German composition

Section 106 The Drama of the French Revolution of 1848 — VI

Everybody is escaping at⁠1 the same moment. There is the King’s eldest son, pale and half-naked, throwing⁠2 aside his tinsel and putting on fustian, looking⁠3 less than a man in his fear, trembling with⁠4 emotion, and finally running⁠5 like a madman for⁠6 his life. There are your⁠7 ministers, of⁠8 European reputation and wisdom unapproachable, bounding⁠9 like antelopes, northwards⁠10, southwards, “anywhere, anywhere⁠11 out of the city”, which they and all the rest give up⁠12 to indiscriminate riot. And⁠13 now the crowning point of our first “tableau” is near. The (S. 107, N. 13) mob, masters⁠14 of Paris, are sacking the Tuileries. The choicest moveables⁠15 are broken to atoms; a group⁠16 takes⁠17 the places which Royalty filled a moment ago at the breakfast table; others are in the wine cellar drinking⁠18 themselves ten times drunk; others, again⁠19, are in the Queen’s apartments, defiling⁠20 that⁠21 domestic sanctuary. Outside the palace and on the top⁠22 of it a flag is waved⁠23 by⁠24 a dozen men, whose⁠25 shouts and shrieks invite hundreds, whom⁠26 you see crawling up with no earthly object but immediately to (S. 19, N. 7) slide down again.

Notes

1 at — moment = with them.

2 ‘throwing — life’. The rendering of this passage according to the rule of S. 16, N. 4 would be inelegant, since there are a number of Present Participles following one another. I propose, therefore, to begin a new period here, saying: He throws aside his tinsel (here Flitterstaat, m.), puts on fustian, etc.; to put on fustian, sich in Barchent kleiden.

3 to look less than a man, kaum einem Manne ähnlich sehen.

4 vor; emotion = excitement.

5 davon´laufen.

6 um sein Leben zu retten.

7 your = the.

8 of — unapproachable = incomparable in (an) European fame and wisdom.

9 Since a relative clause follows immediately, it would be bad taste to render this clause, beginning with a Present Participle, in the same form. It will be best to commence a new period. Comp. N. 2.

10 nach Nord und Süd.

11 The second ‘anywhere’ is best turned by nur hinweg.

12 dem allgemeinen Aufruhr preisgeben.

13 And — near = And now we approach (sich nähern, with Dat.) the end (Schluß, m.) of our first tableau. The French ‘tableau’ is used with French pronunciation in the same sense in German. It is of the neuter gender and takes the inflection of an s in the Gen. Sing.

14 masters of Paris = which rules in Paris; to rule, beherrschen (v. tr.).

15 moveables = objects; atoms = pieces.

16 Insert the noun ‘men’.

17 ein´nehmen; Royalty = the Royal family; filled = occupied (inne haben, treated like a comp. sep. v.). The adverbial clause ‘at the breakfast table’ is best placed after the verb ‘takes’.

18 drinking themselves drunk = and drink themselves drunk (sich betrinken).

19 wiederum andere.

20 and defile (besudeln).

21 diese geheiligte Stätte der Häuslichkeit.

22 top = roof; of it = of the same.

23 hin und her schwenken.

24 The preposition ‘by’ in connection with the passive voice and establishing a relation with the noun or pronoun that denotes the doer of the action expressed by the verb, is rendered by von.

25 To avoid a succession of relative clauses, which should always be avoided, begin again a new period here and say: The shouts and shrieks of these men invite (herbei´locken), etc.

26 whom — but = who seem only to climb up (erklettern) the roof. The adv. ‘immediately’ comes after the conjunction ‘to’.