Part 37

The prince went aboard the White Ship with one hundred and forty youthful nobles, among whom were eighteen noble ladies of the highest rank. All this gay company, with their servants and the fifty sailors, made three hundred souls aboard the White Ship.

“Give three casks of wine, Fitz-Stephen,” said the prince, “to the fifty sailors of renown. My father the king has sailed out of the harbour. What time is there to make merry here, and yet reach England with the rest?”

“Prince,” said Fitz-Stephen, “before morning my fifty and the White Ship shall overtake the swiftest vessel in attendance on your father the king, if we sail at midnight.”

to go aboard ship, +sich auf ein Schiff begeben+; the young noble, +der junge Adelige+; ‘to be’, here +sich befinden+; eighteen — rank, +achtzehn dem höchsten Range angehörige Damen+. The words ‘aboard the White Ship’ take the last place in the clause.

This clause requires the following construction: With the servants (+Dienerschaft+, f.) and the fifty sailors consisted the whole gay company upon the White Ship of (+aus+) three hundred persons.

Construe according to App. § 5.

Say ‘My royal father’; has sailed out of = has left. Supply the adverb +soeben+ after the auxiliary. This will greatly improve the rendering.

Also the two following passages require a different construction; say ‘How long can we still make merry (+sich gütlich thun+) here (to be placed before ‘still’), if we will arrive in England at the same time (+zugleich+) with the others?’ The words ‘in England’ should stand before the verbs, which arrange according to App. § 18.

Say ‘“If we sail at (+um+) midnight, O prince (see S. 27, N. 8), my fifty men (+Leute+) and the White Ship shall nevertheless (+dennoch+) before the coming morning overtake the swiftest ship in the service of thy royal father,” replied Fitz-Stephen’.—‘The swiftest — father’ = the swiftest in the service of thy royal father standing ship. (Comp. S. 48, N. 6.)

Section 50.

THE WHITE SHIP.

IV.

Then the prince commanded to make merry; and the sailors drank out the three casks of wine, and the prince and all the noble company danced in the moonlight on the deck of the White Ship.

When at last she shot out of the harbour of Barfleur, there was not a sober seaman on board. But the sails were all set and the oars all going merrily, Fitz-Stephen at the helm.

The gay young nobles and the beautiful ladies talked, laughed, and sang. The prince encouraged the fifty sailors to row harder yet, for the honour of the White Ship.

Hereupon.

that they (+man+) should make merry. The verb must stand in the Present Subjunctive, as will be seen from §§ 28-30 of the App.

+samt.+

+adelig+; company = retinue.

+dieses+, to be placed after ‘When’.

shot out of = left.

there to be, +sich befinden+.

not a, +auch nicht ein einziger+.

Say ‘upon the ship’.

+gespannt.+

Say ‘and the oars moved (+sich bewegen+) merrily (+lustig+), whilst F.-St. stood at the helm’.

+an´treiben.+

harder = faster.