The King in Yellow — Page 2
But I knew in my heart that all would come right, and that I should arrange their future as I expected to arrange that of my kind doctor, John Archer.
Ma sapevo in cuor mio che tutto si sarebbe sistemato, e che avrei provveduto al loro futuro come mi aspettavo di provvedere a quello del mio caro medico, John Archer.
However, I should never have troubled myself about visiting them just then, had it not been, as I say, that the music of the tinkling hammer had for me this strong fascination.
Tuttavia, non mi sarei mai preoccupato di andarli a trovare proprio in quel momento, se non fosse stato, come dico, per il fatto che la musica del martello tintinnante esercitava su di me questa forte fascinazione.
I would sit for hours, listening and listening, and when a stray sunbeam struck the inlaid steel, the sensation it gave me was almost too keen to endure.
Rimanevo seduto per ore ad ascoltare e ascoltare, e quando un raggio di sole vagante colpiva l'acciaio intarsiato, la sensazione che mi procurava era quasi troppo intensa da sopportare.
My eyes would become fixed, dilating with a pleasure that stretched every nerve almost to breaking, until some movement of the old armourer cut off the ray of sunlight, then, still thrilling secretly, I leaned back and listened again to the sound of the polishing rag, swish! swish! rubbing rust from the rivets.
I miei occhi si immobilizzavano, dilatandosi per un piacere che tendeva ogni nervo quasi fino a spezzarsi, finché qualche movimento del vecchio armaiolo non interrompeva il raggio di sole; poi, ancora fremendo in segreto, mi appoggiavo allo schienale e tornavo ad ascoltare il suono dello straccio per lucidare, frush! frush! che strofinava la ruggine dai rivetti.
Constance worked with the embroidery over her knees, now and then pausing to examine more closely the pattern in the coloured plate from the Metropolitan Museum.
Constance lavorava con il ricamo sulle ginocchia, fermandosi di tanto in tanto per esaminare più da vicino il motivo nella tavola colorata proveniente dal Metropolitan Museum.
"Who is this for?" I asked.
«Per chi è questo?» chiesi.
Hawberk explained, that in addition to the treasures of armour in the Metropolitan Museum of which he had been appointed armourer, he also had charge of several collections belonging to rich amateurs.
Hawberk spiegò che, oltre ai tesori di armature del Metropolitan Museum di cui era stato nominato armaiolo, aveva anche la custodia di diverse collezioni appartenenti a ricchi appassionati.
This was the missing greave of a famous suit which a client of his had traced to a little shop in Paris on the Quai d'Orsay.
Questo era lo schiniere mancante di una famosa armatura che un suo cliente aveva rintracciato in un piccolo negozio a Parigi sul Quai d'Orsay.
He, Hawberk, had negotiated for and secured the greave, and now the suit was complete.
Lui, Hawberk, aveva trattato e ottenuto lo schiniere, e ora l'armatura era completa.
Vocabulary
- Ma
- But; however; yet
- sapevo
- I knew; past tense of sapere
- in
- In; into; within a location or time
- mio
- My; possessive adjective first person singular
- che
- That; which; who; relative pronoun
- tutto
- All; everything; entire; complete
- si
- Himself; herself; oneself; reflexive pronoun
- sarebbe
- Would be; conditional past of essere
- sistemato
- Settled; arranged; organized; fixed in place
- avrei
- I would have; conditional past of avere
- provveduto
- Provided; arranged; taken care of
- al
- To the; at the; contraction of a+il
- loro
- Their; them; third person plural pronoun
- futuro
- Future; time yet to come
- come
- As; like; how; in the manner of
- mi
- Me; to me; first person object pronoun
- aspettavo
- I expected; past tense of aspettare
- di
- Of; from; preposition expressing possession or origin
- provvedere
- To provide; to arrange; to take care
- quello
- That; that one; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- del
- Of the; from the; contraction of di+il
- caro
- Dear; beloved; expensive; costly
- medico
- Doctor; physician; medical professional
- Tuttavia
- However; nevertheless; yet; still; notwithstanding
- non
- Not; negation; used before verbs typically
- sarei
- I would be; conditional of essere
- mai
- Never; ever; at any time
- preoccupato
- Worried; concerned; anxious; troubled about something
- trovare
- To find; to locate; to meet
- proprio
- Own; very; exactly; characteristic to someone
- quel
- That; demonstrative adjective before masculine singular noun
- momento
- Moment; instant; short period of time
- se
- If; whether; conditional conjunction or pronoun
- fosse
- Were; subjunctive past of essere
- stato
- Been; past participle of essere or state
- dico
- I say; I mean; first person present
- per
- For; by; through; preposition expressing purpose
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- fatto
- Fact; deed; made; past participle of fare
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article or pronoun
- musica
- Music; art of arranging sounds harmoniously
- martello
- Hammer; tool for striking or percussion instrument
- esercitava
- Exercised; exerted; practiced; past tense of esercitare
- su
- On; upon; on top of; upward
- me
- Me; myself; first person pronoun object form
- questa
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- forte
- Strong; loud; intense; powerful; vigorous
- fascinazione
- Fascination; attraction; enchantment; compelling interest
- Rimanevo
- I remained; I stayed; past tense of rimanere
- seduto
- Seated; sitting; past participle of sedere
- ore
- Hours; plural of ora unit of time
- ad
- To; at; preposition used before vowels
- ascoltare
- To listen; to hear; to pay attention
- quando
- When; at what time; temporal conjunction
- un
- A; an; indefinite article masculine singular
- raggio
- Ray; beam; radius; light beam
- sole
- Sun; celestial body providing light and heat
- colpiva
- Struck; hit; affected; past tense of colpire
- acciaio
- Steel; metal alloy of iron and carbon
- sensazione
- Sensation; feeling; perception through senses
- procurava
- Procured; provided; caused; past tense of procurare
- era
- Was; past tense of essere singular
- quasi
- Almost; nearly; about; approximately
- troppo
- Too much; too; excessively; excessive amount
- intensa
- Intense; strong; extreme in degree or strength
- da
- From; by; since; preposition of origin
- sopportare
- To bear; to endure; to tolerate
- miei
- My; mine; possessive plural of mio
- occhi
- Eyes; plural of occhio visual organs
- piacere
- Pleasure; delight; to like; to please
- tendeva
- Tended; inclined; past tense of tendere
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