White nights, and other stories — Page 5
I even bethought me to send for Matrona, and was giving her some fatherly admonitions in regard to the spider's web and sluttishness in general; but she simply stared at me in amazement and went away without saying a word, so that the spider's web is comfortably hanging in its place to this day.
Ich kam sogar auf den Gedanken, Matrona zu rufen, und gab ihr einige väterliche Ermahnungen in Bezug auf das Spinnennetz und die Schlamperei im Allgemeinen; aber sie starrte mich nur erstaunt an und ging wortlos davon, so dass das Spinnennetz noch heute gemütlich an seinem Platz hängt.
I only at last this morning realized what was wrong.
Erst heute Morgen wurde mir endlich klar, was nicht stimmte.
Aie! Why, they are giving me the slip and making off to their summer villas!
Ach! Warum, sie entwischen mir und machen sich auf zu ihren Sommervillen!
Forgive the triviality of the expression, but I am in no mood for fine language ...
Verzeihen Sie die Trivialität des Ausdrucks, aber mir ist nicht nach gewählter Sprache zumute ...
for everything that had been in Petersburg had gone or was going away for the holidays;
denn alles, was in Petersburg gewesen war, war für die Feiertage fortgegangen oder im Begriff fortzugehen;
for every respectable gentleman of dignified appearance who took a cab was at once transformed, in my eyes, into a respectable head of a household who after his daily duties were over, was making his way to the bosom of his family, to the summer villa;
denn jeder angesehene Herr von würdevollem Aussehen, der eine Droschke bestieg, verwandelte sich in meinen Augen sogleich in einen achtbaren Haushaltsvorstand, der nach Erfüllung seiner täglichen Pflichten seinen Weg in den Schoß seiner Familie, zur Sommervilla, antrat;
for all the passers-by had now quite a peculiar air which seemed to say to every one they met: "We are only here for the moment, gentlemen, and in another two hours we shall be going off to the summer villa."
denn alle Passanten hatten nun eine ganz eigentümliche Miene, die jedem, dem sie begegneten, zu sagen schien: „Wir sind nur für den Augenblick hier, meine Herren, und in weiteren zwei Stunden werden wir uns zur Sommervilla aufmachen."
Vocabulary
- kam
- Past tense of 'kommen'; came
- sogar
- Even; used to emphasize something unexpected
- auf
- On, onto, upon; common preposition with multiple uses
- Gedanken
- Thoughts, ideas; plural of Gedanke
- Matrona
- A matron; older respected woman or housekeeper
- rufen
- To call, to shout, to summon someone
- gab
- Past tense of 'geben'; gave
- einige
- Some, a few, several; indefinite determiner
- väterliche
- Fatherly, paternal; relating to a father's manner
- Ermahnungen
- Admonitions, reprimands; serious cautionary reminders
- Bezug
- Reference, relation; 'in Bezug auf' means regarding
- Spinnennetz
- Spider's web, cobweb; network spun by a spider
- Schlamperei
- Sloppiness, slovenliness; careless untidy behavior
- Allgemeinen
- In general; referring to something broadly or generally
- starrte
- Stared; past tense of starren, to gaze fixedly
- erstaunt
- Astonished, amazed, surprised; showing great wonder
- ging
- Went; past tense of 'gehen', to go
- wortlos
- Wordlessly, without saying a word, silently
- davon
- Away, from it, thereof; directional or pronominal adverb
- noch
- Still, yet, even; temporal or additive adverb
- gemütlich
- Cozy, comfortable, pleasant; relaxed and snug atmosphere
- Platz
- Place, seat, square; designated spot or location
- hängt
- Hangs; third person singular present of 'hängen'
- Erst
- Only, not until, first; temporal restrictive adverb
- wurde
- Became; past tense of 'werden', auxiliary or main verb
- endlich
- Finally, at last; after a long wait or delay
- klar
- Clear, obvious; easy to understand or see
- stimmte
- Was correct, matched; past tense of 'stimmen'
- Ach
- Oh, ah; exclamation expressing realization or dismay
- entwischen
- To slip away, escape, sneak off unnoticed
- Sommervillen
- Summer houses, dachas; seasonal country residences
- Verzeihen
- To forgive, to excuse; pardon for an offense
- Trivialität
- Triviality, banality; quality of being commonplace or trite
- Ausdrucks
- Of the expression; genitive of Ausdruck, meaning expression
- gewählter
- Chosen, selected, refined; adjective from 'wählen'
- Sprache
- Language, speech; system of human communication
- zumute
- In the mood, feeling; used in 'mir ist zumute'
- denn
- Because, for, then; causal or flavoring conjunction
- Feiertage
- Holidays, public holidays; days of rest or celebration
- fortgegangen
- Gone away, departed; past participle of 'fortgehen'
- Begriff
- Concept, notion; also 'im Begriff sein' means about to
- fortzugehen
- To go away, to leave, to depart from a place
- jeder
- Every, each; indefinite determiner of totality
- angesehene
- Respected, reputable; held in high regard by others
- würdevollem
- Dignified, stately; having a manner full of dignity
- Aussehen
- Appearance, look; the way someone or something looks
- Droschke
- Droshky, hackney carriage; old-fashioned horse-drawn cab
- bestieg
- Boarded, mounted; past tense of 'besteigen'
- verwandelte
- Transformed, turned into; past tense of 'verwandeln'
- Augen
- Eyes; plural of Auge, the human visual organs
- sogleich
- Immediately, at once, right away; without any delay
- achtbaren
- Respectable, reputable; worthy of esteem and regard
- Haushaltsvorstand
- Head of household; person managing the family home
- Erfüllung
- Fulfillment, accomplishment; carrying out of duties
- täglichen
- Daily; adjective relating to everyday routines
- Pflichten
- Duties, obligations; responsibilities one must fulfill
- Weg
- Way, path, road; route or journey taken
- Schoß
- Lap, bosom; the lap or embrace of a family
- Sommervilla
- Summer villa, dacha; seasonal country residence
- antrat
- Set out, began; past tense of 'antreten' a journey
- Passanten
- Passersby; people walking past on the street
- ganz
- Quite, completely, whole; intensifying adverb or adjective
- eigentümliche
- Peculiar, particular, characteristic; distinctively odd expression
- Miene
- Expression, mien; look or facial expression showing feeling
- begegneten
- Encountered, met; past tense of 'begegnen', to meet
- schien
- Seemed, appeared; past tense of 'scheinen'
- Augenblick
- Moment, instant; a very short period of time
- Herren
- Gentlemen, sirs; plural of Herr, polite address
- weiteren
- Further, additional; adjective indicating more beyond current
- aufmachen
- To set off, to open; to start moving or depart
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