The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 6
My father, being informed of what had happened, flew to the embraces of his darling spouse, and while he loaded his offspring with paternal embraces, could not forbear shedding a flood of tears on beholding the dear partner of his heart (for whose ease he would have sacrificed the treasures of the east) stretched upon a flock bed, in a miserable apartment, unable to protect her from the inclemencies of the weather.
Mon père, ayant été informé de ce qui s'était passé, courut embrasser sa chère épouse, et tandis qu'il couvrait sa progéniture d'embrassements paternels, ne put s'empêcher de verser un torrent de larmes en voyant la tendre compagne de son cœur (pour le confort de qui il aurait sacrifié les trésors de l'Orient) étendue sur un lit de paille, dans un appartement misérable, incapable de la protéger des rigueurs du temps.
It is not to be supposed that the old gentleman was ignorant of what passed, though he affected to know nothing of the matter, and pretended to be very much surprised, when one of his grandchildren, by his eldest son deceased, who lived with him as his heir apparent, acquainted him with the affair; he determined therefore to observe no medium, but immediately (on the third day after her delivery) sent her a peremptory order to be gone, and turned off the servant who had preserved her life.
Il ne faut pas supposer que le vieux gentilhomme ignorait ce qui s'était passé, bien qu'il affectât de ne rien savoir de l'affaire, et feignît d'être très surpris lorsqu'un de ses petits-enfants, issu de son fils aîné décédé, qui vivait avec lui en tant qu'héritier présomptif, l'informa de la chose ; il résolut donc de n'observer aucun tempérament, et envoya immédiatement (le troisième jour après son accouchement) un ordre péremptoire de partir, et renvoya le serviteur qui lui avait sauvé la vie.
This behaviour so exasperated my father that he had recourse to the most dreadful imprecations; and on his bare knees implored that Heaven would renounce him if ever he should forget or forgive the barbarity of his sire.
Cette conduite exaspéra tellement mon père qu'il eut recours aux imprécations les plus terribles ; et, à genoux nus, il implora le Ciel de l'abandonner s'il venait jamais à oublier ou à pardonner la barbarie de son père.
The injuries which this unhappy mother received from her removal in such circumstances, and the want of necessaries where she lodged, together with her grief and anxiety of mind, soon threw her into a languishing disorder, which put an end to her life.
Les préjudices que cette malheureuse mère subit du fait de son déplacement dans de telles circonstances, et le manque du nécessaire là où elle logeait, joints à son chagrin et à son angoisse, la plongèrent bientôt dans un mal languissant qui mit fin à sa vie.
Vocabulary
- père
- Father; male parent
- ayant
- Having; present participle of avoir
- été
- Been; past participle of être
- informé
- Informed; having been told about something
- passé
- Passed, happened; past participle of passer
- courut
- Ran; simple past tense of courir
- embrasser
- To embrace, hug, or kiss someone affectionately
- chère
- Dear, beloved; term of affection or endearment
- épouse
- Wife, spouse; a married female partner
- tandis
- While, whereas; used in tandis que conjunction
- couvrait
- Was covering; imperfect tense of couvrir
- progéniture
- Offspring, progeny; one's children or descendants
- d'embrassements
- Of embraces, hugs; plural of embrassement
- paternels
- Paternal; relating to or characteristic of a father
- put
- Could; simple past of pouvoir
- s'empêcher
- To stop oneself, refrain from doing something
- verser
- To pour, shed; as in verser des larmes, to shed tears
- torrent
- Torrent; a rushing, overwhelming stream or flood
- larmes
- Tears; drops of liquid from crying
- voyant
- Seeing; present participle of voir
- tendre
- Tender, gentle; showing affection and sensitivity
- compagne
- Companion, partner; female companion or life partner
- cœur
- Heart; organ or symbol of love and emotion
- confort
- Comfort; physical ease and well-being
- aurait
- Would have; conditional tense of avoir
- sacrifié
- Sacrificed; given up something valuable for another
- trésors
- Treasures; riches or highly valued possessions
- l'Orient
- The Orient, the East; eastern lands or regions
- étendue
- Stretched out, lying; past participle of étendre
- lit
- Bed; a piece of furniture for sleeping
- paille
- Straw; dried plant stalks used as bedding
- appartement
- Apartment, flat; a set of rooms as dwelling
- misérable
- Wretched, miserable; in a pitiable or poor state
- incapable
- Incapable, unable; lacking ability to do something
- protéger
- To protect; to keep someone safe from harm
- rigueurs
- Rigors, harshness; severe or harsh conditions
- temps
- Time, weather; can mean both time and weather
- faut
- Must, need; impersonal verb from falloir
- supposer
- To suppose, assume; to take something for granted
- vieux
- Old; adjective describing advanced age
- gentilhomme
- Gentleman, nobleman; a man of noble birth or rank
- ignorait
- Was ignoring, did not know; imperfect of ignorer
- affectât
- Pretended, feigned; subjunctive imperfect of affecter
- savoir
- To know; to have knowledge or information
- l'affaire
- The matter, affair; a situation or event in question
- feignît
- Pretended; subjunctive imperfect of feindre
- surpris
- Surprised; past participle of surprendre
- petits-enfants
- Grandchildren; children of one's own children
- issu
- Born of, descended from; originating from a person
- fils
- Son; a male child in relation to parents
- aîné
- Eldest, firstborn; oldest child in a family
- décédé
- Deceased, dead; having passed away
- vivait
- Was living; imperfect tense of vivre
- tant
- So much, as long as; adverb of degree or time
- qu'héritier
- As heir; in the capacity of a legal successor
- présomptif
- Presumptive; expected heir unless displaced by another
- l'informa
- Informed him or her; past tense of informer
- chose
- Thing, matter; a general word for an object or affair
- résolut
- Resolved, decided; simple past of résoudre
- donc
- Therefore, so; conjunction indicating consequence
- n'observer
- Not to observe, not to respect; negated infinitive
- aucun
- No, none, any; negative adjective or pronoun
- tempérament
- Moderation, temperament; restraint or natural disposition
- envoya
- Sent; simple past of envoyer
- immédiatement
- Immediately; without any delay
- troisième
- Third; ordinal number following second
- jour
- Day; a period of twenty-four hours
- accouchement
- Childbirth, delivery; the process of giving birth
- ordre
- Order, command; an authoritative instruction to act
- péremptoire
- Peremptory; decisive, allowing no refusal or contradiction
- partir
- To leave, depart; to go away from a place
- renvoya
- Dismissed, sent away; simple past of renvoyer
- serviteur
- Servant; a person employed to serve others
- sauvé
- Saved; past participle of sauver
- vie
- Life; the state of being alive
- conduite
- Conduct, behavior; the way someone acts
- exaspéra
- Exasperated, infuriated; simple past of exaspérer
- tellement
- So much, so; adverb expressing high degree or intensity
- recours
- Recourse; turning to something for help or solution
- imprécations
- Imprecations, curses; invocations of evil upon someone
- terribles
- Terrible, dreadful; extremely bad or frightening
- genoux
- Knees; joints connecting thigh and lower leg
- nus
- Bare, naked; uncovered, without clothing or covering
- implora
- Implored, begged; simple past of implorer
- Ciel
- Heaven, sky; used here as invocation of divine power
- l'abandonner
- To abandon him or her; to forsake someone completely
- venait
- Was coming, happened; imperfect of venir
- jamais
- Ever, never; adverb of time used in negation
- oublier
- To forget; to fail to remember something
- pardonner
- To forgive, pardon; to excuse an offense or wrongdoing
- barbarie
- Barbarity, cruelty; extreme brutality or savagery
- préjudices
- Prejudices, harms; wrongs or damages suffered
- malheureuse
- Unfortunate, unhappy; in a sad or wretched condition
- mère
- Mother; a female parent
- subit
- Suffered, underwent; simple past of subir
- déplacement
- Displacement, relocation; being forced to move elsewhere
- telles
- Such; feminine plural adjective meaning of that kind
- circonstances
- Circumstances; conditions surrounding a situation or event
- manque
- Lack, shortage; absence of something necessary
- nécessaire
- Necessary, essential; what is needed or required
- logeait
- Was lodging, staying; imperfect of loger
- joints
- Joined, combined; added together with other factors
- chagrin
- Grief, sorrow; deep sadness or distress
- angoisse
- Anguish, anxiety; intense distress or mental suffering
- plongèrent
- Plunged; simple past of plonger
- bientôt
- Soon; in a short time from now
- mal
- Illness, evil; sickness or something harmful
- languissant
- Lingering, wasting; slowly weakening due to illness
- mit
- Put, brought; simple past of mettre
- fin
- End; the final point or conclusion of something
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