Dracula — Page 13
One of my companions touched my arm as we swept round the base of a hill and opened up the lofty, snow-covered peak of a mountain, which seemed, as we wound on our serpentine way, to be right before us:--
Un de mes compagnons me toucha le bras alors que nous contournions le pied d'une colline et découvrions le sommet élevé et enneigé d'une montagne, qui semblait, tandis que nous suivions notre chemin sinueux, se trouver juste devant nous :--
"Look! Isten szek!"--"God's seat!"--and he crossed himself reverently.
« Regardez ! Isten szek ! »--« Le siège de Dieu ! »--et il se signa avec révérence.
As we wound on our endless way, and the sun sank lower and lower behind us, the shadows of the evening began to creep round us.
Tandis que nous poursuivions notre interminable route, et que le soleil s'abaissait de plus en plus derrière nous, les ombres du soir commençaient à ramper autour de nous.
This was emphasised by the fact that the snowy mountain-top still held the sunset, and seemed to glow out with a delicate cool pink.
Cela était souligné par le fait que le sommet enneigé de la montagne retenait encore le coucher de soleil, et semblait rayonner d'un rose délicat et froid.
Here and there we passed Cszeks and Slovaks, all in picturesque attire, but I noticed that goitre was painfully prevalent.
Çà et là, nous croisions des Csèques et des Slovaques, tous vêtus de costumes pittoresques, mais je remarquai que le goitre était douloureusement répandu.
By the roadside were many crosses, and as we swept by, my companions all crossed themselves.
Au bord de la route se trouvaient de nombreuses croix, et à notre passage, mes compagnons se signèrent tous.
Here and there was a peasant man or woman kneeling before a shrine, who did not even turn round as we approached, but seemed in the self-surrender of devotion to have neither eyes nor ears for the outer world.
Çà et là, un paysan ou une paysanne était agenouillé devant une chapelle, qui ne se retournait même pas à notre approche, mais semblait, dans l'abandon de soi de la dévotion, n'avoir ni yeux ni oreilles pour le monde extérieur.
There were many things new to me: for instance, hay-ricks in the trees, and here and there very beautiful masses of weeping birch, their white stems shining like silver through the delicate green of the leaves.
Il y avait bien des choses nouvelles pour moi : par exemple, des meules de foin dans les arbres, et çà et là de très beaux bouquets de bouleaux pleureurs, leurs troncs blancs brillant comme de l'argent à travers le vert délicat des feuilles.
Now and again we passed a leiter-wagon--the ordinary peasant's cart--with its long, snake-like vertebra, calculated to suit the inequalities of the road.
De temps à autre, nous dépassions un leiter-wagon--la charrette ordinaire du paysan--avec sa longue vertèbre semblable à un serpent, conçue pour s'adapter aux inégalités de la route.
Vocabulary
- compagnons
- Companions or fellow travelers sharing a journey
- toucha
- Past tense of 'toucher': touched or tapped someone
- bras
- The arm, a part of the human body
- alors
- Adverb meaning 'then' or 'at that moment'
- contournions
- Imperfect tense: were going around or skirting something
- pied
- Foot; base or bottom of something like a hill
- colline
- A hill, a rounded elevated landform
- découvrions
- Imperfect tense: were discovering or catching sight of
- sommet
- The summit or top of a mountain or hill
- élevé
- Adjective meaning high, tall, or elevated
- enneigé
- Snow-covered; describing a peak covered with snow
- montagne
- A mountain, a large natural elevation of earth
- semblait
- Imperfect tense of 'sembler': seemed or appeared to be
- tandis
- Used in 'tandis que': meaning 'while' or 'whereas'
- suivions
- Imperfect tense: were following a path or route
- chemin
- A path, road, or way traveled
- sinueux
- Winding, twisting, or meandering in course
- trouver
- To find or to be located somewhere
- juste
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'just,' 'right,' or 'exactly'
- devant
- Preposition meaning 'in front of' or 'ahead'
- Regardez
- Imperative form of 'regarder': 'Look!' or 'Look at this!'
- siège
- A seat, throne, or chair; also a siege
- Dieu
- God, the supreme divine being
- signa
- Past tense of 'signer': made the sign of the cross
- révérence
- Reverence, deep respect, or a bow of homage
- Tandis
- Used in 'tandis que': meaning 'while' or 'whereas'
- poursuivions
- Imperfect tense: were continuing or pursuing a journey
- interminable
- Endless, seemingly never-ending in length or duration
- route
- A road or route traveled from place to place
- soleil
- The sun, the star at the center of our solar system
- abaissait
- Imperfect tense: was lowering or sinking downward
- derrière
- Preposition meaning 'behind' or 'at the back of'
- ombres
- Shadows or shades cast by blocking light
- soir
- Evening, the time of day after afternoon
- commençaient
- Imperfect tense: were beginning or starting to do something
- ramper
- To creep or crawl along a surface slowly
- autour
- Adverb or preposition meaning 'around' or 'surrounding'
- souligné
- Underlined or emphasized; highlighted for attention
- fait
- Noun meaning 'fact'; also past participle of 'faire'
- retenait
- Imperfect tense: was holding back or retaining something
- encore
- Adverb meaning 'still,' 'yet,' or 'again'
- coucher
- Sunset; or to lay down, go to bed
- rayonner
- To radiate or beam light outward in all directions
- rose
- Pink color; also the rose flower
- délicat
- Delicate, subtle, or soft in quality or appearance
- froid
- Cold in temperature; also the noun 'cold'
- Çà
- Used in 'çà et là': here and there, scattered about
- croisions
- Imperfect tense: were passing or crossing paths with people
- vêtus
- Past participle of 'vêtir': dressed or clothed in something
- costumes
- Costumes or traditional outfits worn by a group
- pittoresques
- Picturesque, visually charming and quaint in appearance
- remarquai
- Past tense of 'remarquer': noticed or observed something
- goitre
- Goiter, an enlarged thyroid gland visible on the neck
- douloureusement
- Painfully or distressingly, in a manner causing sorrow
- répandu
- Widespread or prevalent; spread out across an area
- bord
- Edge, side, or border of a road or path
- nombreuses
- Numerous or many, indicating a large quantity (feminine)
- croix
- Crosses, religious symbols or roadside markers
- passage
- Passage or passing by; a journey along a way
- signèrent
- Past tense: made the sign of the cross in reverence
- paysan
- A peasant or rural farmer, a country person
- paysanne
- A female peasant or rural countrywoman
- agenouillé
- Kneeling down in a posture of prayer or reverence
- chapelle
- A chapel, a small place of Christian worship
- retournait
- Imperfect tense: was turning back or turning around
- même
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'even,' 'same,' or 'itself'
- approche
- Approach, the act of coming near to something
- abandon
- Abandonment; also surrender or loss of self-control
- soi
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'one's self'
- dévotion
- Devotion, deep religious dedication or piety
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'neither' or 'nor'
- yeux
- Eyes, the organs of sight (plural of 'œil')
- oreilles
- Ears, the organs of hearing on the head
- monde
- World or people in general; society around us
- extérieur
- Exterior or outside; the world beyond oneself
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well,' 'very,' or 'indeed'
- choses
- Things, objects, or matters of any kind
- nouvelles
- New or novel; also 'news' as a feminine noun
- exemple
- Example; used in 'par exemple' meaning 'for example'
- meules
- Haystacks or millstones; here referring to hay piles
- foin
- Hay, dried grass used as animal fodder
- arbres
- Trees, large woody plants found in nature
- çà
- Used in 'çà et là': here and there
- beaux
- Beautiful or handsome (masculine plural of 'beau')
- bouquets
- Clusters or clumps; here groups of trees together
- bouleaux
- Birch trees, known for their distinctive white bark
- pleureurs
- Weeping, as in weeping birch trees with drooping branches
- troncs
- Trunks of trees, the main woody stems
- blancs
- White in color (masculine plural of 'blanc')
- brillant
- Shining, gleaming, or glittering with light
- argent
- Silver; also money in French slang usage
- travers
- Used in 'à travers': through or across something
- vert
- Green in color; describing plants or foliage
- feuilles
- Leaves of trees or plants; also sheets of paper
- temps
- Time; also weather; used in 'de temps en temps'
- autre
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'other' or 'another'
- dépassions
- Imperfect tense: were passing by or overtaking something
- charrette
- A cart or wagon used for transporting goods
- ordinaire
- Ordinary, common, or typical; not special
- paysan
- A peasant or rural farmer, a country person
- longue
- Long in length or duration (feminine of 'long')
- vertèbre
- A vertebra; backbone segment; here used metaphorically
- semblable
- Similar or resembling; like something else described
- serpent
- A snake or serpent; a long sinuous creature
- conçue
- Past participle of 'concevoir': designed or conceived for use
- adapter
- To adapt or adjust something to fit a situation
- inégalités
- Inequalities or unevenness; bumps and dips in terrain
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