Treasure Island — Page 1
I
I
The Old Sea-dog at the Admiral Benbow
Le Vieux Loup de Mer à l'Amiral Benbow
Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17—, and go back to the time when my father kept the Admiral Benbow inn and the brown old seaman with the sabre cut first took up his lodging under our roof.
Le châtelain Trelawney, le docteur Livesey et les autres gentilshommes m'ayant demandé de mettre par écrit tous les détails de l'histoire de l'Île au Trésor, depuis le début jusqu'à la fin, sans rien omettre, sauf la position de l'île, et cela uniquement parce qu'il reste encore un trésor non récupéré, je prends la plume en cette année de grâce 17—, et je remonte au temps où mon père tenait l'auberge de l'Amiral Benbow et où le vieux marin basané à la balafre prit pour la première fois logis sous notre toit.
I remember him as if it were yesterday, as he came plodding to the inn door, his sea-chest following behind him in a hand-barrow--a tall, strong, heavy, nut-brown man, his tarry pigtail falling over the shoulder of his soiled blue coat, his hands ragged and scarred, with black, broken nails, and the sabre cut across one cheek, a dirty, livid white.
Je me souviens de lui comme si c'était hier, lorsqu'il s'avança d'un pas lourd vers la porte de l'auberge, son coffre de marin le suivant dans une brouette à bras — un homme grand, fort, robuste, au teint brun noisette, sa natte poisseuse retombant sur l'épaule de sa veste bleue maculée, les mains calleuses et couturées de cicatrices, avec des ongles noirs et cassés, et la balafre de sabre sur une joue, d'un blanc sale et livide.
I remember him looking round the cove and whistling to himself as he did so, and then breaking out in that old sea-song that he sang so often afterwards:
Je me souviens de lui regardant autour de la crique et sifflotant pour lui-même ce faisant, puis éclatant dans cette vieille chanson de marin qu'il chanta si souvent par la suite :
"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest-- Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"
« Quinze hommes sur le coffre du mort — Yo-ho-ho, et une bouteille de rhum ! »
in the high, old tottering voice that seemed to have been tuned and broken at the capstan bars.
de cette voix haute, vieille et chevrotante qui semblait avoir été formée et brisée aux barres du cabestan.
Then he rapped on the door with a bit of stick like a handspike that he carried, and when my father appeared, called roughly for a glass of rum.
Puis il frappa à la porte avec un bout de bâton semblable à un anspect qu'il portait, et quand mon père parut, réclama d'une voix rude un verre de rhum.
Vocabulary
- Vieux
- Old, aged; used to describe elderly people or things
- Loup
- Wolf; also used in compound nautical expressions
- Mer
- Sea, the large body of salt water
- Amiral
- Admiral, high-ranking naval officer
- châtelain
- Lord of a castle or manor, estate owner
- docteur
- Doctor, a medical or academic professional
- autres
- Others, the remaining people or things
- gentilshommes
- Gentlemen, men of noble or refined social standing
- ayant
- Present participle of 'avoir,' meaning 'having'
- demandé
- Asked, requested something from someone
- mettre
- To put, to place, to set something somewhere
- écrit
- Writing, written form; past participle of 'écrire'
- tous
- All, every one of a group of things or people
- détails
- Details, specific pieces of information or description
- histoire
- Story, history, or account of events
- Île
- Island, a land mass surrounded by water
- Trésor
- Treasure, a collection of valuable objects or wealth
- depuis
- Since, from a certain point in time onward
- début
- Beginning, the start of something
- jusqu'
- Until, up to a certain point in time or space
- fin
- End, the conclusion or final point of something
- sans
- Without, lacking something or someone
- rien
- Nothing, not anything at all
- omettre
- To omit, to leave something out deliberately
- sauf
- Except, apart from, excluding something specific
- position
- Position, location, or place of something
- île
- Island, land surrounded entirely by water
- cela
- That, used to refer to something previously mentioned
- uniquement
- Only, solely, exclusively for one reason
- parce
- Because; used in 'parce que' to give a reason
- reste
- Remains, stays, is still present or left over
- encore
- Still, yet, again; indicating continuation
- trésor
- Treasure, valuable hidden goods or wealth
- récupéré
- Recovered, retrieved, gotten back something lost
- prends
- Take, first-person present of 'prendre'
- plume
- Pen or feather; writing instrument historically used
- année
- Year, a period of twelve calendar months
- grâce
- Grace, thanks; used in 'grâce à' meaning 'thanks to'
- remonte
- Goes back, traces back to an earlier time
- temps
- Time, weather; a broad temporal concept
- où
- Where, when; relative pronoun indicating place or time
- père
- Father, a male parent
- tenait
- Held, kept, ran; imperfect of 'tenir'
- auberge
- Inn, a small lodging place serving food and drink
- vieux
- Old, aged; adjective describing age
- marin
- Sailor, a person who works at sea
- basané
- Swarthy, tanned, darkened by sun exposure
- balafre
- Scar, a long mark left by a wound on skin
- prit
- Took, simple past of 'prendre'
- première
- First, feminine form of 'premier'
- fois
- Time, instance, occurrence of an event
- logis
- Lodging, dwelling, a place to stay
- sous
- Under, beneath; preposition indicating position below
- toit
- Roof, the covering on top of a building
- souviens
- Remember; first-person of 'se souvenir'
- comme
- Like, as; comparison conjunction or preposition
- si
- If, so, as; conditional or intensifying word
- était
- Was, third-person imperfect of 'être'
- hier
- Yesterday, the day before today
- lorsqu'
- When, at the moment that something happened
- avança
- Advanced, moved forward; past tense of 'avancer'
- pas
- Step, footstep; also negation particle
- lourd
- Heavy, weighty, ponderous in movement or feel
- vers
- Toward, in the direction of something
- porte
- Door, entrance to a building or room
- coffre
- Chest, trunk, a large box for storing valuables
- suivant
- Following, coming after; present participle of 'suivre'
- brouette
- Wheelbarrow, a one-wheeled cart pushed by hand
- bras
- Arm, the upper limb of the human body
- homme
- Man, an adult male human being
- grand
- Tall, large, great in size or stature
- fort
- Strong, powerful, physically robust
- robuste
- Robust, sturdy, physically strong and healthy
- teint
- Complexion, skin tone, color of one's face
- brun
- Brown, dark; referring to hair or skin color
- noisette
- Hazelnut; hazel-colored, light brownish shade
- natte
- Pigtail, braid, or plait of hair
- poisseuse
- Sticky, greasy, coated with tar or grime
- retombant
- Falling back down, hanging down loosely
- épaule
- Shoulder, the joint connecting arm to body
- veste
- Jacket, a short coat worn over other clothing
- bleue
- Blue, feminine form of the color adjective
- maculée
- Stained, spotted, soiled with marks or dirt
- mains
- Hands, the body parts at the end of arms
- calleuses
- Calloused, hardened by manual labor or friction
- couturées
- Seamed, scarred, marked with many cuts or scars
- cicatrices
- Scars, marks left on skin after wounds heal
- ongles
- Nails, fingernails or toenails on a hand or foot
- noirs
- Black, plural masculine form of 'noir'
- cassés
- Broken, cracked, damaged and no longer intact
- sabre
- Saber, a curved sword used by soldiers or sailors
- joue
- Cheek, the fleshy part of the face beside mouth
- blanc
- White, the lightest color, absence of pigment
- sale
- Dirty, unclean, soiled with grime or filth
- livide
- Livid, pale, bluish or ashen in complexion
- regardant
- Looking, watching; present participle of 'regarder'
- autour
- Around, surrounding, on all sides of something
- crique
- Cove, creek, a small sheltered inlet of water
- sifflotant
- Whistling softly, casually; present participle form
- même
- Same, even, itself; used for emphasis or comparison
- faisant
- Doing, making; present participle of 'faire'
- puis
- Then, next, afterward; sequential conjunction
- éclatant
- Bursting out, breaking into; present participle of 'éclater'
- vieille
- Old, aged; feminine form of 'vieux'
- chanson
- Song, a short musical piece with lyrics
- chanta
- Sang, simple past of 'chanter'
- souvent
- Often, frequently, many times
- suite
- Continuation, sequence; 'par la suite' means afterward
- Quinze
- Fifteen, the number 15
- hommes
- Men, plural of 'homme'
- mort
- Death, dead; the end of life
- bouteille
- Bottle, a container for liquids with a narrow neck
- rhum
- Rum, an alcoholic drink made from sugarcane
- voix
- Voice, the sound produced when a person speaks or sings
- haute
- High, loud, elevated; feminine form of 'haut'
- chevrotante
- Quavering, trembling, shaky in tone or quality
- semblait
- Seemed, appeared; imperfect of 'sembler'
- avoir
- To have; one of the most fundamental French verbs
- été
- Been; past participle of 'être,' also means 'summer'
- formée
- Formed, shaped, trained; past participle of 'former'
- brisée
- Broken, shattered; past participle of 'briser'
- barres
- Bars, crossbars; on a ship, capstan bars for turning
- cabestan
- Capstan, a rotating drum used to haul ropes on ships
- Puis
- Then, next; indicating a following action
- frappa
- Struck, knocked; simple past of 'frapper'
- bout
- End, tip, piece; the extremity of something
- bâton
- Stick, staff, rod used for walking or striking
- semblable
- Similar, resembling; alike in appearance or nature
- portait
- Carried, wore; imperfect of 'porter'
- quand
- When, at what time; temporal conjunction
- parut
- Appeared, seemed; simple past of 'paraître'
- réclama
- Demanded, asked for; simple past of 'réclamer'
- rude
- Rough, harsh, coarse in manner or texture
- verre
- Glass, a drinking vessel or the material glass
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