よみうち英語Read the classics by typingNotes Scene 27: Carte Blanche
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Notes on this scene
The King gives Holmes unlimited spending authority and says he would exchange a province for the photograph. For immediate expenses he places a heavy leather bag on the table, containing three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in notes. Holmes writes a receipt and hands it to him.
Japanese in this scene
- 使っても構わない
- Verb て-form + も構わない gives permission: “it does not matter if.” Here there is no limit on spending.
- 手に入る
- 手に入る means obtaining something or having it become available. The photograph is what the King wants to recover.
- 三百
- 三百 is read さんびゃく, with 百 changing from ひゃく to びゃく after 三. 七百 keeps the usual ひゃく.
Background
- The weight of a thousand pounds
- A thousand pounds was a large sum, enough for a middle-class family to live on for years. The bag, containing three hundred sovereigns, would be heavy. The King’s generosity shows how desperate he is.
- Chamois leather bag
- Chamois leather originally meant leather from the chamois, a kind of antelope, or similarly soft-tanned leather. Soft and durable, it was often used for bags holding gold coins and valuables.
Full text: original English and Japanese translation
"Then, as to money?"
「では、費用のほうは？」
"You have carte blanche."
「いくら使っても構わない」
"Absolutely?"
「本当にいくらでも？」
"I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom to have that photograph."
「あの写真が手に入るなら、王国の州を一つ差し出してもよいと言っているのだ」
"And for present expenses?"
「当座の費用はいかがでしょう」
The King took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak and laid it on the table.
国王はマントの下から重いセーム革の袋を取り出し、テーブルの上に置いた。
"There are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in notes," he said.
「金貨で三百ポンド、紙幣で七百ポンドある」と彼は言った。
Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and handed it to him.
ホームズは手帳の一枚に受取書を走り書きして、国王に手渡した。