German composition

Section 58 The Bequest. — II

The father continued: “I leave to my son James my money⁠1, amounting⁠2 to four thousand pounds⁠3.” “Ah, father,” said⁠4 James, of course in⁠4 great affliction, “may (App. § 34) heaven give you life and health to enjoy the gift yourself.” The⁠5 father, then addressing the spendthrift, said: “As⁠6 for you, Dick, you⁠7 will never come to good; you will never be rich. I leave you a shilling to (S. 19, N. 7) buy⁠8 a halter.” “Ah, father,” said Dick in a most⁠9 melancholy voice, “may heaven give you life and health to enjoy the gift yourself!”—Anonymous.

Notes

1 ‘money’, here = ready money, bares Geld.

2 to amount to something, sich auf etwas belaufen. See S. 16, N. 4.

3 Das Pfund, one pound English money, never takes the sign of the Plural in German, and the same refers to ‘die Mark’, a German coin corresponding to one shilling English.

4 said = exclaimed; in = with.

5 Say ‘Upon this the father addressed himself (sich wenden) to (an) the spendthrift and said’.

6 As — Dick, Was dich betrifft, Richard.

7 Introduce this clause by the adverbial conjunction so, and see App. § 15; to come to good, zu etwas Rechtem kommen.

8 The German language, as a rule, requires that the person for whose benefit an action is performed, is clearly indicated. When this is not done by a noun in the dative case, it is generally done by means of the dative of a personal pronoun; as—
I will buy a hat. Ich will mir einen Hut kaufen.
We have built a house. Wir haben uns ein Haus gebaut.
Supply, therefore, the necessary pronoun after the conjunction um; a halter = a rope, Strick, m.

9 Render ‘most’ here by ‘höchst’.