Page 1.—1-1. da einen,E-4 used as accusative of the indeclinable indefinite personal pronoun man, one, them; trans. idiomatically by changing to passive construction, when they (i.e. university-students) are overburdened neither by learning nor by the contents of their pocketbooks.
1-2. Er´langen, town and university of Bavaria, far-famed for its divinity school. Note the difference of accentuation between Er´langen and erla´ngen (to get, to obtain).
1-3. ob ... sei, subjunctive of dependent question, narrated indirectly, the tense remaining the same as would be used when stated directly: „Ist die Welt wirklich so rund?“ being the direct question.
1-4. der Herr Professor. Herr (and Frau) added to titles are not translated.
1-5. es (introductory), there.
1-6. ihrer (partitive genitive), of them.
1-7. so verschieden sie auch waren ..., however much they differed from one another ...
1-8. in einem (numeral, therefore with emphasis) = in einem Punkte, in one respect.
1-9. des Basses Grundgewalt, the full (fundamental) power of the bass, a quotation from Goethe’s „Faust,“ I, 2085-86:
|
Wenn das Gewölbe
widerschallt, When the vault echoes to the song, (Bayard Taylor.) |
1-10. „wassergeprüft,“ a literal but unidiomatic translation of the English cognate "waterproof," humorously for „wasserdicht“ (Engl. cognate: "watertight").
1-11. Nichte, (in students’ language) for Geliebte, the adored one; love; sweetheart.
1-12. "Hotel du Lac" (French = "Lake Hotel"—the French form to be retained in translation), a humorous allusion to the large hotels of the lakes of Switzerland, first-class in appointments and charges, which as a rule bear French names, while the less expensive stopping-places have such old-fashioned and unpretentious names as "The Bear Inn," "The Ox Inn," etc.
Page 2.—2-1. hat man ..., conditional inversion = wenn man ... hat.
2-2. nichts = kein Geld.
2-3. so (here = dann) wird, then the order will be or the order is given:
2-4. die Gassen, in welchen es noch etwas zu zahlen gab, the streets where they owed money—the idea being: On their way to the railroad-station, the three students wisely evaded such streets where they owed money, fearing that, being seen there, by the heart-rending entreaties of their creditors they might be induced to spend part or all of their travelling money in settling old debts.
2-5. Nr. stands for Nummer.
2-6. Bä´deker (Karl) of Leipzig, and Murray (John) of London, well-known editors and publishers, the first named of a German and the other of an English set of guide-books, both uniformly bound in red cloth.
2-7. daran´, refers back to the contents of the preceding sentence, from doing so.
2-8. das (der) Barome´ter, note the accent.
2-9. The question „Wie viel Uhr hat es geschlagen?“ ("What time is it?") humorously used for „Wie steht es mit dem Wetter?“ or „Wie sieht es mit dem Wetter aus?“ ("What are the weather-prospects?")
2-10. geschlagen. Note the omission of the auxiliary verb in „dependent“ clauses.
2-11. wir reisen, present tense for future, as frequently in German.
2-12. du wirst ... packen, the future sometimes used for an emphatic imperative.
Page 3.—3-1. auf (time, prospectively), for ...
3-2. das andere findet sich (phrase), the rest will come of itself.
3-3. der alte (= derselbe, der gleiche), as of old.
3-4. es (indefinite), here for die Reise or wir.
3-5. Dover, seaport in the county of Kent (England), on the Strait of Dover, and on one of the main lines between London and the Continent.
3-6. es, refers to Töchterlein; agreement with grammatical gender; sie would also be correct.
3-7. ihren Blicken, privative sense of dative—from her eyes.
3-8. geht’s = geht es, cf. Note 4, above.
3-9. Sandhase (sandhare), humorously applied to a native of a flat and sandy district, such as are found in the farthest northwest of Germany.
Page 4.—4-1. schon (adverb. idiom), difficult to render into English, here perhaps: readily or unhesitatingly.
4-2. es ist mir ... zu Mut (one of the many impersonal phrases), I feel.
4-3. (sag’) nur (adverb. idiom), with an imperative: just tell, or do tell!
4-4. es (introductory) giebt, there is.
4-5. bescheiden, modestly, unassumingly. Note the sly irony.
4-6. Buchau, a fictitious name; der bayrische Wald ("the Bavarian Forest"), a wooded mountain-range in Eastern Bavaria.
4-7. Distinguish between lange (adj.) Jahre and Jahre lang (adv.) for years.
4-8. stiller Mondschein (still moonshine), familiarly and jocosely for „slight baldness.“
4-9. das bayrische Wappen. The shield of arms of (the kingdom of) Bavaria is supported by two fiercely looking lions, and contains a smaller center-shield ("inescutcheon") which shows a field of forty-two rhomb-shaped parts ("lozenges") of alternately blue and white tincture. For the latter the wit and the satire of the masses have found the designation "blue and white cuts of bread."
4-10. ins Gesicht (idiom, the definite article for the possess. pronoun), = in sein Gesicht.—The meaning is: The cares of official life had gradually taken from him all his individuality, so that he looked now as grim as the lions which support the shield of arms of Bavaria, and his face, wrinkled and furrowed, resembled the center-shield with its many cracks and zigzags.
4-11. nicht übel (not bad, not amiss), two negatives take the place of a strong affirmation, very fine-looking.
4-12. wanderte (wandered). Note the rhetorical figure of „personification“ consisting in representing inanimate objects as endowed with life and action, an idiom not infrequently employed, mainly as a substitute for the passive voice which is less used in German than in English—was put or packed.
4-13. der Opodel´doc (or Opodeldok), a liniment consisting of a solution of soap in alcohol, with the addition of camphor and essential oils—opodeldoc.
Page 5.—5-1. der Gemsbart or Gamsbart (chamois-beard), a name given to the bristles cut from the back of the chamois, when arranged in rosette style and worn as a kind of trophy by chamois-hunters on the left side of their Alpine hats.
5-2. elegant´, note the accent.
5-3. sei (indirect subj.), was (as she thought).
5-4. nicht ganz bei Trost sein (colloq. phrase), not to be in one’s right mind, or to be slightly cracked.
5-5. mit der Krone und dem „L“ with the small silver-crown (a badge fastened to the caps of government-officials) and beneath it the letter "L" (standing for Landgericht = Provincial Court of Justice).
5-6. wäre, conditional subj. after als, als ob, als wenn, wie wenn.
5-7. ihr (dat.), to her = in her opinion.
5-8. Mensch, here: common mortal, humorously in contrast to Beamter (office-holder).
5-9. vor sich or vor sich hin (a phrase), as to herself.
5-10. als (southern dialect = alles or allzeit) for immer, always.
5-11. es geht fort, cf. Page 3, Note 4.
5-12. ich muß fort. The infinitive of a verb of motion, as gehen or reisen, being implied, an idiom often met with after the modal auxiliaries müssen, können, sollen, wollen, dürfen, and sometimes after lassen.
Page 6.—6-1. unsern gnädigen Herrn; the adj. expresses submission, trans. perhaps: our most honorable judge.
6-2. der himmelblaue Postillon. In the era of stage-coaches, the drivers of hackneys on the royal post-lines of Bavaria wore light blue uniforms.
6-3. allerseits, to each and every one of the party, a stereotyped phrase used without discrimination whether there is only one passenger in the stage or more.
6-4. Stutt´gart, capital of Württemberg, one of the three states of Southern Germany.
6-5. wer ... dem (nominat. der), correlat. pron., to any one who ...
6-6. denen (emphat.) = denjenigen, those.
6-7. wenn (indef.), expressing repeated action (= so oft als), when, whenever.
6-8. aus den Augen cf. Page 4, Note 10.
6-9. dem Schulszepter, cf. Page 3, Note 7.
6-10. wären (condit. subj.) gereist for conditional würden ... gereist sein.
6-11. wenn, cf. Note 7, above.
Page 7.—7-1. es (indef.), trans. perhaps: an expression of happiness, or a gleam of joy.
7-2. dächte, cf. Page 5, Note 6.
7-3. einem (emphat.E-5), cf. Page 1, Note 8.
7-4. das Salz´kammergut (lit. "Saltexchequer Property," from its rich salt-springs and mines), one of the most picturesque districts of Europe ("The Austrian Switzerland"), lies between the Austrian crown-lands of Salzburg on the West, and Styria on the East.
7-5. die Tauern or die hohen Tauern, a lofty mountain-range in Tyrol and on the borders of Salzburg and Carinthia, forming the easternmost division of the Alps.
7-6. Kärnthen, Carinthia, a crown-land of the Austrian empire; the capital is Klagenfurt.
7-7. wollten zurück, cf. Page 5, Note 12.
7-8. Werfen—Lend, two villages on the old post-road from Salzburg to Gastein, since 1875 stations on the Salzburg-Tyrol Railroad ("Gisela R. R.").
7-9. so (emphat.) = dergestalt, in einer solchen Weise.
7-10. das (emphat. = dies, dieses) refers back to the words „die Studenten waren ... bekannt geworden.“
7-11. der eine (idiom.), one of them.
7-12. wer ... wohl (adverb idiom.), I wonder who ...
7-13. ward, obsolescent for wurde.
7-14. bei seiner Flatterhaftigkeit. Note the pun.
Page 8.—8-1. (mir wird wohl =) es wird mir wohl or es wird mir wohl zu Mut, I (begin to) feel happy; cf. Page 4, Note 2.
8-2. was (colloq. and in poetry) for etwas.
8-3. fehlgetroffen, p.p. (lit., missed the mark), the perf. partic. used elliptically in exclamations, trans.: entirely mistaken! or quite out!
8-4. Ihr (as pers. pron. of address used in earlier language and in poetry) = modern Sie; Herr’n, pl. = Herren, meine Herren!
8-5. gefiel´ (= gefiele), condit. subj. for conditional würde ... gefallen.
8-6. Ist nur ... beschert, cf. Page 2, Note 1.
8-7. den Studenten, cf. Page 3, Note 7.
8-8. die frischen Studentenlieder. “The German students have a superb collection of songs in their ‘Commersbuch,’ some of which are known to Americans through Longfellow’s [and Chas. G. Leland’s] charming translations. Many of the songs are quite old; others bear the names of the most famous poets of Germany.”—James M. Hart in “German Universities.”
Page 9.—9-1. die Gastein, the valley of the Gasteiner "Ache" (Lat. AQUA), the latter being a tributary of the Salzach. In this valley, far-famed for its picturesque scenery, is situated "Wildbad Gastein," one of the most fashionable mountain-resorts. (Latin saying: "Gastuna—semper una" = „Es giebt nur ein—Gastein.“) From the village of Lend the entrance to the Gastein Valley is made through die Klamm (der Klammpaß), a profound and somber gorge in the limestone-rock, through which the river has forced a passage.
9-2. Zell am See, a village officially known as Zell am Zellersee.
9-3. das Pinz´gau (commonly pronounced and sometimes spelled „Pintschgau“), a name given to a district in the crown-land of Salzburg comprising the longitudinal valley of the river Salzach together with its northern and southern lateral valleys.
9-4. auf ... zu, up to, or zu may be taken as prefix of compound zu´schreiten.
9-5. sich entschuldigen über, a rather uncommon construction for sich entschuldigen wegen.
9-6. sich (reciproc. pronoun), each other or one another.
9-7. sich (reciproc. pron.), here: from one another.
9-8. sich (reciproc. pron.), here: to one another, mutually.
9-9. eins (unaccentuated, substantively) singen, familiarly for ein Lied singen; comp. eins (a glass) trinken; eins (a game of cards) spielen, jemandem eins (a blow) versetzen, etc.
9-10. der Paster´zengletscher, Pasterze-Glacier, in the Tauern Mountains, seven miles in length, the largest glacier in the Eastern Alps. The river Pasterze takes its rise there.
9-11. das Fuscherthal, Valley of the (river) Fusch, in the Tauern Mountains.
9-12. in verwittertem Lodenkittel, in English with indef. article.
Page 10.—10-1. sich (dat.) von der Stirn (idiom., dat. of pers. pron. for possess.) = von seiner Stirn.
10-2. wollte, mood? why? cf. Page 5, Note 6.
10-3. (hast ...) lassen (infinitive) for gelassen (perf. partic.) idiom., with the modal auxiliaries; du hast dich locken lassen (reflexive form in a passive sense as frequently), you could be induced to ...
10-4. du hättest (potential subj.) auch, you might just as well have ...
10-5. war zu machen, the auxil. sein with zu and the infinitive is always used in a passive sense, could be done.
10-6. daß nit (dialect.) for daß Sie nicht.
10-7. Ihr, you, sometimes used in addressing people of the rural districts, implies neither the familiarity of Du, nor the formality of Sie.
10-8. unsereins, was (indef. neuter for masc. and femin.) = unsereiner, der.
10-9. (brächt’s =) brächte es, condit. subj. State the form of the conditional.
10-10. habe—mood? why? cf. Page 5, Note 3.
10-11. doch (adverb, idiom.), besides; after all; you know.
10-12. das Tauernhaus, "The Summit House" in the Tauern Mountains, a chalet where bread, milk, and a guide may be found, also a hay-bed for the night.
Page 11.—11-1. sie refers to Rast.
11-2. das Spitzen (verb-noun = English -ing). Infinitives used substantively take the article das.
11-3. gnädiger Herr! (comp. Page 6, Note 1), here perhaps: My lord! or Your Honor!
11-4. doch (adverb, idiom.), here perhaps: I hope or I suppose.
11-5. is (dialect.) for ist es.
11-6. vor sich hin, cf. Page 5, Note 9.
11-7. es wird sein, idiomatic use of the future tense to express probability or supposition, with the adverb, idioms doch or wohl added to bring out the sense more clearly—I hope that it is ... or is it probably ...?
Page 12.—12-1. hin (colloq.) for dahin or dorthin.
12-2. zwanzig Büchsenschuß—nouns of quantity, weight or measure, except feminines in -e, are used in the singular after a numeral—twenty gun-shots, i.e. twenty times the range of a musket-ball.
12-3. es werden sein, it is, I think, cf. Page 11, Note 7.
12-4. (verarbeitet, pass.) von, by. Participles usually rendered by relative clause.
12-5. an den Tischen. Great care must always be taken in rendering the preposition, „an“=on (mostly of time); at, near, near by, by the side of; to (motion). Here = ?
12-6. deren (partitive genit. of relat. pron.), cf. Page 1, Note 6.
Page 13.—13-1. wären. Account for the mood.
13-2. sich (dat. of interest) = für sich.
13-3. das Kruzifix—found everywhere in Catholic countries.
13-4. einen roten Tyro´ler, a glass of the (red) claret of Tyrol.
13-5. man hörte Stimmen.—man (indef. pers. pron.), one, they, people, or better by passive voice with Stimmen as subject.
13-6. (sie sind’s)=sie sind es ("they are it"), idiom. = English?
13-7. was tausend! (or der tausend! or potz tausend!) According to "Grimm’s Wörterbuch," der tausend stands for der Tausendkünstige (the One with thousand tricks), a euphemistic designation of the devil, analog. to English; deuce! Trans., Good Gracious!
13-8. wir wären. The past subj. expresses an assumed (unreal) result—we came very near.
13-9. Ihnen (ethical dative), expressing a more remote relation to the person concerned in, or affected by an action or its result—somewhat related to the Engl. expletive „you know“ of the uneducated classes. Not translated.
13-10. die letze Artigkeit (ironically), refers to the student’s mentioning dogs and ladies close together.
13-11. Jamais (French = niemals), never.—Characteristic of the German students’ colloquial speech is the mixing of German with foreign words and phrases.
13-12. als (dialect.), cf. Page 5, Note 10.
13-13. nach, after, following, in the direction of, according to, in this sense it always follows its case.
Page 14.—14-1. so rot auch, no matter how red ...
14-2. genommen. Note the omission of the auxiliary; in what clauses only?
14-3. die drei Elstern, those three regular magpies.—The magpie as a symbol of garrulity.
14-4. Onkel, a customary address in students’ language.
14-5. sich (dat. of reciproc. pron.) = ? cf. Page 9, Note 8.
Page 15.—15-1. das. Note agreement with grammatical gender of Pärchen.
15-2. nur einmal (adverb, idiom), transl. perhaps: just for a moment.
15-3. das ist immer das erste (was ich an einem fremden Platze thue, being implied).
15-4. schaut’s (= schaut es) aus, indef. = things or matters look.
15-5. es thut ausschauen, familiar paraphrase for es schaut aus.
15-6. zum andern (obsol. phrase.), for the second; in the second place; furthermore, besides.
15-7. mit dem Schlafen ist es alle (colloq. phrase) = ist es aus, there is no chance or no prospect for a good night’s sleep.
15-8. San´cho Pan´sa, name of the squire and companion of Don Quixote in the Spanish poet’s Cervantes’s romance; trans. perhaps: ministering spirit or valet.
15-9. fein (adverb), trans. somewhat like: with a fine or elegant pronunciation or accent.
15-10. es ist gut (colloq. phrase) = es ist abgemacht, es ist genug; it is done or settled.
15-11. da hinten (there behind), in the room in the rear; in the backroom, in the servants’ hall.
15-12. Euch (ethical dat.), cf. Page 13, Note 9.
15-13. biedre Leute, refers to a company consisting of guides, hunters, shepherds, etc.
Page 16.—16-1. Kerls ... (foreign plural formation), colloq. for Kerle wie die ..., fellows as agile or lively as the ...
16-2. sich. Account for the case. cf. Page 9, Note 8.
16-3. kein Wort ist zu verstehen (cf. Page 10, Note 5). The student could not understand the mountaineers, since among themselves they use the dialect of the Alpine districts.
16-4. (prasselt’s) = prasselt es (indef.) = das Feuer prasselt.
16-5. hier unten, here on the floor of this room.
16-6. "comment trouvez-vous cela?" (French) = „Was denken Sie davon?“
16-7. alle hatten sich vereinigt (refl. for pass.), all had been placed together.
16-8. am aufgeräumtesten, special form of the superlative, used predicatively, the merriest of all.
16-9. es (introductory subject, the logical subject following after the verb), möchten doch die Studenten = die Studenten möchten doch ...
Page 17.—17-1. sich. Account for the idiom. cf. Page 16, Note 7.
17-2. mein Herr, i.e. der Herr, dessen Führer ich bin, my employer.
17-3. der giebt sonst keinen Laut von sich—said with reference to the Assessor’s attitude while crossing the glacier.
17-4. sich fände (condit. subj.), for conditional.—Account for the refl. form.
17-5. es waren ... Lieder, cf. Page 16, Note 9.
17-6. mir ist lieb (lieber, am liebsten), phrase: I like (I like better, I like best).
17-7. soll leben! (Lat.: VIVAT! French: VIVE!) a toast: Here’s to ... or To the health of ... or ... forever!
17-8. der (emphat.), = dieser; der letztere; er.
17-9. nichts (indef. neuter), for masc. and femin., keiner, keine or niemand, no one; nobody.
Page 18.—1-18. An invocation for help to Saint Florian, the patron-saint of those in danger of fire, here humorously uttered on the approach of the red-haired valet of the Englishman.—St. Florian (190-230 A.D.) was a German soldier in the Roman army and for being a Christian was martyred by drowning in the river Enns (Austria) under Emperor Diocletian.
18-2. zünd’t = zündet. The subject (er or der Mann or der Kerl hier) to be understood.
18-3. Balan´ce, pronounce as in French.
18-4. Correct the Englishman’s faulty German.
18-5. behag´te (subj. impf.), for conditional behagen würde or sollte.
18-6. woher´ des Landes, woher der Männer? The German translation of the first half of the Greek hexameter: τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; πόθι τοι πόλις ἠδὲ τοκῆες; so frequently occurring in Homer: „Who art thou? And of what race of men? And where thy home?“—(William Cullen Bryant.)
18-7. sei—mood? why? State the question directly.
18-8. konnten nicht weiter. Account for the idiom. Cf. Page 5, Note 12.
Page 19.—19-1. The second and third stanzas run thus: