Dracula — Page 10
They were evidently talking of me, for every now and then they looked at me, and some of the people who were sitting on the bench outside the door--which they call by a name meaning "word-bearer"--came and listened, and then looked at me, most of them pityingly.
Ils parlaient évidemment de moi, car de temps en temps ils me regardaient, et quelques-unes des personnes assises sur le banc devant la porte -- qu'ils appellent d'un nom signifiant « porte-parole » -- s'approchèrent pour écouter, puis me regardèrent, la plupart avec pitié.
I could hear a lot of words often repeated, queer words, for there were many nationalities in the crowd; so I quietly got my polyglot dictionary from my bag and looked them out.
J'entendais beaucoup de mots souvent répétés, des mots étranges, car il y avait de nombreuses nationalités dans la foule ; aussi sortis-je tranquillement mon dictionnaire polyglotte de mon sac et les cherchai-je.
I must say they were not cheering to me, for amongst them were "Ordog"--Satan, "pokol"--hell, "stregoica"--witch, "vrolok" and "vlkoslak"--both of which mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either were-wolf or vampire.
Je dois dire qu'ils n'étaient guère encourageants pour moi, car parmi eux se trouvaient « Ordog » -- Satan, « pokol » -- enfer, « stregoica » -- sorcière, « vrolok » et « vlkoslak » -- qui signifient tous deux la même chose, l'un étant le mot slovaque et l'autre le mot serbe pour désigner quelque chose qui est soit un loup-garou soit un vampire.
(_Mem._, I must ask the Count about these superstitions)
(_N.B._, Je dois interroger le Comte à propos de ces superstitions)
When we started, the crowd round the inn door, which had by this time swelled to a considerable size, all made the sign of the cross and pointed two fingers towards me.
Lorsque nous partîmes, la foule rassemblée devant la porte de l'auberge, qui s'était alors considérablement agrandie, fit unanimement le signe de croix et pointa deux doigts dans ma direction.
With some difficulty I got a fellow-passenger to tell me what they meant; he would not answer at first, but on learning that I was English, he explained that it was a charm or guard against the evil eye.
Non sans difficulté, j'obtins d'un compagnon de voyage qu'il m'expliquât ce que cela signifiait ; il refusa d'abord de répondre, mais apprenant que j'étais anglais, il m'expliqua que c'était un charme ou une protection contre le mauvais œil.
This was not very pleasant for me, just starting for an unknown place to meet an unknown man; but every one seemed so kind-hearted, and so sorrowful, and so sympathetic that I could not but be touched.
Ce n'était guère agréable pour moi, qui partais vers un lieu inconnu pour rencontrer un homme inconnu ; mais tout le monde semblait si bienveillant, si attristé et si compatissant que je ne pouvais qu'en être touché.
Vocabulary
- parlaient
- They were speaking or talking (imperfect tense).
- évidemment
- Obviously, evidently, clearly.
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'.
- temps
- Time, weather, or tense depending on context.
- regardaient
- They were looking at or watching (imperfect tense).
- quelques-unes
- Some, a few (feminine pronoun form).
- personnes
- People, persons, individuals.
- assises
- Seated, sitting (feminine plural past participle).
- banc
- A bench or seat for sitting outdoors.
- devant
- Preposition meaning 'in front of' or 'before'.
- porte
- Door or gate of a building.
- appellent
- They call or name (present tense, third plural).
- nom
- Name or noun referring to a person or thing.
- signifiant
- Meaning, signifying (present participle of signifier).
- porte-parole
- Spokesperson, official representative who speaks publicly.
- s'approchèrent
- They approached, came closer (simple past reflexive).
- écouter
- To listen to someone or something.
- puis
- Then, afterwards, next in sequence.
- regardèrent
- They looked at or watched (simple past tense).
- plupart
- Most, the majority of people or things.
- pitié
- Pity, compassion felt for someone's misfortune.
- J'entendais
- I was hearing or could hear (imperfect tense).
- beaucoup
- Many, a lot, much in quantity or degree.
- mots
- Words, terms used in speech or writing.
- souvent
- Often, frequently, on many occasions.
- répétés
- Repeated, said again multiple times (past participle).
- étranges
- Strange, unusual, unfamiliar, odd.
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or 'in it'.
- nombreuses
- Numerous, many, a large number (feminine plural).
- nationalités
- Nationalities, people of different national origins.
- foule
- Crowd, a large group of people gathered.
- aussi
- Also, too, therefore, so (conjunctive adverb).
- sortis-je
- I took out, I produced (inverted simple past).
- tranquillement
- Calmly, quietly, in a peaceful manner.
- dictionnaire
- Dictionary, a reference book of word definitions.
- polyglotte
- Multilingual dictionary or person knowing many languages.
- sac
- Bag, sack, or purse used to carry things.
- cherchai-je
- I looked them up, I searched (inverted simple past).
- dois
- I must, I have to, I owe (present of devoir).
- dire
- To say, to tell, to state something.
- guère
- Hardly, scarcely, not much (literary negative adverb).
- encourageants
- Encouraging, hopeful, inspiring confidence (masculine plural).
- parmi
- Among, amongst a group of people or things.
- trouvaient
- Were found, were located (imperfect of trouver).
- enfer
- Hell, the underworld, place of punishment after death.
- sorcière
- Witch, sorceress, a woman practicing magic.
- signifient
- Mean, signify (present tense, third person plural).
- tous
- All, every one (masculine plural pronoun or adjective).
- même
- Same, even, very (adjective or adverb).
- chose
- Thing, object, matter, subject.
- l'un
- One (of them), referring to one of two things.
- étant
- Being (present participle of être).
- mot
- Word, a single unit of language.
- slovaque
- Slovak, relating to Slovakia or its language.
- l'autre
- The other one of two options or items.
- serbe
- Serbian, relating to Serbia or its language.
- désigner
- To designate, denote, or refer to something.
- quelque
- Some, a certain, whatever (indefinite adjective).
- soit
- Either, whether, be it (subjunctive of être).
- loup-garou
- Werewolf, a person who transforms into a wolf.
- vampire
- Vampire, undead creature that drinks blood.
- interroger
- To question, interrogate, or ask someone.
- Comte
- Count, a noble title in European aristocracy.
- propos
- Subject, topic; 'à propos de' means 'about'.
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those'.
- superstitions
- Superstitions, irrational beliefs in supernatural influences.
- Lorsque
- When, at the time that (literary conjunction).
- partîmes
- We left, we departed (simple past of partir).
- rassemblée
- Assembled crowd or gathering (feminine past participle).
- l'auberge
- The inn, a small hotel or lodging place.
- alors
- Then, at that time, so, therefore.
- considérablement
- Considerably, significantly, to a great extent.
- agrandie
- Enlarged, grown bigger (feminine past participle).
- fit
- Made, did (third person singular simple past of faire).
- unanimement
- Unanimously, all together in agreement.
- signe
- Sign, gesture, signal made with the hand.
- croix
- Cross, the Christian symbol or a crossing shape.
- pointa
- Pointed, aimed (third person singular simple past).
- doigts
- Fingers, the digits of the human hand.
- direction
- Direction, way toward which something or someone points.
- sans
- Without, lacking something (preposition).
- difficulté
- Difficulty, trouble, hardship encountered in doing something.
- j'obtins
- I obtained, I managed to get (simple past).
- compagnon
- Companion, fellow traveler, associate.
- voyage
- Journey, trip, travel from one place to another.
- m'expliquât
- That he explain to me (imperfect subjunctive).
- cela
- That, it, referring to something previously mentioned.
- signifiait
- Meant, signified (third person singular imperfect).
- refusa
- He refused, declined (third person singular simple past).
- d'abord
- First, at first, initially.
- répondre
- To answer, to respond, to reply.
- apprenant
- Learning, upon learning (present participle of apprendre).
- anglais
- English, relating to England or its language.
- m'expliqua
- Explained to me (third person singular simple past).
- charme
- Charm, a spell or lucky token for protection.
- protection
- Protection, defense, safeguarding against harm.
- contre
- Against, opposed to (preposition).
- mauvais
- Bad, evil, wicked, harmful.
- œil
- Eye; 'mauvais œil' means the evil eye.
- agréable
- Pleasant, agreeable, enjoyable.
- partais
- I was leaving, I was departing (imperfect of partir).
- vers
- Towards, in the direction of (preposition).
- lieu
- Place, location, site.
- inconnu
- Unknown, unfamiliar, not previously encountered.
- rencontrer
- To meet, to encounter someone or something.
- homme
- Man, human being, adult male person.
- tout
- All, every, everything, completely (adjective or adverb).
- monde
- World; 'tout le monde' means everyone.
- semblait
- Seemed, appeared (third person singular imperfect).
- si
- So, such, if (adverb or conjunction).
- bienveillant
- Benevolent, kindly disposed, well-meaning toward others.
- attristé
- Saddened, made sad or sorrowful (past participle).
- compatissant
- Compassionate, feeling sympathy for another's suffering.
- pouvais
- Could, was able to (imperfect of pouvoir).
- être
- To be (infinitive of the verb être).
- touché
- Touched, moved emotionally (past participle of toucher).
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