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Intermediate Level / Niveau Intermédiaire / Nivel Intermedio

GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE
Perdre
Parallel text - 3 Languages; Spanish, English, French
du
Cox City ventre :
Texte Parallèle - 3 Langues: Espanol, Anglais, Francais
Cox City
Texto Paralelo - 3 Idiomas; Español, Inlés, Francés Le truc à faire
Cox City avant de se
coucher
Word Count: 1,136 Date Published: 1910 Genre: Horror
Lengh: Very Short Original Language: French

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) "was a French poet,

playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish
descent." (Source: google) This short story was taken from his Science et Bien-
Être
short story collection L'Hérèsiarque et Cie which is available as
a free e-book from the Gutenburg Project (long live
Gutenburg!)

Created by SIMPETWEB. All rights and tables reserved.

NOTE: I searched everywhere for an English translation but couldn't find one. In the end I just translated it myself. (If a jobs worth
doing...) I have translated it directly from the French original and have kept the clause orders much the same thus aiding
referencing from text to text, even if it has meant having a slightly ugly translation (well, that's my excuse anyway.)

SPANISH TEXT ENGLISH TEXT FRENCH TEXT

( ??? found somewhere in (Translated by me: Simpetweb) (Original: Guillaume Apollonaire)
Googleland)

PARA 1 PARA 1 PARA 1

El barón d'Ormesan llevóse The Baron of Ormesan hurridly Le baron d'Ormesan porta vivement
POWERED BY
rápidamente la mano a la cicatriz raised his hand to the scar that I had la main à la cicatrice que je venais
que yo acababa de descubrir en su just caught sight of, and then pulled d'apercevoir, et ramena ses cheveux
cabeza, y se arregló el pelo para over his hair to cover it pour la couvrir.
disimularla.

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Página 1 de 15

.............................
~llevarse algo = [to carry sth/ to bring
sth inter alia]
~mano = hand
~cicatriz = scar
~que = that i.a.
~yo = I
~acabar = to finish/ to end BUT acabar
de = to have just... THINK 'to have just
finished to....'
~descubrir = [to discover]
~arreglarse = [to get ready/ to primp
(WR)] THINK = 'to arrange (as in tidy)
onself.'
~para = [in order to]
~disimular [to conceal/ to disguise]
Translations with guarantee - Multiple languages
Legal, economic, technical, literary, medical, marketing, o3cial and sworn translations
traduccionesjosemanuelortiz.es
PARA 2
-Debo estar siempre muy bien
peinado -me dijo-, de lo contrario
se nota claramente esta maldita
mancha morada del cuero
cabelludo, que da la impresión que
padezco peladera...
Esta cicatriz no es reciente. Data de
una época en que fui fundador de
una ciudad ... Hace de esto unos
quince años, y ocurrió en la
Columbia Británica, en el Canadá...
http://learn-spanish-with-bilingual-stories.weebly.com/cox-city-…y-parallel-text-spanish-english-french-guillaume-apollinaire.html
.......................................
~Raised = PRETERIT of to raise =
I/you/we/they/(he/she/it/one) raised
~Had caught sight of = PLUPERFECT
of to catch sight of.
I/you/we/they/(he/she/it/one)
caught sight of
~Pulled over = PRETERIT of to pull
over = I/you/we/they/(he/she/it/one)
pulled over
PARA 2
"I must always style my hair to an
exacting standard" he said to me.
"Without doing so, one notices this
vile area of my scalp, clear-cut and
livid, that gives the impression
that I've alopecia...
This scar is not new. It dates from
the time when I was a founder of a
city... about fifteen or so years ago,
and it was in British Columbia,
Canada. Cox City! A town of five
...........................
~Porta = (III pers sing PASSÉ
SIMPLE) porter [to carry/ to bring/ to
bear/ to wear/ to take with] HERE:
= 'brought' as in 'brought his hand to the
had scar..'
~Cicatrice = scar
~Venais de = (I pers sing IMPARFAIT)
venir de [to have just... etc] HERE: 'had
just' NOTE: venir on its own means 'to
come'
~Apercevoir = [to catch sight of/ to
glimpse/ to realise] (INFINITIF)
THINK: to only just perceive somthing'
~Ramena = (III pers sing PASSÉ
SIMPLE), ramener [to bring back/ to
take back], NOTE: related to the more
common verbs amener [to bring] and
emmener [to take away], all three of
which being based on the verb mener
[to lead]. In a strict sense, all three
should only apply to living things as
you are literally 'leading to or away'
some person or animal. It is said that
when the object you are bringing or
taking away is inanimate then the verbs
you should use should be based on the
verb porter [to carry]: (apporter,
emporter, rapporter, remporter) As you
can see, this is rarely strictly applied.
3
J’aime
OPEN
Partager
PARA 2
--Il faut que je sois toujours très
bien coiffé, me dit-il. On remarque,
sans cela, cette vilaine place nette et
livide de mon cuir chevelu, et j'ai
l'air d'avoir la pelade...
Cette cicatrice n'est pas nouvelle.
Elle date d'une époque où j'étais
fondateur de cité... Il y a de cela une
quinzaine d'années, et c'était dans la
Colombie britannique, au Canada...
Cox-City!... Une ville de cinq mille
5/7/19 21@01
Página 2 de 15
 ¡Cox City!... Una ciudad de cinco
mil almas... Su nombre de Cox le
venía de Chislam Cox, un tipo
intrépido, mitad hombre de ciencia,
mitad aventurero, que provocó un
verdadero rush en esa parte de las
Montañas Rocosas, vírgenes a la
sazón, y donde todavía hoy se
encuentra Cox City.
..........................
~debo estar = [(I) must be]
~siempre = [always]
~peinado = [combed]
~me [to me]
~dijo [(he) said]
~de lo contrario [otherwise/ on the
contrary]
~se nota [like se voit in French i.e.
LIT: 'itself is noticeable' OR 'itself gets
noticed' HERE: 'becomes noticeable'
~claramente [clearly]
~esta = this
~maldita = cursed ((as in 'ker-sid'))
~mancha [stain/ spot/ patch/ blemish]
[tache]
~morada [violet/ purple]
~cuero cabelludo = see french notes
~que [that]
~da [gives] III pers sing PRESENTE of
dar.
~padezco [(I) suffer] I pers sing
PRESENTE of padecer
~reciente [recent]
~data de [(it) dates (from)]
~epoca [period/ time/ epoch]
~en que [in which]
~fui [(I) was] I pers sing PRETÉRITO
of ser [to be]
~fundador [founder]
~ciudad [city]
~ ~alors NOTE: here is the rarer and
~ trickier use of alors meaning 'at the time'
~
~
~
~
http://learn-spanish-with-bilingual-stories.weebly.com/cox-city-…y-parallel-text-spanish-english-french-guillaume-apollinaire.html
thousand souls... She got her name
from Cox... Chislam Cox... A
lively fellow, half man of science,
half adventurer. He had provoked
the gold rush in that part of the
rocky mountains, virgin territory at
the time, where is still situated
today Cox City.
............................
~ Doing so = .
~Notices = PRESENT of to notice.
PRESENT of to notice = I/you/we/they
notice + He/she/it/one notices
~Gives = PRESENT of to give =
I/you/we/they give + He/she/it/one
gives
~'ve = have = PRESENT of to have
= I/you/we/they have + He/she/it/one
has
~Is = PRESENT of to be = I am +
you/we/they are + He/she/it/one is
~Dates from = PRESENT of to date
from = I/you/we/they date from +
He/she/it/one dates from
~Was = PRETERIT of to be =
You/we/they were + I/(he/she/it/one)
was
~Got = PRETERIT of to get
= I/you/we/they/(he/she/it/one) got
~Had provoked = PLUPERFECT of
to provoke
= I/you/we/they/(he/she/it/one) had
provoked
~ equivication, so I don't know whether
âmes... Elle tenait son nom de Cox...
Chislam Cox... un gaillard moitié
homme de science, moitié
aventurier. Il avait provoqué
le rush dans cette partie, vierge
alors, des Montagnes Rocheuses, où
est située aujourd'hui encore Cox-
City...
................................
~Il faut que = [the situation calls for
that]
~Sois = I pers sing SUBJONCTIF of etre
[to be] HERE: 'be' as in 'it needs that I
be', or, less literally, 'I have to be'
~Cuir chevelu = [scalp] NOTE: a bit
like saying 'hair leather'
~cela = [that] (as in 'give me that' AND
NOT as in 'that car' . NOTE: this is the
old fashioned way of saying ça. NOTE:
It is the opposite of ceci [this]
~d'avoir = [of having]
~la pelade = [alopecia]
~Il y a de cela = a fancy way of say
'ago.' Literally means 'it there has of that'
as in 'it is the case that there has/are
(years, days hours..) since that'
~âmes = [souls]
~Tenait de = III pers sing IMPARFAIT
of tenir de [to take after/ to be on the
verge of/ to stem from] NOTE: I'm not
sure if I'm confusing this last meaning
with tenir a qqch. When I first read it,
the meaning came to me without
this is just a question of not seeing the
wood for the trees. In any case, it's the
only meaning that fits the story!
~Avait provoqué = III pers sing PLUS-
QUE-PARFAIT of provquer [to provoke]
HERE: 'had provoked'
5/7/19 21@01
Página 3 de 15
 ~

PARA 3 PARA 3 PARA 3

Los mineros habían sido reclutados The miners had been drummed up Les mineurs avaient été racolés un
aquí y allá: en Québec, en from all around. From Québec, peu partout: à Québec, dans le
Manitoba, en Nueva York. Fue en from Manitoba and also from New Manitoba, à New-York. C'est dans
esta última ciudad donde me topé York. It is in the latter of these cette dernière ville que je rencontrai
con Chislam Cox. cities that I had encountered Chislam Cox.
Chislam Cox.
.................. .................................
~Reclutar = [to recruit/ to draft/ to ............................. Les[the]
conscript] ~had been drummed up = PASSIVE mineurs[miners]
~Topar = to run into/ to come upon/ to VOICE - PLUPERFECT of to drum up avaient[had]
bump into] ~had encountered = PLUPERFECT été[been]
ofto encounter = racolés[solicited]
Los[the] I/you/we/they/(he/she/it/one) had un[a]
mineros[miners] encountered peu[little (bit.from)]
habían[had] partout[everywhere]:
sido[been] à[at/ from]
reclutados[recruited] Québec[],
aquí[here] dans[in]
y[and] le[the]
allá[there]: Manitoba[],
en[in] à[at/ from]
Québec[], New-York[].
en[in] C'est[it.is]
Manitoba[], dans[in]
en[in] cette[this/ that]
Nueva York[]. dernière[last]
Fue[(it) was] ville[town]
en[in] que[that]
esta[this] je[I]
última[last/ ultimate] rencontrai[encountered]
ciudad[city] Chislam Cox.
donde[where]
me[myself]
topé[(I) ran into]
con[with]
Chislam Cox.

PARA 4 PARA 4 PARA 4

Estaba allí desde hacía alrededor de I had been there for roughly six J'y étais depuis six mois environ.
seis meses, pero, en resumidas months and, all things said and Au demeurant, je dois l'avouer, je
cuentas, debo confesar que no done, I must confess that I had not ne gagnais pas un sou et
ganaba un centavo y me moría de earnt a penny, and was dying of m'ennuyais à mourir.

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Página 4 de 15
 aburrimiento. boredom.
............................
.............................. J'[I]
................................. ~had been = PLUPERFECT of to be y[there]
Estaba[was] allí[there] desde[since] = I/you/we/they/(he/she/it/one) had étais[was]
hacía[(that) makes ((NOTE: this been depuis[since]
idosyncratic use of hacer is the same in ~had earnt = PLUPERFECT of to six[six]
French with faire))] alrededor[around earn = mois[months]
about] de[of] seis[six] meses[months], I/you/we/they/(he/she/it/one) had environ.[around about/ roughly]
pero[but], en resumidas cuentas[to earnt NOTE: earned is the more Au demeurant[all things said and done/
summarize the situation/ in a nutshell], common form of earnt. as it happens/ for that matter],
debo[(I) must] confesar[confess] ~was dying = PRETERIT je[I]
que[that] no[no] ganaba[was.earning] CONTINUOUS of to die dois[must]
un[a] centavo[cent] y[and] me[myself] = you/we/they were dying + l[it]' avouer[confess],
moría[was.dying] de[of] I/(he/she/it/one) was dying je[I]
aburrimiento[boredom]. ne[no]
gagnais[was.earning]
pas[not]
un[a]
sou[penny]
et[and]
m'[myself]
ennuyais[was.annoying] NOTE: this is
my particular way of interpreting
m'ennuyer: when you are getting on
your own nerves it means your bored.
à[at/ to]
mourir[to die]. i.e to death.

PARA 5 PARA 5 PARA 5

No vivía solo; me acompañaba una I was not living alone but with a Je ne vivais pas seul mais avec une
alemana muy bonita, cuyos rather pretty German girl, whose Allemande assez jolie fille, dont les
encantos tenían éxito... Nos charmes could work wonders*... charmes avaient du succès... Nous
habíamos conocido en Hamburgo y We had gotten to know each other nous étions connus à Hambourg.
yo me había convertido en su in Hamburg and I had become her J'étais devenu son manager, si j'ose
manager, por así decir. manager, so to speak... dire...
Se llamaba Marie-Sybille, o She was called Marie-Sybille or Elle s'appelait Marie-Sybille ou
Marizibil, para hablar como la Marizibil, as would say the folk of Marizibill, pour parler comme les
gente de Colonia, su ciudad natal. Koln, her native city. gens de Cologne, sa ville natale.

........................ ................................
*Yep, I fudged that one. Je[I] ne[no] vivais[was.living] pas[not]
seul[alone] mais[but] avec[with] une[a]
Allemande[german(female)]
assez[quite] jolie[pretty] fille[girl],
dont[of.which] les[the]

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Página 5 de 15
 charmes[charmes] avaient[had]
du[of.the/some] succès...[success]
Nous[we] nous[ourselves] étions[were]
connus[known] à[at] Hambourg.[] J'[I]
étais devenu[had.become] son[her]
manager[], si[if] j'ose[I.dare] dire...[say/
to.say]
Elle[she] s'appelait[called.herself]
Marie-Sybille[] ou[or] Marizibill[],
pour[in.order.to (though here you have
to read it as 'if one was'] parler[to.talk/
to.speak] comme[like] les[the]
gens[people] de[of] Cologne[], sa[her]
ville[town/ city] natale[of.birth].

PARA 6 PARA 6 PARA 6

¿Será necesario agregar que ella me
amaba con locura? Por mi parte, yo
no era nada celoso. No obstante,
esta vida de haraganería me pesaba
más de lo que usted pudiera creer;
no tengo alma de rufián. Pero en
vano procuraba emplear
talentos en trabajar...
Need it be added that she loved me
madly? As for me, I wasn't at all
jealous. All the same, this leisurely
life weighed me down more than
you would believe. I don't have the
makings of a free-loader. But it was
mis in vain that I searched to employ
my talents, to work...
Faut-il ajouter qu'elle m'aimait à la
folie?... Pour ma part, je n'en étais
point jaloux. Toutefois, cette vie de
paresseux me pesait plus que vous
ne sauriez croire; je n'ai pas l'âme
d'un maquereau. Mais c'est en vain
que je cherchais à employer mes
talents, à travailler...

...........................
...................... Faut-il[is.it.necessary] ajouter[to.add]
~Haraganería = [laziness/ idleness] qu'[that] elle[she] m'[me] aimait[loved]
à[at/ to] la[the] folie[madness]?...
Pour[for] ma[my] part[part], je[I] n'[no]
en[of.it] étais[was] point[not/ at.all]
jaloux[jealous]. Toutefois[however],
cette[this] vie[life] de[of]
paresseux[lazy(ness)] me[me]
pesait[was.weighing] plus[more]
que[than] vous[you] ne[no]
sauriez[would.know.how.to]
croire[to.believe]; je[I] n'[no] ai[have]
pas[not] l'[the] âme[soul] d'un[of.a]
maquereau[mackerel/ pimp/ freeloader].
Mais[but] c'est[it.is] en[in] vain[vain]
que[that] je[I] cherchais[was.searching]
à[to] employer[to.employ] mes[my]
talents[talents], à[to]
travailler[to.work]...

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Página 6 de 15
 PARA 7 PARA 7 PARA 7
Un día, en un salón, me dejé 'Then one day in a saloon bar, I let Un jour, dans un saloon, je me
embaucar por Chislam Cox, que, myself get reeled in by a certain laissai embobiner par Chislam Cox,
apoyado en el bar, hablaba en voz Chislam Cox. He was leaning qui parlait tout haut, appuyé au bar,
alta y exhortaba a los parroquianos against the bar, speaking aloud, et exhortait les consommateurs à le
a seguirlo a la Columbia Británica, inciting the clientèle to follow him suivre dans la Colombie
donde él conocía un lugar donde el to British Columbia. He knew a britannique. Il y connaissait un lieu
oro abundaba. place there where gold was où l'or abondait.
abundant.
...................... ............................
~Embaucar = [to trick/ to swindle/ to Un[one] jour[day], dans[in] un[a]
con] saloon[saloon.bar], je[I] me[myself]
~Parroquianos = [parishioners/ regular laissai[let] embobiner[to.reel.in] par[by]
customers] Chislam[] Cox[], qui[who]
parlait[was.talking/ was.speaking] tout
haut[aloud/ out.loud], appuyé[lent.on/
leaning.on] au[at.the] bar, et[and]
exhortait[was.exhorting/ was.urging/
was.inciting] les[the]
consommateurs[customers/ consumers]
à[to] le[him] suivre[follow/ to.follow]
dans[in] la[the] Colombie
britannique[british.columbia]. Il[he]
y[there] connaissait[knew] un[a]
lieu[place] où[where] l'[the] or[gold]
abondait[was.abondening((if that word
existed as verb, but unfortunately it
doesent so we'll just have to fudge it
with 'was abondant'))].

PARA 8 PARA 8 PARA 8

En su discurso se entremezclaban He interweaved into is speech: Il entremêlait dans son discours:
Cristo, Darwin, el Banco de Christ, Darwin, The Bank of Christ, Darwin, la Banque
Inglaterra y, Dios me condene si sé England, and, god damn me if d'Angleterre, et, Dieu me damne si
por qué, la papisa Juana. Este know why, Pope-ess Joan*. This je sais pourquoi, la papesse Jeanne.
Chislam Cox era muy convincente. Chislam Cox was very convincing. Ce Chislam Cox était très
Me enrolé en sus filas juntamente I enrolled myself into his troop with convainquant. Je m'enrôlai dans sa
con Marizibil, que no quería Marizibill, who didn't want to leave troupe avec Marizibill, qui ne
abandonarme, y partimos. me, and we left. voulait pas me quitter, et nous
partîmes.
....................... ............................
~Filas = [ranks/ queues/ lines/ *Pope Joan was a woman who, ............................
rows] according to the legend, became Il[he] entremêlait[was.intermingling]
pop without anyone noticing she dans[in(to)] son[his] discours[speech]:
was a she. Christ, Darwin, la[the] Banque

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Página 7 de 15
 d'Angleterre[bank.of.england], et[and],
Dieu[god] me[me] damne[damn] si[if]
je[I] sais[know] pourquoi[why], la[the]
papesse Jeanne[pope.joan]. Ce[this]
Chislam Cox était[was] très[very]
convainquant[convincing]. Je[I]
m'[myself] enrôlai[enrolled] dans[in]
sa[his] troupe[troop] avec[with]
Marizibill, qui[who] ne[no]
voulait[was.wanting] pas[not] me[me]
quitter[to.leave], et[and] nous[we]
partîmes[left].

PARA 9 PARA 9 PARA 9

No llevé conmigo nada I took no mining paraphernalia Je n'emportais pas d'attirail de
emparentado con el equipo de un away with me, but all the gear for mineur, mais tout un matériel de bar
marinero, sino vajilla de bar y a bar and lots of alcohol: whiskey, et beaucoup d'alcools; whisky, gin,
muchos alcoholes: whisky, gin, gin, rhum, etc.; blankets and rhum, etc.; des couvertures et des
rhum, etc., manteles y balanzas de precision scales. balances de précision.
precisión.
........................
......................... Je[I] n'[no]
~Emparentado = [related/ linked] emportais[was.taking.away.with.me]
~vajilla = [dinnerware set/ plates, pas[not] d'[of] attirail[paraphanelia]
dishes, cups, etc] de[of (a)] mineur[miner], mais[but] tout
~manteles = [tablecloths] un matériel[all the gear] de[of]
bar[bar(s)] et[and] beaucoup[lots] d'[of]
alcools[alcohols]; whisky[], gin[],
rhum[], etc.; des[of.the/some]
couvertures[blankets] et[and]
des[of.the/some] balances[scales] de[of]
précision[precision].

PARA 10 PARA 10 PARA 10

Nuestro viaje fue bastante penoso,
pero una vez llegados al lugar
donde Chislam Cox
conducirnos levantamos una ciudad
de madera que fue bautizada con el
nombre de Cox-City en honor de
quien nos guiaba.
Our voyage was rather a pain, but
as soon as we arrived at the place
quería where Chislam Cox wanted to steer
us to, we built a wooden town,
which was baptized Cox City in
honour of the one who was guiding
us.
Notre voyage fut assez pénible,
mais aussitôt arrivés là où Chislam
Cox voulait nous conduire, nous
bâtîmes une ville de bois qui fut
baptisée Cox-City, en l'honneur de
celui qui nous dirigeait.
................................
Notre[our] voyage[voyage] fut[was]
assez[rather]
pénible[tough/dificult/painful/annoying]

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Página 8 de 15
 , mais[but] aussitôt[as.soon.as]
arrivés[arrived] là[there] où[where]
Chislam Cox voulait[was.wanting/
wanted] nous[us]
conduire[to.drive/to.lead], nous[we]
bâtîmes[built] une[a] ville[town] de[of]
bois[wood] qui[which] fut[was]
baptisée[baptised] Cox-City, en[in]
l'[the] honneur[honour] de[of]
celui[the.one] qui[who] nous[us]
dirigeait[was.directing/was.guiding/was
/leading].

PARA 11 PARA 11 PARA 11

Inauguré mi despacho de bebidas, I inaugurated my drinking outlet, J'inaugurai mon débit de boissons,
que en seguida fue muy which was soon very frequented. qui fut bientôt très fréquenté. L'or,
frecuentado. El oro era, en efecto, The gold, indeed, was abundant, en effet, était abondant, et je faisais
abundante, y yo mismo negociaba and I myself was enjoying a moi-même des affaires d'or.
con él. 'golden' business opportunity.
.............................
J'[I] inaugurai[inaugurated] mon[my]
débit[outlet] de[of] boissons[drinks],
qui[which] fut[was] bientôt[soon]
très[very] fréquenté[frequented]. L'[the]
or[gold], en effet[indeed], était[was]
abondant[abundant], et[and] je[I]
faisais[was.doing] moi-
même[me.myself] des[of.the/some]
affaires[business.transactions] d'[of]
or[gold].

PARA 12 PARA 12 PARA 12

Muchos de los mineros eran A large part of the miners were Une grande partie des mineurs
franceses o canadienses franceses; French, or Canadian French. There étaient Français ou Canadiens
también habla alemanes e were Germans there and français. Il y avait là des
individuos de habla inglesa. Pero individuals who spoke English. Allemands et des individus de
el elemento francés predominaba. But the French element dominated. langue anglaise. Mais l'élément
Más adelante llegaron mestizos Later on came the mixed-race français dominait. Plus tard, il
franceses de Manitoba y un gran French from Manitoba and a large nous vint des métis français du
número de piamonteses. También number of Piedmontese.* The Manitoba et un grand nombre de
vinieron algunos chinos. De Chinese arrived aswell. This Piémontais. Des Chinois
manera que, al cabo de algunos ingress continued so steadily that arrivèrent aussi. Si bien qu'au bout
meses, Cox-City contaba con after a few months, Cox City de quelques mois, Cox-City
cerca de cinco mil habitantes, de counted close to five thousand comptait près de cinq mille
los cuales sólo diez eran mujeres. .. habitants yet possessed no more habitants, qui ne possédaient
En esta ciudad cosmopolita me than a dozen women. qu'une dizaine de femmes...
había hecho de una posición I had gained for myself an Je m'étais fait une situation

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 envidiable. Mi salón estaba en
situación floreciente. Lo
bautizado Café de París, y ese
nombre lisonjeaba a todos los
habitantes de Cox-City.
.........................
~Lisonjear = [to flatter/ to brown
nose]
enviable status within this enviable dans cette ville
había cosmopolitan town. My saloon cosmopolite. Mon saloon était
was flourishing; I had baptised it florissant. Je l'avais baptisé Café de
Café de Paris, and this title Paris, et ce titre flattait tous les
flattered all the habitants of Cox habitants de Cox-City.
City
..........................
*people from piedmont, a region in
the north west of italy

PARA 13 PARA 13 PARA 13

Los grandes fríos se hicieron sentir. The big freeze made itself felt. It Les grands froids se firent sentir.
Era terrible. Cincuenta grados was terrible. Fifty degrees below C'était terrible. Cinquante degrés
bajo cero constituyen una zero constitutes a deplorable au-dessous de zéro constituent une
temperatura inaguantable. temperature. We became aware température déplorable. On
Entonces se advirtió con terror with terror that Cox City held s'aperçut avec terreur que Cox-
que Cox-City contaba con insufficient provisions for getting City ne renfermait que des
provisiones insuficientes para through winter. There was no provisions insuffisantes pour
pasar el invierno. No había more communications possible passer l'hiver. Il n'y avait plus de
comunicaciones posibles con el with the rest of the world. The communications possibles avec le
resto del mundo. Era la muerte future perspective was imminent reste du monde. C'était la mort
como perspectiva inmediata. death. Soon the provisions were prochaine en perspective. Bientôt
Prontamente se agotaron las exhausted, and Chislam Cox les provisions furent épuisées, et
provisiones y Chislam Cox dio made public a moving Chislam Cox fit afficher une
una conmovedora proclama en la proclamation, in which he let it be proclamation émouvante, dans
que nos hacía conocer todo lo known to us the total horror of laquelle il nous faisait connaître
espantoso de nuestra situación. our situation. toute l'horreur de notre situation.

........................
~Agotar = [to deplete/ to exhaust/
to run out/ to tire out/ to wear out]

PARA 14 PARA 14 PARA 14

Nos pedía perdón por habernos
llevado a la muerte, pero a pesar
de su desesperación, encontraba
medios para hablar de Herbert
Spencer y del falso Smerdis. El
final del memorial
espantoso: Cox invitaba al pueblo
a reunirse a la mañana siguiente
en la plaza que se había tenido el
buen cuidado de dejar en el centro
de la ciudad. Todo el mundo debía
llevar su revólver y suicidarse, a
una señal, para escapar a los
horrores del frío y del hambre.
He asked us to forgive him for Il nous demandait pardon de nous
having led us to our deaths, avoir menés à la mort, et trouvait,
finding, despite his despair, the nonobstant son désespoir, le
means to talk about Herbert moyen de parler de Herbert
Spencer* and the false Spencer et du faux Smerdis. La
era algo Smerdis.** The end of this fin de ce factum était effroyable.
memoire*** was horrific. Cox Cox invitait la population à se
invited the population to rassembler, le lendemain matin,
assemble, the morning after, in sur la place qu'on avait eu le soin
the public square that one had had de laisser au centre de la ville. Tout
the foresight to allow the space for le monde devait apporter un
in centre of the town. Everyone revolver et se suicider à un signal,
was to bring a revolver and pour échapper aux affres du froid et
commit suicide at the giving of a de la faim.

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 signal so as to escape the torments
of the cold and hunger.

..............................
*Herbert Spencer = English
philosopher and biologist
responsible for the saying "survival
of the fittest"

**False Smerdis = Someone who

pretends to be someone he is not.
HISTORY: some persian dude from
the ancient greek period
impersonated his brother so as to
become a sort of king (smerdis) of
Persia.
NOTE: I think Cox was probably
telling them that he was not the
leader he was pretending to be (aka
false smerdis) and that they were all
going to do die from there own
stupidity for following him (aka
Darwinism > Spencer) Well.. that's
my take for what it's worth.

***I really don't like my

interpretation of 'factum' here.
LeRobert Pratique defines factum
as a "memoire litteraire contre un
adversaire" i.e. a memoire against
an adversary. If a memoir is a
"historical account or biography
written from personal knowledge"
than a factum is this but in negative
terms in much the same way as
infamous is the other side of
famous. This inmemoire, if it
existed, would be the better
substitute.

PARA 15 PARA 15 PARA 15

Nadie protestó. En general, la
solución pareció elegante, y hasta
Marizibil, en lugar de lloriquear,
me dijo que sería feliz de morir
conmigo. Distribuimos el alcohol
que quedaba, y a la mañana
siguiente nos dirigimos del brazo
There wasn't any protest. The
solution had generally
found to be elegant. and Marizibill
herself, instead of sobbing, said to
me that she would be happy to
die with me. We distributed all of
what remained to us of the alcohol.
Il n'y eut pas de protestations. La
been solution fut trouvée généralement
élégante, et Marizibill elle-même,
au lieu de sangloter, me dit qu'elle
serait heureuse de mourir avec
moi. Nous distribuâmes tout ce qui
nous restait d'alcool. Le lendemain

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 a la plaza mortuoria. The morning after, we led matin, nous nous rendîmes, bras
ourselves, arms in arm, to the dessus bras dessous, sur la place
deathly square. mortuaire.
........................
~lloriquear = [to whinge/ to whine]

PARA 16 PARA 16 PARA 16

Así viviera cien mil años, jamás If I should have to live for a Dussé-je vivre cent mille ans, je
olvidaré el espectáculo de esa hundred thousand years, I will n'oublierai jamais le spectacle de
multitud de cinco mil personas never forget the spectacle of that cette foule de cinq mille
abrigadas con mantas y colchas. crowd of five thousand people, personnes couvertes de manteaux,
Cada uno tenía un revólver en la covered up in coats and blankets. de couvertures. Tout le monde
mano y se oía el castañeteo de los Everyone was holding a revolver tenait à la main un revolver, et
dientes. . ¡Se lo juro! in their hand, their teeth toutes les dents claquaient...
chattering... I swear to you!... claquaient... je vous le jure!...
...........................
~colchas = [bedspread/ quilt]
~castañeteo = [chattering/
crackling] LIT: the sound of
castañuelas
[castanets]

PARA 17 PARA 17 PARA 17

Chislam Cox, subido a un tonel,
presidía la reunión. De repente, se
llevó el revólver a la frente y
disparó. Fue la señal: mientras
Chislam Cox caía de su tonel,
todos los habitantes de Cox-City,
entre los que me hallaba, nos
hacíamos saltar la tapa de los
sesos ¡Qué horroroso recuerdo!
¡Qué tema de meditación el de
esta unanimidad en el suicidio!
¡Pero qué frío terrible hacía...!
........................
~Disparar = [to shoot(gun/photo)/
to fire a shot/ to discharge i.a.]
HERE: 'fired'
Chislam cox held sway over us,*
perched on a barrel. All of a
sudden, he brought the revolver
to his forehead. The shot fired. It
was the signal, and, whilst that
Chislam Cox was falling, dead,
from his barrel, all the habitants of
Cox City, myself included, were
blowing out their own
brains...** What a horrific
recollection! What a subject for
meditation, this unanimity to
commit suicide. But what a terrible
coldness there was!
........................
*I was torn between this and 'held
the high ground' being the other
interpretation of the verb 'dominer.'
Chislam Cox nous dominait, monté
sur un tonneau. Tout à coup, il se
porta le revolver au front. Le
coup partit. C'était le signal et,
tandis que, mort, Chislam Cox
tombait de son tonneau, tous les
habitants de Cox-City, y compris
moi-même, se faisaient sauter la
cervelle... Quel souvenir
effroyable!... Quel sujet de
méditation que cette unanimité
dans le suicide! Mais quel froid
terrible il faisait!...

**Next week I'll be doing The

Little Mermaid if anyone's
interested

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 PARA 18
Yo no estaba muerto sino aturdido,
y pronto me incorporé.
herida, o más bien un rasguño,
que me provocaba mucho dolor, y
cuya cicatriz llevaré hasta el fin de
mis días, me recordaba que había
tratado de suicidarme. ¿Por qué
estaba solo?
-¡Marizibil! -llamé.
.......................
~rasguño = [scratch]
PARA 19
Nadie me respondió. Los ojos
desencajados, temblando de frío,
permanecí largo rato atontado,
mirando a esos muertos
mostraban, todos, una herida
voluntaria en la frente.
PARA 20
Después sentí un hambre terrible
que me torturaba el estómago. Los
víveres se habían agotado. No
encontré nada en las casas que
registré. Enloquecido y titubeante,
me arrojé sobre un cadáver y le
devoré el rostro. La carne estaba
todavía tibia. Me sacié sin ningún
remordimiento. Luego comencé a
pasearme por la
pensando en los medios de salir de
allí; Me armé; me
cuidadosamente; cargué la mayor
cantidad de oro
transportar.
...
...
De pronto sentí inquietud por la
alimentación. El cuerpo de las
mujeres es más rico en grasas; su
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PARA 18
I wasn't dead, but stunned: I got
Una myself up not before long. A
wound, or rather a weal, which
was making me suffer violently,
and of which the scar would mark
me right to the end of my days,
reminding me alone that I had
tried to kill myself. And why was I
all alone?
"Marizibill!" I cried out.
PARA 19
No-one responded. But, with eyes
wide open, trembling with cold, I
stood there a while, completely
que out of it, looking on at these
corpses (close to five thousand)
each and every one of them
bearing upon the forehead a
violent wound.
PARA 20
Then I felt a terrible hunger which
was torturing my stomach. The
supplies were all run out. I found
nothing in the houses that I
rummaged through. Maddened
and stumbling along, I threw
myself over a corpse and
devoured it's face. The flesh was
warm. I satiated myself without
necrópolis any remorse. Then I walked
through the necropolis, reflecting
abrigué over the means by which to get
myself out of here. I armed
que podía myself, carefully wrapped myself
up and loaded up with as much
gold as I could carry away with me.
Then I turned my attention to
what I would be eating. Women's
bodies are fattier, their flesh more
tender. I searched around for one
PARA 18
Je n'étais pas mort, mais étourdi, je
me relevai bientôt. Une blessure,
ou plutôt une enflure qui me
faisait violemment souffrir, et
dont la cicatrice me marquera
jusqu'à la fin de mes jours, me
rappelait seule que j'avais tenté
de me suicider. Et pourquoi étais-
je tout seul?
—Marizibill! m'écriai-je.
PARA 19
Rien ne me répondit. Mais, les
yeux écarquillés, grelottant de
froid, je demeurai longtemps
hébété à regarder ces morts, près
de cinq mille qui, tous, portaient
au front une blessure volontaire.
PARA 20
Puis, je ressentis une faim terrible
qui me torturait l'estomac. Les
vivres étaient épuisés. Je ne
trouvai rien dans les maisons que je
fouillai. Affolé et titubant, je me
jetai sur un cadavre et lui dévorai
la face. La chair était encore tiède.
Je me rassasiai sans aucun
remords. Puis je me promenai dans
la nécropole en songeant aux
moyens d'en sortir. Je m'armai, me
couvris soigneusement, me
chargeai du plus d'or que je pus
emporter.
...
...
Ensuite, je m'inquiétai de la
nourriture. Le corps des femmes
est plus grasset, leur chair est plus
tendre. J'en cherchai un et lui
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 carne más tierna. Busqué una y le
corté las dos piernas. Ese trabajo
me llevó de dos horas. Pero logré
dos jamones que me colgué al
cuello mediante dos correas. En ese
instante me di cuenta de que
había cortado las piernas a
Marizibil. Mi alma de antropófago
apenas se conmovió. Sobre todo,
deseaba irme.
..........................
~registrar = [to search/ to sign/ to
record/ to register/ to capture (as in
camara)] HERE: 'searched'
PARA 21
Me puse en marcha y, por
milagro, encontré
campamento de leñadores,
justamente el día
provisiones se habían terminado.
PARA 22
La herida que me había hecho en la
cabeza curó rápidamente. Pero la
cicatriz que oculto con mis dedos
me recuerda sin cesar a Cox-City,
la necrópolis boreal,
habitantes helados, que el frió
conserva en la forma que cayeron
-armados y heridos-,
bolsillos llenos del oro inútil por el
que murieron.
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and cut off its two legs. This task
took me more than two hours. But I
found myself in possession of two
legs of meats which with the means
of two strips of cloth, I suspended
around my neck. I realised at that
precise moment that I had cut off
the legs of Marizibill. But my
anthropophagic* soul was barely
moved. Above all I was anxious to
leave.
...............................
*Anthropophage = mythical race of
cannibals.
PARA 21
I set off, and, by miracle, I
un encoutered a lumberjack camp
on the exact day that
que mis provisions ran out.
PARA 22
The wound that I had done to my
head soon healed itself. But the
scar that I'm carefully hiding
constantly brings to
y sus Cox City, the boreal necropolis and
its frozen habitants that the cold
keeps as they were the moment
con los they fell, armed and wounded, eyes
open, pockets full of the useless
gold for which they died.
THE END
La Fin
Booo! (got ya)
coupai les deux jambes. Ce travail
me prit plus de deux heures. Mais
je me trouvai à la tête de deux
jambons, qu'au moyen de deux
lanières, je suspendis a mon cou. Je
m'aperçus alors que j'avais coupé
les jambes de Marizibill. Mais
mon âme d'anthropophage fut à
peine émue. J'avais surtout hâte
de partir.
PAR21
Je me mis en marche, et, par
miracle, je joignis un campement
my de bûcherons, justement le jour
où mes provisions furent
épuisées.
PARA 22
La blessure que je m'étais faite à la
tête fut bientôt guérie. Mais une
cicatrice que je cache avec soin
mind me rappelle sans cesse Cox-City,
la nécropole boréale, et ses
habitants glacés, que le froid garde
ainsi qu'ils tombèrent, armés et
blessés, les yeux ouverts, et les
poches pleines de l'or inutile pour
lequel ils moururent.
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