NOT MURDERED?
“Well,” was the hasty reply; “I see this isn’t so good as some parts—not so practical, perhaps; but that’s all here. Wait a bit.... Now listen. Here’s something better. Hush!”
| “BETWEEN TWO ENGLISH GENTLEMEN. | TUSSCHEN TWEE ENGELSCHE HEEREN. |
| My dear Friend, I am extremely happy to see you. | Waarde Vriend! ik ben ten uiterste verheugd u te zien (bezigtigen, of a house). |
| It has been reported for a certainty that you were taken by the Turks and murdered halfway between Leghorn and Civita Vecchia. | Men heeft voor de waarheid verteld (als eene zekerheid verhaald) dat gij van de Turken genomen waart en gemoord halfwege tusschen Livorno en Civita Vecchia. |
| But these atrocities did not befall me! | Maar deze gruwelen zijn mij niet gebeurd! |
| You are convinced it is not true? | Gij zijt overtuigd dat zulks onwaar is? |
| I am. | Gewisselijk. |
| I rejoice that you are restored. | Ik verheug mij dat gij heelemaal hersteld zijt geweest (of a building: geheel en al gerestaureerd geworden).” |
GIJ ZIJT GERESTAUREERD.
There was a noise in the room at this, but O’Neill went on boldly to finish the Dialogue.
| “Are you speaking in jest? | Gekt gij ermede? |
| I do not jest. | Ik gek er niet mede.” |
“That’s enough—quite enough—for the present”, said the Cape men. “We’ll borrow the Wegwijzer from you, and bring it back safe.
“No, there’s no fear we’ll mislay it, or harm it. Much too valuable for that. But—you’ll excuse us; we can hardly believe you’ve got that actually in print. And we’re curious to know what kind of rules those learned grammarians give. You’ll lend us this mine of wisdom for a few days, won’t you? Thank you, so much.
THE ENGERT.
“And by the way, here are some of your own notes. What’s this about engert?”