The King in Yellow — Page 4
In the following winter began that agitation for the repeal of the laws prohibiting suicide which bore its final fruit in the month of April, 1920, when the first Government Lethal Chamber was opened on Washington Square.
Im folgenden Winter begann jene Agitation für die Aufhebung der Gesetze, die den Selbstmord verboten, welche im April 1920 ihre endgültige Frucht trug, als die erste staatliche Todeskammer am Washington Square eröffnet wurde.
I had walked down that day from Dr. Archer's house on Madison Avenue, where I had been as a mere formality.
An jenem Tag war ich von Dr. Archers Haus an der Madison Avenue heruntergegangen, wo ich nur der Form halber gewesen war.
Ever since that fall from my horse, four years before, I had been troubled at times with pains in the back of my head and neck, but now for months they had been absent, and the doctor sent me away that day saying there was nothing more to be cured in me.
Seit jenem Sturz vom Pferd, vier Jahre zuvor, hatte ich zeitweise unter Schmerzen im Hinterkopf und im Nacken gelitten, doch seit Monaten waren diese ausgeblieben, und der Arzt entließ mich an jenem Tag mit den Worten, es gebe nichts mehr an mir zu heilen.
It was hardly worth his fee to be told that; I knew it myself.
Es war kaum sein Honorar wert, das gesagt zu bekommen; ich wusste es selbst.
Still I did not grudge him the money.
Dennoch gönnte ich ihm das Geld.
What I minded was the mistake which he made at first.
Was mich störte, war der Fehler, den er anfangs gemacht hatte.
When they picked me up from the pavement where I lay unconscious, and somebody had mercifully sent a bullet through my horse's head, I was carried to Dr. Archer, and he, pronouncing my brain affected, placed me in his private asylum where I was obliged to endure treatment for insanity.
Als man mich vom Pflaster aufhob, wo ich bewusstlos lag, und jemand meinem Pferd gnädigerweise eine Kugel durch den Kopf geschossen hatte, wurde ich zu Dr. Archer gebracht, der mein Gehirn für geschädigt erklärte und mich in seiner privaten Irrenanstalt unterbrachte, wo ich eine Behandlung wegen Geisteskrankheit erdulden musste.
At last he decided that I was well, and I, knowing that my mind had always been as sound as his, if not sounder, "paid my tuition" as he jokingly called it, and left.
Schließlich befand er, dass ich gesund sei, und ich, der ich wusste, dass mein Verstand stets ebenso gesund wie seiner gewesen war, wenn nicht gesünder, "bezahlte mein Schulgeld", wie er es scherzhaft nannte, und ging.
Vocabulary
- folgenden
- Following, subsequent, next in sequence
- Winter
- Winter, the coldest season of the year
- begann
- Began, past tense of 'beginnen'
- jene
- That, those; demonstrative pronoun referring to something
- Agitation
- Agitation, political campaigning or activist advocacy
- Aufhebung
- Abolition, repeal, or lifting of a law or rule
- Gesetze
- Laws, plural of 'Gesetz'; legal statutes or rules
- Selbstmord
- Suicide, the act of intentionally ending one's own life
- verboten
- Forbidden, prohibited by law or authority
- welche
- Which, a relative or interrogative pronoun
- April
- April, the fourth month of the year
- endgültige
- Final, definitive, conclusive result or outcome
- Frucht
- Fruit; figuratively the result or outcome of efforts
- trug
- Bore, carried; past tense of 'tragen'
- als
- When, as; conjunction introducing a past-tense clause
- erste
- First, the ordinal number indicating the initial one
- staatliche
- State-run, governmental, operated by the government
- Todeskammer
- Death chamber, room used for executing condemned persons
- eröffnet
- Opened, inaugurated; past participle of 'eröffnen'
- wurde
- Was, became; past tense auxiliary forming passive constructions
- jenem
- That, dative form of demonstrative pronoun 'jener'
- Tag
- Day, a period of twenty-four hours
- Haus
- House, a building used as a residence or office
- heruntergegangen
- Walked down, gone down; past participle of 'heruntergehen'
- nur
- Only, merely, just; limiting adverb
- Form
- Form, formality; sake of appearance or convention
- halber
- For the sake of; postposition used with genitive nouns
- Seit
- Since, for; preposition indicating duration of time
- Sturz
- Fall, tumble; a sudden drop or collapse
- Pferd
- Horse, a large domesticated animal used for riding
- vier
- Four, the cardinal number between three and five
- Jahre
- Years, plural of 'Jahr'; units of time
- zuvor
- Before, previously, prior to a given point in time
- zeitweise
- At times, occasionally, periodically, not constantly
- Schmerzen
- Pain, pains; plural of 'Schmerz,' physical or emotional hurt
- Hinterkopf
- Back of the head, the rear part of the skull
- Nacken
- Nape, the back of the neck
- gelitten
- Suffered, past participle of 'leiden,' to suffer
- doch
- But, yet, however; contrastive or emphatic particle
- seit
- Since, for; preposition expressing duration or starting point
- Monaten
- Months, dative plural of 'Monat,' a unit of time
- ausgeblieben
- Failed to appear, stayed away; past participle of 'ausbleiben'
- Arzt
- Doctor, physician; a medical professional
- entließ
- Discharged, dismissed; past tense of 'entlassen'
- Worten
- Words, dative plural of 'Wort'; spoken or written expressions
- gebe
- There is, subjunctive of 'geben' used in indirect speech
- nichts
- Nothing, not anything; indefinite pronoun of negation
- mehr
- More, no longer; adverb indicating greater degree or absence
- heilen
- To heal, to cure an injury or illness
- kaum
- Hardly, barely, scarcely; adverb of minimal degree
- Honorar
- Fee, honorarium; payment for professional services rendered
- wert
- Worth, worthy of; adjective indicating value or merit
- bekommen
- Received, gotten; past participle of 'bekommen,' to get
- wusste
- Knew, past tense of 'wissen,' to know a fact
- selbst
- Myself, himself, itself; reflexive or emphatic pronoun
- Dennoch
- Nevertheless, yet, still; concessive conjunctive adverb
- gönnte
- Begrudged not, allowed; past tense of 'gönnen'
- Geld
- Money, currency used for payment and transactions
- störte
- Bothered, disturbed; past tense of 'stören,' to disturb
- Fehler
- Mistake, error; an incorrect or faulty action
- anfangs
- Initially, at first, in the beginning
- Als
- When, as; conjunction used with past-tense clauses
- man
- One, they, people in general; impersonal pronoun
- Pflaster
- Bandage, plaster; adhesive strip applied over a wound
- aufhob
- Lifted, removed; past tense of 'aufheben'
- bewusstlos
- Unconscious, senseless, having lost consciousness
- lag
- Lay, was lying; past tense of 'liegen,' to lie
- jemand
- Someone, somebody; indefinite pronoun referring to a person
- gnädigerweise
- Mercifully, graciously; adverb expressing merciful manner
- Kugel
- Bullet, sphere; here a projectile fired from a gun
- durch
- Through, across; preposition indicating passage or means
- Kopf
- Head, the uppermost part of the human body
- geschossen
- Shot, fired; past participle of 'schießen,' to shoot
- gebracht
- Brought, taken; past participle of 'bringen,' to bring
- Gehirn
- Brain, the organ inside the skull controlling body functions
- geschädigt
- Damaged, harmed; past participle of 'schädigen'
- erklärte
- Declared, explained; past tense of 'erklären,' to explain
- privaten
- Private, personal, not state-run or public
- Irrenanstalt
- Psychiatric asylum, institution for the mentally ill
- unterbrachte
- Placed, lodged; past tense of 'unterbringen,' to accommodate
- Behandlung
- Treatment, therapy; medical or psychiatric care given
- wegen
- Because of, due to; preposition indicating cause or reason
- Geisteskrankheit
- Mental illness, insanity; a disorder of the mind
- erdulden
- To endure, to suffer through something patiently
- musste
- Had to, was obliged; past tense of modal 'müssen'
- Schließlich
- Finally, eventually, in the end; concluding adverb
- befand
- Found, deemed; past tense of 'befinden,' to find or determine
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a dependent clause
- gesund
- Healthy, well; adjective describing good physical condition
- sei
- Is, be; present subjunctive of 'sein,' used in reported speech
- Verstand
- Mind, intellect, reason; the faculty of rational thought
- stets
- Always, constantly, at all times; synonym of 'immer'
- ebenso
- Just as, equally, likewise; comparative adverb of equivalence
- wenn
- If, when; conditional or temporal subordinating conjunction
- gesünder
- Healthier, more healthy; comparative form of 'gesund'
- bezahlte
- Paid, settled a bill; past tense of 'bezahlen'
- Schulgeld
- Tuition fee; money paid for schooling or instruction
- scherzhaft
- Jokingly, humorously, in a joking or playful manner
- nannte
- Called, named; past tense of 'nennen,' to name or call
- ging
- Went, walked; past tense of 'gehen,' to go
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