This circumstance renders the introduction of improvements easy; it creates, as it were 1, a central life for this arm, and renders the application of general measures possible. The education of the English Artillery in tactics is in proportion to these advantages, and has attained a high degree of perfection. 6 57. THE GARDENER AND HIS ASS. 7 3 5 An old gardener went 2 one day to his garden, and walked behind his son, who was riding on an ass. 4 Some people, whom they met, exclaimed, 'Look at the old fool who walks while his son is riding!' The old man took, thereupon, his son's place. Soon after, other people passed, saying ", "This man must have lost his senses; what reason can he have for sitting alone upon his ass?' The gardener made his son sit behind him. 'Look there', cried another, 'a young fellow sits behind an old one!' The father made his son sit in front of him, when other people exclaimed, 'Have you ever seen a young fellow sit in front of an old man?' Thus the poor gardener could not find a position which pleased everybody. 9 58. CLIVE'S BOOTY. The first service on which Clive was employed after his return to the East, was the reduction of the stronghold of Gheriah. This fortress, built on a craggy promontory, and almost surrounded by the ocean, was the den of a pirate 1 As it were, gleichsam (adverb). 2 Went, ging; gehen, ging, gegangen. 3 See p. 15 n. 9. 4 See p. 22 n. 9. 5 To look at, sehen, with Acc.; Imper. sieh, Plur. seht. 6 See p. 14 n. 9. See p. 14 n. 9; i. e. to sit. 8 "To make' followed by an Infinitive must be translated by lassen, ließ, gelassen. 9 To please, gefallen, gefiel, gefallen. named Angria, whose barks had long been the terror of the Arabian Gulf. Admiral Watson, who commanded the English squadron in the Eastern seas, burned Angria's fleet, while Clive attacked the fastness by land. The place soon fell, and a booty of a hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling was divided among the conquerors. 59. SIR ISAAC NEWTON. 3 Sir Isaac Newton was once walking 2 by the sea-coast, and picked up a stone which he intended to throw into the water. But wishing to know the time, he took his watch out of his pocket, looked at it, and without being 5 conscious of what he was doing, very coolly threw it into the sea and put the stone into his pocket. 60. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON ON DISCIPLINE. 6 Perhaps the clearest and best definition of true discipline will be found in the short and well expressed remarks of the Duke of Wellington, in his dispatch of Sept. 8, 1809, to Marshal Beresford, in reference to the armies in Spain and Portugal. He says, 'We are mistaken if we believe that what these armies require is discipline, properly so called. They want the habits and spirit of soldiers—the habits of command on one side, and of obedience upon the other; mutual confidence between officers and men; and, above all, a determination in the superiors to obey the spirit of the orders they receive.' 7 1 To fall, fallen, fiel, gefallen. 2 See p. 22 n. 9. 3 See p. 14 n. 9. 4 At it, darauf. 5 See p. 14 n. 9; Render it: without conscious (sich bewußt) to be what he did, threw it. • The names of the weekdays and months are always used in German with the def. article der. 7 The relative pronoun being understood here in English, must be expressed in German; thus: which they receive. 61. TIMUR AND CHODSCHA. 'Listen to me 1, Chodscha, I have looked into the mirror, and have seen that I am very ugly; at this2 I was grieved 3, because I am not only Emperor, but have also much wealth and many slaves; therefore have I wept that I am so ugly. But why weepest thou without ceasing ?' 4 Chodscha answered: 'If thou hast looked only once into the mirror, and, on beholding thy face, couldst not bear looking at thyself, but hast wept, what are we to do who have day and night to look at thy face? If we do not weep, who then is to weep? Therefore have I wept.' Timur laughed heartily at this answer. 5 62. THE BATTLE OF MEANEE. 8 6 Thus they fought in this fearful struggle, never more than three yards apart, and often intermixed; and several times the different regiments, ay, even the Europeans, were violently forced backwards and pushed from the line, overborne and staggering under the might and passion of the barbarian swordsmen. But always their general was there, to cheer and rally them. At his voice and intrepid demeanour, their strength returned, and they recovered their ground, though nearly deprived of regimental leaders: for fast those leaders have gone down, dying 10 as British officers should, and always will do, where they cannot win. 1 Listen to me, höre mich an. 2 At this, hierüber. 3 See p. 14 n. 9. 4 See p. 14 n. 9; here: without to cease. 5 See p. 14 n. 9 render it: when thou thy face beheldst. 9 To recover, wieder-gewinnen, 10 See p. 14 n. 9. 1 63. THE PRAYER OF THE POOR WOMAN. 4 3 'I have read,' says Luther, 'of a poor woman who stood praying in the most earnest manner for her tyrant, and begging that his life might be spared him. The tyrant overheard and wondered, for 2 he well knew that he had done her much evil, and so thought her prayer a very strange one; for the usual prayer for tyrants is of quite a different sort. He asked her therefore why she so prayed; she answered: 'I had ten cows when your grandfather was alive, and he took two away from me; so I prayed that he might die and your father become lord. This came to pass", and your father took three cows; again I prayed that you might become lord, and you did. Now you have taken four cows, therefore I now pray for you, for I am afraid that he who will come after you will take the last cow, as well as everything else that I possess.' 8 64. RICHARD'S CAPTURE. When Leopold received certain intelligence where Richard harboured, the inn" was searched, but not a soul found there who bore any appearance of 10 the king. 'No,' said the people, 'there is no one here, unless it be 11 the Templar in the kitchen, now turning 12 the fowls which are 1 Who stood praying = who 2 See p. 1 n. 5. 3 See p. 3 n. 1. ... prayed and begged ... To think, here: halten, hielt, gehalten für (acc.). 5 See p. 2. n. 1. 6 To come to pass, geschehen, geschah, geschehen. 'Instead of the auxiliary verb the preceding verb must be repeated 1 3 2 roasting for dinner'. The officers of Leopold took the hint, and went into the kitchen, where in fact was seated a Templar very busy turning the spit. The Austrian knight, who had served in the crusade, knew him, and said quickly, "There he is, seize him!' 4 Cœur de Lion started from the spit, and did battle for his liberty right valiantly, but was overpowered by numbers. 6 65. ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 9 Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt, the greatest naturalist of his time, died at Berlin on the sixth of May, 1859: a life of long duration and of the most intense and eminent activity was thus completed. He was born in 1769 at the village of 10 Tegel near Berlin. In his early youth he was of a weak constitution, and remained so, until by his scientific travels he gained 11 health and strength. He studied at the Universities of Frankfurt and Göttingen, and also at the Mining - College 12 of Freiberg. In the year 1797 he went 13 to 14 Paris. Here he met Aimé Bonpland, with whom he contracted 15 a lasting friendship. After 16 he had obtained from the court of Spain the permis 1 'Are roasting' must be expressed by the Passive Voice in German as: which are roasted; to roast, braten, briet, gebraten. 8 'Of' is omitted after a common name, before names of months, places, and of Sovereigns (in apposition). |