German composition

Section 53. THE WHITE SHIP. VII.

Reading edition

The other two clung⁠[1] to the yard for some hours. At length (App. § 14) the young noble said faintly⁠[2]: “I am exhausted, and benumbed⁠[3] with cold, and can hold⁠[4] no longer. Farewell, good friend. God preserve (App. § 34) you!”

So⁠[5] he dropped and sank, and of all the brilliant crowd⁠[6], the poor butcher of Rouen alone was saved. In⁠[7] the morning, some fishermen saw him floating in his sheep-skin coat⁠[8], and got⁠[9] him into their boat,—the sole relater of the dismal tale.

For⁠[1] three days no one dared to carry⁠[10] the intelligence to the king; at length they⁠[11] sent into his presence a little boy, who, weeping⁠[12] bitterly, and kneeling at his feet, told him that the White Ship was⁠[13] lost, with all on board.

The king fell to the ground like⁠[14] a dead man, and⁠[15] never afterwards was seen to smile.—C. Dickens, A Child’s History of England.

Notes in this chapter

Note 1 · to cling to the yard, sich an eine Segelstange an´klammern; for some hours, einige Stunden lang, for three days, drei Tage lang.Note 2 · kraftlos.Note 3 · vor Kälte erstarrt.Note 4 · ‘to hold,’ here sich halten.Note 5 · Say ‘Upon this (Hereupon) he fell into the water and sank to the bottom (in die Tiefe hinab´sinken)’.Note 6 · crowd = company.Note 7 · In the morning, am Morgen.Note 8 · sheep-skin coat, Schafpelz, m.Note 9 · nehmen; the appositional clause ‘the sole relater (Überbringer) of the dismal (traurig) tale (Kunde)’ must be placed immediately after the p Note 10 · to carry an intelligence to a person, Einem eine Botschaft verkünden. See App. § 5.Note 11 · man; into his presence = to (zu) him, which place after ‘boy’.Note 12 · The Present Participle may be used adverbially, as in English, to denote manner or state. Say ‘who told him kneeling and weeping bitterly, t Note 13 · was — board, mit Mann und Maus gesunken sei.Note 14 · like — man = as if dead (wie tot), which place after ‘fell.’Note 15 · Say ‘and never has one seen him smile again’.