Notre-Dame de Paris — Page 7
The waves of this crowd, augmented incessantly, dashed against the angles of the houses which projected here and there, like so many promontories, into the irregular basin of the place.
Les flots de cette foule, sans cesse grossissante, se heurtaient aux angles des maisons qui faisaient saillie çà et là, comme autant de promontoires, dans le bassin irrégulier de la place.
In the centre of the lofty Gothic[1] façade of the palace, the grand staircase, incessantly ascended and descended by a double current, which, after parting on the intermediate landing-place, flowed in broad waves along its lateral slopes,—the grand staircase, I say, trickled incessantly into the place, like a cascade into a lake.
Au centre de la haute façade gothique du palais, le grand escalier, sans cesse monté et descendu par un double courant qui, après s'être partagé sur le palier intermédiaire, s'épandait en larges vagues le long de ses pentes latérales,—le grand escalier, dis-je, ruisselait sans cesse dans la place, comme une cascade dans un lac.
The cries, the laughter, the trampling of those thousands of feet, produced a great noise and a great clamor.
Les cris, les rires, le piétinement de ces milliers de pieds produisaient un grand bruit et une grande clameur.
From time to time, this noise and clamor redoubled; the current which drove the crowd towards the grand staircase flowed backwards, became troubled, formed whirlpools.
De temps en temps, ce bruit et cette clameur redoublaient ; le courant qui poussait la foule vers le grand escalier refluait, se troublait, formait des tourbillons.
This was produced by the buffet of an archer, or the horse of one of the provost's sergeants, which kicked to restore order; an admirable tradition which the provostship has bequeathed to the constablery, the constablery to the _maréchaussée_, the _maréchaussée_ to our _gendarmeri_ of Paris.
C'était le coup de poing d'un archer, ou le cheval d'un des sergents du prévôt qui ruait pour rétablir l'ordre ; admirable tradition que la prévôté a léguée à la connétablie, la connétablie à la _maréchaussée_, la _maréchaussée_ à notre _gendarmerie_ de Paris.
Thousands of good, calm, _bourgeois_ faces thronged the windows, the doors, the dormer windows, the roofs, gazing at the palace, gazing at the populace, and asking nothing more; for many Parisians content themselves with the spectacle of the spectators, and a wall behind which something is going on becomes at once, for us, a very curious thing indeed.
Des milliers de bons visages calmes de _bourgeois_ garnissaient les fenêtres, les portes, les lucarnes, les toits, regardant le palais, regardant la populace, et ne demandant pas davantage ; car beaucoup de Parisiens se contentent du spectacle des spectateurs, et une muraille derrière laquelle il se passe quelque chose devient aussitôt, pour nous, une chose fort curieuse.
Vocabulary
- flots
- Waves or streams of flowing movement
- foule
- A crowd of people gathered together
- sans
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- cesse
- Stopping or ceasing; used in 'sans cesse' (unceasingly)
- grossissante
- Growing larger or swelling in size continuously
- heurtaient
- Were colliding or bumping against something
- angles
- Corners or angles of a structure
- maisons
- Houses or buildings where people live
- saillie
- A projection or protrusion jutting out from a surface
- çà
- Here; used in 'çà et là' meaning 'here and there'
- autant
- As many or as much; used in comparisons
- promontoires
- Headlands or projecting landmasses jutting into water
- bassin
- A basin or enclosed body of water or space
- irrégulier
- Irregular or uneven in shape or pattern
- place
- A public square or open space in a town
- centre
- The middle or central point of something
- haute
- High or tall in elevation or stature
- façade
- The front exterior face of a building
- gothique
- Relating to Gothic architectural style, medieval Europe
- palais
- A palace or grand official building
- escalier
- A staircase or flight of stairs in a building
- monté
- Gone up or ascended (past participle of monter)
- descendu
- Gone down or descended (past participle of descendre)
- double
- Twofold or consisting of two parts
- courant
- A current or flow of people or water
- partagé
- Divided or shared among multiple parts or groups
- palier
- A landing between two flights of stairs
- intermédiaire
- Intermediate or situated between two points
- épandait
- Was spreading out or dispersing over an area
- larges
- Wide or broad in extent or size
- vagues
- Waves of water or figurative surging movements
- long
- Along; used in 'le long de' meaning 'along'
- pentes
- Slopes or inclined surfaces descending gradually
- latérales
- Lateral or situated on the sides of something
- dis-je
- Said I; first-person interjection in narration
- ruisselait
- Was streaming or trickling down like water
- cascade
- A waterfall or cascading flow of water or people
- lac
- A lake or large body of still water
- cris
- Shouts or cries of people expressing emotion
- rires
- Laughs or sounds of laughter from people
- piétinement
- Trampling or stamping sound of many feet
- milliers
- Thousands; a very large number of things
- pieds
- Feet; the lower extremities of the human body
- produisaient
- Were producing or generating something (imperfect tense)
- bruit
- Noise or sound produced by activity or movement
- clameur
- A loud outcry or clamor from a crowd
- temps
- Time; used in 'de temps en temps' (from time to time)
- redoublaient
- Were redoubling or intensifying repeatedly in strength
- poussait
- Was pushing or shoving toward a direction
- vers
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'in the direction of'
- refluait
- Was flowing back or ebbing in the opposite direction
- troublait
- Was disturbing or stirring up into disorder
- formait
- Was forming or creating a shape or structure
- tourbillons
- Whirlwinds or swirling eddies of movement
- coup
- A blow or strike; also used in many expressions
- poing
- A fist or clenched hand used to strike
- archer
- An archer or medieval law-enforcement officer on foot
- cheval
- A horse; animal used for riding or transport
- sergents
- Sergeants or officers of law enforcement or military
- prévôt
- A provost; medieval official overseeing law and order
- ruait
- Was rushing or charging violently into a direction
- rétablir
- To restore or reestablish order or a former state
- ordre
- Order; an organized or peaceful state of affairs
- admirable
- Worthy of admiration; excellent or impressive
- tradition
- A custom or practice passed down through generations
- prévôté
- The provostship; jurisdiction of a medieval provost
- léguée
- Bequeathed or handed down as a legacy
- connétablie
- The constabulary; office of the constable in France
- _maréchaussée_
- Historical French mounted police force before gendarmerie
- _gendarmerie_
- The French national police force of military status
- visages
- Faces; the front parts of a person's head
- calmes
- Calm or tranquil; not agitated or disturbed
- _bourgeois_
- Middle-class citizens; comfortable and conventional townspeople
- garnissaient
- Were filling or adorning windows and doorways
- fenêtres
- Windows; openings in a wall to let in light
- portes
- Doors or gates providing entry to a building
- lucarnes
- Dormer windows or small attic openings in a roof
- toits
- Rooftops or the uppermost coverings of buildings
- regardant
- Looking at or watching something with attention
- populace
- The common people or lower classes of society
- demandant
- Asking for or requesting; present participle of demander
- davantage
- More or further; indicating a greater degree or amount
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for' explaining a reason
- beaucoup
- A lot or many; indicating a large quantity
- Parisiens
- Parisians; inhabitants or residents of Paris, France
- contentent
- Are satisfied or content with something given
- spectacle
- A show or impressive visual display to observe
- spectateurs
- Spectators or audience members watching an event
- muraille
- A thick wall or rampart enclosing a space
- derrière
- Behind or at the back of something
- laquelle
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' (feminine singular form)
- quelque
- Some or a certain; indicating an indefinite amount
- chose
- A thing or object of any kind
- devient
- Becomes; third-person singular present of 'devenir'
- aussitôt
- Immediately or at once, without any delay
- fort
- Very or strongly; used as an intensifying adverb
- curieuse
- Curious or interesting; arousing interest or curiosity
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