Notre-Dame de Paris — Page 14
It had been arranged for the purpose, early in the morning; its rich slabs of marble, all scratched by the heels of law clerks, supported a cage of carpenter's work of considerable height, the upper surface of which, within view of the whole hall, was to serve as the theatre, and whose interior, masked by tapestries, was to take the place of dressing-rooms for the personages of the piece.
Tinha sido preparado para o efeito, cedo de manhã; as suas ricas lajes de mármore, todas riscadas pelos calcanhares dos escrivães, suportavam uma gaiola de carpintaria de considerável altura, cuja superfície superior, à vista de toda a sala, deveria servir como teatro, e cujo interior, mascarado por tapeçarias, deveria tomar o lugar dos camarins para as personagens da peça.
A ladder, naively placed on the outside, was to serve as means of communication between the dressing-room and the stage, and lend its rude rungs to entrances as well as to exits.
Uma escada, ingenuamente colocada do lado de fora, deveria servir como meio de comunicação entre o camarim e o palco, e emprestar os seus toscos degraus tanto às entradas como às saídas.
There was no personage, however unexpected, no sudden change, no theatrical effect, which was not obliged to mount that ladder.
Não havia personagem, por mais inesperada que fosse, nenhuma mudança súbita, nenhum efeito teatral, que não fosse obrigado a subir aquela escada.
Innocent and venerable infancy of art and contrivances!
Inocente e venerável infância da arte e dos artifícios!
Four of the bailiff of the palace's sergeants, perfunctory guardians of all the pleasures of the people, on days of festival as well as on days of execution, stood at the four corners of the marble table.
Quatro dos sargentos do meirinho do palácio, guardiões negligentes de todos os prazeres do povo, tanto nos dias de festa como nos dias de execução, postavam-se nos quatro cantos da mesa de mármore.
The piece was only to begin with the twelfth stroke of the great palace clock sounding midday.
A peça só deveria começar com o décimo segundo toque do grande relógio do palácio a anunciar o meio-dia.
It was very late, no doubt, for a theatrical representation, but they had been obliged to fix the hour to suit the convenience of the ambassadors.
Era muito tarde, sem dúvida, para uma representação teatral, mas tinham sido obrigados a fixar a hora de modo a acomodar a conveniência dos embaixadores.
Now, this whole multitude had been waiting since morning.
Ora, toda esta multidão esperava desde a manhã.
Vocabulary
- Tinha
- Had; past imperfect of 'ter' (to have)
- sido
- Been; past participle of 'ser' (to be)
- preparado
- Prepared; made ready in advance
- para
- For; preposition indicating purpose or direction
- efeito
- Effect; result or outcome of an action
- cedo
- Early; at an early time of day
- manhã
- Morning; the early part of the day
- suas
- Its/their; feminine plural possessive pronoun
- ricas
- Rich; of great value or elaborateness
- lajes
- Slabs; flat pieces of stone or marble
- mármore
- Marble; hard crystalline stone used in floors
- todas
- All; every one of a group
- riscadas
- Scratched; marked with lines or grooves
- calcanhares
- Heels; back part of the human foot
- escrivães
- Clerks; officials who write and keep records
- suportavam
- Supported; bore the weight of something
- gaiola
- Cage; enclosure made of bars or wood
- carpintaria
- Carpentry; woodwork or wooden structure craftsmanship
- considerável
- Considerable; notably large in size or amount
- altura
- Height; vertical measurement from base to top
- cuja
- Whose; relative pronoun indicating possession
- superfície
- Surface; the outer or uppermost layer of something
- superior
- Upper; located above or at a higher level
- vista
- View; sight or visibility from a position
- toda
- Whole; the entire extent of something
- sala
- Hall/room; a large indoor gathering space
- deveria
- Should; past conditional of 'dever' (must/should)
- servir
- To serve; to function as or fulfill a purpose
- como
- As/like; preposition indicating comparison or function
- teatro
- Theater; a place or structure for performances
- cujo
- Whose; masculine relative pronoun of possession
- interior
- Interior; the inside space of a structure
- mascarado
- Masked; hidden or concealed behind a covering
- tapeçarias
- Tapestries; decorative woven fabric wall hangings
- tomar
- To take; to assume or occupy a position
- lugar
- Place; a particular position or location
- camarins
- Dressing rooms; backstage areas for performers
- personagens
- Characters; fictional persons in a dramatic work
- peça
- Play; a dramatic theatrical work or piece
- escada
- Staircase; a set of steps for climbing
- ingenuamente
- Naively; in a simple or unsophisticated manner
- colocada
- Placed; positioned or set in a location
- lado
- Side; a lateral edge or flank of something
- fora
- Outside; on the exterior of a structure
- meio
- Means/middle; a method or midpoint
- comunicação
- Communication; connection or passage between areas
- entre
- Between; in the space separating two things
- camarim
- Dressing room; backstage area for a performer
- palco
- Stage; raised platform where performers act
- emprestar
- To lend; to offer temporarily for use
- seus
- Its/their; masculine plural possessive pronoun
- toscos
- Rough; crude or unfinished in construction
- degraus
- Steps; individual stairs of a staircase
- tanto
- Both/as much; indicating equal distribution
- entradas
- Entrances; acts of entering or entry points
- saídas
- Exits; acts of leaving or departure points
- Não
- No/not; negation word
- havia
- There was; past imperfect of 'haver'
- personagem
- Character; a person in a play or story
- mais
- More; greater in number or degree
- inesperada
- Unexpected; not anticipated or foreseen
- fosse
- Were/went; past subjunctive of 'ser/ir'
- nenhuma
- No/none; feminine singular negative determiner
- mudança
- Change; a transition or alteration in state
- súbita
- Sudden; happening abruptly without warning
- nenhum
- No/none; masculine singular negative determiner
- teatral
- Theatrical; related to or typical of theater
- não
- Not; negation adverb
- obrigado
- Obliged/forced; required to do something
- subir
- To climb; to go up stairs or a structure
- aquela
- That; feminine singular demonstrative pronoun
- Inocente
- Innocent; pure and free from guile or complexity
- venerável
- Venerable; deserving great respect due to age
- infância
- Infancy/childhood; earliest stage of development
- arte
- Art; creative expression through skill and imagination
- artifícios
- Artifices; clever tricks or theatrical devices
- Quatro
- Four; the cardinal number 4
- sargentos
- Sergeants; non-commissioned military officers
- meirinho
- Bailiff; a court officer enforcing legal orders
- palácio
- Palace; a grand official or royal residence
- guardiões
- Guardians; those who guard or protect a place
- negligentes
- Negligent; failing to take proper care or attention
- todos
- All; every member of a group
- prazeres
- Pleasures; feelings of happiness and enjoyment
- povo
- People; the common population of a community
- dias
- Days; periods of 24 hours
- festa
- Festival/celebration; a joyful public holiday event
- execução
- Execution; carrying out or performing an action
- postavam-se
- Stationed themselves; took positions at designated spots
- quatro
- Four; the cardinal number 4
- cantos
- Corners; points where two surfaces or edges meet
- mesa
- Table; a flat-surfaced piece of furniture
- só
- Only/alone; exclusively or by oneself
- começar
- To begin; to start an action or event
- décimo
- Tenth; ordinal number for position ten
- segundo
- Second; ordinal number for position two
- toque
- Stroke/toll; a single sound of a bell
- grande
- Great/large; of significant size or importance
- relógio
- Clock; a device for measuring and showing time
- anunciar
- To announce; to proclaim or make publicly known
- meio-dia
- Noon; twelve o'clock in the middle of day
- Era
- Was; past imperfect of 'ser' (to be)
- muito
- Very/much; to a great degree or extent
- tarde
- Late; after the expected or usual time
- sem
- Without; lacking or in the absence of
- dúvida
- Doubt; uncertainty about the truth of something
- representação
- Performance/representation; a theatrical show or act
- mas
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- tinham
- Had; past imperfect plural of 'ter'
- obrigados
- Obliged; forced or compelled to do something
- fixar
- To fix/set; to establish or determine firmly
- hora
- Hour/time; a specific period or moment in time
- modo
- Way/manner; a method or means of doing
- acomodar
- To accommodate; to adjust to suit someone's needs
- conveniência
- Convenience; suitability or ease for someone's purpose
- embaixadores
- Ambassadors; diplomats representing a country abroad
- Ora
- Now/well; discourse marker expressing transition
- esta
- This; feminine singular demonstrative pronoun
- multidão
- Crowd; a large number of people gathered together
- esperava
- Was waiting; past imperfect of 'esperar'
- desde
- Since/from; indicating a starting point in time
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