The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete — Page 12
The clock struck twelve, the owl screeched from the ruined battlement, the door was opened by the sexton, who, by the light of a glimmering taper, conducted the despairing lover to a dreary aisle, and stamped upon the ground with his foot, saying, 'Here the young lady lies interred.'"
Die Uhr schlug zwölf, die Eule kreischte von der verfallenen Zinne, die Tür wurde vom Küster geöffnet, der beim Schein einer flackernden Kerze den verzweifelten Liebhaber zu einem düsteren Gang führte und mit seinem Fuß auf den Boden stampfte und sagte: ‚Hier liegt die junge Dame begraben.'"
We have here such an amount of the usual romantic machinery of the "grave-yard" school of poets—that school of which Professor W. L. Phelps calls Young, in his Night Thoughts, the most "conspicuous exemplar"—that one is at first inclined to think Smollett poking fun at it.
Wir haben hier so viel von dem üblichen romantischen Apparat der „Friedhofs"-Schule der Dichter – jener Schule, deren bekanntesten „Vertreter" Professor W. L. Phelps in Young mit seinen Nachtgedanken sieht –, dass man zunächst geneigt ist zu glauben, Smollett mache sich darüber lustig.
The context, however, seems to prove that he was perfectly serious.
Der Kontext scheint jedoch zu beweisen, dass er vollkommen ernst war.
It is interesting, then, as well as surprising, to find traces of the romantic spirit in his fiction over ten years before Walpole's Castle of Otranto.
Es ist daher interessant und zugleich überraschend, Spuren des romantischen Geistes in seiner Fiktion mehr als zehn Jahre vor Walpoles Schloss Otranto zu finden.
It is also interesting to find so much melodramatic feeling in him, because it makes stronger the connection between him and his nineteenth-century disciple, Dickens.
Es ist auch interessant, bei ihm so viel melodramatisches Gefühl zu finden, weil es die Verbindung zwischen ihm und seinem Schüler aus dem neunzehnten Jahrhundert, Dickens, verstärkt.
From all that I have said, it must not be thought that the usual Smollett is always, or almost always, absent from Count Fathom.
Aus allem, was ich gesagt habe, darf man nicht schließen, dass der typische Smollett in Graf Fathom immer oder fast immer fehlt.
I have spoken of the dedication and of the opening chapters as what we might expect from his pen.
Ich habe die Widmung und die Eröffnungskapitel als das erwähnt, was wir von seiner Feder erwarten könnten.
There are, besides, true Smollett strokes in the scenes in the prison from which Melvil rescues Fathom, and there is a good deal of the satirical Smollett fun in the description of Fathom's ups and downs, first as the petted beau, and then as the fashionable doctor.
Darüber hinaus gibt es echte Smollett-Züge in den Szenen in dem Gefängnis, aus dem Melvil Fathom befreit, und in der Beschreibung von Fathoms Auf und Ab, zunächst als verwöhnter Geck und dann als modischer Arzt, steckt viel von Smolletts satirischem Witz.
Vocabulary
- Uhr
- Clock or watch; used to tell time
- schlug
- Past tense of 'schlagen'; struck or hit
- zwölf
- The number twelve
- Eule
- An owl, a nocturnal bird of prey
- kreischte
- Past tense of 'kreischen'; shrieked or screeched
- von
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'of'
- verfallenen
- Adjective meaning decayed, crumbling, or ruined
- Zinne
- A battlement or merlon atop a castle wall
- Tür
- A door or doorway of a building
- wurde
- Past tense auxiliary 'became' or passive 'was'
- vom
- Contraction of 'von dem' meaning 'by the'
- Küster
- A sexton or church caretaker managing a church
- geöffnet
- Past participle of 'öffnen'; opened or unlocked
- beim
- Contraction of 'bei dem' meaning 'by the'
- Schein
- Light, glow, or appearance; also a banknote
- flackernden
- Adjective meaning flickering, as of a flame
- Kerze
- A candle used for providing light
- verzweifelten
- Adjective meaning desperate or despairing person
- Liebhaber
- A lover or admirer in a romantic context
- zu
- Preposition meaning 'to' or 'toward'
- düsteren
- Adjective meaning gloomy, dark, or sinister
- Gang
- A corridor, hallway, or passage in a building
- führte
- Past tense of 'führen'; led or guided someone
- mit
- Preposition meaning 'with' or 'using'
- seinem
- Possessive pronoun 'his' or 'its' in dative
- Fuß
- The foot, the lower extremity of a leg
- auf
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'onto', or 'upon'
- Boden
- The floor, ground, or soil beneath one's feet
- stampfte
- Past tense of 'stampfen'; stomped or stamped foot
- sagte
- Past tense of 'sagen'; said or stated something
- Hier
- Adverb meaning 'here' indicating this place
- liegt
- Third person singular of 'liegen'; lies or rests
- junge
- Adjective meaning young in age or youthful
- Dame
- A lady or woman of refinement and status
- begraben
- Past participle of 'begraben'; buried in the ground
- Wir
- First person plural pronoun meaning 'we'
- haben
- To have; auxiliary verb forming perfect tense
- hier
- Adverb meaning 'here' indicating this location
- so
- Adverb meaning 'so' or 'such' intensifying degree
- viel
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'much' or 'a lot'
- üblichen
- Adjective meaning usual, common, or customary
- romantischen
- Adjective meaning romantic or relating to Romanticism
- Apparat
- An apparatus, device, or set of conventional trappings
- Friedhofs
- Genitive of 'Friedhof'; of a graveyard or cemetery
- Schule
- A school or literary movement grouping writers together
- Dichter
- A poet or literary writer of verse or prose
- jener
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'those' or 'that'
- deren
- Relative pronoun meaning 'whose' or 'of whom'
- bekanntesten
- Superlative of 'bekannt'; most well-known or famous
- Vertreter
- A representative or proponent of a group or movement
- Professor
- An academic professor at a university or institution
- seinen
- Possessive pronoun 'his' in accusative masculine case
- Nachtgedanken
- Night thoughts; reflective musings composed during nighttime
- sieht
- Third person singular of 'sehen'; sees or notices
- dass
- Conjunction meaning 'that' introducing a subordinate clause
- man
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one' or 'people generally'
- zunächst
- Adverb meaning 'at first' or 'initially'
- geneigt
- Adjective meaning inclined or disposed to do something
- glauben
- To believe or think something to be true
- mache
- Subjunctive of 'machen'; makes or does something
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'themselves'
- darüber
- Adverb meaning 'about it' or 'over that'
- lustig
- Adjective meaning funny or amusing; sich lustig machen: mock
- Kontext
- The context or surrounding circumstances of a text
- scheint
- Third person singular of 'scheinen'; seems or appears
- jedoch
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'however' or 'yet'
- beweisen
- To prove or demonstrate something conclusively
- vollkommen
- Adjective or adverb meaning completely or perfectly
- ernst
- Adjective meaning serious or earnest in manner
- war
- Past tense of 'sein'; was, existed in the past
- daher
- Adverb meaning 'therefore' or 'hence' indicating consequence
- interessant
- Adjective meaning interesting or worthy of attention
- zugleich
- Adverb meaning 'at the same time' or 'simultaneously'
- überraschend
- Adjective meaning surprising or unexpected in nature
- Spuren
- Plural of 'Spur'; traces, tracks, or signs left behind
- Geistes
- Genitive of 'Geist'; of the spirit, mind, or ghost
- seiner
- Possessive pronoun 'his' in genitive feminine or dative
- Fiktion
- Fiction; imaginative literary prose narratives
- mehr
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'more' in quantity
- als
- Conjunction meaning 'than' or 'as' in comparisons
- zehn
- The number ten
- Jahre
- Plural of 'Jahr'; years as units of time
- vor
- Preposition meaning 'before' or 'in front of'
- Schloss
- A castle or palace; also a lock on a door
- finden
- To find or discover something or someone
- auch
- Adverb meaning 'also', 'too', or 'as well'
- bei
- Preposition meaning 'with', 'at', or 'near'
- ihm
- Dative personal pronoun meaning 'him' or 'it'
- melodramatisches
- Adjective meaning melodramatic; exaggeratedly emotional or theatrical
- Gefühl
- A feeling, emotion, or sense of something experienced
- weil
- Conjunction meaning 'because' introducing a causal clause
- Verbindung
- A connection, link, or relationship between things
- zwischen
- Preposition meaning 'between' two or more things
- Schüler
- A pupil, student, or follower of someone's teaching
- aus
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'out of' a place
- neunzehnten
- Ordinal adjective meaning nineteenth in a sequence
- Jahrhundert
- A century; a period of one hundred years
- verstärkt
- Past participle of 'verstärken'; reinforced or strengthened
- Aus
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'out of'
- allem
- Dative of 'alles'; from everything or all of it
- was
- Relative or interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'
- gesagt
- Past participle of 'sagen'; said or stated previously
- habe
- First person singular of 'haben'; I have
- darf
- Modal verb meaning 'may' or 'is allowed to'
- nicht
- Negation adverb meaning 'not'
- schließen
- To conclude, close, or infer something from evidence
- typische
- Adjective meaning typical or characteristic of something
- Graf
- A count or earl; a noble title of rank
- immer
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'ever' at all times
- oder
- Conjunction meaning 'or' presenting an alternative
- fast
- Adverb meaning 'almost' or 'nearly' but not quite
- fehlt
- Third person of 'fehlen'; is missing or lacking
- Widmung
- A dedication written at the beginning of a book
- Eröffnungskapitel
- The opening chapter at the start of a book
- erwähnt
- Past participle of 'erwähnen'; mentioned or referred to
- Feder
- A pen or feather quill; also a spring mechanism
- erwarten
- To expect or anticipate something in the future
- könnten
- Subjunctive of 'können'; could or might be able
- Darüber
- Adverb meaning 'about that' or 'beyond that point'
- hinaus
- Adverb meaning 'beyond' or 'furthermore'; darüber hinaus: moreover
- gibt
- Third person of 'geben'; gives; es gibt: there is/are
- echte
- Adjective meaning genuine, real, or authentic
- Züge
- Plural of 'Zug'; features, traits, or characteristics
- Szenen
- Plural of 'Szene'; scenes in a literary or dramatic work
- Gefängnis
- A prison or jail where people are incarcerated
- befreit
- Past participle of 'befreien'; freed or liberated someone
- Beschreibung
- A description or portrayal of something in detail
- Auf
- Preposition meaning 'on' or 'up'; auf und ab: up and down
- Ab
- Adverb or prefix meaning 'down' or 'off'
- verwöhnter
- Adjective meaning spoiled or pampered by excessive indulgence
- Geck
- A fop or dandy; a vain, fashion-obsessed person
- dann
- Adverb meaning 'then' indicating sequence or consequence
- modischer
- Adjective meaning fashionable or stylish in appearance
- Arzt
- A doctor or physician who treats patients medically
- steckt
- Third person of 'stecken'; is embedded or hidden in
- satirischem
- Adjective meaning satirical, using irony to criticize
- Witz
- Wit, humor, or a joke; cleverness in expression
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