← The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2

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

English → It 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."

"Al diavolo lui, dico io—sì; ho fatto il nuovo esame, tuttavia, come suggeriva Dupin—ma è stata tutta fatica sprecata, come sapevo che sarebbe stato."

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

"Quanto era la ricompensa offerta, ha detto?" chiese 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.

"Ebbene, moltissimo—una ricompensa molto generosa—non mi piace dire quanto, precisamente; ma una cosa dirò, che non mi dispiacerebbe dare il mio assegno personale di cinquantamila franchi a chiunque potesse procurarmi quella lettera.

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

Il fatto è che sta diventando di sempre maggiore importanza ogni giorno; e la ricompensa è stata recentemente raddoppiata.

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

Se fosse triplicata, tuttavia, non potrei fare più di quanto ho fatto."

"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.

"Ebbene, sì," disse Dupin, con tono strascicato, tra una boccata e l'altra della sua pipa di schiuma di mare, "io davvero—penso, G——, che lei non si sia impegnato—al massimo in questa faccenda.

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

Potrebbe—fare un po' di più, penso, eh?"

"How?—in what way?"

"Come?—in che modo?"

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

"Ebbene—boccata, boccata—potrebbe—boccata, boccata—ricorrere a un consulente nella faccenda, eh?—boccata, boccata, boccata.

Do you remember the story they tell of Abernethy?"

Si ricorda la storia che raccontano di Abernethy?"

"No; hang Abernethy!"

"No; al diavolo Abernethy!"

"To be sure! hang him and welcome.

"Certamente! al diavolo lui, ben venga.

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

Ma, una volta, un certo ricco avaro concepì il progetto di scroccare un parere medico a questo Abernethy.

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.

Organizzando, a tale scopo, una conversazione ordinaria in una compagnia privata, insinuò il suo caso al medico, come se fosse quello di un individuo immaginario.

Vocabulary

Al: Contraction of 'a' and 'il', meaning 'to the'.
diavolo: Devil; used in exclamations expressing surprise or frustration.
lui: Third person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he' or 'him'.
dico: First person singular present of 'dire', meaning 'I say'.
io: First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'.
sì: Affirmative response meaning 'yes'.
ho: First person singular present of 'avere', meaning 'I have'.
fatto: Past participle of 'fare'; meaning 'done' or 'made'.
il: Masculine singular definite article meaning 'the'.
nuovo: Adjective meaning 'new' or 'fresh'.
esame: Noun meaning 'exam' or 'examination' or 'investigation'.
tuttavia: Conjunction meaning 'nevertheless', 'yet', or 'however'.
come: Adverb or conjunction meaning 'how' or 'as' or 'like'.
suggeriva: Imperfect tense of 'suggerire', meaning 'was suggesting'.
ma: Conjunction meaning 'but', indicating contrast or opposition.
è: Third person singular present of 'essere', meaning 'is'.
stata: Feminine past participle of 'essere', meaning 'been'.
tutta: Feminine form of 'tutto', meaning 'all' or 'entire'.
fatica: Noun meaning 'effort', 'fatigue', or 'hard work'.
sprecata: Feminine past participle of 'sprecare', meaning 'wasted'.
sapevo: First person imperfect of 'sapere', meaning 'I knew'.
che: Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that', 'which', or 'who'.
sarebbe: Third person conditional of 'essere', meaning 'would be'.
stato: Past participle of 'essere', meaning 'been'; also 'state'.
Quanto: Interrogative meaning 'how much' or 'how many'.
era: Third person imperfect of 'essere', meaning 'was'.
la: Feminine singular definite article meaning 'the'.
ricompensa: Noun meaning 'reward' or 'compensation' offered for something.
offerta: Noun or adjective meaning 'offer' or 'offered'.
ha: Third person singular present of 'avere', meaning 'has'.
detto: Past participle of 'dire', meaning 'said' or 'told'.
chiese: Third person past tense of 'chiedere', meaning 'asked'.
Ebbene: Interjection meaning 'well then' or 'so then'.
moltissimo: Superlative of 'molto', meaning 'very much' or 'a great deal'.
una: Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'.
molto: Adverb or adjective meaning 'very' or 'much' or 'a lot'.
generosa: Adjective meaning 'generous', describing someone who gives freely.
non: Negation adverb meaning 'not'.
mi: First person singular reflexive or object pronoun meaning 'me'.
piace: Third person present of 'piacere', meaning 'pleases' or 'I like'.
dire: Infinitive verb meaning 'to say' or 'to tell'.
quanto: Pronoun or adverb meaning 'how much' or 'as much as'.
precisamente: Adverb meaning 'precisely' or 'exactly'.
cosa: Noun meaning 'thing'; also used as 'what' in questions.
dirò: First person future of 'dire', meaning 'I will say'.
dispiacerebbe: Conditional of 'dispiacere', meaning 'would be sorry' or 'would mind'.
dare: Infinitive verb meaning 'to give'.
mio: First person singular possessive adjective meaning 'my'.
assegno: Noun meaning 'check' or 'cheque' as a bank payment document.
personale: Adjective meaning 'personal'; noun meaning 'staff' or 'personnel'.
di: Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'by'.
cinquantamila: Number meaning 'fifty thousand'.
franchi: Plural of 'franco', referring to French francs currency units.
a: Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'in'.
chiunque: Indefinite pronoun meaning 'whoever' or 'anyone who'.
potesse: Imperfect subjunctive of 'potere', meaning 'could' or 'might'.
procurarmi: Infinitive with pronoun; meaning 'to procure for me' or 'to get me'.
quella: Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'that'.
lettera: Noun meaning 'letter', either a written message or alphabet character.
Il: Masculine singular definite article meaning 'the'.
sta: Third person singular present of 'stare', meaning 'is' or 'stays'.
diventando: Gerund of 'diventare', meaning 'becoming'.
sempre: Adverb meaning 'always' or 'still' or 'increasingly'.
maggiore: Adjective meaning 'greater', 'larger', or 'major'.
importanza: Noun meaning 'importance' or 'significance'.
ogni: Adjective meaning 'every' or 'each'.
giorno: Noun meaning 'day'.
e: Conjunction meaning 'and'.
recentemente: Adverb meaning 'recently' or 'lately'.
raddoppiata: Feminine past participle of 'raddoppiare', meaning 'doubled'.
Se: Conjunction meaning 'if', introducing a conditional clause.
fosse: Imperfect subjunctive of 'essere', meaning 'were' or 'had been'.
triplicata: Feminine past participle of 'triplicare', meaning 'tripled'.
potrei: First person conditional of 'potere', meaning 'I could'.
fare: Infinitive verb meaning 'to do' or 'to make'.
più: Adverb meaning 'more' or 'no longer' depending on context.
disse: Third person past tense of 'dire', meaning 'said'.
con: Preposition meaning 'with'.
tono: Noun meaning 'tone' of voice or manner of speaking.
strascicato: Adjective meaning 'drawling' or 'dragging', describing slow speech.
tra: Preposition meaning 'between', 'among', or 'in' (time).
boccata: Noun meaning 'puff' or 'mouthful', often referring to smoking.
l': Elided definite article 'la' or 'lo' before a vowel.
altra: Feminine form of 'altro', meaning 'other' or 'another'.
sua: Third person singular possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'.
pipa: Noun meaning 'pipe', a smoking instrument.
schiuma: Noun meaning 'foam' or 'meerschaum', a pipe material.
mare: Noun meaning 'sea'; 'schiuma di mare' refers to meerschaum.
davvero: Adverb meaning 'really', 'truly', or 'indeed'.
penso: First person singular present of 'pensare', meaning 'I think'.
lei: Third person feminine pronoun meaning 'she' or formal 'you'.
si: Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself', 'herself', or 'oneself'.
sia: Present subjunctive of 'essere', meaning 'is' or 'be'.
impegnato: Past participle of 'impegnarsi', meaning 'engaged' or 'committed'.
al: Contraction of 'a' and 'il', meaning 'to the' or 'at the'.
massimo: Adjective or noun meaning 'maximum' or 'utmost'.
in: Preposition meaning 'in', 'into', or 'at'.
questa: Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'this'.
faccenda: Noun meaning 'matter', 'affair', or 'business'.
Potrebbe: Third person conditional of 'potere', meaning 'could' or 'might'.
un: Masculine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'.
po': Shortened form of 'poco', meaning 'a little' or 'a bit'.
eh: Interjection expressing inquiry, agreement, or mild surprise.
Come: Adverb meaning 'how'; also used as 'like' or 'as'.
modo: Noun meaning 'way', 'manner', or 'method'.
potrebbe: Third person conditional of 'potere', meaning 'could' or 'might'.
ricorrere: Infinitive meaning 'to resort to', 'to recur', or 'to turn to'.
consulente: Noun meaning 'consultant' or 'advisor'.
nella: Contraction of 'in' and 'la', meaning 'in the' (feminine).
Si: Reflexive pronoun or impersonal subject meaning 'one' or 'oneself'.
ricorda: Third person present of 'ricordare', meaning 'remembers' or 'recalls'.
storia: Noun meaning 'story', 'history', or 'tale'.
raccontano: Third person plural present of 'raccontare', meaning 'they tell'.
No: Negative response meaning 'no'.
Certamente: Adverb meaning 'certainly' or 'of course'.
ben: Shortened form of 'bene', meaning 'well'; used in expressions.
venga: Present subjunctive of 'venire', meaning 'come'; used in 'benvenga'.
Ma: Conjunction meaning 'but', indicating contrast or opposition.
volta: Noun meaning 'time' or 'occasion'; 'una volta' means 'once'.
certo: Adjective or adverb meaning 'certain', 'sure', or 'of course'.
ricco: Adjective meaning 'rich' or 'wealthy'.
avaro: Adjective or noun meaning 'miser', 'greedy', or 'stingy'.
concepì: Third person past of 'concepire', meaning 'conceived' or 'devised'.
progetto: Noun meaning 'project', 'plan', or 'scheme'.
scroccare: Verb meaning 'to freeload', 'to sponge', or 'to get for free'.
parere: Noun meaning 'opinion' or 'advice'; infinitive meaning 'to seem'.
medico: Noun meaning 'doctor' or 'physician'; adjective meaning 'medical'.
questo: Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'this'.
Organizzando: Gerund of 'organizzare', meaning 'organizing' or 'arranging'.
tale: Adjective or pronoun meaning 'such', 'this', or 'that'.
scopo: Noun meaning 'purpose', 'aim', or 'goal'.
conversazione: Noun meaning 'conversation' or 'discussion'.
ordinaria: Feminine adjective meaning 'ordinary', 'usual', or 'common'.
compagnia: Noun meaning 'company', 'companionship', or 'group'.
privata: Feminine adjective meaning 'private' or 'personal'.
insinuò: Third person past of 'insinuare', meaning 'hinted' or 'insinuated'.
suo: Third person singular possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'.
caso: Noun meaning 'case', 'situation', or 'chance'.
se: Conjunction meaning 'if' or reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself'.
quello: Masculine demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'that'.
individuo: Noun meaning 'individual' or 'person'.
immaginario: Adjective meaning 'imaginary' or 'fictional'.

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