Month 69: Pages 102-105

This Month's Installment

The italicized bit is what I'm unsure about.

     "People won't rack their brains about it.  They have other things to think about now."

     She had not heard him.  "But no, you are much too serious and holy for that.  I told you already on the Adlershorst cliff:  you cannot be nice and affectionate at all, even if you wanted.  The poor woman whom you will later marry!"

     An impish feature flashed from her eyes and slipt from there down to her red lips that now possessed something seductive.

     The train was really late.  The rush to the single stop always became bigger, often it received a concentration that was barely manageable.  Everyone was on the way home.  The beautiful summer freshness  on the sea, in the country, in the woods had been abruptly terminated, most of the faces showed uneasiness and agitation.

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     Finally, they arrived in Königsberg.  Here it was disclosed to them that as a result of events that had not been intended, the train would be left there temporarily and that they, not being let off before the evening, could use another for the continuation of the journey.

     Nuscha was beside herself, complained about the railroad management that could not meet greater demands, and behaved like an unruly child.  But it didn't help her, she eventually realized it herself, laughed about her irritation, and soon recovered her cheerful mood with a good snack that she had in a Königsberg wine tavern.

     Although they arrived at the train station very early, the evening train was already crowded.  They walkt through the aisles, even here the people were crowded, it was barely possible to get through.  But Nuscha gave the conductor a tip, and he opened a compartment in first class for them.

     At first they were alone, then even this filled, eventually every seat was occupied, they even had to sit still closer together in order to give a sickly woman and her attendant the opportunity to sit down.

     The train started to move.  They had both of the corner seats at the window.  With the faint light that filled the compartment, he could not exactly make out the features of her face, but he noticed that every anxiety had left her.  In a feeling of cozy security, she leaned her head close to the upholster, now and then, her eye winkt to him between the thick silky eyelashes, then the lids sank deeper, she seemed to sleep.

     Around them was calm, the people sat

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sunk in their seats; now and then maybe one spoke with his neighbor, but usually in a subdued tone.  The sickly lady struggled with a coughing fit that she overcame with the help of her attendant.  Now one heard nothing but the regular, soporific rhythm of the pounding wheels.

     Outside was dark night up to the black windows.  Now and then flashed the lights of a station through which the train travelled.  Now a decrease in the breakneck hurry, the first stop.  Nuscha rubbed her eyes, she appeared really to have slept.

     "Still a short hour, and you will be in Rodenburg, then it won't be much longer and I too will be at home."

     Again the usual swarming and surging on the platform, the pushing and shoving on the walkways, then the train, which had already emptied a little, travelled farther into the night.

     Now Hans too wanted to try to rest for a little while.  The day and its uninterrupted travelling had been exhausting enough, he felt a leaden fatigue in his whole body.  But he had hardly stretcht out his feet and leaned back his head when - a strong jolt through the whole train, which suddenly stopt.

     A visible agitation spread through the travellers.  Some stood up, some walkt up to the door, the window, some called for the conductor.  What was the meaning of this?

     "They're looking for someone," Hans heard said in the next compartment, then it was quiet again.

     "Everyone stays in place!  No one leaves his compartment!  The corridors are to be kept free!"

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now sounded a piercing voice.  At the same time, one heard loud steps on the walkways and in fact from several sides.

     "Police officers!  They are going into every carriage," it sounded again from next door.

     "What could it be?" Hans askt Nuscha.

     She didn't answer, just shrugged her shoulders.

 

Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary

Zug is used in two different senses in sequential sentences (although divided by a paragraph break):  "Ein schelmischer Zug blitzte aus ihren Augen und glitt von da zu den roten Lippen herab, die jetzt etwas Verführerisches hatten. / Der Zug verspätete wirklich."  I couldn't find a translation that I was really happy with for the first instance, but eventually I went with feature - "An impish feature flashed from her eyes and slipt from there down to her red lips that now possessed something seductive."  In the following sentence, Zug means train, but this becomes clear only with the context of the following sentences, which describe a rush of travellers.  At first glance, the Zug in "Der Zug verspätete wirklich" could be understood in the same sense as the Zug from the previous sentence and paragraph.  Instead of "the train was really late," then, this first sentence could be translated as "the feature was really late."  I think this ambiguity is intentional and something of a comment on Nuscha's almost flirtatious behavior.

I'm not sure if there's any rhetorical intent behind it, but there's rhyming in the phrase "das Schieben und Drängen auf den Gängen."  I couldn't find a way to include this in my translation, however:  "the pushing and shoving on the walkways."

Month 68: Pages 100-102

This Month's Installment

As always, the italicized bits are what I'm unsure about.

     In front of them and behind them, people rushed and pressed; in endless flight, carriages and cars loaded high with luggage rattled and snarled along the street.  Finally, they had reached the train station.  But it was not possible to approach the ticket office, and the barriers were closed because the platform was already over crowded.  To go with one of the next trains was not a thought.

     He wanted to wait.

     "Definitely not," she said, "we will take a car to Danzig, whatever it costs.  I have enough money.  He has many bad qualities, but he is not stingy."

     It was impossible to get a car, they were glad when they, after long searching and asking, finally got hold of a one-horse carriage.  She promised the coachman a good tip if he would go as far as his horse could run.

     "We must try to get the D train to Königsberg, then we can both still be home this evening, you at 8 o'clock and I at 10 o'clock."

     She had the whole trip ready and knew every train, its departure and its arrival, everything down to the minute.  Only seldom did she check in the small timetable that she still constantly held in her hand.  "Still a little faster, coachman!

---100---

Whatever happens, you must get the fast train, you should not regret it."

     A growing anxiety that could increase to feverishness was in her.  Then her cheeks glowed, and shining fires lit up in her eyes.  She was beautiful in such moments.

     "It has surprised us all. He knew that it would come, for a long time already.  He never spoke about it, but I markt it well.  But that it would burst out now, he has not thought of that.  He has made a mistake, the clever man, thoroughly mistaken!"

     "Mistaken?"

     She lookt at him, a brief fright ran over her face.  But only for a second, then she smiled, bright and maliciously.

     "Yes, mistaken!  In his speculation that he pursued more craftily than the slyest Jew.  But this time they have passed him by.  And it serves him right!"

     Now they were in Danzig, and there were only a few minutes left until the departure of the train.  With a feline speed, she had left the carriage, paid the coachman, and bought the tickets.  Immediately after they sat in an overcrowded compartment in second class, the train slowly left the train station.

     Hans stood at the window and lookt at the wall of people who waited on the different platforms for their trains.  At every stop that they passed through, the same image.

     She saw nothing of all of that.  Her head propped against the upholstery, she fixed her big eyes always on the same point, something dead was then in her gaze.  But even here on the railway,

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where she could change nothing, she had the same restlessness.

     "We are late," she said when the train stopt in Dirschau long after the prescribed time; "for you it doesn't matter so much, but I will no longer make the connection in Insterburg."

     "You are unrecognizable to-day," he said; "on our hikes in Zoppot you were a completely different person."

     "You are right," she replied, forcing herself into a smile, "I always suffer from railway fever.  It is a sickness from my childhood."

     Now she turned to brighter and better things.  "What could people possibly take us for?  Perhaps a young couple on honeymoon."

Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary

There are three instances of asyndeton in the sentence "Vor ihnen, hinter ihnen eilten, drängten die Menschen, in unabsehbarer Flucht ratterten, fauchten Wagen und Autos, hochbeladen mit Gepäck, die Straße entlang."  Asyndeton is a rhetorical device in which conjunctions are omitted.  Normally, this sentence would be something like "Vor ihnen und hinter ihnen eilten und drängten die Menschen, in unabsehbarer Flucht ratterten und fauchten Wagen und Autos, hochbeladen mit Gepäck, die Straße entlang."  In its use here, the asyndeton gives a sense of the congestion and busyness of the travellers.  I couldn't find a good way to include this in my translation though, and/so I went with the more straight-forward "In front of them and behind them, people rushed and pressed; in endless flight, carriages and cars loaded high with luggage rattled and snarled along the street."  I'm not sure "snarled" is a verb that really applies to carriages and cars, but "snarl" and "hiss" were the only translations my dictionary provided for fauchen.

In the clause "als sie nach langem Suchen und Bitten endlich einen Einspänner auftrieben," the subject ("sie") and verb ("auftrieben") are about as far apart as they can be.  This is just the way German word-order is for this particular construction (the verb goes at the end), but this distance also gives a sense of the long waiting period.  I tried to retain this in my translation:  "when they, after long searching and asking, finally got hold of a one-horse carriage."

In the sentence "Hans stand am Fenster und blickte auf die Mauer von Menschen, die auf den verschiedensten Bahnsteigen ihrer Züge harrten," "verschiedensten" is a superlative adjective, but I don't understand why.  I translated "den verschiedensten Bahnsteigen" simply as "the different platforms" rather than "the most different platforms," which - while more accurate - doesn't seem to make much sense.

Month 67: Pages 97-100

This Month's Installment

The italicized bit is what I'm unsure about.

     Finally a moment of calm set in.  Now Hans too could get his breakfast.  It was the last meal that he would have at his preferred window seat, across from the sea.  It was completely empty around him, even the large table in the middle of the dining room was vacant.

     Only one sat at it:  the black Russian.  He tapped his soft-boiled egg with such ease, as if the whole matter didn't concern him at all, he cut the juicy ham and carried it in large quantities into his obtuse mouth over his thick Van Dyke beard.

     Nuscha's chair was empty.  "She will come with the children," he said to himself.  The door opened, the two children appeared, greeted their father respectfully,

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and took seats across from him.  Nuscha's chair remained empty.

     Where could she be?  Had the general confusion swept her away too?  Had she already gone with the others?  Maybe to have escaped secretly from her government?  That he still had to occupy himself with thoughts of her!

     He had given out his tips and said goodbye to the head waiter.  He had always been pleasant to him, he had a quiet, refined way, always showed a friendly expression, even if his heart was sometimes probably rightly outraged, and knew to deal with the most difficult guests sensibly.  To-day, however, he saw him grieved for the first time.

     "Summer after summer have I been here in the 'Seastar,'" he said, "it is now the tenth year.  And it has always gone well for me, just now in the busiest time, where our profit begins, this unfortunate war!"

     "You are married?"

     "I have a wife and four children in Danzig."

     "And don't you yourself have to go?"

     "I am considered permanently unfit, a bad heart-"

     "Think of the many who have to leave wife and child now and sacrifice their lives!"

     "You are right, Pastor.  It will be a difficult time, and it's a sin to think of one's self now!"

     Rucksack and coat were strapped on his back, a last greeting look once more over the cherished place, then it was off into the bright, sunny morning towards the home that now called urgently and in which he was more necessary than ever.

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     "Pastor!" it sounded behind him.  And when he turned around:  Nuscha in the fur-garnished jacket, which despite the heat that, burning and oppressive, had already set in, she had not taken off, the bold, greenish-gray felt hat on her head, the deep black hair protruding over her pale brownish forehead and both temples - exactly as he had seen her the first time.

     "You are also on the journey home," she said in that familiar amusing way, with which she had met him earlier, "and because we probably have the same route, you'll take me with you, right?  Yes, I want to be frank, I have already waited for you for quite a while on the bench there, I knew that you would come."

     "But your government?" he askt, a little uncertain.

     A sneering laugh.  "My government...!?"  She pressed her red lips firmly together, as he had quite often observed in her when she wanted to restrain a word.  "Last night he askt me to his room.  'A war with Germany is in the air,' he said.  'They will realize that as a higher Russian official I may not keep a German governess in my house.  So I release you from my service.  Because I want to meet my wife in Danzig, I have nothing against it if you want to leave immediately.  By tomorrow I will be ready to go alone with the children.'  He gave me the travel money and the rest of my salary, and I was dismissed."

     "And now - where do you want to go now?"

     "To Marlitten, high up in East Prussia, close to the Russian border.  My mother lives there, I told you about her, that after the

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death of my father she had stayed behind there alone.  So we'll travel quite a stretch up to Königsberg together.  And that's nice, it's not good to travel alone in this bad time."

     The sun burned hotter; Nuscha opened her jacket and took the felt hat off her forehead.  Her desire to talk appeared to have slackened, he didn't feel like having a conversation either.

Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary

I had been translating "Knebelbart" as "handlebar moustache" because that's the only translation my German dictionary has.  This didn't seem to make any sense in the phrase "in den stumpfen Mund über dem dichten Knebelbart."  Translating "Knebelbart" as "handlebar moustache" here results in:  "into the obtuse mouth above the handlebar moustache."  That's not how anatomy works.  I did some internet research and discovered that "Knebelbart" (in this context, at least) is actually a Van Dyke beard.

I've been translating "Herrschaft" as "government," but because Nuscha goes right from talking about "Herrschaft" to talking about the Russian statesman, I'm wondering if it may mean something more like "employer" in this context.  For now, at least, I kept "government."

Recently, my rate of "sentence (or so) a day" has sped up a bit.  If I know all or most of the words in the next sentence, I go ahead and translate that too.  A few days this month, I've done two or three sentences.  I made it to page 100 (!), but at this rate, it'll still take me about fifteen years to finish the translation (there are 417 pages total).  And after that, I should probably go back to smooth out and adjust some of the rougher sections....

Month 66: Pages 95-97

This Month's Installment

As always, what's italicized is what I'm unsure about.

     "Refused!" it sounded through the hall of the "Sea Star" at the same hour two days later, "refused, as was foreseen!  The courier has just brought the news."
     "Then we'll have the war!"
     Finally, one decided to go into the dining room.  The maids served the plates, the head waiter went in inaudible, gliding step from table to table to present the wine list and to ask about wishes; now everything was in the old way.  Even conversation, conducted so lively earlier, had reduced to that subdued degree that was in the habit of prevailing at the common meals, indeed, one spoke even less than usual, everyone appeared occupied with his thoughts and plans.  The mood was visibly depressed, in some faces a distinct expression of worry and fear appeared.
     Involuntarily, Hans' eye scanned the Russian councillor.  No muscle moved in his yellowish face, he sat there with the same fixed expression, kept a tight rein on every movement of his children with the same stern look, and now and then exchanged the usual words and looks with Nuscha.  She, however, appeared to him to-day different than usual; a soft flush lay in her sharply-cut 

---95---

profile, a certain unease was in her bearing.  Only when the examining gaze from the other side also passed over them did she become calm.  But one noticed that she did violence to herself.

     Days full of hot excitement followed.  The Kurkappelle played only patriotic tunes, a thick cluster of people stood around it, clapt enthusiastic applause, and sang the "Lieb Vaterland, kannst ruhig sein!" until late at night.  Out of the coffee houses and restaurants rang by turns the German and Austrian national anthems.  A stream of the enthusiasm and of the cheerful confidence pervaded the same people who usually had an eye and heart only for idle prattle, games, and sport.
     The excitement rose and surged and boiled like the sea on her worst days.  The office of the "Seastar," which lay under the hall, was now besieged by the guests at all times of the day, and the master of the house had nothing to do but write bills, answer a thousand questions, and give all sorts of explanations about railway connections and steamship trips.  Everyone prepared for the withdrawal and rushed home as fast as possible.
     Even Hans had packt his things and handed them over to the porter for forwarding to the train station.  When he came down from the great hall in the early morning of the last July dawn, which was hot from the beginning and shining in the pure golden sun that had risen over the sea, there was hardly anything to see.  Mountains of suitcases piled up, only with trouble was the way between them kept free.
     Although the seventh hour had only just struck,

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in which everyone here usually lay in the deepest sleep, most had already breakfasted.  He had to wait, there was no one there for service, everyone was busy with the departure.  A surging and running, a calling and asking, a searching for all sorts of forgotten or hidden items filled the hall and the side rooms, so that one could believe that a fire had suddenly broken out and everyone saved and gathered together what was still possible to save.  The whole thing seemed like an escape; the promenade, usually completely empty at this time, was swarming with people as far as one could see.  Because yester-day in the late evening the news had come that the political situation had come to a head, the peace negotiations of the German Kaiser had failed, and a European war would be certain.  Now there was no more stopping.  Homeward!  That was the only thought, the burning wish, that fulfilled everything.

Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary

I think that "haben" in the sentence "Dann haben wir den Krieg!" is meant to be understood as something of a future tense even though it's actually in the present.  In any case, I translated it as if it were a future:  "Then we'll have the war!"

I didn't translate "Lieb Vaterland, kannst ruhig sein" because I think this is the actual title of a song.  I did a bit of research and found this postcard from 1914:

It translates to something like:

Dear Fatherland, you can be calm
You need never lose heart
You have the right helmsman
In these difficult days

This is the end of chapter seventeen and the beginning of chapter eighteen.

Month 65: Pages 93-95

This Month's Installment

     When he set out on the way back, the moon had disappeared from the sky, a faint, pale streak announced already the incipient daybreak.  Without stopping, he proceeded homewards.  The "Sea Star" lay before him, shrouded in dark gray.  But out of the room on the first floor, light still shone through the closed shutters.  What could the two up there still have?  More and more the mysteries that surrounded them grew.
     But he didn't think about them for long, he had become dead tired, quickly got undressed in his room, and slept until the next morning, a bright Sunday.

     For a few more days he enjoyed his stay with unspoilt pleasure.  Until suddenly and quite abruptly the hour came when he became weary of this life of lavish

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idleness, of these incessantly streaming torrents of polished people, when because of the high-strung culture, he longed to be back in the quietly modest nature, and even the wonderful sea no longer gave him the reviving and refreshment it had so far given.  On a beach hike, the yearning for the East Prussian fields and woods overcame him with such irresistible force, that he would have liked to leave on the very same day in order to spend the short remainder of his vacation in Bärwalde.
     It had become lunchtime, and he returned to the "Seastar."
     But even at the entrance he hesitated.
     The people weren't resting as usual, waiting for the bell call for dinner in their deckchairs in the hall or walking in carpet-covered corridors, festively dressed for the great meal.  Everywhere a noticeable restlessness:  in the expressions, in the movements, in all the air around him.  Here one hurried past an-other carelessly, there stood one, speaking lively, shaking his head, and guiding the most intense movements with his arms and hands.  Even the English siblings, who had up till now kept their calm and dignity impertubably in every situation, today appeared to be overcome with the general fever.  He saw them standing in the middle of a group of a few Poles, outlining the whole circle in the air with gestures, taking part in the loud, almost passionately led conversation.
     Now the young Frenchman also joined with his wife.  They had exchanged a few polite words quite often.  Today they greeted coolly and solemnly.  And she didn't even have a silk dress on, and he appeared without a dinner jacket.  That

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had not yet occurred up till now.  What had happened?
     There came the German guests, they too in excited conversation.  Immediately, one word from it rang out to him.  And it was "war."
     "Austria had placed an ultimatum against Serbia," a Danzig business explained to him.
     The day passed in feverish tension.  One thought of nothing, spoke of nothing but the war.

Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary

Instead of translating "das englische Geschwisterpaar, das seine Ruhe und Gemessenheit... bewahrt hatte" as "the English sibling pair, who had kept its calm and dignity," which - while accurate and literal - is a bit awkward because it describes a pair of people with "its," I translated it as "the English siblings, who had kept their calm and dignity."  I want especially to point out that I avoided the pernicious use of the singular "their."  The pronoun and antecedent in the German are both singular ("das Geschwisterpaar" "seine"); I simply made them both plural while retaining the same sense ("the siblings" "their").

This is the end of chapter sixteen and the beginning of chapter seventeen.

Since Austria's ultimatum to Serbia is a historical fact, I can now determine the book's chronological setting more precisely.  The day described here is 23 July 1914.

Month 64: Pages 91-93

This Month's Installment

As always, the italicized parts are what I'm unsure of.

Only once did he notice that she handed to the Russian a letter that she had just finished, that he read it through very diligently, made a few improvements in it, then gave it back to her and that they now negotiated quietly with one an-other for a long time, where he was very calm, she however spoke lively, almost passionately to him.
     Soon after the meal, they went out of the "Seastar," always alone, only rarely did one see a stranger by her side, whose conspicuous clothes indicated his foreign nationality.  They never came farther than the casino; but even there, one saw them either at a concert or on the stage.  Some wanted to know that they belonged to an

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elegant Russian club who met for coffee in a reserved room, others made enigmatic expressions and hinted that one played secret games of chance there.
     It was on a late evening, the sounds of the Kurkapelle had just faded away, Hans had listened to them from a quiet place in the garden of the "Seastar"; he loved the music that came out of the distance as if on mysterious pinions that in the area gave him less.
     He had gone up to his room and immediately wanted to close the shutters because he saw the moon rise out of a cloud; it was no longer its full disc, it was already waning.  But its light was strong and shone far enough to cover the whole sea in its silvery-bluish haze.  Thin clouds stretched over its smoothed disc, and through them he saw, now milk-white, now pale green, a gleaming, weaving veil spinning over the calm surface of the water.  The world lay there like an impenetrable mystery, full of quiet foreboding and celebrated size.  In soft, blurred lines the coast stretched out with its jutting mountains, its deep, dark bays, and the garland of its woods.
     It didn't keep him in his room, he put his coat on, went slowly down the stairs, and walkt outside.  It would be a sin to sleep through this night.
     Admittedly, he appeared to be the only one to whom such an adventurous notion had come.  Shrouded in deep darkness lay the big house, only in the room on the first floor that the Russian had chosen for himself and his company did he see light gleaming through the cracks of the firmly closed shutters.  He askt the gatekeeper, who had just put the guests' clothes

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and boots together in the hall for the house door key and set out on his hike, up the south promenade, over the sea bridge to the north promenade, then further on the lonely beach along the way to Adlershorst.  In a small wooded area above the beach, through which he had once gone with Nuscha in a raging storm, he lingered for a longer time.  Today everything was deeply quiet, nothing to hear but the dreamy surging of the sea under him, the muffled murmuring of the pine trees, and now and then the call of a night bird.
     He could not tear himself away, so wonderfully spoke this nighttime, moon-flooded seclusion to his receptive soul.  Wrapt in his coat, he sat on a fallen tree trunk for almost half an hour.

I have no additional comments this month.

Month 63: Pages 89-91

This Month's Installment

As always, the italicized parts are what I'm unsure about.

    But he was soon interrupted.  Two children approximately four to six years old came into the room, rushed to Nuscha and greeted her in a passionate and affectionate way, while they offered their hand to the gentleman by the chimney in a grave, almost shy manner, and not until her sign.  Now they turned back to the young girl and told her all sorts of things that they had seen and experienced.  For their age, they spoke perfect French, and Nuscha answered them the same way.  Soon after, they all left the room, and from his writing desk he saw them walk out through the garden of the promenade.
    "Baron Sopinecki, a Russian Pole by birth, but now he's lived in Petersburg for a long time,"

---89---

he was informed in the hall by the dignified owner of the "Seastar" who in his gold-embroidered cap ruled his large house in the good old nature of a father and personally lookt after every guest and took all meals together with his numerous staff.  "I don't know him, until now he has always lived in the casino and has come in the 'Seastar' for the first time.  He arrived yester-day in the late evening with the two little ones on the Königsberg steamer, his wife is still in Baden, however, he expects her soon."
    Also in the coming days, Nuscha took up the same reserved spot across from him, and he did not make it difficult for her.  Sometimes he was very glad to look after himself again now.  But then came hours where he missed her, he did not even want to admit it to himself.
    Despite the tennis tournament's having long since ended, the young French couple had stayed at the "Seastar" for its recovery from the strains of the sport.  One of the two Englishmen likewise appeared to have the intention to stay a little longer in the comfortable house with his sister.  He saw her only at meals.  The entrance of people had become less because of the unsteady weather, the tables became smaller.
    Only one big one was still in the dining room; in the middle of it he saw the gaunt Russian state councillor, always in a long black overcoat, usually also with a black neck tie.  Across from him sat Nuscha, most of the time dressed likewise in dark colors and with almost affected simplicity, on either side of her were the children, to whom she distributed the food.  They were allowed to speak no word, not once to move, the sharp eye of the father kept a strict rein on them.

---90---

They and Nuscha communicated only through looks or short casually thrown in words, mostly in French but sometimes also in Russian; then no one understood them.  But more often he listened to Nuscha talking with her neighbors, the young Englishman and his blonde sister, who probably were now set on her wish for her.  She even served them in the language of their country, but she didn't speak it as fluently as French.

     Finally the weather cleared up.  Hans believed he had never before in his life seen a sea so blue, a sky so cloudless.  Full of fervor he absorbed the balmy air and went on his old beloved walks over the beach promenade or in the glorious forest.  Also now he almost never encountered Nuscha and her mysterious companion outside.  In the morning, they remained at home, sat for hours in a secluded corner of the large writing room, read and wrote letters, without speaking with one an-other.

Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary

There's quite a contrast between the way in which the two children greet Nuscha and the way they greet the man by the chimney:  "Zwei Kinder im Alter von ungefähr vier bis sechs Jahren kamen in das Zimmer, stürzten auf Nuscha zu und begrüßten sie auf stürmisch zärtliche Art, während sie dem Herrn am Kamin in gemessener, beinah scheuer Weise und erst auf ihren Wink die Hand boten."  "Art" and "Weise" are synonyms, and in order to emphasize the contrast, I translated them so that the word used with Nuscha ("way") is more common, while the word used with the man by the chimney ("manner") is a bit more formal.

The sentence beginning "'Baron Sopinecki, a Russian Pole by birth...'" is in active voice in the original text, but I put it in passive voice in my translation so I could put the lengthy relative clause closer to what it modifies:  "the dignified owner."  Otherwise, the subject would be two lines away from the verb.

Ultimately, it doesn't make any difference, but I noticed an interesting ambiguity in the sentence "Auch ihnen diente sie in der Sprache ihres Landes, aber sie sprach sie nicht so geläufig wie die französische."  There are two "sie"s in the second clause, but it's unclear which refers to Nuscha and which refers to "Sprache" (a feminine [die] word but in the dative case here).  It's unclear, then, whether the clause is inverted (with the direct object preceding the verb, probably for emphasis) or not.

I had some fun in translating "Voller Inbrunst sog er die balsamische Luft und wanderte seine altgeliebten Spaziergänge über die Strandpromenade oder hinein in den herrlichen Wald" so that "Voller Inbrunst" alliterates ("full of fervor") and "in den herrlichen Wald" exhibits assonance ("in the glorious forest").

This is the end of chapter fifteen and the beginning of chapter sixteen.

Month 62: Pages 87-89

This Month's Installment

As always, what's italicized is what I'm unsure about:

     "Down below in our mess it is more comfortable now," said the young second lieutenant, "we ask the lady and gentlemen to take part in our pared down evening snack, it has just been prepared."
     When Hans went homewards with Nuscha on the fast pinnace, the touch of the rising night already lay on the water.  The wind had 

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died down, but the sky remained gray, cloudy, heavy with rain.  Only on the horizon did it glow crimson in a strange contrast like a [lohendes] fire.  Up to the shadows it dropt deeply and with its black wings covered even the thin, shaking streak of light.  Over there lay the fleet.  It was like looking at an illuminated city in the middle of the sea.  Signals flew from one ship over to an-other, now and then a rocket crackled up to the night sky.
     They had left the pinnace and walkt along the south promenade to their home.  Contrary to her habit, Nuscha had remained silent a long time, only the image of the illuminated fleet had loosened her tongue.  Now she spoke with shining enthusiasm about the experiences of the afternoon... but suddenly she stopt short, stared with large dull eyes at a lanky male figure that, looking around on all sides, slowly walkt right in front of them, murmured a few confused words of apology, and disappeared. 

     Hans had slept badly that night, all sorts of strange and oppressive dreams had plagued him.  When he appeared for breakfast very late, the dining room was empty and the tables for the most part were already set for lunch.  Outside there was an overcast sky again and a cold and damp air that pierced one to the heart.
     When he stept into the social room, his first glance fell on Nuscha.  She sat in the green=grey, fur-garnished jacket at a small table, busy with needlework.  Across from her, leaning casually against the chimney, stood a lean, narrow-shouldered man in a black 

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overcoat with very long coattails.  His head was big and pointed, his face of yellowish color and very pale skin.  Over his low forehead lay close-cropped hair with the same bluish shimmer as his thick handlebar moustache that covered the middle of his square chin.
     The two appeared to be in the middle of an enthusiastic conversation.  As he opened the door, he saw how the man talkt with a certain violence to Nuscha, who as far as she was concerned kept quiet and lookt at her needlework so untiringly that he didn't know whether she had noticed his entrance.  He greeted her, she lookt up and reciprocated his greeting not unfriendly but with a formality that showed a clear restraint.  Because she made no move to introduce him to the gentleman by the chimney, he didn't speak to her, as had been his intention at first, rather he went to one of the writing desks standing by the window in order to begin a letter to Fritz.

Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary

Of my dictionary's suggestions, "enthusiastic" was best word to translate "eifrigen," but it still doesn't quite fit the context.

Aside from that, there's not much to say this month.  This is the end of chapter fourteen and the beginning of chapter fifteen.

Month 61: Pages 85-87

This Month's Installment

As always, what's italicized is what I'm unsure about.

There was something of both in her:  of a princess who sailed over the sea in her launch and of a small cst, which, purring, [muschelt] itself in the soft cushion of a sofa.
     Like a nutshell the pretty thing danced and rockt through the water.  Hard and firmly the waves beat

---85---

against its flanks with a steady sound, and every time a small splash came overboard, Nuscha jumpt up with a horrified shriek yet at the same time shook with pleasure.  The theatricality of her character then emerged, and he was afraid once again of her introduction onto the ship.  The pinnace slowed its course, stopt - they were actually there already!
     Quickly, the ship stairs were let down, at the top stood the young naval chaplain, who waved to Hans.  When he saw a lady in his company, he was quite taken aback for a moment, but then walkt towards them both and expressed to Nuscha his joy that he was also able to welcome her onto his impressive, beautiful ship.  "Provided it is alright with the gentleman, I will lead her first."
     He gave a short summary about the type of the cruiser, mentioned the year of its construction, the class to which it belonged, and emphasized the completely new fittings, which distinguished it before others.  A loving pride in his ship spoke out of each of his words.  Then he began the actual tour, from high up on the command deck down to the lowest engine rooms.
     Hans, who had already often been on warships, followed the explanations of his friend with much understanding, but his attention was pulled away from them to his companion.  With a true fervor Nuscha listened to every word, she lookt at every room, every corner, every little part of the engines with an interest that made itself known both in the excitement in her features and in the questions that she askt her guide now and then.  And these questions, while they might have even seemed a little childish at first, made sense when properly considered.

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He noticed that his friend, at whom she often lookt very astonished and then with such desire for knowledge that probably had not yet appeared to him in a young lady, visibly excited, let follow the most precise explanations.
     Now and then an officer encountered them in their wandering.  And every time he too was immediately fascinated by the strange girlish figure, gazed after her for a longer time or - after he exchanged a few word with the pastor - asked to be introduced to her; a young, handsome second lieutenant followed them, hardly left from Nuscha's side, and told her many pleasant things in his calm, elegant manner.
     She paid just as little attention to it as to the general attention that she excited.  Her interest remained directed only on business.  Under such circumstances, the tour claimed many more hours, it had become late when the naval chaplain askt them to a cup of coffee.
     And now it came, as Nuscha's bright imagination foresaw:  they sat at a small covered table on the quarterdeck, and quick sailors served cake in small crystal dishes.  And above them the sky and below them the water.  And over there, the coast getting darker in the evening.  Only that it was rather cool up here, especially when the sun crept behind the clouds and a fresh breeze rose from the sea.

Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary

In my last post, I noted that I didn't translate "Rücksitz" as "backseat" because I didn't think it fit the context.  For some reason, I thought it referred to a bench along the shore.  After translating the next sentence, I realized that the setting had changed and that Hans and Nuscha are already on the boat, which is definitely suitable context for a backseat.

As far as word order, the sentence "He noticed that his friend, at whom she often lookt very astonished and then with such desire for knowledge that probably had not yet appeared to him in a young lady, visibly excited, let follow the most precise explanations" is a terrible mess, but I can't think of how to straighten it out.

I don't like that I used "attention" twice in the sentence "She paid just as little attention to it as to the general attention that she excited" - once for "achtete" and once for "Aufmerksamkeit."  I couldn't think of a different word to use, however, and my dictionary was no help in suggesting others.

Month 60: Pages 84-85

This Month's Installment

As always, the italicized parts are what I'm unsure about.

     It really went quick as a flash.  He had just taken a newspaper and sat down in one of the comfortable wicker chairs that stood immediately in front of the building when a loud, shrill whistle from the veranda startled him.
     "Oh, there you are, I expected you to be much further in the garden and wanted to make myself audible."
     "Where did you get a whistle all of a sudden?"
     She laughed.  "It's not a whistle, I do that with my mouth... look, like this..."  She set her red lips at a little of an angle and whistled even more loudly and piercingly than the first time, so that he put his hands over his ears.
     "For God's sake, stop!"
     "It's not such a despicable skill, it is perhaps the best that I have learned in my life.  We used to call it the 'family whistle.'  All of my siblings have learned it; so we could make ourselves heard everywhere.  Even later, it has served me well."
     Again her old manner that had caught his attention so many times.  She said something, broke off in the middle of a word, and then for a few seconds lookt half frightened, half forgotten to herself.
     Going through the garden, they reached the south promenade, which led them to the landing in a few minutes.  A quick glance that he let examine and wander over her figure showed him that she had appropriately and not without taste dressed herself for the purpose of their trip.  A dark green wool dress, closed at the top, and a cap, similar to his, which was fastened in her frizzy hair with a pin.  He could let himself be seen with her.

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    It was still quiet everywhere, Zoppot was taking its afternoon rest.  Like a thick curtain the sky lay over the sea.  At first, the two appeared to be one, then the curtain slowly rose; now they began to separate, a lighter blue shone through the dark gray, no wind stirred.  And yet the sea was not very calm and let small foam-crowned waves break against the beach.  As if its agitation lived in the deepest depth and rose to the surface only in furtive vibrations.  For a brief moment, the sky opened like a wide, tall gate that showed the way to eternity.  Very noticeably, almost within reach, the warships lay before them, and the peninsula Hela stood out from the horizon so clearly and in sharp outline that one could recognize its lighthouse with a naked eye.  That was not a good sign, for it indicated a storm and bad weather.
     The pinnace was already waiting.  It was a small, pretty thing, and Hans enjoyed the sparkle of pride and joy that rose in Nuscha's face while the fresh, lively blue boys stood at attention before her and saluted her.  Now she sat on the soft back-seat, her two arms stretcht out on the upholstered [Gewandung] leaned, on her pretty features, on her whole supple figure [were] cosy happiness and contentment.

Grammatical Minutiae

I translated "die frischen, flotten blauen Jungen" fairly literally as "the fresh, lively blue boys."  I imagined the "blue" part has to do with the color of their naval uniforms.  Blau can also mean drunk, but that doesn't seem to fit the context.

I had some trouble with the last sentence from this month's installment:  "Rücksitz" means back seat, but - again - that doesn't seem to fit this context; I couldn't find a translation for "Gewandung" (at least not one that made any sense here); and "ausgestreckt" ("stretcht out") and "gelehnt" ("leaned") both seem to modify Nuscha's arms, but - as actions - they're at odds with each other.

Month 59: Pages 82-83

This Month's Installment

As always, what's italicized is what I'm unsure about.

the German fleet appeared in front of Zoppot with a few cruisers and torpedos.  Proud and majestic it lay, the beams of the sun playing around it, in the shining silver-gray mirror of the sea, visible very near to the coast, however, in reality at a considerable distance.  The pinnaces rushed here and there, they brought the forces to land, they took, almost full beyond their strength, the Zoppot swimming crowd on board, because one was hospitable on the ships and granted a visit to everyone.  Officers, naval cadets, sailors filled the sea bridge, the paths, the casino and with their dapper uniforms and hardened sunburnt faces gave new colors to the colorful pictures.
     "Where are you going in such a hurry, Pastor?"
     Hans was one of the first to get up from the lunch table and, a navy blue cap on his head and a light coat over his arm, was about to leave the "Sea Star" when Nuscha's voice sounded on his ear.
     "Out to the fleet.  Yester-day in the casino I met an old friend who has been a naval chaplain for several years.  He invited me on his ship for this afternoon, the pinnace is waiting for me at the landing."
     "I'm pleased to hear it!  That must be a pleasure, the whole afternoon under such direction

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on one of these beautiful ships!  And then a cup of coffee up on the deck, and the quick sailors serve the dishes with cake.  And above one the sky and below one the water.  Nothing else!"
     "Yes, I am looking forward to it too!"
     "Take me with, Pastor!"
     Her dark, shining eyes cajoled him, her slender hands folded themselves together involuntarily, like a begging child she stood facing him.
     He was caught in a difficult spot.  It became hard for him to give her a negative reply, but on the other hand - he was invited, and by a brother of the office at that.  What would he, what would the officers say if he appeared in the company of a lady, especially one so young, pretty, and not least discreet?
     He wavered a moment, but there was something so compelling in her eyes, something so harmless in her pleading...
     "Yes, you are taking me with!" she shouted triumphantly.  "You don't need to say anything, I read it on your face. Oh, you are good, very good!  I knew it from the first moment I met you - here in this spot, in the hall!"
     She clapt her hands, she stretcht them towards him, it wasn't much different than if she had embraced him.  ["]And now, won't you permit me a very short little while... yes, you will... I must change clothes."
     "The pinnace will be on the beach at three o'clock."
     "Oh, she won't leave without us, and it won't take me long, you will see, quick as a flash!"  She was gone.  But once again she turned around:  Are you staying here in the same spot?  Or in the garden?  So that you don't run away from me!" 

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Commentary/Grammatical Minutiae

I couldn't immediately find "Pinassen" in my dictionary (it appears in the English-to-German section but not the German-to-English section).  Some internet searching revealed it to mean pinnace, which didn't help my understanding at all.  I didn't know that a pinnace is "a light sailing ship."

Until now, I'd been translating "Kurhaus" as "Kur House," not knowing quite what it meant.  Somehow, I'd missed the fact that this word appears in my dictionary.  It means casino.

I don't really understand why Sie is capitalized in the sentence "Oh, Sie fährt nicht ohne uns...."  Normally, this would be the formal second person singular (you), but because the verb is clearly third person, I think this is referring to the boat.  That's how I translated it, anyway:  "Oh, she won't leave without us...."

Month 58: Pages 80-82

This Month's Installment

The italicized parts are what I'm unsure about:

They went homewards together.  It was hot again, almost unbearably; with merciless heat the sun beat on the beach.  They had chosen the shady path on the big street.  Nuscha chatted in her old manner, but not longer as personally as earlier, she almost didn't speak of herself at all.  Generally, she had become more reserved towards him since that evening up on the cliff of Adlerhorst.
     Behind them sounded a blaring signal, the horn of a car, but different, as if it were leading something other than a motor vehicle.  Nuscha broke off in the middle of a word, rushed close to the street, and remained standing there.
     With relatively slow speed, the motor vehicle, which was half closed, came past.  Hans made out the contours of a slender female figure that sat inside with several other ladies.
     "The crown princess!  Finally I have seen her!  And how pleasantly she returned my greetings and lookt at me!" cried Nuscha coming back, and her whole face beamed.

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     The sport week had started.  Now from the early morning until the late evening began an uninterrupted competition on all areas of physical exercise.  Horse racing on impeccable fields in view of the sea, air-gondolas gliding above it, law sports, soccer, running and jumping and throwing games on the Manzen Square, hunting-like shooting at clay pigeons, [Kipp-] and wood hares in positions of the municipal manor forest, swimming and sailing competitions, and flower trips on the sea.
     A bigger draw than all the others, however, was the great tennis tournament in which, with the most well known players of the world, the crown prince participated, who had arrived in Zoppot on the evening before the opening day.
     For Hans all of these events offered little attraction, and therefore they were not unwelcome to him, they made his favorite walks on the beach and through the beautiful forest free from the crowd of people, who had spoiled them for him so many times; never had he been able to talk a walk in such wonderful solitude as in these days.
     One afternoon, however, he decided, but at Nuscha's request, to witness a tennis tournament as a spectator with her.  And he didn't regret it because, although he didn't understand the slightest thing about the game, he enjoyed the unspoilt youth and naturalness with which the German crown prince right in front of him moved among the players, the sure smoothness with which he gave and took his balls and laughed from his heart when one or the other was unsuccessful for him.
     Most of all, however, Nuscha captivated his eye.  She sat opposite him, her gaze was alternately directed, one minute on the playing crown prince, the next on his 

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charming wife, who, without participating in the tournament herself, lingered in the middle of the space with her entourage.  And in this gaze was such life, such burning desire:  "Could you be there in the midst of them a single time, giving and taking such balls!" that something like a regret with this wonderful child became awake in him.
     And now something else happened that lent this week a special attraction:

Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary

This was the end of chapter thirteen and the start of chapter fourteen.

I'm not a tennis player, so I don't know if there's a better way to phrase "giving and taking such balls."

Although I could translate all of the words in the sentence, I really didn't get the sense of "And in this gaze was such life..." and it turned out a bit rough.