Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World — Page 3
The last of these voyages not proving very fortunate, I grew weary of the sea, and intended to stay at home with my wife and family.
Le dernier de ces voyages ne s'étant pas révélé très heureux, je me lassai de la mer et eus l'intention de rester chez moi avec ma femme et ma famille.
I removed from the Old Jewry to Fetter Lane, and from thence to Wapping, hoping to get business among the sailors; but it would not turn to account.
Je déménageai de l'Old Jewry à Fetter Lane, puis de là à Wapping, espérant trouver de l'activité parmi les marins ; mais cela ne porta pas ses fruits.
After three years expectation that things would mend, I accepted an advantageous offer from Captain William Prichard, master of the Antelope, who was making a voyage to the South Sea.
Après trois ans à espérer que les choses s'amélioreraient, j'acceptai une offre avantageuse du capitaine William Prichard, maître de l'Antelope, qui effectuait un voyage vers la Mer du Sud.
We set sail from Bristol, May 4, 1699, and our voyage was at first very prosperous.
Nous appareillâmes de Bristol le 4 mai 1699, et notre voyage fut d'abord très favorable.
It would not be proper, for some reasons, to trouble the reader with the particulars of our adventures in those seas; let it suffice to inform him, that in our passage from thence to the East Indies, we were driven by a violent storm to the north-west of Van Diemen's Land.
Il ne serait pas convenable, pour certaines raisons, d'importuner le lecteur avec les détails de nos aventures dans ces mers ; qu'il suffise de l'informer que, lors de notre traversée de là vers les Indes orientales, nous fûmes poussés par une violente tempête au nord-ouest de la Terre de Van Diemen.
By an observation, we found ourselves in the latitude of 30 degrees 2 minutes south.
Par une observation, nous nous trouvâmes à la latitude de 30 degrés 2 minutes sud.
Twelve of our crew were dead by immoderate labour and ill food; the rest were in a very weak condition.
Douze membres de notre équipage étaient morts à cause d'un travail excessif et d'une mauvaise nourriture ; le reste était dans un état très affaibli.
On the 5th of November, which was the beginning of summer in those parts, the weather being very hazy, the seamen spied a rock within half a cable's length of the ship; but the wind was so strong, that we were driven directly upon it, and immediately split.
Le 5 novembre, qui marquait le début de l'été dans ces contrées, le temps étant très brumeux, les matelots aperçurent un rocher à moins d'une demi-longueur de câble du navire ; mais le vent était si fort que nous fûmes poussés directement dessus et que le navire se fracassa immédiatement.
Vocabulary
- dernier
- Last or most recent in a series.
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those'.
- voyages
- Trips or journeys taken to distant places.
- étant
- Present participle of 'être', meaning 'being'.
- révélé
- Revealed or proven to be something.
- heureux
- Feeling or expressing happiness and contentment.
- lassai
- Grew weary or tired of something.
- mer
- Large body of salt water; the sea.
- eus
- Past tense of 'avoir', meaning 'had'.
- intention
- A plan or aim to do something specific.
- rester
- To stay or remain in a place.
- chez
- Preposition meaning 'at home' or 'at someone's place'.
- femme
- Wife or woman.
- famille
- A group of related people; family.
- déménageai
- Moved from one residence to another.
- puis
- Then or afterwards, indicating sequence of events.
- espérant
- Hoping for something; present participle of 'espérer'.
- trouver
- To find or discover something.
- activité
- Work or occupation; a pursued activity.
- parmi
- Preposition meaning 'among' a group.
- marins
- Sailors or seamen working on ships.
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'it'.
- porta
- Past tense of 'porter'; here means 'yielded' or 'bore'.
- fruits
- Results or outcomes; literal or figurative fruits.
- ans
- Years of age or duration of time.
- espérer
- To hope that something will happen.
- choses
- Things or matters in general.
- amélioreraient
- Conditional form of 'améliorer'; would improve.
- acceptai
- Accepted or agreed to something offered.
- offre
- An offer or proposal made to someone.
- avantageuse
- Favorable or beneficial; advantageous offer or deal.
- capitaine
- The captain or commander of a ship.
- maître
- Master or commanding officer of a vessel.
- effectuait
- Was carrying out or making a voyage.
- voyage
- A trip or journey, often long-distance.
- vers
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'to'.
- Mer
- Sea; 'Mer du Sud' means the South Sea.
- Sud
- South; a cardinal direction.
- appareillâmes
- Set sail or departed from port.
- mai
- May; the fifth month of the year.
- fut
- Past tense of 'être', meaning 'was'.
- abord
- 'D'abord' means 'at first' or 'firstly'.
- favorable
- Positive or advantageous; a favorable wind.
- serait
- Conditional of 'être', meaning 'would be'.
- convenable
- Appropriate or suitable for a situation.
- certaines
- Certain or specific, feminine plural form.
- raisons
- Reasons or justifications for an action.
- importuner
- To bother or trouble someone with details.
- lecteur
- The reader of a book or text.
- détails
- Specific pieces of information; details.
- aventures
- Adventures or exciting experiences encountered.
- mers
- Plural of 'mer'; seas or oceans.
- suffise
- Subjunctive of 'suffire'; meaning 'it suffices'.
- informer
- To inform or tell someone about something.
- lors
- 'Lors de' means 'at the time of'.
- traversée
- A crossing or passage over a sea.
- Indes
- The Indies; refers to India or East Indies.
- orientales
- Eastern; 'Indes orientales' means East Indies.
- fûmes
- Past tense of 'être', meaning 'we were'.
- poussés
- Pushed or driven by a force like wind.
- violente
- Violent or intense; describing a powerful storm.
- tempête
- A violent storm at sea.
- nord-ouest
- Northwest; a compass direction.
- Terre
- Land or earth; 'Terre Van Diemen' is Tasmania.
- observation
- Careful watching or measurement of something.
- trouvâmes
- Found or determined, past tense of 'trouver'.
- latitude
- Geographic coordinate measuring north-south position.
- degrés
- Degrees; units of measurement for angles or coordinates.
- minutes
- Units of angular measurement or time.
- sud
- South; a cardinal direction.
- Douze
- The number twelve.
- membres
- Members of a group or crew.
- équipage
- The crew of a ship or aircraft.
- morts
- Dead; plural past participle of 'mourir'.
- cause
- 'À cause de' means 'because of'.
- travail
- Work or labor, often physical effort.
- excessif
- Excessive or extreme beyond normal limits.
- mauvaise
- Bad or poor quality, feminine form.
- nourriture
- Food or nourishment consumed to sustain life.
- reste
- The rest or remainder of a group.
- état
- State or condition of something or someone.
- affaibli
- Weakened or enfeebled from illness or hardship.
- novembre
- November; the eleventh month of the year.
- marquait
- Marked or indicated the start of something.
- début
- The beginning or start of something.
- été
- Summer; the warm season of the year.
- contrées
- Regions or lands in a geographical area.
- temps
- Weather or time depending on context.
- brumeux
- Foggy or misty; describing poor visibility weather.
- matelots
- Sailors or seamen working aboard a ship.
- aperçurent
- Noticed or caught sight of something suddenly.
- rocher
- A rock or large stone in the sea.
- moins
- Less; used in comparisons or negation.
- demi-longueur
- Half-length; half the length of a cable.
- câble
- A cable; unit of nautical distance measurement.
- navire
- A ship or large seagoing vessel.
- vent
- Wind; moving air especially affecting ships.
- si
- So or if; intensifier or conditional conjunction.
- fort
- Strong or loud; describing force or intensity.
- directement
- Directly or straight toward a destination.
- dessus
- On top or above; 'dessus' means 'upon it'.
- fracassa
- Smashed or shattered violently against something.
- immédiatement
- Immediately; without any delay or hesitation.
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