Part 163

= such a grave air (+Miene+, f.).

= solemn dignity.

Section 190.

THE FAVOURITE HARES.

IV.

Bess, who died soon after he was full grown, and whose death was occasioned by his being turned (S. 161, N. 21, and S. 87, N. 6) into his box, which had been washed, while it was yet damp, was a hare of great humour and drollery. Puss was tamed by gentle usage; Tiny was not to be tamed at all; and Bess had a courage and confidence that made him tame from the beginning. I always admitted them into the parlour after supper, when (S. 131, N. 4), the carpet affording their feet a firm hold, they would frisk, and bound, and play a thousand gambols, in which Bess, being remarkably strong and fearless, was always superior to the rest. One evening, the cat being in the room, it had the hardiness to pat Bess upon the cheek, an indignity which he resented by drumming upon her (S. 43, N. 9, B) back with such violence that the cat was happy to escape from under his paws, and hide herself.

I describe the animals as having had each a character of his own. Such they were in fact, and their countenances were so expressive of that character, that, when I looked only on the face of either, I immediately knew which it was.—WILLIAM COWPER, “THE GENTLEMAN’S MAGAZINE, 1784.”

+völlig ausgewachsen sein.+

which — damp = which after having been washed (+nach der Reinigung+) was yet damp.

= was a very facetious and droll hare.

= so much.

= that he became tame from the very (+gleich im+) beginning.

Place the clause ‘the — hold’ after ‘they — gambols’: To play gambols, +possierliche Luftsprünge machen+.

in which = in (+bei+) which games.

an indignity which = which offence.

Say ‘and to be able to hide herself’.

as — own = as if each of the same had had (Pluperf. Subj.) his own character.

= That was however (+aber auch+) really the case.

that — was = that from (+aus+) the face of each I could at once distinguish (+erkennen+) who it (= he) was.

Section 191.

PRINCE BISMARCK’S HOME.

After crossing the threshold I found myself in a small, plain apartment—the reception-room—in the centre of which stands a simple little polished table with four legs. This is a relic of historical significance. A brass plate let into the square top bears the following inscription: “At this table the preliminaries of peace between Germany and France were signed, February 26th, 1871, at Versailles, No. 14 Rue de Provence.” In the centre of the table is a round piece of green cloth, and on it are visible a number of spots caused by (S. 185, N. 26) the drippings from the candles used on the momentous occasion of the negotiations between the Chancellor and Jules Favre. The table was the property of the lady in whose house the Chancellor was quartered, and of whom he bought it. In the same room stands a gigantic wardrobe richly sculptured, and a second wardrobe (S. 5, N. 2), according to Castellan (S. 10, N. 2) Hackmack’s explanation, was made from the wood of a linden tree, in the shade of which Prince Bismarck, when a merry student at Göttingen, had frequently reposed. The adjoining room is the Prince’s study. A bookcase contains a small library for immediate use and for reference, among its books being a French account of the peace negotiations of 1871. The writing-desk occupies the centre of the room. A polished fire-screen, highly ornamented and of Asiatic origin, is a present from the Chinese Embassy in Berlin. On the mantel-piece stands a bronze statuette, about three feet high, representing the Grand Elector—a present from the Emperor. A slip of paper attached to the Marshal’s baton in the Elector’s outstretched hand, bears the Imperial autograph: “To Prince Bismarck—Christmas, 1880,—W.” On the wall, behind the statuette, hangs, in a richly gilt frame, a painting by Hünten, representing the attack of dragoons of the guard on French infantry at Mars-la-Tour; the Chancellor’s two sons, Herbert and William, being in the midst of the fight.—THE CORRESPONDENT OF THE LONDON “DAILY NEWS.”

here +Hauseinrichtung+.

here +Tisch+; the plate was let into the table, +die Platte war in den Tisch hineingelegt+.

= lies.

and — spots = and upon the same one sees still some spots.

+das Lecken+; render ‘from the’ by the Gen. of the def. art., and turn ‘used — negotiations’ by ‘during the momentous negotiations’.

+~Jules Favre~, geboren den 21. März 1809 zu Lyon, machte sich zuerst als Redner und gewandter Advokat einen Namen, beschäftigte sich jedoch später auch mit der Politik, wo er stets zur demokratischen Partei gehörte. Nach der Februarrevolution von 1848 wurde er Generalsekretär im Ministerium des Innern, dann Mitglied der Nationalversammlung, in der er als Gegner des zum Präsidenten gewählten Prinzen Ludwig Napoleon auftrat. Im Jahre 1858 in den gesetzgebenden Körper gewählt, wurde er nach dem Sturze des Kaiserreichs und der Erklärung der Republik Mitglied der Regierung der Nationalverteidigung und Minister des Äußern, als welcher er im Jahre 1871 zu Versailles und Frankfurt a/M mit dem Fürsten Bismarck über den Frieden unterhandelte. Am 2. August 1871 zog er sich jedoch vom politischen Leben zurück und starb am 19. Januar 1880.+