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.'"
El reloj dio las doce, el búho chilló desde la almena en ruinas, la puerta fue abierta por el sacristán, quien, a la luz de una vela mortecina, condujo al amante desesperado hasta una lúgubre nave, y golpeó el suelo con el pie, diciendo: «Aquí yace enterrada la joven señora»."
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.
Encontramos aquí tal cantidad de los habituales recursos románticos de la escuela de poetas del «cementerio» —esa escuela de la que el profesor W. L. Phelps llama a Young, en sus Pensamientos nocturnos, el «ejemplar más conspicuo»— que uno se siente inicialmente inclinado a pensar que Smollett se está burlando de ella.
The context, however, seems to prove that he was perfectly serious.
El contexto, sin embargo, parece demostrar que estaba perfectamente serio.
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.
Resulta interesante, pues, además de sorprendente, encontrar huellas del espíritu romántico en su narrativa más de diez años antes del Castillo de Otranto de Walpole.
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.
También resulta interesante encontrar en él tanto sentimiento melodramático, porque refuerza la conexión entre él y su discípulo del siglo XIX, Dickens.
From all that I have said, it must not be thought that the usual Smollett is always, or almost always, absent from Count Fathom.
De todo lo que he dicho, no debe pensarse que el Smollett habitual esté siempre, o casi siempre, ausente del Conde Fathom.
I have spoken of the dedication and of the opening chapters as what we might expect from his pen.
He hablado de la dedicatoria y de los capítulos iniciales como algo que podríamos esperar de su pluma.
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.
Hay, además, verdaderos trazos de Smollett en las escenas de la prisión de la que Melvil rescata a Fathom, y hay una buena dosis de la diversión satírica de Smollett en la descripción de los altibajos de Fathom, primero como el consentido galán, y luego como el médico de moda.
Vocabulary
- reloj
- Clock or watch used to tell time
- dio
- Third person singular preterite of 'dar', meaning gave
- doce
- The number twelve
- búho
- Owl, a nocturnal bird of prey
- chilló
- Shrieked or screeched loudly
- desde
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'since'
- almena
- Battlement or merlon on a castle wall
- ruinas
- Ruins, remains of destroyed structures
- puerta
- Door or gate of a building
- fue
- Third person singular preterite of 'ser' or 'ir'
- abierta
- Open or opened, feminine past participle
- sacristán
- Sacristan, church official who manages the vestry
- quien
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'whom'
- luz
- Light, illumination from a source
- vela
- Candle used for lighting in darkness
- mortecina
- Dim, faint, or dying light
- condujo
- Led or guided someone to a place
- amante
- Lover or romantic partner
- desesperado
- Desperate, hopeless, overcome by despair
- hasta
- Preposition meaning 'until', 'up to', or 'as far as'
- lúgubre
- Gloomy, dark, mournful in atmosphere
- nave
- Nave, the central hall of a church
- golpeó
- Struck or hit something forcefully
- suelo
- Floor or ground surface
- pie
- Foot, the lower extremity of the leg
- diciendo
- Saying, present participle of 'decir'
- Aquí
- Adverb meaning 'here', in this place
- yace
- Lies buried, third person singular of 'yacer'
- enterrada
- Buried underground, feminine past participle
- joven
- Young person or adjective meaning young
- señora
- Lady or married woman, formal address
- Encontramos
- We find or we found something
- aquí
- Adverb meaning 'here', in this place
- tal
- Such, so much, or such a thing
- cantidad
- Quantity or amount of something
- habituales
- Usual, customary, or habitual things
- recursos
- Resources, devices, or literary techniques used
- románticos
- Romantic, relating to the Romantic literary movement
- escuela
- School or literary movement or tradition
- poetas
- Poets, writers who compose poetry
- cementerio
- Cemetery, a burial ground for the dead
- esa
- Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'that'
- profesor
- Professor or teacher at an educational institution
- llama
- Calls or names something, third person singular
- Pensamientos
- Thoughts or meditations, plural of 'pensamiento'
- nocturnos
- Nocturnal, relating to or occurring at night
- ejemplar
- Exemplary instance or copy of something
- más
- More or most, comparative adverb
- conspicuo
- Conspicuous, noticeable, or outstanding
- uno
- One, the number one or indefinite pronoun
- siente
- Feels or senses, third person singular present
- inicialmente
- Initially, at first, in the beginning
- inclinado
- Inclined or disposed toward something
- pensar
- To think or to consider something
- burlando
- Mocking or making fun of something
- contexto
- Context, the circumstances surrounding something
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- embargo
- Used in 'sin embargo' meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'
- parece
- Seems or appears, third person singular present
- demostrar
- To demonstrate or show something clearly
- estaba
- Was, third person singular imperfect of 'estar'
- perfectamente
- Perfectly, in a perfect or complete manner
- serio
- Serious, not joking or frivolous
- Resulta
- It turns out or results in something
- interesante
- Interesting, capturing attention or curiosity
- pues
- Then, well, or since as a connective word
- además
- Moreover, in addition, or furthermore
- sorprendente
- Surprising or astonishing in nature
- encontrar
- To find or encounter something or someone
- huellas
- Traces, footprints, or marks left behind
- espíritu
- Spirit, essence, or soul of something
- romántico
- Romantic, relating to the Romantic artistic movement
- narrativa
- Narrative or prose fiction writing
- diez
- The number ten
- años
- Years, plural of 'año'
- antes
- Before, previously in time
- Castillo
- Castle, a large fortified medieval building
- También
- Also or too, used to add information
- resulta
- It turns out or proves to be something
- tanto
- So much or so many in degree
- sentimiento
- Feeling, sentiment, or emotion
- melodramático
- Melodramatic, excessively emotional or theatrical
- porque
- Because, used to introduce a reason
- refuerza
- Reinforces or strengthens something
- conexión
- Connection or link between things
- entre
- Between or among two or more things
- discípulo
- Disciple or follower of a teacher or tradition
- siglo
- Century, a period of one hundred years
- todo
- All, everything, or the whole of something
- dicho
- Said, past participle of 'decir'
- debe
- Must or should, third person singular of 'deber'
- pensarse
- To be thought, reflexive form of 'pensar'
- habitual
- Usual, customary, or habitual
- esté
- Be, present subjunctive of 'estar'
- siempre
- Always, at all times
- casi
- Almost or nearly, close but not quite
- ausente
- Absent, not present or missing
- Conde
- Count, a noble title; here a character name
- hablado
- Spoken, past participle of 'hablar'
- dedicatoria
- Dedication, an inscription at a book's start
- capítulos
- Chapters, divisions of a book
- iniciales
- Initial, first or opening in sequence
- como
- As or like, used for comparison
- algo
- Something or somewhat, an indefinite quantity
- podríamos
- We could, conditional of 'poder'
- esperar
- To expect, wait for, or hope
- pluma
- Pen or feather quill used for writing
- Hay
- There is or there are, from 'haber'
- verdaderos
- True, genuine, or real
- trazos
- Strokes, traces, or sketches of something
- escenas
- Scenes, episodes in a narrative
- prisión
- Prison, a place of confinement
- rescata
- Rescues or saves someone from danger
- hay
- There is or there are, from 'haber'
- buena
- Good, feminine form of 'bueno'
- dosis
- Dose or portion of something
- diversión
- Fun, entertainment, or amusement
- satírica
- Satirical, using satire to criticize
- descripción
- Description, a written account of something
- altibajos
- Ups and downs, fluctuations in fortune
- primero
- First, the ordinal number one
- consentido
- Spoiled or pampered, a favorite indulged person
- galán
- Gallant man or romantic lead in a story
- luego
- Then, later, or afterwards in time
- médico
- Doctor or physician, a medical professional
- moda
- Fashion or trend, what is currently popular
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