White nights, and other stories — Page 7
If I chanced to meet a long procession of waggoners walking lazily with the reins in their hands beside waggons loaded with regular mountains of furniture, tables, chairs, ottomans and sofas and domestic utensils of all sorts, frequently with a decrepit cook sitting on the top of it all, guarding her master's property as though it were the apple of her eye; or if I saw boats heavily loaded with household goods crawling along the Neva or Fontanka to the Black River or the Islands--the waggons and the boats were multiplied tenfold, a hundredfold, in my eyes.
S'il m'arrivait de croiser une longue procession de charretiers marchant paresseusement, les rênes à la main, à côté de chariots chargés de véritables montagnes de meubles, tables, chaises, divans et sofas et ustensiles ménagers de toutes sortes, avec souvent une cuisinière décrépite assise au sommet de tout cela, gardant les biens de son maître comme si c'était la prunelle de ses yeux ; ou si je voyais des bateaux lourdement chargés d'effets domestiques se traîner le long de la Neva ou de la Fontanka vers la Rivière Noire ou les Îles -- les chariots et les bateaux se multipliaient par dix, par cent, à mes yeux.
I fancied that everything was astir and moving, everything was going in regular caravans to the summer villas.
Je m'imaginais que tout s'agitait et se mettait en mouvement, que tout partait en véritables caravanes vers les villas d'été.
It seemed as though Petersburg threatened to become a wilderness, so that at last I felt ashamed, mortified and sad that I had nowhere to go for the holidays and no reason to go away.
Il semblait que Pétersbourg menaçait de devenir un désert, si bien qu'à la fin je me sentais honteux, mortifié et triste de n'avoir nulle part où aller pour les vacances et aucune raison de partir.
I was ready to go away with every waggon, to drive off with every gentleman of respectable appearance who took a cab; but no one--absolutely no one--invited me; it seemed they had forgotten me, as though really I were a stranger to them!
J'étais prêt à partir avec chaque chariot, à m'en aller avec chaque monsieur d'apparence respectable qui prenait un fiacre ; mais personne -- absolument personne -- ne m'invitait ; il semblait qu'on m'avait oublié, comme si j'étais vraiment un étranger pour eux !
I took long walks, succeeding, as I usually did, in quite forgetting where I was, when I suddenly found myself at the city gates.
Je faisais de longues promenades, parvenant, comme à mon habitude, à oublier complètement où je me trouvais, quand je me retrouvai soudain aux portes de la ville.
Instantly I felt lighthearted, and I passed the barrier and walked between cultivated fields and meadows, unconscious of fatigue, and feeling only all over as though a burden were falling off my soul.
Aussitôt je me sentis le cœur léger, et je franchis la barrière et marchai entre des champs cultivés et des prairies, sans ressentir la fatigue, éprouvant seulement dans tout mon être la sensation qu'un fardeau se détachait de mon âme.
Vocabulary
- arrivait
- aʁivɛ — Imperfect tense of 'arriver': was happening or occurring
- croiser
- kʁwaze — To cross paths with or encounter someone
- procession
- pʁɔsɛsjɔ̃ — A slow moving line or parade of people or things
- charretiers
- ʃaʁətje — Cart drivers or carters who transport goods by cart
- marchant
- maʁʃɑ̃ — Present participle of marcher: walking or moving slowly
- paresseusement
- paʁɛsøzmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning lazily or sluggishly without much energy
- rênes
- ʁɛn — Reins used to guide and control a horse
- côté
- kote — Side or beside; next to something or someone
- chariots
- ʃaʁjo — Large carts or wagons used for transporting heavy goods
- chargés
- ʃaʁʒe — Loaded or laden with a heavy cargo or burden
- véritables
- veʁitabl — Adjective meaning real, true, or genuine in nature
- meubles
- mœbl — Furniture items used to furnish a room or home
- divans
- divɑ̃ — Long low couches or sofas used for seating or reclining
- ustensiles
- ystɑ̃sil — Utensils or tools used especially in household tasks
- ménagers
- menaʒe — Household-related, pertaining to domestic home management
- cuisinière
- kɥizinjɛʁ — A female cook or a cooking stove in the kitchen
- décrépite
- dekʁepit — Decrepit, worn out or broken down with age
- assise
- asiz — Seated or sitting, past participle of s'asseoir
- sommet
- sɔmɛ — Summit or top; the highest point of something
- gardant
- ɡaʁdɑ̃ — Present participle of garder: guarding or watching over
- biens
- bjɛ̃ — Goods, possessions or property belonging to someone
- maître
- mɛtʁ — Master or owner; person in authority over others
- prunelle
- pʁynɛl — Pupil of the eye; figuratively something precious
- voyais
- vwajɛ — Imperfect of voir: was seeing or used to see
- lourdement
- luʁdəmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning heavily, with great weight or effort
- effets
- efɛ — Personal effects or belongings; possessions one owns
- domestiques
- dɔmɛstik — Domestic, related to the home or household
- traîner
- tʁene — To drag, trail or move slowly and laboriously
- multipliaient
- myltiplijɛ — Imperfect of multiplier: were multiplying or increasing rapidly
- imaginais
- imaʒinɛ — Imperfect of imaginer: was imagining or picturing something
- agitait
- aʒitɛ — Imperfect of agiter: was stirring, moving or bustling about
- mettait
- mɛtɛ — Imperfect of mettre: was putting or setting in motion
- mouvement
- muvmɑ̃ — Movement or motion; the act of moving or stirring
- partait
- paʁtɛ — Imperfect of partir: was leaving or departing
- caravanes
- kaʁavan — Caravans, groups traveling together across distances
- villas
- vila — Villas or country houses used as summer residences
- semblait
- sɑ̃blɛ — Imperfect of sembler: seemed or appeared to be
- menaçait
- mənasɛ — Imperfect of menacer: was threatening or seemed about to
- devenir
- dəvniʁ — To become; infinitive indicating a change of state
- désert
- dezɛʁ — Desert or deserted place; empty and uninhabited area
- sentais
- sɑ̃tɛ — Imperfect of sentir: was feeling or sensing emotionally
- honteux
- ɔ̃tø — Ashamed or embarrassed; feeling shame about something
- mortifié
- mɔʁtifje — Mortified, deeply embarrassed or humiliated
- nulle
- nyl — None or no; feminine form of nul indicating absence
- vacances
- vakɑ̃s — Vacation or holidays; time off from work or school
- aucune
- okyn — No or none; feminine negative adjective indicating absence
- raison
- ʁɛzɔ̃ — Reason or cause; a rational justification for something
- partir
- paʁtiʁ — To leave or depart; infinitive indicating going away
- prêt
- pʁɛ — Ready or prepared; adjective indicating readiness
- chaque
- ʃak — Each or every; adjective indicating each individual item
- chariot
- ʃaʁjo — A cart or wagon used to carry heavy loads
- apparence
- apaʁɑ̃s — Appearance or look; the way someone presents themselves
- respectable
- ʁɛspɛktabl — Respectable, worthy of respect and social regard
- prenait
- pʁənɛ — Imperfect of prendre: was taking or catching something
- fiacre
- fjakʁ — A hired horse-drawn carriage for public transport
- personne
- pɛʁsɔn — Nobody when used negatively; or 'person' affirmatively
- absolument
- absɔlymɑ̃ — Absolutely, completely or without any exception whatsoever
- invitait
- ɛ̃vitɛ — Imperfect of inviter: was inviting or used to invite
- oublié
- ublije — Forgotten; past participle of oublier
- vraiment
- vʁɛmɑ̃ — Truly or really; adverb emphasizing truth or sincerity
- étranger
- etʁɑ̃ʒe — Foreigner or stranger; someone from outside the group
- faisais
- fəzɛ — Imperfect of faire: was doing or making something
- promenades
- pʁɔmnad — Walks or strolls taken for pleasure or exercise
- parvenant
- paʁvənɑ̃ — Managing to achieve or succeeding through effort
- habitude
- abityd — Habit or custom; a behavior done regularly over time
- oublier
- ublije — To forget; infinitive of the verb meaning to forget
- complètement
- kɔ̃plɛtmɑ̃ — Completely or entirely; in a total and thorough manner
- trouvais
- tʁuvɛ — Imperfect of trouver: was finding or used to find
- retrouvai
- ʁətʁuve — Past historic of retrouver: found myself again somewhere
- soudain
- sudɛ̃ — Suddenly, unexpectedly, all at once without warning
- Aussitôt
- osito — Immediately or at once; right away without delay
- sentis
- sɑ̃ti — Past historic of sentir: felt or sensed something
- léger
- leʒe — Light in weight or spirit; not heavy or burdensome
- franchis
- fʁɑ̃ʃi — Past historic of franchir: crossed over or passed through
- barrière
- baʁjɛʁ — Barrier or gate marking the boundary of the city
- marchai
- maʁʃe — Past historic of marcher: walked or stepped forward
- champs
- ʃɑ̃ — Fields or open countryside areas used for farming
- cultivés
- kyltive — Cultivated or farmed; land that has been tilled
- prairies
- pʁɛʁi — Meadows or grasslands, open grassy natural areas
- ressentir
- ʁəsɑ̃tiʁ — To feel deeply or experience an emotion or sensation
- fatigue
- fatiɡ — Fatigue or tiredness; exhaustion from physical effort
- éprouvant
- epʁuvɑ̃ — Present participle of éprouver: experiencing or feeling something
- seulement
- sølmɑ̃ — Only or merely; limiting to nothing more than stated
- sensation
- sɑ̃sasjɔ̃ — A sensation or feeling experienced physically or emotionally
- fardeau
- faʁdo — A burden or heavy load carried physically or emotionally
- détachait
- detaʃɛ — Imperfect of détacher: was detaching or separating from
- âme
- am — Soul or spirit; the inner essence of a person
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