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501. Abwalken, a sep. reg. comp. to curry, to bang, to thrash, to give a good milling; made of ab, off, and walken, to mill, to fell. The zu is placed between the particle ab, and the verb, as in all separable compound verbs. I have no time to copy it; ich habe keine Zeit es abzuschreiben.

502. Goethe's little epic poem, called Hermann and Dorothea, will furnish us with an extract for our present lesson; it is taken from the Second Canto. "Hermann is speaking to his father:

Wirklich, mein Wille war auch wie Eurer, eine der Töchter
Unsers Nachbars zu wählen. Wir sind zusammen erzogen,
Spielten neben dem Brunnen am Markt in früheren Zeiten,
Und ich habe sie oft vor der Knaben Wildheit beschützet.
Doch das ist lange schon her; es bleiben die wachsenden Mädchen
Endlich billig zu Haus', und fliehn die wilderen Spiele.
Wohlgezogen sind sie gewiss! Ich ging auch zu Zeiten

Noch aus alter Bekanntschaft, so wie Ihr es wünschtet, hinüber;
Aber ich konnte mich nie in ihrem Umgang erfreuen.

Denn sie tadelten stets an mir, das musst ich ertragen:

Gar zu lang war mein Rock, zu grob das Tuch, und die Farbe
Gar zu gemein, und die Haare nicht recht gestutzt und gekräuselt.
Endlich hatt'ich im Sinne, mich auch zu putzen, wie jene
Handelsbübchen, die stets am Sontag drüben sich zeigen,
Und um die, halbseiden im Sommer das Läppchen herumhängt.
Aber noch früh genug merkt'ich, sie hatten mich immer zum Besten,
Und das war mir empfindlich, mein Stolz war beleidigt; doch mehr

Kränkte mich's tief, dass so sie den guten Willen verkannten
Den ich gegen sie hegte, besonders Ninchen die jüngste.
Denn so war ich zuletzt an Ostern hinüber gegangen,
Hatte den neuen Rock, der jetzt nur oben im Schrank hängt,
Angezogen, und war frisirt wie die übrigen Bursche.
Als ich eintrat, kicherten sie; doch zog ich's auf mich nicht.
Minchen sass am Clavier; es war der Vater zugegen,
Hörte die Tochterchen singen, und war entzückt und in Laune.
Manches verstand ich nicht was in den Liedern gesagt war:
Aber ich hörte viel von Pamina, viel von Tamino,

Und ich wollte doch auch nich stumm seyn! Sobald sie geendet,
Fragt'ich dem Texte nach, und nach den beiden Personen.
Alle schwiegen darauf und lachelten; aber der Vater
Sagte: nicht wahr, mein Freund, Er kennt nur Adam und Eva?
Niemand hielt sich alsdann und laut auflachten die Mädchen,
Laut auflachten die Knaben, es hielt den Bauch sich der Alte;
Fallen liess ich den Hut vor Verlegenheit und das Gekicher
Dauerte fort und fort, so viel sie auch sangen und spielten.
Und ich eilte beschämt und verdriesslich wieder nach Hause,
Hängte den Rock in den Schrank und zog die Haare herunter

[noch

Mit den Fingern und schwur nicht mehr zu betreten die Schwelle.
Und ich hatte wohl Recht; denn eitel sind sie und lieblos,
Und ich höre, nocht heiss ich bey ihnen immer Tamino.

It really was also my wish, as it was yours, to fix upon one of our neighbour's daughters. We were brought up together, played in earlier times together near the fountain in the market-place, and I frequently protected them against the savageness of boys; but that is long ago: growing girls stay at last at home, as is fit, and avoid boyish games. They certainly have been properly educated. Being an old acquaintance, I still went sometimes over the way to see them, as you wished; but I never felt happy in their company. I always had to endure their criticisms. My coat was much too long, the cloth of it too coarse, its colour much too vulgar, and my hair was never properly cropped and curled. At length I resolved to dress like those young merchants' clerks, whom we constantly see with them on Sundays, and about whom hangs in summer a scanty stuff coat, half silk and half cotton. But I perceived in time that they were always laughing at me, and that vexed me; my pride was offended: but what gave me still greater pain was that they should thus mistake the good will that I bore them, particularly to Minna, the youngest. The last time I went over, on Easter day, I put on my new coat, which now hangs up stairs in my closet, and had my hair curled like the other young men. When I entered, they giggled; but I did not apply it to myself. Minna was sitting at the harpsichord; the father was present hearing his daughter sing; he was in raptures, and in good humour. There were many things in the songs which I did not understand; but I heard a great deal about Pamina and about Tamino, and I did not wish to remain silent. When she gave over playing, I inquired after the words of the songs, and who these two individuals were. They all continued mute, and smiled; but the father said, "No doubt, my friend, you heard only of Adam and Eve?" No one then contained himself: the girls broke out into a loud laughing; the boys laughed aloud; the old man held his sides for laughing. I dropped my bat in the embarrassment, and the giggling continued all the time, in spite of their singing and playing. Ashamed and vexed, I quickly hastened home, hung the coat up in my closet, pulled my curls down with my fingers, and swore never more to pass their threshhold; and I certainly was right, for they are vain and incapable of affection, and I hear that to this very day they still call me Tamino.

503. Wirklich mein Wille war auch wie Eurer, really my will was also like yours. The poet makes his personages speak in the 2d person plural: the polite expression, supposing that the personages speak in the third person plural, would be wie Ihrer, or wie der Ihrige. Wirklich, adj. and adv. real, really, indeed. Sie können es mir wirklich glauben, you may believe me indeed.

504. Neben dem Brunnen, near the well. Neben, prep. governs the dative, near, adjoining, next to, close by, by, beside. It particularly marks that the object close by another is neither before nor behind, but exactly on its side. "Der Frantzösische Dichter Sedaine musste als ein dreizehnjähriger Knabe nach dem Tode seines Vaters eine weite Reise nach Paris machen. Da er nur achtzehn Livres in seinem ganzen Vermögen hatte, so dingte er seinem Bruder allein auf der Landkutsche, und lief, um immer bei ihm bleiben zu können, neben dem Wagen her." After the death of his father, the French poet Sedaine was obliged to take a long journey to Paris. As his whole fortune consisted in eighteen francs (about fifteen shillings), he took a place in the stage-coach only for his brother, and in order to be constantly with him, he ran all the way beside the carriage. Der Brunnen, s, masc. the well, the spring, the fountain; den Brunnen trinken, to drink mineral waters at a watering-place. We also say die Brunnen Cur brauchen; and the watering-place is called ein Gesund Brunnen, or ein Heil Brunnen; or, naming the place, der Pyrmonter Brunnen.

505. Doch das ist lange schon her, but that is long ago. The arrangement of those words in prose would be, doch das ist schon lange her.

506. Billig, adj. and adv. equitable, reasonable, moderate, proper. The contrary is unbillig. "Aristoteles führt das Attische Gesetz an wonach derjenige der einen andern mit einem Eisen geschlagen, das Leben verwirkt hatte. Es würde unbillig seyn wenn man dieses Gesetz so auslegen wollte dass es auch denjenigen mit unter sich begriffe der bei einem Schlage mit der Hand einen eisernen Ring am Finger gehabt hätte." Aristotle quotes the law of Athens, according to which he who struck another with an iron forfeited his life. It would be unreasonable if this law were interpreted so as to include under its sanction the person who, on striking with his hand, happened to have an iron ring upon his finger.

507. Wohlgezogen is as much as wohlerzogen, well educated, well bred. See erzogen, sec. 488.

508. Aus alter Bekanntschaft, out of old acquaintance. Aus, as a prep. "out," govern the dative. It often denotes "of" and "from." Eins folgt aus dem andern, one follows

Be

from the other, one is the consequence of the other. kanntschaft mit einem machen, to get acquainted with a person; das ist eine alte Bekanntschaft, that is an old acquaintance of mine. Bekanntschaft mit einem haben, always denotes to be familiarly acquainted with a person. All the words in schaft are fem. except der Schaft, masc.

the shaft.

509. Ich ging hinüber, imperf. of the sep. irr. comp. hinübergehn, to cross over in the direction from the speaker, made of gehen, to go, and hinüber, over, across, the opposite of herüber, which denotes motion across or over towards the speaker; ich gehe hinüber, ich ging hinüber, ich bin hinüber gegangen.

510. Tadeln, to blame, to find fault, to criticise, is generally a reg. act. verb: but the poet employs it here as a neuter verb, or he allows himself to omit the word etwas, something. In common life we should say, sie tadelten stets etwas an mir.

511. Gestutzt und gekräuselt, cropped and curled. Stutzen, reg. act. and neut. verb, to cut, to curtail, to lessen, to lop, to top, to clip, according to the object upon which the action of the verb is performed. As a neuter verb, it means to start, to be startled, to be greatly surprized, sec. 298. Kräuseln, verb act. and verb neut. to curl, to crisp, and, speaking of water, to ruffle; sich kräuseln, refl. to curl, to get curled.

512. Ertragen, irr. insep. comp. to bear, to endure. The insep. particle er has merely the strengthening power here, and makes the act of bearing to apply only morally, not physically. Er hat so grosse Lasten zu tragen dass er es nicht länger ertragen kann, he has such heavy burdens to bear that he cannot bear (endure) it any longer; ich ertrage, ich ertrug, ich habe ertragen.

513. Im Sinne haben, to have in the mind, to intend, to purpose, to resolve, to design: it is the same with Willens seyn, to have a mind to do a thing. Sich putzen, reg. refl. verb, to deck, to ornament one's-self, to dress one's-self with care, handsomely, to set one's-self off. Putzen always conveys the idea of embellishing, setting off; but schmücken, to adorn, and zièren, to decorate, express the same in a higher degree.

514. Handelsbübchen, commercial striplings, young

merchants' clerks, is a compound word. Der Handel, es, masc. pl. Händel, affair, business in general; trade, commerce, traffic. Der Handel im im grossen, or ganzen, the wholesale trade; der Handel im kleinen, the retail trade; thätiger Handel, active trade; leidentlicher Handel, passive trade. Im Handel und Wandel, in trading and dealing, is again one of those chiming expressions which the Germans are so fond of. Handel treiben, to carry on trade. Er treibt einen grossen Handel mit Korn, he deals largely in corn. Der Weinhandel, the wine trade. Ein Bübchen, neut. a young lad, a stripling, the diminutive of Bube, masc. a boy, a lad, which word, employed alone, is frequently used, in a bad sense, and means a wicked boy, a knave; but it never is the English "booby," though this appears derived from the German Bube, as it does not insinuate any thing clownish.

515. Und um die halbseiden das Läppchen herumhängt, and round which hangs the half silk little rag. This is a strong poetical expression to mark the short thin summer coats which young German clerks wore about the close of the last century. Das Läppchen, n. the little rag, is the dim. of der Lappen, s, masc. the rag, tatter, shred, patch, any little piece of cloth or stuff. Herumhangen, irr. sep. neut. comp. to hang, to flow about; ich hange herum, ich hing herum, ich habe herumgehangen: it takes the diphthong only in the second and third person singular of the present of the indicative, as here, and must be carefully distinguished from herumhängen, which is active and regular, as in the last line but three. Herum is the English round about. It denotes steady yet incessant motion round an object on all sides, in the direction towards the speaker. Whenever the motion is unsteady, correct writers prefer umher. When herum means "round about," and the object is mentioned round which the action denoted by the verb is performed, the preposition um is prefixed to that object, as here, um die, round whom, viz. the young clerks. Thus we say, wir sind zweimal um die Stadt herumgeritten, we rode twice round the town.

516. Merkt'ich sie hatten mich immer zum Besten, I remarked they were always laughing at me. Observe that whenever the conjunction dass, "that," is simply connec tive, and represents the French " que," as here, it may fre

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