The Count of Monte Cristo — Page 3
" Then turning to the crew, he said, "Bear a hand there, to take in sail!"
" Puis se tournant vers l'équipage, il dit : « Allons, hissez-vous là, à carguer les voiles ! »
All hands obeyed, and at once the eight or ten seamen who composed the crew, sprang to their respective stations at the spanker brails and outhaul, topsail sheets and halyards, the jib downhaul, and the topsail clewlines and buntlines.
Tout l'équipage obéit, et aussitôt les huit ou dix matelots qui le composaient coururent à leurs postes respectifs aux cargues et à l'écoute de brigantine, aux écoutes et aux drisses de hunier, à l'amure de foc, et aux cargues-points et aux cargues-boulines de hunier.
The young sailor gave a look to see that his orders were promptly and accurately obeyed, and then turned again to the owner.
Le jeune marin jeta un regard pour s'assurer que ses ordres étaient exécutés promptement et avec précision, puis se tourna de nouveau vers l'armateur.
"And how did this misfortune occur?" inquired the latter, resuming the interrupted conversation.
« Et comment ce malheur est-il arrivé ? » demanda ce dernier, reprenant la conversation interrompue.
"Alas, sir, in the most unexpected manner.
« Hélas, monsieur, de la manière la plus inattendue.
After a long talk with the harbor-master, Captain Leclere left Naples greatly disturbed in mind.
Après une longue conversation avec le capitaine du port, le capitaine Leclère quitta Naples très troublé dans l'esprit.
In twenty-four hours he was attacked by a fever, and died three days afterwards.
En vingt-quatre heures, il fut pris de fièvre, et mourut trois jours après.
We performed the usual burial service, and he is at his rest, sewn up in his hammock with a thirty-six-pound shot at his head and his heels, off El Giglio island.
Nous avons accompli les funérailles d'usage, et il repose, cousu dans son hamac avec un boulet de trente-six livres à la tête et aux pieds, au large de l'île d'El Giglio.
We bring to his widow his sword and cross of honor.
Nous apportons à sa veuve son épée et sa croix d'honneur.
It was worth while, truly," added the young man with a melancholy smile, "to make war against the English for ten years, and to die in his bed at last, like everybody else."
Cela valait bien la peine, vraiment, » ajouta le jeune homme avec un sourire mélancolique, « de faire la guerre aux Anglais pendant dix ans, pour mourir dans son lit à la fin, comme tout le monde. »
"Why, you see, Edmond," replied the owner, who appeared more comforted at every moment, "we are all mortal, and the old must make way for the young.
« Eh bien, voyez-vous, Edmond, » répondit l'armateur, qui semblait se consoler davantage à chaque instant, « nous sommes tous mortels, et les vieux doivent céder la place aux jeunes.
Vocabulary
- Puis
- Then; indicates sequence of events.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning himself, herself, itself.
- tournant
- Turning; present participle of tourner.
- vers
- Toward; in the direction of.
- équipage
- Crew; the team manning a ship.
- dit
- Said; past tense of dire.
- Allons
- Let's go; come on, an exclamation urging action.
- hissez
- Hoist; imperative form of hisser, raise up.
- là
- There; indicating a place or position.
- carguer
- To furl; to gather and secure sails.
- voiles
- Sails; fabric panels that catch wind on ships.
- Tout
- Everything, all; indicating totality.
- obéit
- Obeyed; past tense of obéir, to comply.
- aussitôt
- Immediately; at once, without delay.
- matelots
- Sailors; ordinary seamen aboard a ship.
- composaient
- Composed, made up; imperfect of composer.
- coururent
- Ran; simple past of courir, to run.
- postes
- Posts, stations; assigned positions or duties.
- respectifs
- Respective; pertaining to each individually.
- cargues
- Brails; ropes used to furl sails on ships.
- écoute
- Sheet; a rope controlling a sail's lower corner.
- brigantine
- Brigantine; a two-masted sailing vessel.
- écoutes
- Sheets; ropes controlling the lower corners of sails.
- drisses
- Halyards; ropes used to hoist sails or flags.
- hunier
- Topsail; the sail above the mainsail on a mast.
- amure
- Tack; rope holding the windward corner of a sail.
- foc
- Jib; a triangular sail at the front of a ship.
- boulines
- Bowlines; ropes keeping sail edges taut into wind.
- jeune
- Young; adjective describing youth or inexperience.
- marin
- Sailor, seaman; person who works at sea.
- jeta
- Threw, cast; simple past of jeter.
- regard
- Look, glance; a directed gaze or inspection.
- assurer
- To make sure, ensure; to verify something.
- ordres
- Orders, commands; instructions given to someone.
- exécutés
- Executed, carried out; past participle of exécuter.
- promptement
- Promptly; in a quick and timely manner.
- précision
- Precision; exactness and accuracy in execution.
- puis
- Then; indicating the next step in a sequence.
- tourna
- Turned; simple past of tourner.
- nouveau
- Again, new; indicating repetition or novelty.
- armateur
- Shipowner; person who owns or manages a vessel.
- comment
- How; interrogative adverb asking manner.
- malheur
- Misfortune, mishap; an unfortunate or sad event.
- arrivé
- Happened, arrived; past participle of arriver.
- demanda
- Asked; simple past of demander.
- dernier
- The latter, last; referring to the most recent.
- reprenant
- Resuming, taking up again; present participle of reprendre.
- conversation
- Conversation; spoken exchange between people.
- interrompue
- Interrupted; past participle of interrompre.
- Hélas
- Alas; exclamation expressing sorrow or regret.
- monsieur
- Mister, sir; polite address for a man.
- manière
- Manner, way; the mode or style of doing something.
- plus
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree.
- inattendue
- Unexpected; not anticipated or foreseen.
- Après
- After; preposition indicating sequence in time.
- longue
- Long; adjective indicating extended length or duration.
- capitaine
- Captain; commander of a ship or military unit.
- port
- Port, harbor; a place where ships dock.
- quitta
- Left, departed; simple past of quitter.
- très
- Very; intensifying adverb modifying adjectives.
- troublé
- Troubled, disturbed; in a state of distress.
- esprit
- Mind, spirit; mental state or intellectual faculty.
- heures
- Hours; units of time, sixty minutes each.
- fut
- Was; simple past of être, to be.
- pris
- Taken, seized; past participle of prendre.
- fièvre
- Fever; elevated body temperature due to illness.
- mourut
- Died; simple past of mourir, to die.
- jours
- Days; periods of twenty-four hours.
- après
- After, afterward; following in time or order.
- accompli
- Accomplished, performed; past participle of accomplir.
- funérailles
- Funeral rites; ceremonies performed at burial.
- usage
- Custom, usage; an established practice or tradition.
- repose
- Rests; lies in repose, from reposer.
- cousu
- Sewn; past participle of coudre, to sew.
- hamac
- Hammock; a suspended fabric bed used on ships.
- boulet
- Cannonball; a heavy iron ball used as ballast or weight.
- livres
- Pounds; units of weight or old French currency.
- tête
- Head; the uppermost part of the body.
- pieds
- Feet; lower extremities or units of measurement.
- large
- Open sea; far from shore, in deep water.
- île
- Island; a landmass surrounded by water.
- apportons
- We bring; first-person plural present of apporter.
- veuve
- Widow; a woman whose husband has died.
- épée
- Sword; a bladed weapon carried by officers.
- croix
- Cross; a cross-shaped decoration or medal.
- honneur
- Honor; great respect or a mark of distinction.
- Cela
- That; demonstrative pronoun referring to something.
- valait
- Was worth; imperfect tense of valoir.
- bien
- Well, indeed; adverb affirming or intensifying.
- peine
- Trouble, effort; worth the difficulty involved.
- vraiment
- Truly, really; adverb affirming sincerity.
- ajouta
- Added; simple past of ajouter, to add.
- homme
- Man; an adult male human being.
- sourire
- Smile; a facial expression of pleasure or irony.
- mélancolique
- Melancholic; expressing sadness or wistful sorrow.
- faire
- To do, make; common infinitive with many uses.
- guerre
- War; armed conflict between nations or groups.
- Anglais
- English; referring to people from England.
- pendant
- During, for; preposition indicating duration.
- ans
- Years; units of time equal to twelve months.
- mourir
- To die; infinitive of the verb to pass away.
- lit
- Bed; furniture used for sleeping or resting.
- fin
- End; the conclusion or termination of something.
- comme
- Like, as; conjunction or preposition of comparison.
- tout
- All, every; indicating totality or universality.
- monde
- World, everyone; tout le monde means everybody.
- Eh
- Hey, well; interjection expressing mild surprise.
- voyez
- See, look; imperative of voir, to see.
- répondit
- Replied; simple past of répondre, to answer.
- semblait
- Seemed; imperfect tense of sembler, to appear.
- consoler
- To console, comfort; to ease someone's grief.
- davantage
- More, further; indicating a greater degree.
- chaque
- Each, every; distributive adjective for individuals.
- instant
- Instant, moment; a very brief period of time.
- tous
- All, everyone; plural form of tout.
- mortels
- Mortal; subject to death, as all humans are.
- vieux
- Old; adjective describing advanced age.
- doivent
- Must, have to; third-person plural of devoir.
- céder
- To yield, give way; to surrender one's place.
- place
- Place, room; a position or space for someone.
- jeunes
- Young people; plural adjective or noun for youth.
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