よみうち英語Read the classics by typingNotes Scene 35: To St. Monica's
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Notes on this scene
Adler rushes from the house into a hastily prepared carriage, offering her driver half a sovereign to reach the same church quickly. Holmes decides he must follow. A passing cab provides his chance, and he promises its driver the same reward. He understands the purpose of the hurried journeys.
Japanese in this scene
- しか留めておらず
- しか pairs with a negative to mean “only.” おらず is a formal negative connective related to いる: the coat is only half buttoned.
- 止まりきらないうちに
- Verb stem + きる expresses completion. Negative きらない + うちに means before the action is fully complete.
- 起ころうとしている
- Volitional form + としている can describe an event about to happen. Here it concerns the impending event at the church.
Background
- Landau
- A landau was an elegant four-wheeled carriage with a folding hood that opened in front and behind. Owning a private carriage indicated wealth; Adler’s use of a carriage and coachman suggests her circumstances.
- Half a sovereign
- A sovereign was a one-pound gold coin, making half a sovereign ten shillings. As a reward to a driver this was generous, showing how urgently she wanted to arrive.
Full text: original English and Japanese translation
"Away they went, and I was just wondering whether I should not do well to follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau, the coachman with his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under his ear, while all the tags of his harness were sticking out of the buckles. It hadn't pulled up before she shot out of the hall door and into it. I only caught a glimpse of her at the moment, but she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for.
「馬車は走り去った。後を追ったほうがいいかと思案していると、小路の向こうから小ぎれいな小型の四輪馬車がやって来た。御者は上着のボタンを半分しか留めておらず、ネクタイは耳の下までずれ、馬具の留め革はどれもバックルから飛び出している。馬車が止まりきらないうちに、彼女が玄関から飛び出してきて乗り込んだ。そのときはちらりと見えただけだが、男が命を捧げてもいいと思うほどの顔立ちの、美しい女性だった。
"'The Church of St. Monica, John,' she cried, 'and half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.'
「『ジョン、聖モニカ教会へ』と彼女は叫んだ。『二十分で着いたら半ソヴリンあげます』
"This was quite too good to lose, Watson. I was just balancing whether I should run for it, or whether I should perch behind her landau when a cab came through the street. The driver looked twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could object. 'The Church of St. Monica,' said I, 'and half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.' It was twenty-five minutes to twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind.
「これを見逃す手はないよ、ワトソン。走って追いかけるか、彼女の馬車の後ろに飛び乗るか迷っていると、ちょうど通りを辻馬車がやって来た。御者はこんなみすぼらしい客をじろじろと見直したが、文句を言われる前に私は飛び乗った。『聖モニカ教会へ』と私は言った。『二十分で着いたら半ソヴリンやろう』十二時二十五分前だった。もちろん、何が起ころうとしているのかは明らかだった。