よみうち英語Read the classics by typingNotes Scene 26: Doubts and a First Day
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Notes on this scene
Wilson’s doubts increase until he is ready to abandon the strange appointment as a trick. By morning, however, curiosity wins. He buys a bottle of ink, a quill pen, and sheets of foolscap, then travels to Pope’s Court to discover whether the promised office and work are real.
Japanese in this scene
- にちがいない
- にちがいない expresses strong confidence: “must be; there is no doubt.” It is a conclusion based on the speaker’s judgment, not a command.
- ていた
- The 〜ていた form is the past of 〜ている. It describes an action that was in progress or a state that continued at the time being discussed.
- という
- という connects quoted words, a name, or an idea to the noun that follows. Depending on context, it can mean “called,” “that,” or “the idea that.”
- は
- は marks the topic of a sentence and can also set up a contrast with another item.
Background
- Foolscap paper
- Foolscap was a large writing sheet, roughly 33 by 20 centimeters, widely used for office work and fair copies. Its name is traditionally linked to a fool’s-cap watermark.
- Penny
- Before decimalization, one pound equaled 240 pence. A penny bottle of ink was a very cheap purchase, emphasizing the modest supplies Wilson brings to the office.
Full text: original English and Japanese translation
"Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I was in low spirits again; for I had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what its object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether past belief that anyone could make such a will, or that they would pay such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying out the Encyclopædia Britannica. Vincent Spaulding did what he could to cheer me up, but by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the whole thing. However, in the morning I determined to have a look at it anyhow, so I bought a penny bottle of ink, and with a quill-pen, and seven sheets of foolscap paper, I started off for Pope's Court.
「それで、一日じゅうその件を考えていたのですが、夕方にはまた気がふさいでしまいましてね。何が目的かは見当もつかないものの、これはきっと大がかりな悪ふざけか詐欺にちがいないと、すっかり思い込んでしまったものですから。そんな遺言をする人がいるとも、ブリタニカ百科事典を書き写すなどという単純なことにあれほどの金を払うとも、まったく信じられない気がしたのです。ヴィンセント・スポールディングはできるかぎり私を励ましてくれましたが、寝るころには、あれこれ考えた末にすっかりやめる気になっていました。それでも朝になると、とにかく一度のぞいてみようと決めまして、一ペニーのインクを一瓶買い、羽根ペン一本とフールスキャップ紙を七枚持って、ポープス・コートへ出かけたのです。