Wuthering Heights — Page 7
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Joseph mumbled indistinctly in the depths of the cellar, but gave no intimation of ascending; so his master dived down to him, leaving me _vis-à-vis_ the ruffianly bitch and a pair of grim shaggy sheep-dogs, who shared with her a jealous guardianship over all my movements.
Joseph marmonnait indistinctement dans les profondeurs de la cave, mais ne donnait aucun signe de remonter ; aussi son maître plongea-t-il vers lui, me laissant _vis-à-vis_ de la brutale chienne et d'une paire de sombres chiens de berger hirsutes, qui partageaient avec elle une jalouse surveillance sur tous mes mouvements.
Not anxious to come in contact with their fangs, I sat still; but, imagining they would scarcely understand tacit insults, I unfortunately indulged in winking and making faces at the trio, and some turn of my physiognomy so irritated madam, that she suddenly broke into a fury and leapt on my knees.
Peu désireux d'entrer en contact avec leurs crocs, je restai immobile ; mais, m'imaginant qu'ils comprendraient à peine les insultes tacites, j'eus malheureusement la mauvaise idée de faire des clins d'œil et des grimaces au trio, et quelque expression de ma physionomie irrita tellement madame qu'elle entra soudainement dans une fureur et bondit sur mes genoux.
I flung her back, and hastened to interpose the table between us.
Je la repoussai violemment, et me hâtai d'interposer la table entre nous.
This proceeding aroused the whole hive: half-a-dozen four-footed fiends, of various sizes and ages, issued from hidden dens to the common centre.
Cette action réveilla toute la ruche : une demi-douzaine de démons à quatre pattes, de tailles et d'âges divers, surgirent de repaires cachés vers le centre commun.
I felt my heels and coat-laps peculiar subjects of assault; and parrying off the larger combatants as effectually as I could with the poker, I was constrained to demand, aloud, assistance from some of the household in re-establishing peace.
Je sentis mes talons et les pans de mon manteau faire l'objet d'assauts particuliers ; et, parant les combattants les plus grands aussi efficacement que je le pouvais avec le tisonnier, je fus contraint de réclamer à voix haute l'assistance de quelqu'un de la maisonnée pour rétablir la paix.
Mr. Heathcliff and his man climbed the cellar steps with vexatious phlegm: I don't think they moved one second faster than usual, though the hearth was an absolute tempest of worrying and yelping.
M. Heathcliff et son valet montèrent les marches de la cave avec un flegme exaspérant : je ne crois pas qu'ils se soient déplacés d'une seconde plus vite que d'habitude, bien que le foyer fût une véritable tempête de grognements et de jappements.
Vocabulary
- marmonnait
- Was mumbling or muttering indistinctly to oneself.
- indistinctement
- In an unclear, indistinct, or muddled manner.
- profondeurs
- Depths or deepest parts of a space or place.
- cave
- A cellar or underground storage room.
- aucun
- No, not any; used to express total negation.
- signe
- A sign, signal, or indication of something.
- remonter
- To come back up; to ascend again from below.
- maître
- Master, owner, or person in charge of others.
- plongea
- Plunged or dived quickly downward or forward.
- laissant
- Leaving or allowing; present participle of 'laisser.'
- _vis-à-vis_
- Face to face with; directly opposite someone or something.
- brutale
- Brutal, fierce, or violently aggressive in character.
- chienne
- A female dog; a bitch.
- paire
- A pair; a set of two matching or similar things.
- sombres
- Dark, gloomy, or shadowy in appearance or mood.
- berger
- Shepherd, or a herding dog breed like a shepherd dog.
- hirsutes
- Shaggy, unkempt, or having disheveled rough hair.
- partageaient
- Were sharing; imperfect tense of 'partager.'
- jalouse
- Jealous or possessively watchful; feminine adjective.
- surveillance
- Close watch or monitoring kept over someone or something.
- mouvements
- Movements; physical motions or actions of a body.
- désireux
- Desirous, eager, or wishing to do something.
- crocs
- Fangs or sharp canine teeth of an animal.
- restai
- Stayed, remained; simple past of 'rester.'
- immobile
- Motionless, still, not moving at all.
- imaginant
- Imagining; present participle of 'imaginer.'
- comprendraient
- Would understand; conditional tense of 'comprendre.'
- peine
- Hardly, barely; scarcely able to do something.
- insultes
- Insults; offensive or derogatory remarks directed at someone.
- tacites
- Tacit, unspoken, implied without being directly stated.
- eus
- Had; first person simple past of 'avoir.'
- malheureusement
- Unfortunately; used to express regret about a situation.
- clins
- Winks; as in 'clins d'œil,' meaning winks or blinks.
- œil
- Eye; the organ of sight; singular of 'yeux.'
- grimaces
- Grimaces; funny or distorted facial expressions made deliberately.
- quelque
- Some, a certain; used to indicate an unspecified element.
- physionomie
- Physiognomy; the features or expression of someone's face.
- irrita
- Irritated, angered; simple past of 'irriter.'
- tellement
- So much, to such a degree; intensifying adverb.
- soudainement
- Suddenly, all at once, without warning or preparation.
- fureur
- Fury, rage; a state of extreme violent anger.
- bondit
- Leaped, sprang; simple past of 'bondir.'
- genoux
- Knees; plural of 'genou.'
- repoussai
- Pushed back or repelled; simple past of 'repousser.'
- violemment
- Violently, with great force or intensity.
- hâtai
- Hurried, rushed; simple past of 'se hâter.'
- interposer
- To interpose or place something between two things.
- réveilla
- Woke up, stirred; simple past of 'réveiller.'
- ruche
- A beehive; here used metaphorically for a swarm.
- demi
- Half; used to indicate a partial or half quantity.
- douzaine
- A dozen; a group or set of twelve items.
- démons
- Demons; evil supernatural creatures or very unruly beings.
- pattes
- Paws or legs of an animal.
- tailles
- Sizes; the measurements or proportions of something.
- divers
- Various, diverse, different in kind or nature.
- surgirent
- Sprang up or emerged suddenly; simple past of 'surgir.'
- repaires
- Lairs or dens; hidden refuges used by animals.
- cachés
- Hidden, concealed; past participle of 'cacher.'
- commun
- Common, shared, or held jointly by several parties.
- sentis
- Felt; first person simple past of 'sentir.'
- talons
- Heels; the back parts of the feet or shoes.
- pans
- Panels or flaps; sections of a garment like a coat.
- manteau
- A coat or cloak worn as an outer garment.
- assauts
- Assaults or attacks; sudden aggressive charges or rushes.
- particuliers
- Particular, specific, individual; directed at one target.
- parant
- Parrying or warding off; present participle of 'parer.'
- combattants
- Combatants; those engaged in fighting or struggle.
- efficacement
- Effectively, efficiently; in a way that produces results.
- tisonnier
- A fireplace poker used to stir or prod burning coals.
- fus
- Was; first person simple past of 'être.'
- contraint
- Forced, compelled; constrained to do something unwillingly.
- réclamer
- To demand, call for, or claim something urgently.
- voix
- Voice; the sound produced when speaking or singing.
- haute
- High, loud; feminine form of 'haut.'
- assistance
- Assistance, help; aid given to someone in need.
- maisonnée
- Household; all the people living together in a house.
- rétablir
- To restore or reestablish a former state or condition.
- paix
- Peace; a state of calm, quiet, or absence of conflict.
- valet
- A male servant or manservant who attends to personal needs.
- montèrent
- Went up, climbed; simple past of 'monter.'
- marches
- Steps or stairs; the individual levels of a staircase.
- flegme
- Phlegm; here meaning cool composure or imperturbable calm.
- exaspérant
- Exasperating, infuriating; causing extreme irritation or frustration.
- soient
- Are; third person plural subjunctive of 'être.'
- déplacés
- Moved, displaced; shifted from one place to another.
- habitude
- A habit or custom; a regularly repeated behavior or practice.
- foyer
- A hearth or home; the center of domestic life.
- fût
- Was; third person singular imperfect subjunctive of 'être.'
- véritable
- True, genuine, real; not false or imitated.
- tempête
- A storm; a violent disturbance of weather or emotions.
- grognements
- Growls or grunts; low threatening sounds made by animals.
- jappements
- Yaps or yelps; sharp high-pitched barks of small dogs.
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