Light O' the Morning: The Story of an Irish Girl — Page 2
Hannah was making for the cabin with rapid, waddling strides.
Hannah se dirigeait vers la cabane à pas rapides et dandinants.
Nora stood in the middle of the broad sweep which led up to the front door of the old house.
Nora se tenait au milieu de la large allée qui menait à la porte d'entrée de la vieille maison.
Castle O'Shanaghgan was a typical Irish home of the ancient régime.
Le château O'Shanaghgan était une demeure irlandaise typique de l'ancien régime.
The house, a great square pile, was roomy and spacious; it had innumerable staircases, and long passages through which the wind shrieked on stormy nights, and a great castellated tower at its north end.
La maison, un grand bâtiment carré, était vaste et spacieuse ; elle possédait d'innombrables escaliers, et de longs couloirs dans lesquels le vent hurlait les nuits de tempête, ainsi qu'une grande tour crénelée à son extrémité nord.
This tower was in ruins, and had been given up a long time ago to the exclusive tenancy of the bats, the owls, and rats so large and fierce that the very dogs were afraid of them.
Cette tour était en ruines, et avait été abandonnée depuis longtemps à la résidence exclusive des chauves-souris, des hiboux et des rats si grands et si féroces que les chiens eux-mêmes en avaient peur.
In the tower at night the neighbors affirmed that they heard shrieks and ghostly noises; and Nora, whose bedroom was nearest to it, rejoiced much in the distinction of having twice heard the O'Shanaghgan Banshee keening outside her window.
La nuit, dans la tour, les voisins affirmaient entendre des cris et des bruits fantomatiques ; et Nora, dont la chambre en était la plus proche, se réjouissait fort de la distinction d'avoir entendu deux fois la Banshee des O'Shanaghgan gémir sous sa fenêtre.
Nora was a slender, tall, and very graceful girl of about seventeen, and her face was as typical of the true, somewhat wild, Irish beauty as Hannah Croneen's was the reverse.
Nora était une jeune fille svelte, grande et très gracieuse d'environ dix-sept ans, et son visage était aussi typique de la vraie beauté irlandaise, quelque peu sauvage, que celui de Hannah Croneen en était l'opposé.
In the southwest of Ireland there are traces of Spanish as well as Celtic blood in many of its women; and Nora's quantities of thick, soft, intensely black hair must have come to her from a Spanish ancestor.
Dans le sud-ouest de l'Irlande, on trouve des traces de sang espagnol ainsi que celtique chez nombre de ses femmes ; et l'abondante chevelure épaisse, douce et d'un noir intense de Nora devait lui venir d'un ancêtre espagnol.
Vocabulary
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning herself, himself, or itself.
- dirigeait
- Was heading or directing oneself toward a place.
- vers
- Preposition meaning toward or in the direction of.
- cabane
- A small hut, cabin, or rustic shelter.
- pas
- Steps or footsteps; also used in negation.
- rapides
- Fast, quick, or swift in movement or pace.
- dandinants
- Waddling or swaying from side to side while walking.
- tenait
- Was standing or holding a position in a place.
- milieu
- The middle or center of a space or group.
- large
- Wide or broad in extent or measurement.
- allée
- A path, lane, or driveway leading to a building.
- menait
- Led or guided toward a destination or place.
- porte
- A door or gate serving as an entrance or exit.
- entrée
- The entrance or entry point of a building.
- vieille
- Old or aged, feminine adjective describing something aged.
- maison
- A house or home where people live.
- château
- A castle or large country estate or manor house.
- demeure
- A residence, dwelling, or grand home.
- irlandaise
- Irish, feminine adjective relating to Ireland.
- typique
- Typical or characteristic of a particular type.
- ancien
- Ancient, former, or old, referring to a past era.
- régime
- A political or social system of a past era.
- grand
- Large, big, or great in size or importance.
- bâtiment
- A building or structure used for various purposes.
- carré
- Square-shaped or having four equal sides.
- vaste
- Vast, extensive, or very large in area or scope.
- spacieuse
- Spacious or roomy, with plenty of interior space.
- possédait
- Possessed or owned something, imperfect tense.
- innombrables
- Countless, innumerable, or too many to count.
- escaliers
- Staircases or sets of stairs inside a building.
- longs
- Long, extended in length or duration.
- couloirs
- Corridors or hallways connecting rooms in a building.
- lesquels
- Relative pronoun meaning in which or through which.
- vent
- The wind or moving air current outdoors.
- hurlait
- Was howling or screaming loudly, imperfect tense.
- nuits
- Nights or the period of darkness after sunset.
- tempête
- A storm with strong winds and heavy rain.
- ainsi
- Thus, so, or in this manner or way.
- grande
- Large or great, feminine adjective of grand.
- tour
- A tower, tall structure attached to a building.
- crénelée
- Crenellated, having battlements along the top edge.
- extrémité
- The extremity or far end of something.
- nord
- North, the cardinal direction opposite to south.
- ruines
- Ruins or remains of a destroyed or decayed structure.
- abandonnée
- Abandoned or deserted, left without care or inhabitants.
- depuis
- Since or for a period of time up to now.
- longtemps
- For a long time or a lengthy duration.
- résidence
- A residence or dwelling place where someone lives.
- exclusive
- Exclusive, reserved for a specific group or purpose.
- chauves
- Bald; in compound chauve-souris, means bat.
- souris
- Mice; in compound chauve-souris, means bat.
- hiboux
- Owls, nocturnal birds of prey with hooting calls.
- rats
- Rats, large rodents associated with dirty environments.
- si
- So or such, used to intensify an adjective.
- grands
- Large or big, masculine plural adjective.
- féroces
- Ferocious or fierce, extremely aggressive or violent.
- chiens
- Dogs, common domestic animals kept as pets.
- eux
- Them or they, stressed third person plural pronoun.
- mêmes
- Themselves or same, used for emphasis or comparison.
- peur
- Fear or fright, a feeling of being scared.
- nuit
- Night, the dark period between sunset and sunrise.
- voisins
- Neighbors or nearby residents living close by.
- affirmaient
- Claimed or affirmed something as true, imperfect tense.
- entendre
- To hear or listen to sounds or voices.
- cris
- Cries or screams, loud vocal sounds of distress.
- bruits
- Noises or sounds, often unwanted or mysterious ones.
- fantomatiques
- Ghostly or spectral, resembling or relating to ghosts.
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning whose, of which, or from which.
- chambre
- A bedroom or room used for sleeping.
- proche
- Near or close, situated a short distance away.
- réjouissait
- Was delighted or rejoiced about something, imperfect tense.
- fort
- Strongly, greatly, or very much, used as adverb.
- distinction
- Distinction or honor, a mark of prestige or uniqueness.
- entendu
- Heard, past participle of entendre.
- fois
- Times or occurrences, referring to frequency of events.
- gémir
- To moan or groan in pain or sorrow.
- sous
- Under or beneath, indicating a lower position.
- fenêtre
- A window, an opening in a wall for light.
- jeune
- Young, describing a person of little age.
- fille
- A girl or daughter, a young female person.
- svelte
- Slender or slim, having a gracefully thin figure.
- gracieuse
- Graceful or elegant in movement or appearance.
- environ
- About or approximately, indicating an estimated quantity.
- ans
- Years, units of time used for expressing age.
- visage
- A face, the front part of a person's head.
- aussi
- Also, too, or as, used in comparisons.
- vraie
- True or real, feminine adjective confirming authenticity.
- beauté
- Beauty, the quality of being visually attractive.
- quelque
- Some or a little, indicating a small undefined quantity.
- peu
- A little or slightly, indicating a small degree.
- sauvage
- Wild or untamed, having a fierce natural quality.
- celui
- That one or the one, masculine demonstrative pronoun.
- opposé
- Opposite or contrary, situated on the other side.
- sud
- South, the cardinal direction opposite to north.
- ouest
- West, the cardinal direction toward the sunset.
- trouve
- Finds or discovers something present or existing.
- traces
- Traces or remnants of something from the past.
- sang
- Blood or bloodline, referring to ancestry or heritage.
- espagnol
- Spanish, relating to Spain or its people.
- celtique
- Celtic, relating to the ancient Celtic peoples.
- chez
- Among or in, used to indicate a group's traits.
- nombre
- A number or large quantity of people or things.
- femmes
- Women or wives, adult female persons.
- abondante
- Abundant or plentiful, existing in large quantities.
- chevelure
- A head of hair, especially thick or flowing hair.
- épaisse
- Thick or dense, having great depth or density.
- douce
- Soft, gentle, or sweet in texture or character.
- noir
- Black, the darkest color, absence of light.
- intense
- Intense or deep, of a strong concentrated degree.
- devait
- Must have or was supposed to, expressing obligation or deduction.
- venir
- To come or to derive from a source.
- ancêtre
- An ancestor or forebear from a previous generation.
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