Heart of Darkness — Page 14
Therefore he whacked the old nigger mercilessly, while a big crowd of his people watched him, thunderstruck, till some man—I was told the chief's son—in desperation at hearing the old chap yell, made a tentative jab with a spear at the white man—and of course it went quite easy between the shoulder-blades.
C'est pourquoi il frappa le vieux nègre sans merci, tandis qu'une grande foule de ses gens le regardait, frappée de stupeur, jusqu'à ce qu'un homme — on m'a dit que c'était le fils du chef — désespéré d'entendre le vieux bonhomme hurler, tentât un coup d'essai avec une lance sur le blanc — et bien sûr elle passa très facilement entre les omoplates.
Then the whole population cleared into the forest, expecting all kinds of calamities to happen, while, on the other hand, the steamer Fresleven commanded left also in a bad panic, in charge of the engineer, I believe.
Alors toute la population se réfugia dans la forêt, s'attendant à toutes sortes de calamités, tandis que, d'autre part, le vapeur que commandait Fresleven repartit lui aussi dans une grande panique, sous la conduite de l'ingénieur, je crois.
Afterwards nobody seemed to trouble much about Fresleven's remains, till I got out and stepped into his shoes.
Par la suite, personne ne sembla se préoccuper beaucoup de la dépouille de Fresleven, jusqu'à ce que je parte et prenne sa place.
I couldn't let it rest, though; but when an opportunity offered at last to meet my predecessor, the grass growing through his ribs was tall enough to hide his bones.
Je ne pouvais pas laisser les choses ainsi ; mais lorsqu'une occasion se présenta enfin de retrouver mon prédécesseur, l'herbe qui poussait à travers ses côtes était assez haute pour cacher ses os.
They were all there.
Ils étaient tous là.
The supernatural being had not been touched after he fell.
L'être surnaturel n'avait pas été touché après sa chute.
And the village was deserted, the huts gaped black, rotting, all askew within the fallen enclosures.
Et le village était désert, les huttes ouvraient leurs bouches noires, pourrissantes, toutes de travers dans les enclos effondrés.
A calamity had come to it, sure enough.
Une calamité s'était bien abattue sur lui, à n'en pas douter.
The people had vanished.
Les habitants avaient disparu.
Mad terror had scattered them, men, women, and children, through the bush, and they had never returned.
Une terreur folle les avait dispersés, hommes, femmes et enfants, à travers la brousse, et ils n'étaient jamais revenus.
What became of the hens I don't know either.
Ce que sont devenues les poules, je ne le sais pas non plus.
I should think the cause of progress got them, anyhow.
Je suppose que la cause du progrès s'en est emparée, de toute façon.
However, through this glorious affair I got my appointment, before I had fairly begun to hope for it.
Quoi qu'il en soit, c'est grâce à cette glorieuse affaire que j'obtins ma nomination, avant même d'avoir vraiment commencé à l'espérer.
Vocabulary
- pourquoi
- Why; used to ask or state a reason
- frappa
- Past tense of 'frapper'; struck or hit
- vieux
- Old; adjective describing age of a person
- sans
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- merci
- Thank you; also mercy or pity in older usage
- tandis
- Used in 'tandis que'; meaning while or whereas
- grande
- Large or great; feminine adjective describing size
- foule
- A crowd; large group of people gathered together
- gens
- People; referring to a group of individuals
- regardait
- Was watching or looking at; imperfect tense
- frappée
- Struck or hit; past participle, feminine form
- stupeur
- Stupor or astonishment; state of shocked amazement
- jusqu'
- Contraction of 'jusqu'à'; until or up to
- homme
- Man; adult male human being
- dit
- Said; past participle of 'dire'
- était
- Was; imperfect tense of 'être'
- fils
- Son; male child in relation to his parents
- chef
- Chief or leader; person in command or authority
- désespéré
- Desperate or in despair; feeling hopeless
- entendre
- To hear; to perceive sound with the ears
- bonhomme
- Good-natured fellow; informal term for a man
- hurler
- To howl or scream; to cry out very loudly
- tentât
- Attempted; imperfect subjunctive of 'tenter'
- coup
- A blow or strike; sudden forceful action
- essai
- An attempt or trial; also an essay
- lance
- A spear or lance; long pointed throwing weapon
- blanc
- White; also used to refer to a white person
- sûr
- Sure or certain; confident about something
- passa
- Passed; simple past of 'passer'
- facilement
- Easily; without difficulty or effort
- entre
- Between or among; preposition of position
- omoplates
- Shoulder blades; flat triangular bones of the back
- Alors
- Then or so; transitional adverb in French
- toute
- All or entire; feminine form of 'tout'
- population
- Population; all the inhabitants of a place
- réfugia
- Took refuge; simple past of 'se réfugier'
- forêt
- Forest; large area densely covered with trees
- attendant
- Expecting or waiting; present participle of 'attendre'
- sortes
- Kinds or sorts; types or varieties of things
- calamités
- Calamities; great disasters or misfortunes
- autre
- Other or another; indicating a different thing
- part
- Part or elsewhere; 'd'autre part' means 'on the other hand'
- vapeur
- Steam; also a steamboat in older usage
- commandait
- Was commanding; imperfect tense of 'commander'
- repartit
- Left again; simple past of 'repartir'
- aussi
- Also or too; adverb indicating addition
- panique
- Panic; sudden overwhelming fear or anxiety
- sous
- Under or below; preposition of position
- conduite
- Leadership or conduct; guidance or management
- ingénieur
- Engineer; person trained in engineering
- crois
- Believe or think; first person of 'croire'
- suite
- 'Par suite' means consequently or as a result
- personne
- Nobody or a person; depends on context
- sembla
- Seemed; simple past of 'sembler'
- préoccuper
- To worry or preoccupy; to concern someone greatly
- beaucoup
- A lot or much; adverb indicating large quantity
- dépouille
- Remains or spoils; mortal remains of a person
- parte
- Leaves; subjunctive form of 'partir'
- prenne
- Takes; subjunctive form of 'prendre'
- place
- Place or position; spot occupied by someone
- pouvais
- Could; imperfect tense of 'pouvoir'
- laisser
- To leave or let; to allow something to remain
- choses
- Things; objects or matters in general
- ainsi
- Thus or in this way; adverb of manner
- lorsqu'
- Contraction of 'lorsque'; when, at the moment that
- occasion
- Opportunity or occasion; favorable moment to act
- présenta
- Presented itself; simple past of 'se présenter'
- enfin
- Finally or at last; after a long wait
- retrouver
- To find again or recover; to locate something lost
- prédécesseur
- Predecessor; one who held a position before another
- herbe
- Grass or herb; low green plant covering ground
- poussait
- Was growing; imperfect tense of 'pousser'
- travers
- 'À travers' means through or across something
- côtes
- Ribs; curved bones forming the chest cage
- assez
- Enough or quite; adverb of degree or sufficiency
- haute
- High or tall; feminine adjective of height
- cacher
- To hide or conceal; to keep out of sight
- os
- Bone or bones; hard connective tissue in the body
- tous
- All or everyone; masculine plural form of 'tout'
- là
- There; adverb indicating a specific location
- être
- To be; also a being or entity as a noun
- surnaturel
- Supernatural; beyond natural or scientific explanation
- touché
- Touched; past participle of 'toucher'
- après
- After; preposition indicating subsequent time
- chute
- Fall or downfall; act of falling down
- village
- Village; small rural settlement or community
- désert
- Deserted or empty; also a desert as a noun
- huttes
- Huts; small simple shelters or dwellings
- ouvraient
- Were opening; imperfect tense of 'ouvrir'
- bouches
- Mouths; openings of the face used for speaking
- noires
- Black; feminine plural adjective of color
- pourrissantes
- Rotting; decaying over time, feminine plural adjective
- enclos
- Enclosures or fenced areas; surrounded spaces
- effondrés
- Collapsed; fallen in or crumbled down
- calamité
- Calamity; a great disaster or terrible misfortune
- abattue
- Struck down or felled; feminine past participle of 'abattre'
- douter
- To doubt; to be uncertain about something
- habitants
- Inhabitants; people who live in a place
- disparu
- Disappeared; past participle of 'disparaître'
- terreur
- Terror; extreme fear or dread
- folle
- Mad or crazy; feminine form of 'fou'
- dispersés
- Dispersed or scattered; spread in different directions
- hommes
- Men; plural of 'homme'
- femmes
- Women; plural of 'femme'
- enfants
- Children; young people, boys and girls
- brousse
- Bush or scrubland; wild uncultivated vegetation
- jamais
- Never or ever; adverb of negation or time
- revenus
- Returned; past participle of 'revenir', plural form
- devenues
- Became; past participle of 'devenir', feminine plural
- poules
- Hens or chickens; domestic female fowl
- sais
- Know; first person singular of 'savoir'
- plus
- More or no longer; adverb of quantity or negation
- suppose
- Suppose or assume; to consider something as likely
- cause
- Cause or reason; factor producing an effect
- progrès
- Progress; forward movement or advancement
- emparée
- Seized or taken hold; feminine past participle of 's'emparer'
- façon
- Way or manner; method of doing something
- Quoi
- What; interrogative pronoun or exclamation
- soit
- Be; subjunctive form of 'être'; 'quoi qu'il soit'
- grâce
- Grace or thanks; 'grâce à' means thanks to
- glorieuse
- Glorious; worthy of fame or admiration, feminine form
- affaire
- Affair or matter; business or event of concern
- obtins
- Obtained; simple past of 'obtenir'
- nomination
- Appointment or nomination; official designation to a post
- avant
- Before; preposition or adverb of time
- même
- Even or same; used for emphasis or comparison
- avoir
- To have; fundamental auxiliary and lexical verb
- vraiment
- Really or truly; adverb emphasizing truth
- commencé
- Started or begun; past participle of 'commencer'
- espérer
- To hope; to wish for something desired
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