Section 101 The Drama of the French Revolution of 1848. I.1
Our first scene is a palace; the period2 winter; the time3 morning, and the weather cold and miserable4. It is ten o’clock, and the King of France with his wife5 and family are6 discovered at the breakfast table. A splendid beginning! Calmness7 is the prevailing expression of every countenance save one—the king’s daughter-in-law8, who looks anxious and disturbed. Light9 domestic talk, such as10 becomes princes and the gilded roof that11 overhangs them, occupies12 the moments. Hush13! Whilst the lacqueys, dressed (S. 7, N. 3, A) in gold and scarlet, move14 noiselessly about the room, a noise is heard without15. It16 becomes more17 audible by degrees. Suddenly the door flies open, and two18 men enter, pale as ghosts. They19 are Ministers of State (S. 76, N. 22, A). They have news to communicate. Discontent prevails in the city; the20 populace are out; the dragoons have surrendered their sabres, the soldiers their arms, within21 sight of the apartment in which the king had just now enjoyed his meal, and his daughter-in-law had looked22 so sad.
Notes
1 National adjectives require a small initial in German.
2 period = season.
3 time = day-time (S. 76, N. 22, B). Connect the two nouns by means of the genitive inflection es.
4 rauh.
5 wife, consort, Gemahlin, which term generally applies to the wife of a king, or to that of persons of the upper ranks of society.—The possessive adj. pron. is best repeated before the next noun.
6 Since the subject begins the sentence, the verb must be placed immediately after it. Say ‘The king of France sits, etc.’, and transl. the words ‘at — table’ briefly thus: beim Frühstückstische.
7 Calmness — disturbed. This period is best construed thus: With the exception of the king’s daughter-in-law (i.e. the daughter-in-law of the king), who looks anxious and disturbed, bear (App. § 14) all the faces the expression of (S. 3, N. 2) calmness.—Der König war Ludwig Philipp, geb. den 6. Oktob. 1773 zu Paris, ältester Sohn des Herzogs Ludwig Philipp von Orléans. Nach der Julirevolution von 1830 bestieg er kraft Kammerbeschlusses vom 7. Aug. als König der Franzosen den Thron. Durch die Februarrevolution von 1848 gestürzt, floh er nach England, wo er fortan in Claremont unter dem Titel eines Grafen von Neuilly lebte und im Jahre 1850 starb. Seine Gemahlin war Maria Amalie von Sicilien, welche ebenfalls in England starb.
8 Die Schwiegertochter des Königs war Helene, Herzogin von Orléans, verwitwete Gemahlin des im Jahre 1842 infolge eines Sprunges aus dem Wagen beim Durchgehen der Pferde verunglückten Herzogs Ferdinand von Orléans, des ältesten Sohnes des Königs Ludwig Philipp, welcher acht Kinder hatte.
9 Supply the indef. art. before the adj. ‘light’; ‘domestic’, here = confidential; talk = conversation.
10 such as, wie, after which supply the pron. sie to agree with ‘conversation’. It becomes princes, es paßt sich für Fürsten.
11 ‘that — them’, may be briefly turned by ‘over them’.
12 occupies — moments, läßt die Zeit schnell dahingehen.
13 Horch!
14 to move, sich bewegen; about the room = in the room.
15 without = outside.
16 Use here a demonstrative pronoun to agree with ‘noise’.
17 more — degrees = louder and louder.
18 two men pale as ghosts, zwei geisterbleiche Gestalten.
19 They are, Es sind.
20 Der Pöbel ist auf den Beinen.
21 within — meal = and this almost (fast) immediately in front of (vor) the windows of the room in which the king had just now breakfasted.—Use the verb in the Imperfect, and render just now by soeben.
22 ‘to look sad’, here trübe einher´blicken, which use likewise in the Imperfect.—The German Imperfect is chiefly used as a historical tense and to express a past action or occurrence with reference to another. It is, however, likewise used to denote the continuance of an action, to describe a certain state, and to express customary and habitual action. Comp. S. 48, N. 2, for the use of the Perfect.