← The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 — Page 12

English → Fr THE PURLOINED LETTER Level 8/10

"

«

"Confound him, say I—yes; I made the re-examination, however, as Dupin suggested—but it was all labor lost, as I knew it would be."

« Que le diable l'emporte, dis-je — oui ; j'ai néanmoins procédé à la nouvelle vérification, comme Dupin l'avait suggéré — mais ce fut peine perdue, comme je le savais bien. »

"How much was the reward offered, did you say?" asked Dupin.

« Quelle était la somme de la récompense offerte, avez-vous dit ? » demanda Dupin.

"Why, a very great deal—a very liberal reward—I don't like to say how much, precisely; but one thing I will say, that I wouldn't mind giving my individual check for fifty thousand francs to any one who could obtain me that letter.

« Eh bien, une très grande somme — une récompense très généreuse — je n'aime pas dire exactement combien ; mais une chose que je dirai, c'est que je ne refuserais pas de donner mon chèque personnel de cinquante mille francs à quiconque pourrait me procurer cette lettre.

The fact is, it is becoming of more and more importance every day; and the reward has been lately doubled.

Le fait est qu'elle prend chaque jour plus d'importance ; et la récompense a été récemment doublée.

If it were trebled, however, I could do no more than I have done."

Si elle était triplée, cependant, je ne pourrais pas faire plus que ce que j'ai fait. »

"Why, yes," said Dupin, drawlingly, between the whiffs of his meerschaum, "I really—think, G——, you have not exerted yourself—to the utmost in this matter.

« Eh bien, oui, » dit Dupin, d'un ton traînant, entre les bouffées de sa pipe en écume de mer, « je pense vraiment — G——, que vous ne vous êtes pas — donné à fond dans cette affaire.

You might—do a little more, I think, eh?"

Vous pourriez — faire un peu plus, je crois, n'est-ce pas ? »

"How?—in what way?"

« Comment ? — de quelle façon ? »

"Why—puff, puff—you might—puff, puff—employ counsel in the matter, eh?—puff, puff, puff.

« Eh bien — bouffée, bouffée — vous pourriez — bouffée, bouffée — prendre conseil dans cette affaire, n'est-ce pas ? — bouffée, bouffée, bouffée.

Do you remember the story they tell of Abernethy?"

Vous souvenez-vous de l'histoire que l'on raconte au sujet d'Abernethy ? »

"No; hang Abernethy!"

« Non ; au diable Abernethy ! »

"To be sure! hang him and welcome.

« Certes ! qu'il aille au diable, et tant mieux.

But, once upon a time, a certain rich miser conceived the design of spunging upon this Abernethy for a medical opinion.

Mais, il était une fois, un certain riche avare qui conçut le projet de soutirer à cet Abernethy une consultation médicale.

Getting up, for this purpose, an ordinary conversation in a private company, he insinuated his case to the physician, as that of an imaginary individual.

Engageant, à cet effet, une conversation ordinaire dans une compagnie privée, il glissa son cas au médecin, comme s'il s'agissait d'un individu imaginaire.

Vocabulary

Que
That; what; introduces a clause or question.
diable
dyabl — Devil; used in exclamations expressing surprise.
emporte
ɑ̃pɔrt — Carries away; takes; third person singular of emporter.
dis-je
di-ʒ — Said I; first person inverted verb form.
néanmoins
neɑ̃mwɛ̃ — Nevertheless; however; despite that.
procédé
prɔsede — Proceeded; carried out; past participle of procéder.
nouvelle
nuvɛl — New; fresh; also means short story or news.
vérification
verifikasjɔ̃ — Verification; checking; confirmation of accuracy.
suggéré
syʒere — Suggested; proposed; past participle of suggérer.
fut
fy — Was; third person singular simple past of être.
peine
pɛn — Trouble; effort; pain; hardly worth the effort.
perdue
pɛrdy — Lost; wasted; feminine past participle of perdre.
savais
savɛ — Knew; first person imperfect of savoir.
Quelle
kɛl — What; which; feminine interrogative or exclamative adjective.
somme
sɔm — Sum; amount; total quantity of money.
récompense
rekɔ̃pɑ̃s — Reward; compensation given for a service.
offerte
ɔfɛrt — Offered; feminine past participle of offrir.
demanda
dəmɑ̃da — Asked; inquired; third person past simple of demander.
Eh
e — Hey; well; interjection expressing mild surprise.
généreuse
ʒenerøz — Generous; giving; liberal; feminine adjective.
exactement
ɛɡzaktəmɑ̃ — Exactly; precisely; adverb of exactness.
combien
kɔ̃bjɛ̃ — How much; how many; interrogative of quantity.
dirai
dire — Will say; first person future of dire.
refuserais
rəfyzərɛ — Would refuse; first person conditional of refuser.
chèque
ʃɛk — Cheque; check; written bank payment order.
personnel
pɛrsɔnɛl — Personal; individual; relating to oneself.
cinquante
sɛ̃kɑ̃t — Fifty; the number 50.
francs
frɑ̃ — Francs; former French currency units.
quiconque
kikɔ̃k — Whoever; anyone who; indefinite relative pronoun.
pourrait
purɛ — Could; third person singular conditional of pouvoir.
procurer
prɔkyre — To procure; to obtain; to get for someone.
lettre
lɛtr — Letter; written message; correspondence.
fait
fɛ — Fact; deed; event; also third person of faire.
prend
prɑ̃ — Takes; third person singular present of prendre.
chaque
ʃak — Each; every; distributive adjective.
importance
ɛ̃pɔrtɑ̃s — Importance; significance; weight of a matter.
récemment
resamɑ̃ — Recently; lately; not long ago.
doublée
duble — Doubled; increased twofold; feminine past participle.
triplée
triple — Tripled; increased threefold; feminine past participle.
cependant
səpɑ̃dɑ̃ — However; yet; nevertheless; concessive adverb.
pourrais
purɛ — Could; would be able; conditional of pouvoir.
ton
tɔ̃ — Tone; manner of speaking; also your (masculine).
traînant
trɛnɑ̃ — Drawling; dragging; slow and elongated in speech.
bouffées
bufe — Puffs; whiffs; bursts of smoke or air.
pipe
pip — Pipe; smoking instrument for tobacco.
écume
ekym — Foam; froth; meerschaum (material for pipes).
mer
mɛr — Sea; ocean; large body of salt water.
vraiment
vrɛmɑ̃ — Really; truly; genuinely; adverb of affirmation.
donné
dɔne — Given; thrown yourself into; past participle of donner.
fond
fɔ̃ — Bottom; depth; background; also blindly into.
affaire
afɛr — Affair; matter; business; case under investigation.
pourriez
purje — Could; second person plural conditional of pouvoir.
crois
krwa — Think; believe; first person of croire.
quelle
kɛl — What; which; feminine interrogative adjective.
façon
fasɔ̃ — Way; manner; fashion; mode of doing something.
bouffée
bufe — Puff; whiff; single burst of smoke or air.
conseil
kɔ̃sɛj — Advice; counsel; guidance given to someone.
souvenez-vous
suvne-vu — Remember; recall; imperative of se souvenir.
histoire
istwar — Story; history; tale; narrative account.
raconte
rakɔ̃t — Tells; recounts; third person of raconter.
sujet
syʒɛ — Subject; topic; matter under discussion.
Certes
sɛrt — Certainly; indeed; admittedly; concessive adverb.
aille
aj — Go; present subjunctive of aller.
tant
tɑ̃ — So much; so many; as long as.
mieux
mjø — Better; best; comparative adverb of bien.
fois
fwa — Time; occasion; instance; once, twice, etc.
certain
sɛrtɛ̃ — Certain; a certain; some; adjective of indefinite reference.
riche
riʃ — Rich; wealthy; having great financial resources.
avare
avar — Miser; miserly; excessively stingy with money.
conçut
kɔ̃sy — Conceived; devised; third person past simple of concevoir.
projet
prɔʒɛ — Project; plan; scheme intended to be carried out.
soutirer
sutire — To extract; to wring out; to get by cunning.
consultation
kɔ̃syltasjɔ̃ — Consultation; professional advice session with expert.
médicale
medikal — Medical; relating to medicine or health care.
Engageant
ɑ̃ɡaʒɑ̃ — Engaging; initiating; present participle of engager.
effet
efɛ — Effect; result; en effet means indeed or in fact.
conversation
kɔ̃vɛrsasjɔ̃ — Conversation; spoken exchange between people.
ordinaire
ɔrdinɛr — Ordinary; usual; common; everyday.
compagnie
kɔ̃paɲi — Company; companionship; group of people together.
privée
prive — Private; personal; not public; feminine adjective.
glissa
ɡlisa — Slipped; slid; third person past simple of glisser.
cas
ka — Case; situation; medical or legal instance.
médecin
mɛdsɛ̃ — Doctor; physician; medical professional.
agissait
aʒisɛ — Was about; imperfect of s'agir de; concerned.
individu
ɛ̃dividy — Individual; person; particular human being.
imaginaire
imaʒinɛr — Imaginary; fictitious; existing only in the mind.
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