German composition : $b A theoretical and practical guide to the art of translating English prose into German · Hermann Lange
Chapter 3
Chapter 145 of 173 · 2 min read
If you say: “Should I find the practice by experience to be injurious, I will give it up,” surely that is not common sense. You might as well say: “I will put my hand into the nest of the rattlesnake, and when I find out that he has stuck his fangs into me, I will draw it out and get cured.”
I remember riding from Buffalo to the Niagara Falls, and said to a gentleman: “What river is that, Sir?” “That,” he said, “is Niagara River.” “Well, it is a beautiful stream,” said I, “bright, and fair, and glossy; how far off are the rapids?” “Only a mile or two,” was the reply. “Is it possible that (S. 66, N. 15) only a mile or two from us we shall find the water in the turbulence which it must show when near the falls?” “You will find it so, Sir.” And so I did find it; and that first sight of the Niagara I shall never forget. Now, launch your boat on that Niagara river; it is bright, smooth, beautiful, and glossy. There is a ripple at the bow, and the silvery wake you leave behind adds to your enjoyment. Down the stream you glide; oars, sails, and helm are in proper trim, and you set out on your pleasure excursion. Suddenly some one cries out from the bank: “Young men, ahoy!” “What is it!”—“The rapids are below you!”—“Ha, ha! we have heard of the rapids, but we are not so foolish as to get there. If we go [= If it goes] too fast, then up with the helm, then set the mast in the socket, hoist the sail, and speed to land. Then on, boys; don’t be alarmed—there’s no danger!”
= reasonable.
stuck — me = bitten me.
riding from = that I during a journey from; change ‘and said to’ into ‘asked’.
Use the def. art.
+die Stromschnellen.+
+Das Wasser kräuselt sich am Bug des Bootes.+
+Kielwasser+, n.
‘to set out on’, here +an´treten+, v. tr.
+Vergnügungstour.+
+Ohoi!+ of which pronounce every vowel separately and slowly in the German way.
+Was giebts.+
are below you, +sind dort unten nicht weit von euch!+
as — there, +so weit zu fahren+.
+dann schnell das Steuerruder hinein.+
+dann richten wir den Mast auf.+
+und eilen ans Land!+
+Daher nur immer vorwärts.+
Section 232.
AN ORATION ON THE POWER OF HABIT.
