
- Sat down; past tense of setzen.
- wir
- We; first person plural pronoun.
- uns
- Us, ourselves; accusative/dative of wir.
- zum
- To the; contraction of zu + dem.
- Spiel
- Game; play or sport.
- zusammen
- Together; in union or at same time.
- wobei
- Whereby, during which; conjunction indicating simultaneity.
- ich
- I; first person singular pronoun.
- unglückliche
- Unlucky; unfortunate or unhappy.
- vierte
- Fourth; ordinal number.
- Person
- Person; individual human being.
- war
- Was; past tense of sein (to be).
- Die
- The; definite article (nominative plural).
- nächsten
- Next; following in sequence.
- vier
- Four; the number 4.
- Ankömmlinge
- Arrivals; people who have just arrived.
- wurden
- Were; past tense of werden.
- sogleich
- Immediately; at once or right away.
- an
- To, at; preposition indicating position or direction.
- einen
- A, an; indefinite article (masculine accusative).
- anderen
- Other, another; different one.
- Tisch
- Table; furniture for eating or working.
- gesetzt
- Placed, seated; past participle of setzen.
- und
- And; conjunction connecting words or phrases.
- bald
- Soon; in the near future.
- darauf
- Thereafter; afterward or on that.
- Teetabletts
- Tea trays; serving trays for tea service.
- morgens
- In the morning; during morning hours.
- beim
- At the, during the; contraction of bei + dem.
- Vorbeigehen
- Passing by; act of going past something.
- im
- In the; contraction of in + dem.
- Vorratsraum
- Storeroom; room for storing supplies.
- hatte
- Had; past tense of haben.
- aufgestellt
- Set up; arranged or positioned.
- sehen
- See; to perceive with the eyes.
- je
- Ever; at any time.
- Mitte
- Middle; center or midst.
- eines
- Of a, one's; possessive form.
- Kartentisches
- Card table; table for playing card games.
- gestellt
- Placed, set; past participle of stellen.
- Das
- The; definite article (neuter nominative).
- Porzellan
- Porcelain; fine ceramic material.
- zartes
- Delicate; fine or tender.
- das
- The; definite article (neuter accusative).
- altmodische
- Old-fashioned; out of date or outdated.
- Silbergeschirr
- Silver dishes; silverware and serving pieces.
- glänzte
- Shone; past tense of glänzen.
- vor
- In front of, before; preposition.
- lauter
- Mere, pure; nothing but or only.
- Polieren
- Polishing; act of making smooth and shiny.
- doch
- Yet, however; conjunction showing contrast.
- Speisen
- Foods, dishes; things to eat.
- der
- The; definite article (genitive/dative feminine).
- bescheidensten
- Most modest; superlative of bescheiden.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →