German composition

Section 166 Russian Political Prisoners in Banishment. — II

In this dreary abode⁠1 a week or ten days is spent, when⁠2 the governor of Arkangel, after due reflection, marks out⁠3 for this dangerous personage some final place of exile (S. 76, N. 22, B), some⁠4 miserable little district town⁠5, such as Holmogor, Shenkoursk, Pinega, or Mexen. The⁠6 prisoner is then told his “documents” are ready, and a gendarme enters, saying⁠7 it is time to start⁠8. The exile jumps into the jolting post-waggon, two gendarmes jump in after him, the bell above⁠9 the horse’s neck begins to ring—and rings on for⁠10 days and weeks—through wood⁠11, and swamp, and plain, along⁠12 roads inconceivably drear and lonely, until the⁠13 weary convoy at length arrives at his destination. The little town is desolate and black⁠14, and consists of log-huts, two unpaved streets, and a wooden church painted green, and the⁠15 live-stock consists of ten or twelve raw-boned⁠16 horses, a small herd of sickly⁠17 cows, and thirty or forty reindeer. The population rarely (S. 102, N. 30) exceeds one (S. 132, N. 10) thousand⁠18, and consists of the Ispravnik⁠19, ten subaltern⁠20 officers, the Arbiter⁠21 of the Peace, the⁠22 Crown Forester, a priest, a few shopkeepers, thirty or forty exiles, a⁠23 chain-gang of Russian felons, and a crowd⁠24 of Finnish beggars. On his arrival, the prisoner is driven straight to (S. 72, N. 4) the police-ward, where he is inspected⁠25 by (S. 106, N. 23) the Ispravnik, a (S. 53, N. 9) police officer, who is absolute lord and master of the district. This representative of the Government requires⁠26 of him to answer the following questions: His⁠27 name? How old? Married or single? Where from? The address of⁠28 parents, relations, or friends? Answers⁠29 to all of which are entered in the books.

Notes

1 Aufenthaltsort, m.; a — spent = spends (verbringen) the prisoner eight or ten days.

2 = whereupon.

3 to mark out, bezeichnen; for this = to this (Dat.); personage = character; some final = his definite (definitiv). The Dat. should be placed immediately after ‘Arkangel’.

4 = a.

5 Kreisstadt, f.; such as = as for example.

6 Construe this passage accord. to the following model: I am told the documents are destroyed, Es (S. 104, N. 19) wird mir mitgeteilt, daß die Papiere vernichtet sind.

7 mit dem Bemerken, daß, etc.

8 ‘to start,’ of a conveyance, a train, etc., is generally rendered by ab´fahren.

9 = at, an.

10 for years, jahrelang.

11 Use the pl. for this and the two following nouns.

12 auf. Read S. 128, N. 11.

13 the — convoy = the exhausted travellers.

14 black = gloomy.

15 Viehstand, m.

16 abgemagert.

17 siech.

18 Supply ‘souls’.

19 This term may be used in its unaltered form, but is perhaps better rendered by ‘Polizeipräsident’, m.

20 Unterbeamte, m.

21 Friedensrichter.

22 Nom. der kaiserliche Forstbeamte.

23 einem Haufen russischer Verbrecher in Ketten.

24 = number.

25 = examined; who — district = with absolute (unumschränkt) power (Vollmacht, f.) over the whole district.

26 begehren; to answer = the answer, die Beantwortung, followed by the Gen., but without art.

[27] = your.

28 Say ‘of your parents’.

29 Say ‘and the answers to (auf, with Acc.) these questions are all entered (ein´tragen) in the books’.