887. Das hast du getroffen! that thou hast hit; viz. you contrived well. Treffen, irr. act. and neut. verb, to hit. Ich treffe, ich traf, ich habe getroffen. 888. Als er in's Auge mir stach, as it pricked me in the eye; viz. as it hit my fancy. See Stechen, sec. 490. 889. Samojeden here means furs, because they constitute the principal trade of the Samojedes. 890. Mich dunkt is exactly the English "methinks." We also say, mir däucht, which, however, is rather "it appears to me." 891. Und werd'uns auf Ostern ein guter Primaner, and become to us at Easter a good scholar of the first class. The pupils in our grammar-schools are divided into classes; the sixth is the lowest, and the first the highest. One who is in the first class is called ein Primaner. 892. Es sitzt ihr wie gegossen am Leibe, it fits her as if it had been cast into a mould upon her body; viz. as if her body had served as a mould; it fits admirably. Gegossen, founded, cast, is the part. past of the irr. act. Giessen, to pour, to spill, to cast liquefied metal into a mould; ich giesse, ich goss, ich habe gegossen. Ein Schriftgiesser, sub. masc. a typefounder. 893. Dreiszig (thirty) is here the name of a bookseller of Halle, in Saxony, who first got pewter animals made for children. 894. Wohl erinnert! well reminded! viz. that is well said, well observed. 895. Die Kommode, or rather Commode, sub. fem. as it is borrowed from the French, an elegant chest of drawers. The German word is Kastenschrank, sub. masc. 896. Ein Saffianrothes Portefeuille, a red morocco letter-case. Der Saffian, sub. masc. is both Spanish and Turkish leather. Portefeuille, portfolio, letter-case, is again a French word. The German is eine Brieftasche, sub. fem. 897. Punktum, or rather punctum machen, (as it is the Latin word, a point, a stop) is a familiar humorous expres.. sion, to stop, to give over. 898. Eine Augenweide, sub. fem. a pasture for the eye; viz. any thing that pleases, that delights the eye; that is agreeable to the sight. 899. Sollten Hand umsuchen in Hand, were to search about hand in hand. The construction in prose would be, sollten umsuchen Hand in Hand. Consult about Sollen, "Nature and Genius of the German Language," page 146 -151. 900. Ob mühsamer auch, although with more difficulty, with much difficulty. This is a poetical license; in prose it must be wenn auch mühsamer. We do not say ob auch, sec. 706. Auf den räumlichen Hausflur, to the spacious or roomy entrance-hall. Der Hausflur is the same with der Flur, sec. 647, only denoting the vestibule at the entrance of the house, and not the landing of any of the upper stories, which Flur sometimes denotes. 901. Eine Wirthschaft, sub. fem. house-keeping, household furniture, the management of a house, of a public-house, of an inn, economy, husbandry; sometimes it is used sneeringly; was ist das für Wirthschaft! what bad management! Sie haben da eine schöne Wirthschaft angerichtet! they have made a pretty thing of it indeed! viz. they have managed badly, got matters into confusion. Landwirthschaft, husbandry. Staatswirthschaft, political economy. Vor allem Seh'n, with all this seeing, looking. Vor here points at an obstacle, as sec. 131. 902. So hielt es der Vater, thus held it the father; this is an idiomatical expression for "this was the father's way." The irr. act. and neut. verb, halten (ich halte, ich hielt, ich habe gehalten,) is to hold; we have it lower down, haltend den Brief in den Händen, holding the letter in his hands: but it has a great variety of other significations, according to the noun with which it is construed. Ich halte es so, literally means, I hold it thus; but figuratively, this is my way. Ein jeder kann es damit halten wie er will, any one may do as he likes in this respect; he may have his own way. But es mit jemand halten is, to side with one, to take his part. 903. Jettchen is the diminutive of Henriette, Harriet; sec. 458 and 603. not my is 904. Sagte der Vater ja, said the father yes? viz. did father The affirmative particle ja, yes, say so? frequently an expletive, which merely strengthens the proposition, as here, in the sense of "yet, however, but, though," &c. We say, er hat es dir ja ausdrücklich ver sprochen, but he has given you his express promise; and dass sie mir ja nicht von der Stelle gehen, do not stir from the spot by any means. Ja, coupled with nicht, generally denotes "by no means." Im hangenden Flausrock, in the hanging great-coat, viz. in the great-coat that was hung up. Ein Flausrock, sub. masc. is a coarse rough top coat. 905. Ein Etui, a case, is properly a French word; in German it is, ein Besteck, ein Gesteck; ein Taschengesteck, all three neuter. Einmal bitt'ich mir noch die Violin aus, once more I beg for your violin. Ausbitten, irr. sep. comp. verb: ich bitte aus, ich bat aus, ich habe ausgebeten, when construed with the dative of any pronoun, generally means, to beg for a thing; to request in order to obtain. Hence we say at table, ich bitte mir noch etwas Braten aus, I beg for a little more roast meat. But sometimes it implies that a thing may not be done. We say, dass bitte ich mir aus, I beg you will not do so. Exempel is again Latin or French. The German word is das Beispiel, or das Muster, neut. and Decret, a law term, from the Latin decretum, is in German, ein Beschluss, ein Auspruch, masc. Verfügung, fem. or eine 906. The following remarks are founded on a Dream of an unfortunate Youth on the eve of a new year, written by Jean Paul Richter, one of the most brilliant, but at the same time one of the most eccentric, modern German prose writers. It is entitled, Die Neujahrsnacht eines Unglücklichen. 907. Und schaute mit dem Blicke einer bangen Verzweiflung auf zum―Himmel und herab auf die-Erde, and looked with the look of anxious despair up to-heaven and down upon the earth. The particles auf, up, and herab, down, belong both to the verb schauen, and form two separable act. comp. verbs, aufschauen and herabschauen. Freuden und schlaflos, joy and sleepless, instead of freudenlos und schlaflos, joyless and sleepless. This privilege of referring the same termination to a preceding word ought to be but sparingly used in both languages. It has been carried by ancient German writers to a very ridiculous excess; and it is far better to avoid it altogether. Klopstock justly recommends: die Körperwelt und die Geisterwelt, instead of Körper und Geisterwelt. Landmacht und Seemacht, the land-forces and sea-forces, is better than Land und Seemacht. Although Adelung defends these separations in adjectives, as here, freuden und schlaflos, they are yet strongly reprobated by men of taste. The particle los, in German adjectives made of substantives, has the same power as the English less, which is derived from it, and as the alpha privativum of the Greeks. We have lower down, trostlos und sinnlos, comfortless and senseless: observe that the author does not allow himself so say trost und sinnlos, comfort and senseless, which would be harsh. We have an infinitely greater number of these adjectives than the English, because our writers are at liberty to introduce new combinations at pleasure, provided they be conformable to the analogy. Thus Schiller says, ein willenloser Fürst, a prince who has no will of his own; der augenlose Greis, the grey-headed man without eyes Bürger has, das schlummerlose Lager, the couch on which no slumber is to be had. And all such adjectives may be converted into substantives with the termination igkeit, which makes them all fem.: such as die Schlaflosigkeit, sleeplessness; Hülflosigkeit, helplessness. Es war bloss vom Schnee des Alters verdeckt, it was covered merely with the snow of age. Verdecken, reg. insep. comp. to cover, generally insinuates the accessary idea of a hiding. Thus Luther translates 2 Corinthians, iv. 3," the gospel that is hid," das verdeckte Evangelium; and the covered way in fortifications is der verdeckte Weg. 908. Eine verödete Seele, a desolate soul, a desolate heart. Veröden, reg. insep. comp. to ruin, to lay waste, to desolate. It is both act. and neut. and in the latter sense it is conjugated with seyn, to be. Die Gegend verödete, the country became desolate; die Gegend ist verödet, the country is become desolate. 909. Wandten sich heute als Gespenster um, turned to day about like ghosts, like apparitions. Umwenden, irr. sep. act. and neut. to turn, to turn about; ich wende um, ich wandte um, ich habe umgewandt. Sich umwenden, refl. as here, to turn about. Modern authors begin to employ it as a regular verb, ich wendete um, ich habe umgewendet. 910. Voll zielender Schlangen, full of aiming, designing, cunning snakes. Zielen, reg. neut. verb, to aim, to take aim; anciently, it was also employed actively, for to beget: Kinder zielen; and to rear: Nelken aus Samen zielen, to raise pinks or carnations from seeds. 911. Ein Irrlicht, pl. Irrlichter, sub. neut. a Will-ofthe-whisp, a Jack-in-a-lantern, an ignis fatuus, viz. a fiery vapour that is often seen on marshy ground. In common life ein Irrwisch, sub. masc.; ein Feuermännchen, sub. masc.; and in some parts of Germany, ein Hexentanz and ein Elflicht, sub. masc. 912. Der Gottesacker, sub. masc. a burying-ground, a churchyard. 913. Zerrinnen, insep. irr. neut. comp. verb, to melt away, to lose itself, to dissolve. Ich zerrinne, ich zerrann, ich bin zerronnen. 914. Die lodernde Phantasie, the flaming, blazing fancy; lodern, reg. neut. verb, to blaze, to be on fire, to flame. It is conjugated with haben. 915. Eine Larve, sub. fem. a mask, a vizard; and sometimes, as here, a spectre, an apparition; and in natural history, an imperfect insect, liable to transformation. 916. Mit trocknen Augen, with dry eyes, viz. with tearless eyes. Versiegen, insep. neut. comp. verb, to dwindle away, to dry up gradually, to vanish, is formed of the obsolete verb Siegen, to grow lower, to decrease in height; and the insep. particle ver, which in some cases, as here, denotes a gradual ceasing or vanishing of the action of the verb to which it is prefixed. 917. The following description of a Thunderstorm on a Summer Evening is by L. T. Kosegarten, who died at Greifswalde, as Professor of History in that University, in 1818, at sixty years of age. It is entitled AN EINEM GEWITTER ABEND. Ja wahrlich, du bist schön, bist einer ew'gen Milde, |