The King in Yellow — Page 2
The gentlemen from the West had at last been constrained to acknowledge that a college for the training of diplomats was as necessary as law schools are for the training of barristers; consequently we were no longer represented abroad by incompetent patriots.
Les messieurs de l'Ouest avaient enfin été contraints de reconnaître qu'une école de formation des diplomates était aussi nécessaire que les facultés de droit le sont pour la formation des avocats ; par conséquent, nous n'étions plus représentés à l'étranger par des patriotes incompétents.
The nation was prosperous; Chicago, for a moment paralyzed after a second great fire, had risen from its ruins, white and imperial, and more beautiful than the white city which had been built for its plaything in 1893.
La nation était prospère ; Chicago, un moment paralysée après un second grand incendie, s'était relevée de ses ruines, blanche et impériale, et plus belle que la ville blanche qui avait été construite pour son divertissement en 1893.
Everywhere good architecture was replacing bad, and even in New York, a sudden craving for decency had swept away a great portion of the existing horrors.
Partout, la bonne architecture remplaçait la mauvaise, et même à New York, un désir soudain de décence avait balayé une grande partie des horreurs existantes.
Streets had been widened, properly paved and lighted, trees had been planted, squares laid out, elevated structures demolished and underground roads built to replace them.
Les rues avaient été élargies, correctement pavées et éclairées, des arbres avaient été plantés, des places aménagées, des structures surélevées démolies et des voies souterraines construites pour les remplacer.
The new government buildings and barracks were fine bits of architecture, and the long system of stone quays which completely surrounded the island had been turned into parks which proved a god-send to the population.
Les nouveaux bâtiments gouvernementaux et les casernes étaient de beaux exemples d'architecture, et le long réseau de quais en pierre qui entourait complètement l'île avait été transformé en parcs qui s'avérèrent une véritable aubaine pour la population.
The subsidizing of the state theatre and state opera brought its own reward.
La subvention du théâtre d'État et de l'opéra d'État porta ses propres fruits.
The United States National Academy of Design was much like European institutions of the same kind.
L'Académie nationale du design des États-Unis ressemblait beaucoup aux institutions européennes du même genre.
Nobody envied the Secretary of Fine Arts, either his cabinet position or his portfolio.
Personne n'enviait le Secrétaire aux Beaux-Arts, ni sa position au cabinet ni son portefeuille.
The Secretary of Forestry and Game Preservation had a much easier time, thanks to the new system of National Mounted Police.
Le Secrétaire à la Foresterie et à la Préservation du Gibier avait la tâche bien plus facile, grâce au nouveau système de Police Montée Nationale.
Vocabulary
- messieurs
- Plural of 'monsieur'; gentlemen or misters
- Ouest
- Cardinal direction meaning 'west'
- avaient
- Third-person plural imperfect of 'avoir'; they had
- enfin
- Adverb meaning 'finally' or 'at last'
- été
- Past participle of 'être'; been
- contraints
- Forced or compelled to do something
- reconnaître
- To recognize or acknowledge something
- école
- A school or educational institution
- formation
- Training or professional education program
- diplomates
- Diplomats; officials representing their country abroad
- était
- Third-person singular imperfect of 'être'; was
- aussi
- Adverb meaning 'also' or 'as' in comparisons
- nécessaire
- Adjective meaning 'necessary' or 'essential'
- facultés
- University faculties or departments of study
- droit
- Law; the field of legal studies
- sont
- Third-person plural of 'être'; they are
- avocats
- Lawyers or attorneys who practice law
- conséquent
- Consequently; as a logical result or conclusion
- étions
- First-person plural imperfect of 'être'; we were
- plus
- Adverb meaning 'more' or 'no longer' in negation
- représentés
- Represented; having official delegates or spokespeople
- étranger
- Abroad; foreign countries outside one's homeland
- patriotes
- Patriots; people with strong loyalty to their country
- incompétents
- Incompetent people lacking necessary skills or knowledge
- nation
- A nation or country as a collective entity
- prospère
- Prosperous; thriving economically or socially
- moment
- A moment or brief period of time
- paralysée
- Paralyzed; rendered unable to function normally
- après
- Preposition meaning 'after' in time or sequence
- second
- Adjective meaning 'second' in order or sequence
- grand
- Adjective meaning 'great,' 'large,' or 'big'
- incendie
- A large fire or blaze causing destruction
- relevée
- Risen again; recovered from a difficult situation
- ruines
- Ruins; remains of destroyed buildings or structures
- blanche
- Feminine adjective meaning 'white' in color
- impériale
- Imperial; relating to empire or grand magnificence
- belle
- Feminine adjective meaning 'beautiful' or 'lovely'
- ville
- A city or town as a populated place
- avait
- Third-person singular imperfect of 'avoir'; had
- construite
- Built or constructed; feminine past participle
- divertissement
- Entertainment or amusement; leisure activity
- Partout
- Adverb meaning 'everywhere' or 'all over'
- bonne
- Feminine adjective meaning 'good' or 'fine'
- architecture
- Architecture; the design and construction of buildings
- remplaçait
- Was replacing; imperfect tense of 'remplacer'
- mauvaise
- Feminine adjective meaning 'bad' or 'poor quality'
- même
- Even; also used to mean 'same'
- désir
- Desire or wish for something specific
- soudain
- Sudden; happening unexpectedly or without warning
- décence
- Decency; propriety and appropriate behavior or appearance
- balayé
- Swept away; cleared or removed thoroughly
- grande
- Feminine form of 'grand'; large or great
- partie
- Part or portion of a whole
- horreurs
- Horrors; extremely unpleasant or shocking things
- existantes
- Existing; currently present or in place
- rues
- Streets; roads in a town or city
- élargies
- Widened; made broader than before
- correctement
- Correctly or properly; in an appropriate manner
- pavées
- Paved; covered with a hard surface material
- éclairées
- Lit or illuminated; provided with lighting
- arbres
- Trees; large woody plants with trunks
- plantés
- Planted; placed in the ground to grow
- places
- Public squares or open spaces in a city
- aménagées
- Developed or fitted out for a specific purpose
- structures
- Structures; built or constructed physical frameworks
- surélevées
- Elevated; raised above ground level
- démolies
- Demolished; torn down or destroyed completely
- voies
- Ways or routes; roads or transit lines
- souterraines
- Underground; situated or running below the surface
- construites
- Built or constructed; feminine plural past participle
- remplacer
- To replace; to substitute one thing for another
- nouveaux
- Masculine plural of 'nouveau'; new or recent
- bâtiments
- Buildings; constructed structures used for various purposes
- gouvernementaux
- Governmental; relating to or operated by government
- casernes
- Barracks; buildings housing soldiers or police
- étaient
- Third-person plural imperfect of 'être'; were
- beaux
- Masculine plural of 'beau'; beautiful or handsome
- exemples
- Examples; instances illustrating a principle or quality
- long
- Adjective meaning 'long' in length or duration
- réseau
- Network; an interconnected system of routes or lines
- quais
- Quays or embankments along a waterway or harbor
- pierre
- Stone; a hard natural material used in construction
- entourait
- Surrounded; encircled something on all sides
- complètement
- Completely; entirely or fully without exception
- île
- Island; land entirely surrounded by water
- transformé
- Transformed; changed significantly in form or character
- parcs
- Parks; public green spaces for recreation
- avérèrent
- Proved to be; turned out to be true
- véritable
- Genuine or real; truly what it appears to be
- aubaine
- A windfall or unexpected benefit or blessing
- population
- Population; the inhabitants of a place collectively
- subvention
- Subsidy or grant provided by an authority
- théâtre
- Theater; a venue for dramatic performances
- État
- The State; government as a political entity
- opéra
- Opera; a dramatic musical performance genre
- porta
- Bore or brought; past tense of 'porter'
- propres
- Own; belonging specifically to oneself; also 'clean'
- fruits
- Fruits; results or outcomes of efforts
- Académie
- Academy; an institution for learning or arts
- nationale
- Feminine adjective meaning 'national' or 'of the nation'
- design
- Design; planning and creation of visual works
- États-Unis
- The United States of America
- ressemblait
- Resembled; looked or seemed similar to something
- beaucoup
- Adverb meaning 'a lot' or 'very much'
- institutions
- Institutions; established organizations or establishments
- européennes
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'European'
- genre
- Kind or type; a category or sort of thing
- Personne
- Nobody; no one at all in a negative context
- enviait
- Envied; felt jealous of someone's position
- Secrétaire
- Secretary; an official holding an administrative position
- Beaux-Arts
- Fine arts; visual and decorative artistic disciplines
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor'; used in negative constructions
- position
- Position; a place, role, or standing someone holds
- cabinet
- Cabinet; the group of senior government ministers
- portefeuille
- Portfolio; a minister's area of responsibility
- Foresterie
- Forestry; management and study of forests
- Préservation
- Preservation; protection of natural or cultural resources
- Gibier
- Game; wild animals hunted for food or sport
- tâche
- Task; a piece of work to be done
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well' or 'very' in French
- facile
- Adjective meaning 'easy' or 'not difficult'
- grâce
- Thanks to; owing to something; also 'grace'
- nouveau
- Adjective meaning 'new' or 'recent'
- système
- System; an organized set of methods or structures
- Police
- Police; law enforcement authority
- Montée
- Mounted; riding horses; also 'risen' or 'ascended'
- Nationale
- National; belonging or relating to the whole nation
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