MASARYK UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Algernon Blackwood: The Willows Translation and analysis

Diploma Thesis

Brno 2017

Supervisor: Author: Mgr. Martin Němec, Ph.D. Bc. Michal Břenek

Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Mgr. Martin Němec, Ph.D., for his endless patience and invaluable advice during the whole writing proces.

Declaration “I declare that I have worked on this diploma thesis independently, using only the sources listed in the bibliography.”

Brno, 30th November 2017 Bc. Michal Břenek

………………………..

Bibliography Břenek, Michal. Algernon Blackwood: The Willows, Translation and Analysis, Diploma thesis. Brno: Masaryk University, Faculty of Education, Department of English language and literature. 2017. 77 pages. The supervisor of the Diploma thesis: Mgr. Martin Němec, Ph. D.

Abstract

This diploma thesis focuses on translation and analysis of selected excerpts of a story The Willows by an English writer Algernon Blackwood. In the first part I briefly introduce the author, his work and background that influenced his writing. The second part deals with the translation of selected parts of the story into Czech whereas the third part concentrates on the analysis dealing with distinctive linguistic means of the author’s writing style with regard to the translation process. Further, it examines the methods and approaches used in the translation.

Anotace

Tato diplomová práce se soustřeďuje na překlad a analýzu vybraných pasáží z povídky Vrby anglického spisovatele Algernona Blackwooda. V první části krátce představuji autora, jeho tvorbu a postoje, které ovlivnily jeho literární styl, druhá část se zabývá překladem vybraných částí do češtiny, zatímco část třetí analyzuje charakteristické jazykové prostředky textu, jejich rozbor s ohledem na překladatelský proces a rovněž popisuje metodiku a postupy překladu.

Keywords

Algernon Blackwood, translation, translation analysis, The Willows, weird tale, gothic fiction

Klíčová slova

Algernon Blackwood, překlad, analýza překladu, Vrby, hororová povídka

Contents 1 Introduction ...... 1

1.1 Gothic fiction and the weird tale ...... 3

2 Algernon Blackwood ...... 4

2.1 Biography and work ...... 4

2.2 The Willows ...... 6

3 The translation of The Willows ...... 8

4 The Analysis of the Translation ...... 49

4.1 Toponyms ...... 49

4.2 Gender ...... 52

4.3 Idioms and phrases ...... 54

4.4 Metaphor ...... 58

4.5 Similes ...... 60

4.6 Interjections ...... 65

4.6.1 Water ...... 65

4.6.2 Wind (Air) ...... 68

4.6.3 Animal sounds ...... 70

4.6.4 Willow sounds ...... 72

5 Conclusion ...... 74

6 Bibliography ...... 75

1 Introduction My first encounter with Algernon Blackwood was rather accidental and fortuitous. A few years ago, when writing my bachelor thesis on supernatural elements in Arthur Machen’s short stories The Great God Pan and The White People, I needed an author from the same subgenre of Gothic fiction called the Weird tale for a comparative analysis in relation to aforementioned work. Consequently, I read masterpieces of several prominent representatives of the genre including H. P. Lovecraft, Lord Dunsany, M. R. James and Algernon Blackwood. While all the authors caught my interest with its own distinctive style, Blackwood’s approach to writing left me speechless from the very first page of The Willows and since then I have read several of his books, I found it more and more excited in terms of the way he is able to describe the “inner” world of emotional processes often overlapping with spiritual experience as well as the “outer” world around us concerning various types of environment, being at his best when depicting nature and its phenomena, and then connect these two worlds into one, intertwining and interacting with each other.

However, as my research on Blackwood progressed, I was absolutely staggered at the fact that while he is regarded as one of the most prominent authors of the British Gothic fiction of the beginning of the 20th century side by side with such names as, for example, H. G. Wells, A. C. Doyle, R. L. Stevenson, B. Stoker, A. Machen and others, he remains unknown to the general public and overlooked by literary critics with the exception of a very few of them as, for instance, Edward Wagenknecht who included Blackwood in the book on literary criticism Seven Masters of Supernatural Fiction, Mike Ashley – author of his biography Algernon Blackwood: An Extraordinary Life, or S. T. Joshi who wrote about this issue in his publication The Weird Tale:

“The complete ignorance of Blackwood in the critical community is a fact that stupefies me the more I think about it. It is not […] that the bulk of the material written about him is bad; it is that there is simply nothing written about him at all. […] In both academic and popular criticism Blackwood is a cipher” (Joshi 131).

Moreover, one of the most significant authors of the horror fiction H. P. Lovecraft praised Blackwood for writing “some of the finest spectral literature of this or any age“, further stating that “of the quality of Mr. Blackwood's genius there can be no dispute” (Lovecraft 64).

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Sadly, there has not been a single piece of his work translated and published in the Czech language, however popular the supernatural (or fantasy) literature may be at present. This fact has troubled me ever since I finished my bachelor thesis and I have often thought about trying to translate it myself, the idea of doing so was attractive and scary at the same time, for I consider it as a task carrying a great responsibility due to the necessity of sensitive approach to preserve the atmosphere and overall impression of the work.

Nevertheless, despite my lack of experience in the field of translation studies, I have opted to translate selected parts of the short story The Willows as a topic of this diploma thesis, since, in my opinion, Algernon Blackwood deserves to be better known, for his work can speak to a wide range of people - not only by his literary work but also by his philosophy and attitude towards life.

In the first part of the thesis, I am going to briefly introduce the author, his work with a special regard to The Willows and also his background which contain vital information to the translation process as the story carries autobiographical features.

In the second part, I am going to translate the first chapter and a part of the second chapter of the short story The Willows. The selection represents an overview of author’s writing style including literary and stylistic devices he used to achieve the intended impact on the reader and convey the thoughts behind the work.

The third part is then dedicated to the analysis of the distinctive features of the writing with regard to the methods and approaches used in the translation process.

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1.1 Gothic fiction and the weird tale The Gothic genre “came to prominence in Great Britain between 1760 and 1820, a genre distinguished by its supernaturalist content, its fascination with social transgression, and its departures, in formal terms, from the emerging norm of realism” (The Cambridge Companion 190)

The British Gothic fiction of the beginning of the 20th century brought to the genre the feature of “abhumanness” dealing with a supernatural being or creature “taking on a human form” and posing a threat “to the integrity of human identity” (Companion 190). And it is this merging of the human reality and the supernatural one while artfully integrating the gradual atmosphere of horror in remote setting that places Algernon Blackwood among Gothic authors.

As mentioned in the introduction, Algernon Blackwood belongs among prominent representatives of British Gothic fiction. Nevertheless, literary scholars put his name in the category of non-mainstream, almost marginal writers. One of the reasons could be the fact that, together with Machen, Blackwood ranks among the authors of a specific “subgenre” of Gothic fiction called the “weird tale”.

Although I am using the term “weird tale” as a name of a literary genre for the purposes of the thesis, for the concerned authors (Blackwood, Machen, Dunsany, James) it “did not exist as a genre but as the consequence of the world view” (Joshi 1) as claims S. T. Joshi and it is not coined as an official literary term.

The term itself was invented by H. P. Lovecraft According to whom the Weird tale has its roots in horror tales that have intertwined human folklore from “rituals for the evocation of daemons and spectres” of “prehistoric times” through the Middle Ages when “witch, werewolf, vampire, and ghoul brooded ominously on the lips of bard and grandam” and “the Renaissance magicians and alchemists” like Nostradamus to “the “Gothic” school of horrible and fantastic prose fiction” (Lovecraft 7-10).

Concerning the definition of the weird tale, Lovecraft describes it as story carrying “a certain atmosphere of breathless and unexplainable dread of outer, unknown forces” presented with honest seriousness and containing elements that cause a “ particular suspension or defeat of those fixed laws of Nature which are our only safeguard against the assaults of chaos and the deamons of unplumbed space” (qtd. in Břenek 8).

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2 Algernon Blackwood

2.1 Biography and work Algernon Blackwood, an English novelist, playwright, journalist, and broadcasting narrator, was born in Shooter’s Hill district in South East London on March 14, 1869 as a son of a Clerk to the Treasury. “Since his parents were ardent evangelists, in his childhood Blackwood used to escape from his strict upbringing to the nature and dreams and he would often go out in the middle of night and spend time imagining supernatural beings around” (Břenek 12) provoking his imagination that he used to write ghost stories years later. His connection to the nature deepened during his stay at the School of the Moravian Brotherhood in Germany in 1881, profiting from its location off the civilization where he often wandered the places “haunted by elves and dwarfs and peopled by charming legends” (qtd. in Břenek 12) as he recalls in his autobiography Episodes Before Thirty.

Due to his strict evangelical upbringing his experience with the negative aspects of human behaviour such as deceit or theft were extremely poor, which caused much of his trouble during the stay in America where he got robbed by his close friend. This event changed Blackwood’s point of view at people to whom he never cherished such degree of trust again and preferred nature to people. (Episodes 18)

Early in his life, he also became interested in Eastern philosophies inspired by reading the Hindu text Bhagavad Gita and later theosophical work of Mme Blavatsky upon which he built the core of his own philosophy and this influence can be seen throughout his work including The Willows.

However, in his youth Algernon Blackwood did not intend to publish his stories as he considered them not to be good enough for print. The chance lead him to Piccadilly where he met an old friend of his, Agnus Hamilton, an influential Reuter’s correspondent on war conflicts, who borrowed his manuscript as he had interest in Blackwood’s writing before. The stories fascinated him into such a degree that a few weeks later, without Blackwood’s authorization, he recommended the work to the publisher Eveleigh Nash who, consequently, approached Blackwood with an offer to publish his stories as a book collection and Blackwood, though utterly shocked, accepted. (Ashley 126-127)

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His stories brought him immense success and besides The Willows (1907) it is worth mentioning his short story Wendigo (1910), taking place in Canadian wilderness, novels The Centaur (1911) and John Silence: Physician extraordinary (1908), or a play The Starlight Express (1915) on which he collaborated with Edward Elgar who composed music.

Moreover, Blackwood also appeared on the first television broadcast in Britain in 1936 and adapted several of his stories for radio plays and in 1949 he was knighted the Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his literary work.

Algernon Blackwood died on 10 December 1951 of cerebral thrombosis.1

1 The biography was based on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Blackwood 5

2.2 The Willows The short story The Willows was first published in the collection The Listener and Other Stories by the London publishing house Eveleigh Nash in 1907. The collection started receiving praising reviews shortly after its release, following the success of his first collection The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories published by the same publisher in 1906 and which “continued to be reprinted throughout his lifetime” (Ashley 128).

Although The Listener was immediate success, the short story The Willows stood out from the collection, highlighted in the press as “being something special” (Ashley 130); The Academy, for instance, stated that “Mr Blackwood really” in The Willows” shows what he is capable of” (qtd. in Ashley 130). H. P. Lovecraft regards the story as Blackwood’s absolute masterpiece which attains “a genuinely classic level, and evoke as does nothing else in literature an awed convinced sense of the imminence of strange spiritual spheres of entities” and where “art and restraint in narrative reach their very highest development, and an impression of lasting poignancy is produced without a single strained passage or a single false note” (Lovecraft 64).

Concerning the story, it narrates a journey of two friends, un unnamed narrator and his companion Swede going down the Danube river in a canoe from its source in German Black Forest during the summer period of floods. The main plot of the story is set to an abandoned region near Bratislava where the Danube divides its flow to multiple side channels, creating islands overgrown with willow bushes and ‘peopled’ by primeval elemental forces whose land they inadvertently trespass, camping on one of the islands. Soon, they realize that by doing so they almost signed their own death sentence and the struggle for their lives begins.

The story is based on Blackwood’s own experience when going down the Danube river from its source in 1900 accompanied by his friend Wilfrid Wilson who can be recognized in the story as a character of Swede. As Mike Ashley states about the trip:

In June 1900 he began another of those vagabond holidays, one that would inspire perhaps his greatest story, ‘The Willows’. […] he and Wilfrid Wilson (1875-1957) left London bound for Donaueschingen in the Black Forest. Their canoe had been sent ahead by freight and they followed by train with a gipsy

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tent and such limited equipment as they needed. Wilson was a tall, strong man, six years younger than Blackwood. (Ashley 106)

The Willows caught my interest at first read due to its unique structure of narration, for it is the environment which ‘plays the main part’ in the story represented by the Danube river, wind or willow trees while the two ‘human’ main characters, the narrator and his friend Swede, try to react to its actions in order to restore the balance they disrupted by their presence in the first place.

As main characteristics of Blackwood’s writing style in The Willows can be considered descriptive complex sentences, usage of semicolons, a large number of vivid and colourful metaphors, similes and interjections combined with precise, in-depth descriptions of the whole range of emotions and emotional states experienced by his characters. Owing to his ability to alternate action among multiple agents, the narration pace virtually never decelerates to a pure description.

Nevertheless, the descriptions serve not only to provide the reader with beauty of the wild nature but also to influence emotional states of the travellers. Gradually, they experience the whole range of feelings from exhilaration to terror and irrational fear which have direct impact on their actions and reactions. Yet, despite all the horror features, the overall atmosphere remains positive, which is appears to be a common thread in Blackwood stories, for, as Joshi confirms, “Blackwood is perhaps a unique figure in stressing what might (a little fatuously) be called the optimistic weird tale” (Joshi 132).

Due to the structure, the narration abounds in detailed descriptions of landscape, fauna, flora and the river in particular, providing an exhausting list of names for various sounds and phenomena encountered during the trip from the source of Danube to then flourishing wilderness of the inland delta near Bratislava.

Although the major part of the main setting of the story would not be probably recognizable for today’s readers, for there were constructed vodne dielo Gabčíkovo dam and Dunajský kanál channel in the area, perhaps they could find some of the features still present in Dunajské luhy protected landscape area which aims at preservation of the former ecosystem of the Danube river.

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3 The translation of The Willows

After leaving Vienna, and long before you Jakmile opustíte Vídeň, a ještě nějakou come to Budapest, the Danube enters a dobu před tím, než doplujete do region of singular loneliness and Budapešti, Dunaj protéká neobyčejně desolation, where its waters spread away osamělou a pustou krajinou, do které se on all sides regardless of a main channel, rozlévá ze svých břehů a postupně ji mění and the country becomes a swamp for v rozlehlé bažiny pokryté nekonečným miles upon miles, covered by a vast sea of mořem nízkých vrbových křovin. low willow-bushes. On the big maps this deserted area is Tato opuštěná oblast je na velkých painted in a fluffy blue, growing fainter in mapách označena sytou modří, která color as it leaves the banks, and across it postupně bledne, jak se vzdaluje od may be seen in large straggling letters the koryta řeky a přes ni stojí velkým word Sumpfe, meaning marshes. neúhledným písmem slovo Sumpfe – močály. In high flood this great acreage of sand, Během povodní je tato země písku, shingle-beds, and willow-grown islands is oblázků a vrbových ostrůvků téměř úplně almost topped by the water, but in normal zatopena; obyčejně však křoviny šustí, seasons the bushes bend and rustle in the prohýbají se pod poryvy větru a nastavují free winds, showing their silver leaves to své stříbřité listy slunečním paprskům tak the sunshine in an ever-moving plain of jednoduše a dojímavě, až se z té nádhery bewildering beauty. člověku točí hlava.

Happy to slip beyond the control of the Dunaj si tímto krajem plyne, jak se mu stern banks, the Danube here wanders zachce, šťastný, že se může oprostit od about at will among the intricate network nadvlády příkrých břehů. Kličkuje of channels intersecting the islands spletitou sítí kanálů a průlivů, které everywhere with broad avenues down propojují ostrůvky s hlavním tokem, which the waters pour with a shouting kudy se voda burácivě valí, víří a pění, sound; making whirlpools, eddies, and podemlívá písčité břehy a odnáší je pryč foaming rapids; tearing at the sandy banks; společně s trsy vrb, čímž se formují nové carrying away masses of shore and willow- a nové ostrůvky, které denně mění tvar, clumps; and forming new islands

8 innumerably which shift daily in size and velikost i osazenstvo, neboť povodně jim shape and possess at best an impermanent nedopřejí příliš dlouhý život. life, since the flood-time obliterates their very existence.

Properly speaking, this fascinating part of Přesněji řečeno, tato úchvatná etapa řeky the river's life begins soon after leaving začíná kousek za Bratislavou, německy Pressburg, and we, in our Canadian canoe, zvanou Pressburg, maďarsky Poszony. with gipsy tent and frying-pan on board, My jsme ji zastihli na naší kánoi během reached it on the crest of a rising flood hlavní povodně v polovině července, about mid-July. vybaveni pouze malým stanem a pánvičkou. That very same morning, when the sky was Toho samého rána jsme ještě za červánků reddening before sunrise, we had slipped chvíli před rozbřeskem rychle propluli swiftly through still-sleeping Vienna, spící Vídní a o pár hodin později z ní leaving it a couple of hours later a mere nezbyly než obláčky kouře před modrými patch of smoke against the blue hills of the pahorky Vídeňského lesa na obzoru. V Wienerwald on the horizon; we had březovém hájku za městečkem breakfasted below Fischeramend under a Fischamend jsme si dali snídani; břízky grove of birch trees roaring in the wind; hučely pod náporem větru. Poté nás and had then swept on the tearing current zběsilý proud unášel přes Orth, Hainburg, past Orth, Hainburg, Petronell (the old Petronell (staré římské město Carnuntum Roman Carnuntum of Marcus Aurelius), proslavené za vlády císaře Marca and so under the frowning heights of Aurelia) a dále pak pod zachmuřeným Thelsen on a spur of the Carpathians, vrcholky ve výběžku Karpat, kde se do where the March steals in quietly from the Dunaje zleva pokradmu vlévá řeka left and the frontier is crossed between Morava, a ke hranici mezi Rakouskem a Austria and Hungary. Maďarskem. Racing along at twelve kilometers an hour Rychlostí dvanáct kilometrů v hodině soon took us well into Hungary, and the jsme se brzy dostali do Maďarska. muddy waters— sure sign of flood—sent Bahnitá voda – neklamná známka us aground on many a shingle-bed, and povodně – nás mnohokrát navezla na twisted us like a cork in many a sudden kamenité mělčiny, vířila a točila s námi

9 belching whirlpool before the towers of jako se špuntem před věžemi Pressburg (Hungarian, Poszony) showed bratislavského hradu tyčícími se k nebi. against the sky; and then the canoe, leaping Nato se kánoe jako divoký kůň prudce like a spirited horse, flew at top speed vrhla pod jeho šedé zdi, bezpečně se under the grey walls, negotiated safely the vyhnula potopeném řetězu převozní lodě sunken chain of the Fliegende Brucke Fliegende Brucke a ostrým obratem ferry, turned the corner sharply to the left, doleva se vnořila do nažloutlé pěny vstříc and plunged on yellow foam into the divočině ostrůvků, písčin a bažin – zemi wilderness of islands, sandbanks, and vrb. swamp-land beyond—the land of the willows. The change came suddenly, as when Změna přišla náhle; jako když se soubor a series of bioscope pictures snaps down snímků z městské ulice bez varování on the streets of a town and shifts without přemění na scenerii jezera a lesa. warning into the scenery of lake and forest. Vstoupili jsme do pustiny svižným We entered the land of desolation on tempem a během půl hodiny nebyla v wings, and in less than half an hour there dohledu žádná loďka, rybářská bouda ani was neither boat nor fishing-hut nor red červená střecha či jiná známka lidského roof, nor any single sign of human osídlení. habitation and civilization within sight. The sense of remoteness from the world of Ten pocit odloučenosti od lidí, naprostá humankind, the utter isolation, the izolace a uchvácení touto jedinečnou říší fascination of this singular world of vrb, větrů a vody nám oběma okamžitě willows, winds, and waters, instantly laid učarovaly, a to tak, že jsme si z legrace its spell upon us both, so that we allowed sdělovali, že bychom správně měli mít laughingly to one another that we ought by nějaký zvláštní pas či povolení ke vstupu, rights to have held some special kind of zatímco jsme tak nějak troufale a bez passport to admit us, and that we had, zeptání vešli do tohoto odloučeného somewhat audaciously, come without království divů a čar. Do království, které asking leave into a separate little kingdom sloužilo výlučně těm, kteří na ně měli of wonder and magic—a kingdom that was právo, a plné nepsaných varování pro ty, reserved for the use of others who had a kteří měli dost fantazie je objevit. right to it, with everywhere unwritten

10 warnings to trespassers for those who had the imagination to discover them. Though still early in the afternoon, the Přestože bylo stále ještě brzké odpoledne, ceaseless buffetings of a most tempestuous neutuchající divoké nárazy větru nás wind made us feel weary, and we at once znavily, a tak jsme začali hledat vhodné began casting about for a suitable místo pro přenocování. camping-ground for the night. But the bewildering character of the Ona ohromující povaha ostrůvků nám islands made landing difficult; the swirling však značně ztěžovala přistání; povodeň flood carried us in shore and then swept us nás vynesla na břeh, jen aby nás poté out again; the willow branches tore our hned zase smetla pryč; vrbové větve nám hands as we seized them to stop the canoe, drásaly ruce, když jsme se jich chytali ve and we pulled many a yard of sandy bank snaze zastavit loď. Než se nám podařilo into the water before at length we shot with v prudkém poryvu větru a skrz vodní tříšť a great sideways blow from the wind into přirazit k písčitému břehu, strhli jsme a backwater and managed to beach the jeho velkou část do vody. bows in a cloud of spray. Then we lay panting and laughing after our Pak jsme celí udýchaní padli na horký exertions on the hot yellow sand, sheltered písek a smáli se, zmoženi. Leželi jsme from the wind, and in the full blaze of a tam, chráněni před větrem, ve spalujícím scorching sun, a cloudless blue sky above, žáru slunce na bezmračném nebi a zcela and an immense army of dancing, shouting obklopeni armádou tančících a křičících willow bushes, closing in from all sides, vrbových křovin, které se leskly vodní shining with spray and clapping their tříští, a které jako by tleskaly tisíci thousand little hands as though to applaud ručkama úspěchu našeho úsilí. the success of our efforts.

“What a river!” I said to my companion, „Páni, to je teda řeka!”, řekl jsem svému thinking of all the way we had traveled společníkovi a přemýšlel o té dálce, from the source in the Black Forest, and kterou jsme urazili od pramene řeky v how he had often been obliged to wade and německém Černém lese, a jak se musel push in the upper shallows at the beginning začátkem června často brodit a tlačit loď of June. mělčinami horního toku.

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“Won’t stand much nonsense now, will it?” “Teď už to s ní nebude žádnej špás, co?”, he said, pulling the canoe a little farther poznamenal, načež odtáhnul kánoi trochu into safety up the sand, and then dál na písek do bezpečí a uvelebil se, aby composing himself for a nap. si zdřímnul. I lay by his side, happy and peaceful in the Ležel jsem vedle něj, šťastný a bath of the elements—water, wind, sand, spokojený; vnímal jsem všechny živly – and the great fire of the sun—thinking of vodu, vítr, písek i sluneční žár – a ponořil the long journey that lay behind se do toho pocitu jako do lázně. Přemítal us, and of the great stretch before us to the jsem o celé té dlouhé cestě za námi a jaký Black Sea, and how lucky I was to have kus nám ještě zbývá do Černého moře. A such a delightful and charming traveling také o štěstí, že mám na cestě tak companion as my friend, the Swede. příjemného a milého společníka, jako je můj přítel Švéd. We had made many similar journeys Už jsme spolu takto několikrát cestovali, together, but the Danube, more than any ale Dunaj na nás zapůsobil už od začátku other river I knew, impressed us from the svojí živostí, a to více než jakékoli jiné very beginning with its aliveness. řeky. From its tiny bubbling entry into the world Připadalo nám, jako by postupně rostl among the pinewood gardens of jako živá bytost – od pobublávajícího Donaueschingen, until this moment when příchodu na svět v borových zahradách it began to play the great river-game of německého městečka Donaueschingen až losing itself among the deserted swamps, do této chvíle, kdy nepozorovaně a unobserved, unrestrained, it had seemed to nespoutaně rozehrál velkou říční hru na us like following the grown of some living bloudění mezi opuštěnými bažinami. creature. Sleepy at first, but later developing violent Ze začátku působil ospale, ale později se desires as it became conscious of its deep v něm rozvinuly silné touhy, jak si soul, it rolled, like some huge fluid being, uvědomil svou hlubokou duši. through all the countries we had passed, Plynul si, jako nějaká velká tekutá bytost holding our little craft on its mighty všemi zeměmi, kterými jsme propluli a shoulders, playing roughly with us držel na svých mocných bedrech naše sometimes, yet always friendly and well- malé plavidlo. Občas si s ním drsně meaning, till at length we had come pohrál, ale vždy tak přátelsky a

12 inevitably to regard it as a Great dobromyslně, až jsme jej nevyhnutelně Personage. začali považovat za Velkou Osobnost. How, indeed, could it be otherwise, since Jak by tomu také mohlo být jinak, když it told us so much of its secret life? nám prozradil tolik ze svého tajného života? At night we heard it singing to the moon as V noci, když jsme leželi ve stanu, jsme jej we lay in our tent, uttering that odd sibilant slyšeli zpívat měsíci tím zvláštním note peculiar to itself and said to be caused sykavým tónem, pro něj tak by the rapid tearing of the pebbles along its charakteristickým. Prý je to způsobeno bed, so great is its hurrying speed. tím, jak se řeka divoce valí přes oblázky, jak rychle spěchá. We knew, too, the voice of its gurgling Poznali jsme hlas klokotajících vodních whirlpools, suddenly bubbling up on a vírů, když vybublaly na předtím tak surface previously quite calm; the roar of klidnou hladinu; jeho soustavné burácení its shallows and swift rapids; its constant pod všemi těmi zvuky nad vodou a steady thundering below all mere surface neustálé omílání břehů. sounds; and that ceaseless tearing of its icy waters at the banks. How it stood up and shouted when the A jak se vzepřel a křičel, když mu déšť rains fell flat upon its face! And how its pleskal po tváři! Nebo jak řval smíchem, laughter roared out when the wind blew když vítr fičel proti proudu a snažil se jej up-stream and tried to stop its growing zpomalit! speed! We knew all its sounds and voices, its Uměli jsme rozeznat všechny jeho zvuky tumblings and foamings, its unnecessary a hlasy; když se valil a pěnil a zbytečně splashing against the bridges; that self- šplouchal o mosty; to sebevědomé conscious chatter when there were hills to brebentění při výhledech na kopce či look on; the affected dignity of its speech strojenou důstojnost projevu, jak se nesl when it passed through the little towns, far městečky - příliš důležitý na to, aby too important to laugh; žertoval. and all these faint, sweet whisperings when A také ten nepatrný, sladký šepot, když the sun caught it fairly in some slow curve jej slunce zastihlo zdlouhavě meandrovat

13 and poured down upon it till the steam a bičovalo jej svými paprsky, až z něj šla rose. pára. It was full of tricks, too, in its early life Než o sobě dal světu vědět, byl však též before the great world knew it. pěkně lstivý. There were places in the upper reaches Na horním toku ve Švábském lese byla among the Swabian forests, when yet the místa, kam k němu ještě nedolehly zvěsti first whispers of its destiny had not reached o jeho údělu, a kde se rozhodl ponořit do it, where it elected to disappear through země, aby se znovu objevil na druhé holes in the ground, to appear again on the straně pórovitých vápencových kopců a other side of the porous limestone hills and stal se novou řekou s jiným jménem. start a new river with another name; leaving, too, so little water in its own bed Zanechal tak příliš málo vody ve svém that we had to climb out and wade and vlastním korytě, a my jsme museli vylézt push the canoe through ven a přenášet loď mělčinami na míle miles of shallows. daleko.

And a chief pleasure, in those early days of V těch dnech nezodpovědného mládí pro its irresponsible youth, was to lie low, like něj ale bylo největším potěšením schovat Brer Fox, just before the little turbulent se jako Kmotra Liška jen chvíli před tím, tributaries came to join it from the Alps, než se k němu chystaly připojit malé and to refuse to acknowledge them when divoké alpské přítoky, a odmítnout je in, but to run for miles side by side, the vpustit k sobě. Jak tak plynuly vedle sebe dividing line well marked, the very levels ty dlouhé míle s jasně vytyčenými different, the Danube utterly declining to hranicemi a různou výškou hladiny, recognize the newcomer. Dunaj nováčka naprosto ignoroval. Below Passau, however, it gave up this Avšak pod Pasovem se tohoto triku vzdal, particular trick, for there the Inn comes in jelikož na scénu vtrhne s nezměrnou with a thundering power impossible to silou Inn a vytlačuje hlavní tok natolik, že ignore, and so pushes and se oba klikatou soutěskou ležící před incommodes the parent river that there is nimi, jen těžko protáhnou. hardly room for them in the long twisting gorge that follows, and the Danube is Dunaj se tudy prodírá natlačený na útesy, shoved this way and that against the cliffs, vzdouvá se a spěchá, aby to stihl včas.

14 and forced to hurry itself with great waves and much dashing to and fro in order to get through in time. And during the fight our canoe slipped Během tohoto zápasu naše kánoe down from its shoulder to its breast, and sklouzla z jeho beder na hruď a užívala si had the time of its life among the naplno plavbu v rozbouřených vlnách. struggling waves. But the Inn taught the old river a lesson, Ale Inn dal starochovi lekci a za Pasovem and after Passau it no longer pretended to už dále nepředstíral, že nováčky ignoruje ignore new arrivals. . This was many days back, of course, and Tohle vše se samozřejmě událo před since then we had come to know other mnoha dny a od té doby jsme poznali i aspects of the great creature, and across the jinou tvář tohoto velikého stvoření. Přes Bavarian wheat plain of Straubing she bavorské pšeničné lány u města wandered so slowly under the blazing June Straubing se pod prudkým červnovým sun that we could well imagine only the Sluncem vlekl tak pomalu, že jsme si surface inches were water, while below představovali, jak se pod těmi několika there moved, concealed as by a silken palci vody na hladině pohybovala celá mantle, a whole army of Undines, passing armáda vodních víl Undin zahalená silently and unseen down to the sea, and hedvábným pláštěm a plula nenápadně very leisurely too, lest they be discovered. do moře. Nespěchaly, aby se neprozradily. Much, too, we forgave her because of her Také jsme mu toho však hodně prominuli friendliness to the birds and animals that pro jeho náklonnost k ptákům a zvířatům, haunted the shores. která okupovala jeho břehy. Cormorants lined the banks in lonely Na opuštěných místech se podél nich places in rows like short black palings; řadili kormoráni, jako by je chtěli grey crows crowded the shingle-beds ; ohradit; šedé vrány se shlukovaly u storks stood fishing in the vistas of oblázků, zatímco čápi rybařili shallower water that opened up between v mělčinách v průhledech mezi ostrovy a the islands, and hawks, swans, and marsh sokoli, labutě a bažinatí ptáci všeho birds of all sorts filled the air with glinting druhu plnili vzduch máváním lesklých wings and singing, petulant cries. křídel, zpěvem a nevrlým křikem.

15

It was impossible to feel annoyed with the Na rozmary řeky se nešlo zlobit, když river’s vagaries after seeing a deer leap jsme za úsvitu jsme viděli vysokou skočit with a splash into the water at sunrise and se šplouchnutím do vody a plavat kolem swim past the bows of the canoe; and often kánoe; spatřili zvědavé srnce, jak na nás we saw fawns peering at us from the koukají z podrostu nebo při rychlé underbrush, or looked straight into the zákrutě pohlédli přímo do hnědých očí brown eyes of a stag as we charged full tilt jelena. round a corner and entered another reach of the river. Foxes, too, everywhere haunted the banks, Také lišky pobíhaly všude po břehu a tripping daintily among the driftwood and roztomile klopýtaly mezi naplaveným disappearing so suddenly that it was dřevem, aby najednou zmizely tak náhle, impossible to see how they managed it. že nám nešlo do hlavy, jak to provedly. But now, after leaving Pressburg, Avšak teď, když jsme opustili Bratislavu, everything changed a little, and the vše se trošku změnilo a Dunaj zvážněl. Danube became more serious. It ceased trifling. It was half-way to the Přestal vtipkovat. Byl napůl cesty do Black Sea, within seeming distance almost Černého moře, takřka na dohled jiným, of other, stranger countries where no tricks podivnějším zemím, kde mu nedovolí would be permitted or understood. žádné finty a nepochopí je. It became suddenly grown-up, and claimed Najednou dospěl a dožadoval se našeho our respect and even our awe. respektu či dokonce obdivu. It broke out into three arms, for one thing, Rozdělil se na tři ramena, která se spojila that only met again a hundred kilometers až po dalších stech kilometrech a pro farther down, and for a canoe there were kánoi tu nezanechal žádná znamení, no indications which one was intended to kterou cestou se dát. be followed.

“If you take a side channel,” said the „Pokud se dáte vedlejším ramenem,“ řekl Hungarian officer we met in the Pressburg nám maďarský strážník při nákupu zásob shop while buying provisions, “you may v bratislavském obchodě, “tak až voda find yourselves, when the flood subsides, opadne, můžete se ocitnout čtyřicet mil

16 forty miles from anywhere, high and dry, v pustině, kde snadno vyhladovíte k and you may easily starve. smrti. There are no people, no farms, no Nikdo tam nežije, nejsou tam žádné fishermen. I warn you not to continue. The statky ani rybáři. Varuji vás, dále už river, too, is still rising, and this wind will nepokračujte. Hladina se ještě stále zvedá increase.” a vítr zesílí.“ The rising river did not alarm us in the Rostoucí hladina řeky nás ani least, but the matter of being left high and v nejmenším neznepokojovala, ale zůstat dry by a sudden subsidence of the waters někde v pustině, až voda opadne, může might be serious, and we had consequently být vážné. Nakoupili jsme proto zásoby laid in an extra stock of provisions. navíc. For the rest, the officer’s prophecy held Zatím se strážníkova předpověď true, and the wind, blowing down a naplňovala a vítr pod bezmračným perfectly clear sky, increased steadily till it nebem stále sílil, až si v ničem nezadal reached the dignity of a westerly gale. s vichřicí. It was earlier than usual when we camped, Rozbili jsme kemp dříve než obvykle; for the sun was a good hour or two from slunce bylo ještě dobrou hodinku či dvě the horizon, and leaving my friend still nad horizontem. Nechal jsem kamaráda asleep on the hot sand, I wandered about in spát na horkém písku a vydal se zběžně desultory examination of our hotel. prozkoumat náš hotel. The island, I found, was less than an acre Zjistil jsem, že ostrůvek má méně než půl in extent, a mere sandy bank standing hektaru a písčitý břeh sahá jen dvě až tři some two or three feet above the level of stopy nad hladinu řeky. the river. The far end, pointing into the sunset, was Jeho vzdálenější konec směřoval na covered with flying východ a byl celý pokrytý vodní tříští, jak spray which the tremendous wind drove vichr očesával hřebeny vln. Ostrůvek měl off the crests of the broken waves. It was tvar trojúhelníku se špicí proti proudu. triangular in shape, with the apex up stream. I stood there for several minutes, watching Stál jsem tak několik minut a pozoroval, the impetuous crimson flood bearing down jak se ta zbrklá karmínová povodeň with a shouting roar, dashing in waves s burácením valí proudem, tříští vlny o

17 against the bank as though to sweep it břeh, jako by jej chtěla vší silou strhnout, bodily away, and then swirling by in two a pak se rozvíří ve dva pěnivé pramínky foaming streams on either side. po obou stranách. The ground seemed to shake with the Zdálo se, že se země pod nárazy třese, shock and rush, while the furious zatímco zběsilé kymácení vrb ve větru movement of the willow bushes as the posilovalo zajímavou iluzi, že se ostrov wind poured over them increased the sám hýbe. curious illusion that the island itself actually moved. Above, for a mile or two, I could see the Pár mil v dálce proti proudu jsem uviděl, great river descending upon me; it was like jak se na mne řeka valí; bylo to, jako se looking up the slope of a sliding hill, white dívat do svahu sesouvajícího se kopce with foam, and leaping up everywhere to bílého od pěny, který se vrhá do všech show itself to the sun. stran, aby se ukázal slunci. The rest of the island was too thickly Zbytek ostrova byl příliš hustě porostlý grown with willows to make walking vrbami na příjemnou procházku, ale pleasant, but I made the tour, nevertheless. stejně jsem se tam vydal. From the lower end the light, of course, Ze spodního cípu řeka vypadala díky changed, and the river looked dark and jinému světlu temně a zamračeně. angry. Only the backs of the flying waves were Byly vidět pouze pěnivé hřbety vln, které visible, streaked with foam, and pushed vítr svými mocnými poryvy tlačil vpřed. forcibly by the great puffs of wind that fell Tuto scénu bylo možné spatřit pouze na upon them from behind. For a short mile it krátkém úseku, kdy se vlny přelévaly was visible, pouring in and out among the mezi ostrovy, než se přehnaly přes vrby a islands, and then disappearing with a huge zmizely. Vrby se kolem nich semknuly sweep into the willows, which closed jako stádo obludných prehistorických about it like a herd of monstrous stvoření, která se tlačí, aby se napojila. antediluvian creatures crowding down to drink. They made me think of gigantic sponge- Připomínala mi obří houbovité porosty, like growths that sucked the river up into jak do sebe řeku vsávají. themselves.

18

They caused it to vanish from sight. They Celou ji zastínily. Tak obrovské množství herded there together in such se jich tu tísnilo. overpowering numbers. Altogether it was an impressive scene, Byl to velice působivý výjev. Tak with its utter loneliness, its bizarre osamocený a podivně sugestivní. Vydržel suggestion; and as I gazed, long and jsem tak dlouho a zvědavě zírat, až to curiously, a singular emotion began to stir někde hluboko ve mně začalo vyvolávat somewhere in the depths of me. dříve nepoznaný pocit. Midway in my delight of the wild beauty, Doprostřed mého nadšení z krás divočiny there crept, unbidden and unexplained, a se sám od sebe vkrádal nevysvětlitelný a curious feeling of disquietude, almost of zvláštní pocit neklidu, skoro až strachu. alarm. A rising river, perhaps, always suggests Stoupající řeka asi vždy značí něco something of the ominous; many of the zlověstného. Mnoho těch malých little islands I saw before me would ostrůvků, které jsem předtím viděl, už probably have been swept away by the nejspíš k ránu odnesla voda. Ta nezdolná, morning; this resistless, thundering flood burácející povodeň budila úctu. of water touched the sense of awe. Yet I was aware that my uneasiness lay A přesto jsem si uvědomoval, že mé deeper far than the emotions of awe and znepokojení leží mnohem hlouběji než wonder. It was not that I felt. Nor had it pocit úcty a údivu. Nebylo to to, co jsem directly to do with the power of the driving cítil a stejně tak to nemělo přímou wind—this shouting hurricane that might spojitost se silou větru – s tím hučícím almost carry up a few hurikánem, který mohl takřka zvednout acres of willows into the air and scatter najednou pár hektarů vrb a rozesít je po them like so much chaff over the krajině. landscape. The wind was simply enjoying itself, for Vítr to dělal jenom pro zábavu, jelikož se nothing rose out of the flat landscape to nic z té ploché krajiny nezvedlo, aby jej stop it, and I was conscious of sharing its zastavilo. Já si tu hru vědomě prožíval great game with a kind of pleasurable s ním; naplňovala mne příjemným excitement. vzrušením.

19

Yet this novel emotion had nothing to do A přece ten nový pocit neměl co dělat with the wind. Indeed, so vague was the s větrem. Vskutku, ten pocit tísně, který sense of distress I experienced, that it was jsem zažíval, byl tak neurčitý, že jej impossible to trace it to its source and deal nebylo možné vysledovat až k jeho with it accordingly, though I was aware původu a podle toho s ním naložit. Byl somehow that it had to do with my jsem si však jistý, že to nějak souvisí realization of our utter insignificance s mým uvědoměním, jak jsme před tou before this unrestrained power of the nespoutanou silou živlů kolem naprosto elements about me. bezvýznamní. The huge-grown river had something to do Ta obrovská řeka s tím měla také co do with it too—a vague, unpleasant idea that činění – mlhavá a nepříjemná představa, we had somehow trifled with these great že jsme si nějak zahrávali s velkou moci elemental forces in whose power we lay živlů, proti které jsme ve dne v noci helpless every hour of the day and night. bezmocní. For here, indeed, they were gigantically at Neboť zde byly vskutku všechny živly play together, and the sight appealed to the v ohromné souhře, a ten pohled ponoukal imagination. představivost. But my emotion, so far as I could Ten pocit, jak jsem mu rozuměl, se však understand it, seemed to attach itself more zdál být spojený zejména s vrbovými particularly to the willow bushes, to these keři; s těmi nekonečnými lány vrb, hustě acres and acres of willows, crowding, so zarostlými a vzájemně prorostlými thickly growing there, swarming všude, kam jen oko dohlédlo. Tlačily na everywhere the eye could reach, pressing řeku, jako by se ji snažily udusit, upon the river as though to suffocate it, sešikovány v těsných řadách na míle standing in dense array mile after mile daleko. Pozorují, čekají a naslouchají. beneath the sky, watching, waiting, listening. And, apart quite from the elements, the Bez ohledu na živly se ty vrby jemně willows connected themselves subtly with přidaly k mé malátnosti a svými my malaise, attacking the mind insidiously mohutnými šiky mi záludně napadaly somehow by reason of their vast numbers, mysl. Tak či onak pro mne představovaly and contriving in some way or other to novou a mocnou velmoc; velmoc, která represent to the imagination a new and nám navíc nebyla příliš nakloněna.

20 mighty power, a power, moreover, not altogether friendly to us. Great revelations of nature, of course, Veliká zjevení přírody samozřejmě bez never fail to impress in one way or another, výjimky vyvolají nějaký dojem; to pro and I was no stranger to moods of the kind. mne nebylo nic nového. Hory nahánějí Mountains overawe and oceans terrify, strach, oceány hrůzu, zatímco tajemnost while the mystery of great forests exercises rozlehlých lesů má své vlastní zvláštní a spell peculiarly its own. kouzlo. But all these, at one point or another, Ale to všechno se v určitém okamžiku somewhere link on intimately with human někde těsně propojuje s lidským životem life and human experience. They stir a jeho zkušeností. Budí znepokojující, ale comprehensible, even if alarming, srozumitelné pocity a celkem vzato mají emotions. They tend on the whole to exalt. tendenci povznášet. With this multitude of willows, however, it Cítil jsem však, že tyto masy vrb byly was something far different, I felt. něco naprosto odlišného. Some essence emanated from them that Vyzařovalo z nich něco, co svíralo srdce. besieged the heart. A sense of awe Ač budily vpravdě úctu, v této úctě kdesi awakened, true, but of awe touched dřímal neurčitý pocit hrůzy. somewhere by a vague terror. Their serried ranks, growing everywhere Jejich sevřené šiky, které všude kolem darker about me as the shadows deepened, upadaly do temnoty s prodlužujícími se moving furiously yet softly in the wind, stíny, se pohybovaly ve větru zběsile, a woke in me the curious and unwelcome přesto tiše. Vzbudily ve mně zvláštní a suggestion that we had trespassed here nevítanou domněnku, že jsme bez upon the borders of an alien world, a world dovolení překročili hranice do cizího where we were intruders, světa. Do světa, kde jsme vetřelci. Do a world where we were not wanted or světa, kam jsme nebyli pozváni, kde invited to remain—where we ran grave nechtějí, abychom zůstali – a kde možná risks perhaps! vážně riskujeme! The feeling, however, though it refused to Ačkoli ten pocit odmítal prozradit své yield its meaning entirely to analysis, did poselství, netížil mne tehdy tím, že by se not at the time trouble me by passing into změnil v ohrožení. menace.

21

Yet it never left me quite, even during the Přesto mne nikdy úplně neopustil, a to i very practical business of putting up the během takových činností, jako stavění tent in a hurricane of wind and building a stanu ve vichru a rozdělávání ohně na fire for the stew-pot. vaření. It remained, just enough to bother and Zůstal přesně takový, aby obtěžoval, mátl perplex, and to rob a most delightful a obral naprosto úžasné místo na camping-ground of a good portion of its kempování o velkou část jeho kouzla. charm. To my companion, however, I said Svému společníkovi jsem však neřekl nothing, for he was a man I considered nic, jelikož se mi zdálo, že nemá žádnou devoid of imagination. představivost. In the first place, I could never have Zaprvé bych mu nikdy nedokázal explained to him what I meant, and in the vysvětlit, co jsem měl na mysli, a zadruhé second, he would have laughed stupidly at by se mi za to hloupě vysmál. me if I had. There was a slight depression in the center Postavili jsme si stan v malé prohlubni of the island, and here we pitched the tent. uprostřed ostrůvku. The surrounding willows broke the wind a Okolní vrby nás částečně chránili před bit. větrem. “A poor camp,” observed the „Není to teda žádná sláva,“ odtušil imperturbable Swede when at last the tent chladně Švéd, když jsme rozbili stood upright, “no stones and precious stan,“ nejsou tady žádný kameny, ani little firewood. chrastí na podpal. I’m for moving on early tomorrow—eh? Zítra brzo ráno radši pojedem dál, ne? This sand won’t hold anything.” Ten písek to tady moc dlouho neudrží.“ But the experience of a collapsing tent at Ta půlnoční nehoda se stanem nás midnight had taught us many devices, and ledacos naučila, a tak jsme si ten náš we made the cozy gipsy house as safe as „bejvák“ postavili tak bezpečně, jak to possible, and then set about collecting a jen šlo. Poté jsme se vydali nasbírat store of wood to last till bed-time. dostatek dřeva, aby nám vydrželo až do noci.

22

Willow bushes drop no branches, and Nenašli jsme žádné spadené vrbové větve driftwood was our only source of supply. a naším jediným zdrojem paliva tak bylo naplavené dřevo. We hunted the shores pretty thoroughly. Prochodili jsme ostrov křížem krážem; Everywhere the banks were crumbling voda se stále zvedala a postupně as the rising flood tore at them and carried podemlívala břehy, které se do ní away great portions with a splash and a s hlasitým šploucháním sesouvaly, aby je gurgle. odnesla pryč. “The island’s much smaller than when we „Ten ostrov je mnohem menší, než když landed,” said the accurate Swede. jsme přišli,“ pravil Švéd. Měl pravdu. “It won’t last long at this rate. We’d better „Tímhle tempem už dlouho nevydrží. drag the canoe close to the tent, and be Měli bysme přitáhnout loďku blíž ke ready to start at a moment’s notice. I shall stanu, ať můžem kdyžtak hned vyrazit. sleep in my clothes.” Raděj budu spát oblečenej.“ He was a little distance off, climbing along Byl ode mě na pár kroků a zrovna šel the bank, and I heard his rather jolly laugh podél břehu, když jsem uslyšel, jak se as he spoke. srdečně směje a něco říká. “By Jove!” „Proboha!“ I heard him call, a moment later, and Najednou jsem uslyšel výkřik. Otočil turned to see what had caused his jsem se, abych se podíval, co se stalo. exclamation. But for the moment he was Jenže v té chvíli byl schovaný za vrbami hidden by the willows, and I could not find a mimo dohled. him. “What in the world’s this?” „Co to sakra je?“ I heard him cry again, and this time his Znovu zakřičel a tentokrát jeho hlas voice had become serious. zvážněl. I ran up quickly and joined him on the Rychle jsem za ním doběhl ke břehu. bank. He was looking over the river, Díval se k řece a ukazoval na něco ve pointing at something in the water. vodě.

“Good heavens, it’s a man’s body!” he „Můj Bože, to je něčí mrtvola!“, zvolal cried excitedly. rozrušeně. “Look!” “ Podívej!“

23

A black thing, turning over and Nějaká černá věc se točila kolem dokola over in the foaming waves, swept rapidly ve vlnách a smýkala sebou. past. It kept disappearing and coming up Neustále se to potápělo a zase to the surface again. vynořovalo. It was about twenty feet from the shore, Jakmile to bylo na dvacet stop daleko, and just as it was opposite to where we trhlo to sebou naším směrem a podívalo stood it lurched round and looked straight se to přímo na nás. at us. We saw its eyes reflecting the sunset, and V těch očích se odráželo zapadající gleaming an odd yellow as the body turned slunce a žlutě se v nich zalesklo, jak se over. Then it gave a swift, gulping plunge, tělo otočilo. and dived out of sight in a flash. Nato se to s cáknutím ponořilo a hbitě odplavalo. “An otter, by gad!” we exclaimed in the „Jen vydra! Díky Bohu!“, ulehčeně jsme same breath, laughing. oba vydechli a zasmáli se. It was an otter, alive, and out on the hunt; Byla to vydra na lovu, a přece vypadala yet it had looked exactly like the body of a přesně jako mrtvola utopence bezmocně drowned man turning helplessly in the vlečená proudem. current. Far below it came to the surface once Spatřili jsme ji ještě jednou, dál po again, and we saw its black skin, wet and proudu. Černá zmáčená srst se jí leskla na shining in the sunlight. slunci. Then, too, just as we turned back, our arms Ruce jsme už měli plné dříví a jen jsme full of driftwood, another thing happened se otočili, událo se něco, co nás přinutilo to recall us to the river bank. jít zpátky ke břehu. This time it really was a man, and what was Tentokrát to byl opravdu muž. Muž more, a man in a boat. v loďce. Now a small boat on the Danube was an Vidět loďku na Dunaji je vždy unusual sight at any time, but here in this neobvyklé, ale spatřit ji v těchto deserted region, and at flood time, it was opuštěných končinách, a ještě během so unexpected as to constitute a real event. povodní, to je opravdu něco. We stood and stared. Stáli jsme tam a užasle jej pozorovali.

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Whether it was due to the slanting sunlight, Nevím, zda za to mohla ta světélkující or the refraction from the wonderfully voda nebo podvečerní slunce, ale nešlo illumined water, I cannot say, but, mi na ten výjev pořádně zaostřit. whatever the cause, I found it difficult to focus my sight properly upon the flying apparition. It seemed, however, to be a man standing Měl jsem však dojem, že ten muž stojí upright in a sort of flat-bottomed boat, v nějaké pramici s vesly a nechává se steering with a long oar, and being carried zběsile unášet podél protějšího břehu. down the opposite shore at a tremendous pace. He apparently was looking across in our Bylo zřejmé, že se dívá naším směrem, direction, but the distance was too great ale přes slunce a velkou vzdálenost se and the light too uncertain for us to make nedalo poznat, co se nám snaží sdělit. out very plainly what he was about. It seemed to me that he was gesticulating Zdálo se, že na nás mává a gesty něco and making signs at us. naznačuje. His voice came across the water to us Ze všech sil na nás něco křičel, ale přes shouting something furiously, but the wind hučení větru mu nebylo rozumět. drowned it so that no single word was audible. There was something curious about the Celý ten výjev mi přišel něčím zvláštní. whole appearance—man, boat, signs, Muž, loďka, náznaky, hlas. Bylo to jaksi voice—that made an impression on me out nepřiměřené situaci. of all proportion to its cause. “He’s crossing himself!” I cried. “Look, „Křižuje se!“, zakřičel jsem. „Dívej, dělá he’s making the sign of the Cross!” rukou kříž!“ “I believe you’re right,” the Swede said, „Asi máš pravdu“, řekl Švéd, zaclonil si shading his eyes with his hand and rukou oči a sledoval muže, jak se ztrácí watching the man out of sight. z dohledu.

25

He seemed to be gone in a moment, Během chvíle byl pryč; zmizel mezi melting away down there into the sea of vrbami v zákrutu řeky, na kterou willows where the sun caught them in the dopadaly červánky a měnily vrbový bend of the river and turned them into a porost v obří karmínovou hradbu, z níž great crimson wall of beauty. přecházel zrak. Mist, too, had begun to rise, so that the air Začala padat mlha a ponořila vše do was hazy. oparu. “But what in the world is he doing at „Co ale ten chlap dělal tak pozdě na nightfall on this flooded river?” I said, half rozvodněné řece?“, utrousil jsem spíš pro to myself. sebe. “Where is he going at such a time, and „Kam v tuhle dobu může jet a co myslel what did he mean by his signs and tím máváním a křikem? shouting? D’you think he wished to warn us about Myslíš, že nás chtěl před něčím varovat?“ something?” “He saw our smoke, and thought we were „Viděl kouř a myslel si, že jsme nějací spirits probably,” laughed my companion. duchové,“ zasmál se Švéd. “These Hungarians believe in all sorts of „Tihle Maďaři věří v kdejakou blbost; jen rubbish; you remember the shopwoman at si vzpomeň na tu prodavačku Pressburg warning us that no one ever z Bratislavy, jak nás varovala, že sem landed here because it belonged to some nikdo nejezdí, protože to tady patří sort of beings outside man’s world! I nějakým bytostem z jiného světa! suppose they believe in fairies and Beztak věří na víly, duchy přírody a elementals, possibly demons, too. démony. That peasant in the boat saw people on the Ten vidlák na loďce viděl někoho na islands for the first time in his life,” he tomhle ostrově poprvé v životě“, dodal added, after a slight pause, “and it scared po chvilce,“ a strašně ho to vyděsilo, to je him, that’s all.” všecko.“ The Swede’s tone of voice was not Jeho slova vůbec nezněla přesvědčivě; convincing, and his manner lacked choval se jinak než obvykle. something that was usually there.

26

I noted the change instantly while he Všiml jsem si toho hned, jak promluvil, talked, though without being able to label ale ještě jsem to neuměl pojmenovat. it precisely. “If they had enough imagination,” I „Kdyby měli dostatek fantazie, mohli laughed loudly—I remember trying to sem strčit rovnou starověké bohy“, řehtal make as much noise as I could—“they jsem se. Vybavuji si, že jsem se snažil might well people a place like this with the dělat co největší rámus. old gods of antiquity. The Romans must „Římani sem určitě zatáhli ty jejich have haunted all this region more or less posvátný háje se svatyněmi a with theirshrines and sacred groves and pohanskými bohy.“ elemental deities.”

The subject dropped and we returned to Tím debata skončila a šli jsme zpátky our stew-pot, for my friend was not given k našim ešusům. Švéd většinou nerad při to imaginative conversation as a rule. diskuzi popouštěl uzdu fantazii. Moreover, just then I remember feeling A v té chvíli jsem tomu byl upřímně rád; distinctly glad that he was not imaginative; jeho věcný a praktický přístup mne his stolid, practical nature suddenly uklidňoval. seemed to me welcome and comforting. It was an admirable temperament, I felt; he Obdivoval jsem ho. Uměl manévrovat could steer down rapids like a red Indian, s loďkou jako rudoch; sjížděl divoké shoot dangerous bridges and whirlpools peřeje či proplouval pod můstky. V kánoi better than any white man I ever saw in a neměl soupeře. canoe. He was a grand fellow for an adventurous Byl to bezva parťák na cesty za trip, a tower of strength when untoward dobrodružstvím; dokázal být pevnou things happened. I looked at his strong face oporou za každé situace. and light curly hair as he staggered along Šel vedle mě a potýkal se s hromadou under his pile of driftwood (twice the size dřeva ve své náruči. Nesl toho dvakrát víc of mine!), and I experienced a feeling of než já. Pod jeho světlými kudrnami se mu relief. ve tváři zračila síla. Pocítil jsem obrovskou úlevu.

27

Yes, I was distinctly glad just then that the Opravdu jsem byl rád, že je Švéd takový. Swede was—what he was, and that he Svými slovy nikdy nemyslel víc, než never made remarks that suggested more říkal. than they said. “The river’s still rising, though,” he added, „Voda ale ještě furt stoupá,“ utrousil pro as if following out some thoughts of his sebe, když celý zadýchaný pustil dříví na own, and dropping his load with a gasp. zem. “This island will be under water in two „Jestli to takhle půjde dál, za dva dny to days if it goes on.” tady poplave.“ “I wish the wind would go down,” I said. „Kdyby aspoň přestalo foukat,“ dodal “I don’t care a fig for the river.” jsem. „Voda je to poslední, co mě trápí.“ The flood, indeed, had no terrors for us; we Povodeň nám nijak nevadila; mohli jsme could get off at ten minutes’ notice, and the během chvilky odrazit. Naopak, čím více more water the better we liked it. vody, tím lépe. It meant an increasing current and the Silný proud podemele zrádné mělčiny obliteration of the treacherous shingle- plné oblázků, které nám mnohokrát beds that so often threatened to tear the málem protrhli dno. bottom out of our canoe. Contrary to our expectations, the wind did Přes všechno očekávání se vítr za not go down with the sun. soumraku neztišil; s přibývající tmou It seemed to increase with the darkness, však ještě sílil. howling overhead and shaking the willows Burácel a ohýbal okolní vrby jako by to round us like straws. byly stébla trávy. Curious sounds accompanied it Ten nezvyklý hukot občas připomínal sometimes, like the explosion of heavy dělovou palbu, která ztěžka dopadala na guns, and it fell upon the water and the ostrov i řeku v dunivých salvách. island in great flat blows of immense power. It made me think of the sounds a planet Myslel jsem při tom na zvuky, jaké asi must make, could we only hear it, driving musí vydávat Země, když letí vesmírem. along through space. Jen je slyšet.

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But the sky kept wholly clear of clouds, Po večeři se na východě objevil úplněk a and soon after supper the full moon rose up pomalu stoupal po bezmračném nebi. in the east and Brzy zaplavil celý kraj takovou září, že covered the river and the plain of shouting bylo vidět skoro jako za dne. willows with a light like the day. We lay on the sandy patch beside the fire, Leželi jsme v písku vedle ohně, smoking, listening to the noises of the pokuřovali, naslouchali nočním zvukům night round a spokojeně se bavili o uplynulé cestě i us, and talking happily of the journey we budoucích plánech. had already made, and of our plans ahead. The map lay spread in the door of the tent, Rozložili jsme si u vchodu do stanu but the high wind made it hard to study, mapu, ale v tom větru s ní nešlo nic dělat, and presently we lowered the curtain and tak jsme po chvíli zavřeli stan a zhasli extinguished the lantern. lampu. The firelight was enough to smoke and see Plameny ozařovaly naše tváře zahalené each other’s faces by, and the sparks flew do dýmu; jiskry vyletovaly z ohně jako about overhead like fireworks. prskavky. A few yards beyond, the river gurgled and Kousek od nás si řeka pobublávala a hissed, and from time to time a heavy syčela; občasné šplouchnutí nám pak splash announced the falling away of prozradilo, že se další kus břehu svalil do further portions of the bank. vody. Our talk, I noticed, had to do with the Hovor se točil kolem příhod z počátku faraway scenes and incidents of our first našeho putování v Černém lese nebo camps in the Black Forest, or of other něčeho úplně jiného, co se naší současné subjects altogether remote from the present situace nijak netýkalo. setting, for neither of us spoke of the actual Nikomu z nás se o tom nechtělo mluvit moment more than was necessary—almost více, než bylo nutné; skoro jako bychom as though we had agreed tacitly to avoid se domluvili, že se o našem tábořišti a discussion of the camp and its incidents. posledních zážitcích nebudeme zmiňovat.

29

Neither the otter nor the boatman, for Nepadlo ani slovo o sumci nebo muži instance, received the honour of a single v loďce, přestože jindy by to byla hlavní mention, though ordinarily these would témata večera. have furnished discussion for the greater part of the evening. They were, of course, distinct events in Na místě, jako je toto, to byly such a place. samozřejmě ojedinělé zážitky. The scarcity of wood made it a business to Udržovat oheň byla kvůli nedostatku keep the fire going, for the wind, that drove dřeva pořádná fuška, jelikož nám vítr the smoke in our faces wherever we sat, nejen vháněl kouř do očí, ať jsme si sedli helped at the same time to make a forced kamkoli, ale též neustále rozfoukával draught. plameny. We took it in turn to make some foraging Střídali jsme se ve shánění dřeva; expeditions into the darkness, and the pokaždé se jeden z nás vydal na výpravu quantity the Swede brought back always do temnoty. made me feel that he took an absurdly long Přišlo mi, že Švédovi zabralo vždycky time finding it; for nesmyslně dlouho přinést takovou the fact was I did not care much about trošku; popravdě mi však úplně nevadilo, being left alone, and yet it always seemed že jsem na chvíli sám. to be my turn to grub about among the Přesto, jako by to bylo vždycky na mě, bushes or scramble along the slippery abych šmátral rukama po zemi kolem banks in the moonlight. keřů nebo se v měsíčním světle drápal po kluzkém břehu. The long day’s battle with wind and Celodenní boj s prudkou vichřicí a water—such wind and such water!— had divokou povodní nás oba tak unavil, že tired us both, and an early bed was the nebylo pochyb, že brzy usneme. obvious program. Yet neither of us made the move for the A přece nikdo z nás nevypadal, že se tent. We lay there, tending the fire, talking chystá do stanu. Leželi jsme u ohně, in desultory fashion, peering about us into občas to něj šťouchli a nesouvisle the dense willow bushes, and listening to tlachali. Oba jsme se neustále ohlíželi, the thunder of wind and river. koukali do hustých křovin kolem a poslouchali hřímání vody a větru.

30

The loneliness of the place had entered our Ta naprostá osamělost a izolace ostrova very bones, and silence seemed natural, for se nám vsákla až do morku kostí. Ticho after a bit the sound of our voices became se zdálo být naprosto přirozené; naše a trifle unreal and forced; whispering hlasy se po chvíli změnily v něco takřka would have been the fitting mode of neskutečného a nuceného. communication, I felt, and the human Přepadl mne pocit, že bych měl jenom voice, always rather absurd amid the roar šeptat; mezi tím řáděním živlů se zdál of the elements, now carried with it lidský hlas jaksi absurdní – měl v sobě something almost illegitimate. cosi nepatřičného, jako mluvení nahlas It was like talking out loud in church, or in v kostele či někde, kde to je zakázáno. some place where it was not lawful, Nebo tam, kde být slyšet není zcela perhaps not quite safe, to be overheard. bezpečné. The eeriness of this lonely island, set Oba nás zasáhla ta tajuplnost osamělého among a million willows, swept by a ostrova obklopeného rozbouřenou řekou hurricane, and surrounded by hurrying a bezpočtem vrb, které bičoval vichr. deep waters, touched us both, I fancy.

Untrodden by man, almost unknown to Ten ostrov, na který nikdy nevstoupila man, it lay there beneath the moon, remote noha člověka, a který takřka nikdo from human influence, on the frontier of neznal, se tu rozprostíral pod měsíčním another world, an alien world, a world svitem, daleko od lidí, na hranici jiného, tenanted by willows only and the souls of cizího světa. Světa, který patřil pouze willows. vrbám a jejich duším. And we, in our rashness, had dared to A my jsme se zbrkle odvážili do něj invade it, even to make use of it! vstoupit a dokonce jej využívat! Something more than the power of its Jak jsem tak ležel na písku s nohama mystery stirred in me as I lay on the sand, k ohni a pozoroval mezi listovím feet to fire, and peered up through the hvězdnou oblohu, náhle mne přepadnul leaves at the stars. For the last time I rose ještě jiný pocit než tajemno. Naposledy to get firewood. jsem se zvednul a šel nasbírat dřevo na oheň.

31

(continues on p.29) (pokračuje na str.29) I gazed across the waste of wild waters; I Zíral jsem přes rozbouřenou vodu, watched the whispering willows; I heard sledoval, jak si vrby šeptají, a poslouchal the ceaseless beating of the tireless wind; jsem neustálé nárazy větru. Všechny tyto and, one and all, each in its own way, vjemy ve mne nějakým způsobem stirred in me this sensation of a strange vyvolávaly pocit tísně. distress. But the willows especially; for ever they Zvláště pak vrby, jak si mezi sebou bez went on chattering and talking among ustání špitaly a šeptaly, chichotaly se, themselves, laughing a little, shrilly crying pronikavě vykřikovaly a někdy i skučely, out, sometimes sighing—but what it was ale to, kvůli čemu dělaly všechen ten they made so much to-do about belonged povyk, patřilo do tajů života na té širé to the secret life of the great plain they pláni, kterou obývaly. inhabited. And it was utterly alien to the world I A bylo to naprosto cizí světu, který jsem knew, or to that of the wild yet kindly znal či těm divokým, ale laskavým elements. They made me think of a host of živlům. Připomínaly mi hostitele bytostí beings from another plane of life, another z jiné sféry bytí a možná naprosto evolution altogether, perhaps, all odlišného vývoje, jak diskutují o záhadě discussing a mystery known only to známé pouze jim samým. themselves. I watched them moving busily together, Díval jsem se na ně, jak se ve spěchu oddly shaking their big bushy heads, shlukují, podivně potřásají velkými twirling their myriad leaves even when křovitými hlavami a there was no wind. krouží a kroutí bezpočtem lístků, přestože bylo bezvětří. They moved of their own will as though Pohybovaly se z vlastní vůle, jako by alive, and they touched, by some byly živé a nějakým nejasným způsobem incalculable method, my own keen sense se ve mne dotkly pocitu hrůzy. of the horrible.

32

There they stood in the moonlight, like a Stály tam v měsíčním svitu, obstupovaly vast army surrounding our camp, shaking náš tábor jako obří armáda a vzpurně their innumerable silver spears defiantly, potřásaly bezpočtem stříbrných kopí formed all ready for an attack. připravených k útoku. The psychology of places, for some Pro některé představy je psychologie imaginations at least, is very vivid; for the míst velmi živá; pro poutníka mají wanderer, especially, camps have their zvláště tábořiště svůj „vzkaz“ – buď “note” either of welcome or rejection. uvítání nebo odmítnutí. At first it may not always be apparent, Ze začátku to nemusí být vždy patrné, because the busy preparations of tent and jelikož spěšná stavba stanu a vaření tomu cooking prevent, but with the first pause— zamezují, ale při první pauze – obvykle after supper usually—it comes and po večeři – to přijde a ohlásí se to. announces itself. And the note of this willow- camp now A vzkaz tohoto vrbového tábořiště se mi became unmistakably plain to me; we were tu teď neklamně vyjevil; byly jsme interlopers, trespassers; we were not nevítaní vetřelci, kteří v těchto místech welcomed. neměli co pohledávat. The sense of unfamiliarity grew upon me Jak jsem tam tak stál a zíral, zmocnil se as I stood there watching. We touched the mne neznámý a nový pocit. Dotkly jsme frontier of a region where our presence was se hranice kraje, kde o naši přítomnost resented. nikdo nestál. For a night’s lodging we might perhaps be Možná by nás tu nechali jednu noc, ale tolerated; but for a prolonged and zvědavě tu zůstávat delší dobu – Ne! Při inquisitive stay—No! By all the gods of všech bozích stromů a divočiny, ne! the trees and wilderness, no! We were the first human influences upon Byli jsme první lidé na tomto ostrově a this island, and we were not wanted. nebyli jsme vítáni. The willows were against us. Strange Vrby byly proti nám. Naslouchal jsem a thoughts like these, bizarre fancies, borne I do hlavy se mi vkradly bůhví odkud know not whence, found lodgment in my podivné myšlenky a představy. mind as I stood listening.

33

What, I thought, if, after all, these Co když, pomyslel jsem si, jsou přeci jen crouching willows proved to be alive; if ty skrčené vrby živé; co když se najednou suddenly they should rise up, like a swarm zvednou a jako zástup živých bytostí of living creatures, marshalled by the gods vedených bohy, jejichž území jsme whose territory we had invaded, sweep narušili, se přes nás s duněním přeženou towards us off the vast swamps, booming – a pak se usadí! overhead in the night—and then settle down! As I looked it was so easy to imagine they Díval jsem se kolem a bylo tak actually moved, crept nearer, retreated a jednoduché si představit, že se opravdu little, huddled together in masses, hostile, pohnuly, připlížily se blíže, trošku waiting for the great wind that should ustoupily, sešikovaly se v nepřátelský finally start them a-running. dav, který čekal na vichr, aby se rozběhl. I could have sworn their aspect changed a Přísahal bych, že se jejich vzhled trochu little, and their ranks deepened and pressed změnil, jejich řady se prohloubily a more closely together. zhoustly. The melancholy shrill cry of a night-bird Nad hlavou mi posmutněle zazněl soundedoverhead, and suddenly I nearly pronikavý křik nočního ptáka a málem lost my balance as the piece of bank I stood jsem upadl, když se kus břehu, na které upon fell with a great splash into the river, jsem stál, s mocným šplouchnutím zřítil undermined by the flood. do vody, jak jej podemlela povodeň. I stepped back just in time, and went on Uskočil jsem v poslední chvíli a šel hunting for firewood again, half laughing znovu sbírat dříví. Pousmál jsem se těm at the odd fancies that crowded so thickly podivným představám, které se mi tak into my mind and cast their spell upon me. tlačily do mysli a očarovaly mne.

I recalled the Swede’s remark about Vzpomněl jsem si, jak Švéd říkal něco o moving on next day, and I was just tom, že budeme následující den thinking that I fully agreed with him, when pokračovat a říkal si, jak moc s ním I turned with a start and saw the subject of souhlasím, když jsem se s leknutím otočil my thoughts standing immediately in front a uviděl předmět svých myšlenek stát of me. přímo přede mnou.

34

He was quite close. The roar of the Byl hodně blízko. Řádění živlů zakrylo elements had jeho příchod. covered his approach.

II. Chapter Druhá kapitola

“You’ve been gone so long,” he shouted „Byls pryč strašně dlouho,“ snažil se above the wind, “I thought something must překřičet vítr,“ už sem myslel, že se ti have happened to you.” něco stalo.“ But there was that in his tone, and a certain Ale jeho tón hlasu a výraz ve tváři mi look in his face as well, that conveyed to prozradil více, než slova, a já v mžiku me more than his usual words, and in a pochopil skutečný důvod, proč přišel. flash I understood the real reason for his coming. It was because the spell of the place had Kouzlo toho místa se vkradlo i do jeho entered his soul too, and he did not like duše a on nechtěl zůstávat sám. being alone. “River still rising,” he cried, pointing to the „Voda furt stoupá“, řval a ukazoval floodin the moonlight, “and the wind’s v měsíčním světle na povodeň, „a hrozně simply awful.” fouká.“ He always said the same things, but it was Říkal stále to stejné, ale bylo to to volání the cry for companionship that gave the po společnosti, co dalo jeho slovům váhu. real importance to his words. „Naštěstí máme stan v dolíku. Myslím, “Lucky,” I cried back, “our tent’s in the že to zvládne“, zakřičel jsem zpátky. hollow. I think it’ll hold all right.” Ještě jsem se zmínil o tom, jak je těžké I added something about the difficulty of sehnat dřevo, a proto jsem byl pryč tak finding wood, in order to explain my dlouho, ale vítr ta slova odnesl přes řeku, absence, but the wind caught my words takže mne Švéd neslyšel, jen mne and flung them across the river, so that he sledoval mezi větvemi a pokyvoval did not hear, but just looked at me through hlavou. the branches, nodding his head. „Budem rádi, když z toho vůbec “Lucky if we get away without disaster!” vyváznem!“, zařval něco v tom smyslu. he shouted, or words to that effect; and I Vzpomínám si, jak jsem se na něj trochu

35 remember feeling half angry with him for zlobil, že to vyslovil nahlas, protože jsem putting the thought into words, for it was se přesně tak cítil i já. exactly what I felt myself. There was disaster impending somewhere, Přepadlo mne neblahé tušení; někde se and the sense of presentiment lay schylovalo k neštěstí. unpleasantly upon me. We went back to the fire and made a final Šli jsme zpátky k ohni, naposledy na něj blaze, poking it up with our feet. We took přiložili, nohama k němu přihrábli a last look round. zbytky dříví a rozhlédli jsme se. But for the wind the heat would have been Nebýt větru, bylo by to vedro protivné. unpleasant. I put this thought into words, and I Vyslovil jsem tu myšlenku nahlas a remember my friend’s reply struck me vzpomínám si, jak mi Švéd podivně oddly: that he would rather have the heat, odpověděl: že by raději normální letní the ordinary July weather, than this vedro, než ten „zpropadenej vítr.“ “diabolical wind.” Everything was snug for the night; the Vše bylo připraveno na noc; kánoe ležela canoe lying turned over beside the tent, dnem vzhůru vedle stanu a pod ni with both yellow paddles beneath her; the schována obě žlutá pádla. Vak s jídlem provision sack hanging from a willow- jsme pověsili na vrbovou větev a umyté stem, and the washed-up dishes removed nádobí, připravené na snídani, položili to a safe distance from the fire, all ready dál od ohně. for the morning meal. We smothered the embers of the fire with Uhlíky jsme zasypali pískem a zalezli do sand, and then turned in. The flap of the stanu. Přes otevřený vchod jsem viděl tent door was up, and I saw the branches větve, hvězdy a měsíční svit. and the stars and the white moonlight. The shaking willows and the heavy Kymácející se vrby a nárazy větru do buffetings of the wind against our taut little našeho malého obydlí byly to poslední, house were the last things I remembered as co jsem vnímal, než mne přemohl spánek sleep came down and covered all with its a vše pokrylo nádherné a hebké soft and delicious forgetfulness. zapomnění.

36

Suddenly I found myself lying awake, A najednou jsem zjistil, že jsem vzhůru a peering from my sandy mattress through vleže zírám ze stanu ven. the door of the tent. I looked at my watch pinned against the Podíval jsem se na hodinky přišpendlené canvas, and saw by the bright moonlight na stanovém dílci a v měsíčním světle that it was past twelve o’clock—the zjistil, že je po druhé ráno – začátek threshold of a new day—and I had nového dne – a že jsem tedy spal několik therefore slept a couple of hours. hodin. The Swede was asleep still beside me; the Švéd vedle mne stále ještě dřímal. Vítr wind howled as before; something plucked dál burácel a já ucítil uvnitř nepříjemné at my heart and made me feel afraid. škubnutí a dostal jsem strach. There was a sense of disturbance in my Cítil jsem kolem sebe neklid. immediate neighborhood. I sat up quickly and looked out. The trees V mžiku jsem vstal a vykoukl ven ze were swaying violently to and fro as the stanu. Stromy se divoce kymácely, ale gusts smote them, but our little bit of green náš malý zelený stan spočíval bezpečně a canvas lay snugly safe in the hollow, for útulně v dolíku. Vichr se proháněl the wind passed over it without meeting neškodně nad jeho střechou. enough resistance to make it vicious. The feeling of disquietude did not pass, Pocit znepokojení mne však nepřešel, a however, and I crawled quietly out of the tak jsem se potichu vyplazil ze stanu, tent to see if our belongings were safe. abych zkontroloval všechny naše věci. I moved carefully so as not to waken my Pohyboval jsem se opatrně, abych companion. nezbudil svého společníka. A curious excitement was on me. Přepadlo mne podivné rozrušení. I was half-way out, kneeling on all fours, Byl jsem už napůl cesty ven ze stanu, when my eye first took in that the tops of když jsem poprvé spatřil vrcholky keřů the bushes opposite, with their moving zmítající se ve větru, jak svými lístky tracery of leaves, made shapes against the vytváří proti obloze jakési obrysy. sky. I sat back on my haunches and stared. Posadil jsem se a zíral. It was incredible, surely, but there, Bylo to neuvěřitelné, ale naproti mně opposite and slightly above me, were mezi vrbami

37 shapes of some indeterminate sort among byly vidět nějaké neurčité tvary a jak se the willows, and as the větve kymácely ve větru, zdálo se, že se branches swayed in the wind they seemed kolem těchto tvarů shlukují. Tvořili tak to group themselves about these shapes, celou řadu děsivých siluet, které se forming a series of monstrous outlines that v měsíčním svitu hýbaly sem a tam. shifted rapidly beneath the moon. Close, about fifty feet in front of me, I saw Docela blízko, nějakých padesát stop ode these things. mne, jsem uviděl ty věci. My first instinct was to waken my Mým prvním impulsem bylo probudit companion, that he too might see them, but Švéda, aby to mohl vidět také, ale něco something made me hesitate—the sudden mne donutilo zaváhat. Náhlé zjištění, že realization, probably, that I should not nechci, aby se mi to potvrdilo. Mezitím welcome corroboration; and meanwhile I jsem dřepěl a úžasem mne přecházel crouched there staring in amazement with zrak. smarting eyes. I was wide awake. Byl jsem úplně vzhůru. I remember saying to myself that I was not dreaming. Vybavuji si, jak jsem si říkal, že to není They first became properly visible, these sen. huge figures, just within the tops of the Poprvé jsem ty postavy pořádně spatřil u bushes—immense, bronze-colored, vršků keřů. Byly nesmírně velké, moving, and wholly independent of the zbarvené do bronzova a pohybovaly se swaying of the branches. úplně jinak než okolní větve. I saw them plainly and noted, now I came Viděl jsem je v tu chvíli naprosto jasně a to examine them more calmly, that they při bližším zkoumání jsem zjistil, že byly were very much larger than human, and mnohem větší než člověk. indeed that something in their appearance Něco v jejich vzezření mi říkalo, že to pro claimed them to be not human at all. vůbec nejsou lidé.

Certainly they were not merely the moving Zcela jistě to nebyly jenom obrysy větví tracery of the branches against the v měsíčním svitu. moonlight. They shifted independently. Hýbaly se zcela samy.

38

They rose upwards in a continuous stream Vznášeli se jednolitě k obloze a mizely from earth to sky, vanishing utterly as soon v její temnotě. as they reached the dark of the sky. They were interlaced one with another, Vzájemně se prolétaly a tvořili obrovský making a great column, and I saw their sloupec; jejich protáhlá těla a údy se mezi limbs and huge bodies melting in and out sebou spojovaly a zase rozdělovaly. of each other, forming this serpentine line Připomínaly hada, který se ve vichru that bent and swayed and twisted spirally zmítá a kroutí ve větvoví. with the contortions of the wind-tossed trees. They were nude, fluid shapes, passing up Tyto holé, splývavé siluety procházely the bushes, within the leaves almost— křovisky, jako by skrze listy, a vznášely rising up in a living column into the se k nebi. heavens. Their faces I never could see. Jejich tváře jsem nezahlédl. Unceasingly they poured upwards, Měly do bronzova zbarvenou pleť a bez swaying in great bending curves, with a přestání stoupaly a měnily tvar. hue of dull bronze upon their skins. I stared, trying to force every atom of Ohromeně jsem na ně třeštil oči a vision from zároveň se snažil ze všech sil té my eyes. For a long time I thought they halucinace zbavit. Celou tu dobu jsem si must every moment disappear and resolve namlouval, že každým momentem zmizí, themselves into the movements of the a tím mi potvrdí, že nejsou nic jiného než branches and prove to be an optical optický klam. illusion. I searched everywhere for a proof of A najednou, po všem tom usilovném reality, when all the while I understood hledání jakéhokoli spojení s realitou, quite well that the standard of reality had jsem pochopil. Realita se změnila. changed. Čím déle jsem se na ně díval, tím jsem si For the longer I looked the more certain I byl jistější, že je to skutečnost a ty bytosti became that these figures were real and jsou živé, jakkoli to odporuje všem living, though perhaps not according to the vědeckým poznatkům.

39 standards that the camera and the biologist Vůbec jsem se nebál; ba naopak. would insist upon. Prostoupil mne hluboký pocit posvátné Far from feeling fear, I was possessed with úcty a obdivu, jaký jsem dosud nikdy a sense of awe and wonder such as I have nezažil. Připadalo mi, že vzhlížím ke never known. ztělesněným silám přírodních živlů, které I seemed to be gazing at the personified vládnou tomuto prastarému a elemental forces of this haunted and pochmurnému kraji. primeval region.

Our intrusion had stirred the powers of the K silám, jež náš vpád vytrhl ze spánku. place into activity. It was we who were the To my jsme byli ti narušitelé. cause of the disturbance, and my brain Hlavou se mi honily příběhy a pověsti o filled to bursting with stories and legends duchovních bytostech a bozích spojených of the spirits and deities of places that have s různými místy, kam je lidé chodili been acknowledged and worshipped by uctívat od počátku věků. men in all ages of the world’s history. But, before I could arrive at any possible Než jsem ale mohl nalézt jakékoli možné explanation, something impelled me to go vysvětlení, pocítil jsem silné nutkání jít farther out, and I crept forward on the sand blíž. and stood upright. I felt the ground still warm under my bare Proplížil jsem se pískem a postavil se. feet; the wind tore at my hair and face; and Zem pod mými chodidly byla stále ještě the sound of the river burst upon my ears teplá, vítr mne šlehal přes tvář a with a sudden roar. These things, I knew, rozvodněná řeka burácela, až mi zaléhaly were real, and proved that my senses were uši. Věděl jsem, že ty věci jsou skutečné acting normally. a že jsem plně při smyslech.

Yet the figures still rose from earth to Přesto ty bytosti stále stoupaly k nebi, heaven, silent, majestically, in a great tiše a majestátně, v elegantní spirále spiral of grace and strength that vyzařující moc a sílu. overwhelmed me at length with a genuine Posléze mne hluboko uvnitř zaplavila deep emotion of worship. nefalšovaná potřeba je uctívat jako bohy.

40

I felt that I must fall down and worship — Cítil jsem, že musím padnout k zemi a absolutely worship. zcela se tomu poddat. Perhaps in another minute I might have Skoro jsem to i udělal, když v tom mne done so, when a gust of wind swept against se do mne vítr opřel s takovou silou, že me with such force that it blew me jsem zavrávoral a málem upadl. sideways, and I nearly stumbled and fell. It seemed to shake the dream violently out Nejspíš mne to vytrhlo z toho zasněného of me. At least it gave me another point of stavu a umožnilo mi to podívat se na view somehow. situaci z jiné perspektivy. The figures still remained, still ascended Postavy se nocí stále vznášely vzhůru, ale into heaven from the heart of the night, but dokázal jsem již rozumně uvažovat. my reason at last began to assert itself. Domníval jsem se, že musí jít o It must be a subjective experience, I subjektivní zkušenost. Skutečnou, přesto argued—none the less real for that, but still subjektivní. subjective. The moonlight and the branches combined V zrcadle mé představivosti spolu svit to work out these pictures upon the mirror měsíce a větve vytvořily tyto výjevy a of my imagination, and for some reason I z nějakého důvodu jsem si je promítal projected them outwards and made them mimo sebe, takže se zdály být objektivní. appear objective. I knew this must be the case, of course. Věděl jsem, že to bude jistě ono. I took courage, and began to move forward Sebral jsem odvahu a vydal se přes písek across the open patches of sand. vpřed. By Jove, though, was it all hallucination? Proboha, měl jsem opravdu jen vidiny? Was it merely subjective? Bylo to pouze mnou? Did not my reason argue in the old futile Co když se můj rozum snažil marně way from the little standard of the known? hledat důvody na základě toho mála, co známe?

I only know that great column of figures Vím pouze to, že se ty postavy ponuře ascended darkly into the sky for what vznášely k obloze nekonečně dlouho a seemed a very long period of time, and bylo to natolik skutečné, nakolik to je jen

41 with a very complete measure of reality as člověk schopen podle všech možných most men are accustomed to gauge reality. měřítek posoudit. Then suddenly they were gone! A najednou zmizely! And, once they were gone and the S nimi mne však opustil i ten immediate wonder of their great presence bezprostřední pocit údivu nad jejich had passed, fear came down upon me with přítomností a padla na mne úzkost a a cold rush. strach jako ledová sprcha. The esoteric meaning of this lonely and V tom okamžiku mi zatrnulo a v mysli se haunted region suddenly flamed up within mi objevil utajený smysl tohoto me, and I began to tremble dreadfully. opuštěného a strašidelného kraje. Začal I took a quick look round—a look of horror jsem se příšerně třást a dívat se s hrůzou that came near to panic—calculating kolem sebe. Zachvátila mne panika a vainly ways of escape; and then, realizing marně jsem hledal způsob, jak odsud how helpless I was to achieve anything pryč. Najednou jsem si však uvědomil, že really effective, I crept back silently into jsem zcela bezmocný a nic kloudného the tent and lay down again upon my sandy bych nesvedl. Pomalu jsem se tedy mattress, first lowering the door-curtain to doplížil zpátky do stanu a znovu si lehl na shut out the sight of the willows in the svou pískovou matraci. Nejprve jsem moonlight, and then burying my head as zavřel vchod, aby nebyly vidět deeply as possible beneath the blankets to v měsíčním svitu vrby, a pak zavrtal deaden the sound of the terrifying wind. hlavu co nejhlouběji pod přikrývky ve snaze umlčet ten hrozný vítr. As though further to convince me that I had Trvalo mi dlouho, než jsem opět usnul; not been dreaming, I remember that it was jako bych se stále snažil sám sebe a long time before I fell again into a přesvědčit, že se mi to všechno jen troubled and restless sleep; nezdálo. Nakonec mne však opět pohltil and even then only the upper crust of me neklidný a nepokojný spánek. Přesto slept, and underneath there was something jsem spal jenom povrchně; uvnitř mne that never quite lost consciousness, but lay bylo něco, co nikdy zcela neztratilo alert and on the watch. vědomí, ale bdělo a mělo se na pozoru. But this second time I jumped up with a Podruhé mne ze spánku vytrhl pocit genuine start of terror. It was neither the nevylíčitelné hrůzy. Neprobudil mne wind nor the river that woke me, but the však vítr ani řeka, ale stále větší a větší

42 slow approach of something that caused blízkost něčeho, co způsobilo, že mne the sleeping portion of me to grow smaller spánek pozvolna opouštěl, až zmizel and smaller till at last it vanished docela a já si uvědomil, že sedím a altogether, and I found myself sitting bolt poslouchám. upright—listening. Outside there was a sound of Znělo to, jako by zvenku ťukalo na stan multitudinous little patterings. tisíce malých ruček. They had been coming, I was aware, for a Už nějakou dobu jsem vnímal, že long time, and in my sleep they had first přicházejí, ale poprvé jsem je uslyšel až become audible. ve spánku. I sat there nervously wide awake as though Seděl jsem v napětí a byl jsem bdělý, I had not slept at all. jako kdybych předtím vůbec nespal. It seemed to me that my breathing Těžce se mi dýchalo; cítil jsem, jak na came with difficulty, and that there was a celé mé tělo něco tlačí. great weight upon the surface of my body. In spite of the hot night, I felt clammy with Přestože bylo horko, klepal jsem se pod cold and shivered. návaly studeného potu. Something surely was pressing steadily Stan se celý prohýbal, jak na něj něco against the sides of the tent and weighing tlačilo shora i ze stran. down upon it from above. Was it the body of the wind? Byl to snad vítr? Was this the pattering rain, the dripping of A ten pleskot dešťová voda kapající the leaves? z listů? The spray blown from the river by the wind Vodní tříšť z řeky, kterou vítr foukal ve and gathering in big drops? velkých kapkách na stan? I thought quickly of a dozen things. Hlavou mi běžela spousta různých možností. Then suddenly the explanation leaped into A náhle mi to došlo: vítr ulomil větev my mind: a bough from the poplar, the only z topolu, největšího stromu na ostrově. large tree on the island, had fallen with the wind.

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Still half caught by the other branches, it Padající větev se zachytila o ostatní větve would fall with the next gust and crush us, a než ji další silný náraz větru shodí na and meanwhile its leaves brushed and stan, budou její listy poklepávat na tapped upon the tight canvas surface of the napnutou plachtu a otírat se o ni. tent. I raised a loose flap and rushed out, calling Otevřel jsem stan, vyběhl ven a volal na to the Swede to follow. Švéda, ať jde se mnou. But when I got out and stood upright I saw Venku však nebylo nic, stan byl zcela that the tent was free. volný. There was no hanging bough; there Nebyla tu žádná zlomená větev, ani stopa was no rain or spray; nothing approached. po dešti či vodní tříšti. A nic se k nám neblížilo. A cold, grey light filtered down through Písek se třpytil chladným šedavým the bushes and lay on the faintly gleaming světlem probleskujícím skrze křoviny. sand. Stars still crowded the sky directly Nebe bylo poseté hvězdami a vítr mocně overhead, and the wind howled kvílel. Oheň již úplně vyhasnul a mezi magnificently, but the fire no longer gave stromy jsem na východě zahlédl první out any glow, and I saw the east reddening náznaky červánků. in streaks through the trees. Several hours must have passed since I Od mého nočního zážitku muselo už stood there before watching the ascending uplynout několik hodin a připadalo mi to figures, and the memory of it now came všechno jako zlý sen. back to me horribly, like an evil dream. Oh, how tired it made me feel, that Byl jsem z toho větru tak otrávený! ceaseless raging wind! Z toho donekonečna běsnícího větru! Yet, though the deep lassitude of a I přes všechnu tu malátnost probdělé noci sleepless night was on me, my nerves were jsem měl však nervy na pochodu ze tingling with the activity of an equally stejně neodbytného pocitu strachu, který tireless apprehension, and all idea of mi nedovolil na nějaký odpočinek ani repose was out of the question. pomyslet. The river I saw had risen further. Hladina řeky se dál zvedala.

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Its thunder filled the air, and a fine spray Vzduchem se neslo její dunění a jemné made itself felt through my thin sleeping kapičky vody mi skrz naskrz zmáčely shirt. noční košili. Yet nowhere did I discover the slightest Nikde jsem však nespatřil ani nejmenší evidence of anything to cause alarm. známku něčeho, co by mne mělo This deep, prolonged disturbance in my znepokojovat. Ten hluboký a heart remained wholly unaccounted for. přetrvávající pocit neklidu tak pro mne zůstal neobjasněný. My companion had not stirred when I Švéd se ani nepohnul, když jsem na něj called him, and there was no need to waken volal a ani teď nebylo proč jej budit. him now. I looked about me carefully, Opatrně jsem se rozhlédnul a vše noting everything; the turned over canoe; zkontroloval; obrátil jsem kánoi; dvě the yellow paddles—two of them, I’m žlutá pádla – jsem si jistý, že byly dvě; certain; the provision sack and the extra vak s jídlem a náhradní svítilna visely ze lantern hanging together from the tree; stromu; a všude kolem se na mne and, crowding everywhere about me, mačkaly a tísnily vrby. Ty nekonečné enveloping all, the willows, those endless, třepotavé vrbové křoviny. shaking willows. A bird uttered its morning cry, and a string V ranním pološeru nade mnou s hukotem of duck passed with whirring flight přeletělo hejno kachen a odněkud se overhead in the twilight. ozval ptačí křik. The sand whirled, dry and stinging, about Suchý písek vířil ve větru a šlehal mne my bare feet in the wind. přes bosé nohy. I walked round the tent and then went out Obešel jsem stan a vydal se pěšinkou a little way into the bush, so that I could v křoví, abych si prohlédl krajinu za see across the river to the farther řekou a opět mne přepadl ten silný, ale landscape, and the same profound yet nepopsatelný pocit tísně, když jsem indefinable emotion of distress seized spatřil to nekonečné moře keříků, jak se upon me again rozprostírá k obzoru v tom přízračném as I saw the interminable sea of bushes ranním pološeru, jež jim dodávalo takřka stretching to the horizon, looking ghostly až snový nádech. and unreal in the wan light of dawn. I walked softly here and there, still

45 puzzling over that odd sound of infinite Procházel jsem se sem a tam, zlehka pattering, and of that pressure upon the tent našlapoval a neustále dumal nad tím that had wakened me. pleskavým zvukem a tlakem na stan, který mne probudil. It must have been the wind, I reflected— Říkal jsem si, že to musel být vítr, jak se the wind bearing upon the loose, hot sand, proháněl pískem, foukal suchá zrnka na driving the dry particles smartly against napnutou stanovou celtu a opíral se do the taut canvas—the wind dropping křehké střechy. heavily upon our fragile roof. Yet all the time my nervousness and Přesto má nervozita a malátnost stále malaiseincreased appreciably. narůstala.

I crossed over to the farther shore and Přešel jsem na vzdálenější část břehu a noted how the coast-line had altered in the zjistil, jak se celé pobřeží během noci night, and what masses of sand the river změnilo; jakou spoustu písku řeka had torn away. odnesla. I dipped my hands and feet into the cool Smočil jsem ruce i nohy v chladném current, and bathed my forehead. proudu a zvlažil si čelo. Already there was a glow of sunrise in the Na nebi již byly vidět paprsky sky and the exquisite freshness of coming vycházejícího slunce a vzduch day. prosycovala čerstvost nového dne. On my way back I passed purposely Na cestě jsem schválně prošel pod těmi beneath the very bushes where I had seen křovinami, kde jsem viděl ty stoupající the column of figures rising into the air, postavy a někdy napůl cesty mezi nimi and midway among the clumps I suddenly jsem najednou zkameněl hrůzou. found myself overtaken by a sense of vast Mezi stíny se kolem mne mihla veliká terror. From the shadows a large figure postava. went swiftly by.

Someone passed me, as sure as ever man Někdo kolem mne prošel, tím jsem si did.... naprosto jistý. It was a great staggering blow from the Znovu mne rozhýbal až silný poryv větru wind that helped me forward again, and a jakmile jsem se dostal do otevřeného

46 once out in the more open space, the sense prostoru mimo křoviny, pocit hrůzy of terror diminished strangely. podivně ustoupil. The winds were about and walking, I Kolem se prohání vítr, říkal jsem si, remember saying to myself, for the winds zřetelně si na to vzpomínám, jelikož se often move like great presences under the vítr často hýbe pod stromy jako velká trees. neviditelná bytost. And altogether the fear that hovered about Celkem vzato, ten strach, který se mne me was such an unknown and immense držel, byl obrovský a zcela mi neznámý; kind of fear, so unlike anything I had ever tak odlišný od všeho, co jsem kdy cítil, že felt before, that it woke a sense of awe and mne naplňoval úctou a údivem, jež mírnil wonder in me that did much to counteract jeho nejhorší následky. its worst effects; and when I reached a high Ten pocit dosáhl vrcholu, když jsem se point in the middle of the island from dostal doprostřed ostrova, odkud jsem which I could see the wide stretch of river, viděl řeku jako na dlani, zalitou crimson in the sunrise, the whole magical karmínovou červení úsvitu. Téměř až beauty of it all was so overpowering that a magická nádhera celého výjevu byla tak sort of wild yearning woke in me and intenzivní, že ve mne probudila jakousi almost brought a cry up into the throat. divokou touhu a chtělo se mi skoro až křičet. But this cry found no expression, for as my Ten výkřik však neopustil mé rty, jelikož eyes wandered from the plain beyond to mé oči zabloudily přes planinu za the island round me and noted our little tent ostrovem až k našemu stanu, napůl half hidden among the willows, a dreadful schovanému mezi vrbami a obešla mne discovery leaped out at me, compared to hrůza, se kterou se mé zděšení z větrné which my terror of the walking winds postavy nedalo vůbec srovnat. seemed as nothing at all. For a change, I thought, had somehow Tentokrát jsem měl dojem, že se něco come about in the arrangement of the změnilo na uspořádání krajiny. landscape. It was not that my point of Nebylo to tím, že mi toto místo nabízelo vantage gave me a different view, but that jiný úhel pohledu, ale došlo k pozměnění an alteration had apparently been effected pozice stanu vůči vrbám a umístění vrb in the relation of the tent to the willows, vůči stanu. and of the willows to the tent.

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Surely the bushes now crowded Vrby teď obstupovaly stan mnohem much closer—unnecessarily, unpleasantly těsněji – byly nepříjemně a zbytečně close. They had moved nearer. blízko. Posunuly se. Creeping with silent feet over the shifting Během noci se potichu přikradly přes sands, drawing imperceptibly nearer by duny tím pomalým a nepozorovatelným soft, unhurried movements, the willows pohybem bez nejmenšího spěchu. had come closer during the night. But had the wind moved them, or had they Dostaly se však blíže díky poryvům větru moved of themselves? nebo sami od sebe? I recalled the sound of infinite small Najednou jsem si vybavil ten pleskavý patterings and the pressure upon the tent zvuk a ten tlak na stan, který jsem cítil až and upon my own heart that caused me to u srdce a který mě s děsem vzbudil. wake in terror.

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4 The Analysis of the Translation

4.1 Toponyms As the author set the story along the flow of the Danube river, there are many names which could sound foreign or even exotic to English readers. However, since the plot takes place primarily along the southwest border of contemporary Slovakia and Hungary, Czech readers will find the setting very familiar, which could contribute to decrease of the psychological impact of the story.

The plot takes place at the beginning of the 20th century, therefore most of the concerned area belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a result, the author used German and Hungarian names even for geographical landmarks in Slovak region. In order to increase the familiarity with the setting as well as to make the text more accessible to Czech (and Slovak) readers, Czech equivalents were chosen when available. Only in the case of “the March” the term was specified by a noun phrase “řeka Morava” within the intention to keep the stylistic form.

As Knittlová claims, “zejména v případech našemu čtenáři neznámých názvů přidávají překladatelé obecný klasifikátor, který název zařadí do příslušné pojmové oblasti.” (Překlad a překládání 92), the common name “river” may thus be considered as the aforementioned general classifier.

Original Czech name

Vienna Vídeň

The Danube Dunaj

Budapest Budapešť

Wienerwald Vídeňský les

The March řeka Morava

The Carpathians Karpaty

The Black Forest Černý les

Pressburg Bratislava

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Also, in his work A Textbook of Translation Peter Newmark explicitly warns translators not to invent new geographical terms, but rather appropriately ‘educate’ readers by providing more information about the landmark. (216)

Taking into consideration these facts, the German names were provided with adjectives and nouns phrases specifying the type of the place and, in a few cases, also its origin as shown in the examples 1 and 2 where the adjective “německé” was used within the intention to express the place origin so that the reader is able to follow as the narrator guides him along the river flow depicting the landscape and its changing scenery during the voyage.

Example Original Suggested translation

no.

… from its tiny bubbling entry … od pobublávajícího příchodu into the world among the na svět v borových zahradách 1 pinewood gardens of německého městečka Donaueschingen… Donaueschingen…

…from the source in the Black od pramene řeky v německém 2 Forest… Černém lese

Petronell (the old Roman Petronell (staré římské město 3 Carnuntum of Marcus Carnuntum proslavené za vlády Aurelius) císaře Marca Aurelia)

… we had breakfasted below … za městečkem Fischamend 4 Fischeramend… jsme si dali snídani…

…under the frowning heights …pod zachmuřeným vrcholky ve 5 of Thelsen on a spur of the výběžku Karpat… Carpathians…

In the case of Petronell (ex. 3), an obvious translation “Carnuntum Marca Aurelia” bore a distinct possibility to mislead the reader into confusion about what the name actually stands for and, subsequently, whether emperor Marcus Aurelius built the city or dwelled there, the latter being correct, since he spent there three years as the city

50 became “an imperial seat”. (Carnuntum) Therefore, in accordance with Newmark’s and Knittlová’s point of view, further details should be given to clarify the fact as well as to put the information in the proper context. The solution suggested above provided a brief hint about the historical facts without disturbing the reader from the main story line and bending author’s style for the sake of factual accuracy.

Concerning the city of Fischeramend (ex. 4), there has been a discrepancy concerning spelling of the city name. On the grounds of the information from the story, the city was found in up-to-date online electronic maps (Google Maps, Mapy.cz), however, the spelling was slightly modified. Since no further details about the modification were available, the “new” spelling was preferred to the former one for comprehensibility reasons.

Nevertheless, example 5 illustrates the case of sheer lack of information about the landmark, which puts the translator into a dilemma whether to keep the toponym in the translation or omit it and use a hypernym instead. When dealing with this issue, I considered two aspects before making the decision. Primarily, it was a degree of relevance of the name in the story and secondly, the impact of the potential omission on the context. Since the landmark was mentioned only in this excerpt, no further reference was mentioned throughout the story, and it carried additional descriptive relevance to the noun phrases “the frowning heights” and “the Carpathians” that clearly refer to the mountain range, the resulting omission of the toponym and generalisation does not interrupt fluency of the story in terms of its semantics or stylistics.

To conclude, during the translation process of toponyms, the translator should take into consideration the general knowledge of the readership and decide accordingly whether to provide more information about the landmark in order to make it easier for the reader to relate to the place while also improving his orientation in the setting as illustrated in the first two examples.

Also, in some cases it is important to provide additional information to clarify a historical note, as shown in the third example, for it could act as a double-edged sword for the reader. Although it concerns a minor feature that does not interrupt the main course of action, it is still worth dealing with, especially when the reader is familiar with the landmark and takes the note as a fact.

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The fourth example then deals with an issue concerning the spelling discrepancy in the landmark name while the former one cannot be found as valid in any of the available electronic sources. Fortunately, the description of the place accords with up-to-date online maps enabling to using the current spelling instead, serving as a pre-emptive measure against reader’s confusion.

Finally, the last example examines the situation dealing with the lack of information about the landmark, considering all options available. As the final solution, the name of the place was generalized as it did not carry vital importance for the story nor it interrupted the fluency of narration.

4.2 Gender Since English language employs gender-neutral definite or indefinite articles, there were no nuts to be cracked when dealing with possible differences in masculine and feminine nouns in the target language. However, I had to solve a slight discrepancy concerning river names.

At first, the narrator used the neuter when describing the initial stage of the life cycle of the Danube river and its course up to the wheat fields at Straubing where suddenly, he starts calling the river by the feminine pronoun “she”. This change was caused by the alteration of narrator’s point of view, for he no longer considered the river to be an inanimate object; on the contrary, he anthropomorphised the Danube referring to it as “the great creature” that has many aspects and he kept the feminine form for as long as he proceeds with their listing while later on, the narrator returned to the original neuter form, even though the river’s animate status was kept unchanged. Since there is no more reference to the river as the creature, the reason for the temporary gender change remains purely grammatical, for the noun “river” is concorded with the pronoun “it”.

“…we forgave her because of her friendliness to the birds and animals…”

“It ceased trifling. It was half-way to the Back Sea…”

“It became suddenly grown-up, and claimed our respect and even our awe.”

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Usually, in English the Danube river (and rivers in general) is referred to as “it” in contrast to the Czech equivalent “řeka Dunaj” which takes the feminine form. Moreover, when using only the proper name of the river, “Dunaj”, it changes the gender to the masculine form. Consequently, I decided to alternate masculine and feminine forms according to the context and the dynamics of the story.

In several cases I concorded with the original text while occasionally the best option appeared to be keeping the masculine form to take advantage of omitting the repetitive designation “řeka”.

“We had made many similar journeys together, but the Danube, more than any other river I knew, impressed us from the very beginning with its aliveness.” „Už jsme spolu takto několikrát cestovali, ale Dunaj na nás zapůsobil už od začátku svojí živostí, a to více než jakékoli jiné řeky.“

„They caused it to vanish from sight.“

„Celou ji zastínily.“

Concerning the other river appearing in the story, the Inn river, since there is no Czech equivalent for the hydronym, I followed the original German gender “he”.

“Ale Inn dal starochovi lekci…”

The narrator also mentioned “the turbulent little tributaries” from the Alps but no further details were provided throughout the story and they remained unnamed.

To conclude, the rivers are usually referred to in neuter pronoun form in English while particular circumstances can cause a gender change as described in the aforementioned examples when the author by anthropomorphising of the river alters its gender to the feminine pronoun. From the translator’s point of view, it is also important to take into consideration the gender situation in the target language which could vastly differ from the ways the gender is treated in the source language. It is fortunate that the Czech language concords with English in number and sorts of gender while the usage slightly differs, which makes the translators job easier.

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4.3 Idioms and phrases “Idioms, […] cannot be translated literally, whether they are up to date, passing or obsolete, unless they have a perfect literal equivalent in the TL.” (Newmark “More Paragraphs on Translation” 73-74)

Idioms can be quite a challenging phenomenon in terms of translation, fortunately, Blackwood did not invent any complicated phrases of his own, thus all the idiomatic expressions appearing in the story can be either understood from the context or looked up in a dictionary. Nevertheless, the selected examples shown in the overview below represent not only idioms but also specific phrases and complex sentences which have in common the necessity to find a proper way to convey their meaning to the target language, be it a complete transformation of the sentence or usage of vastly different means of expression.

Example Original Suggested translation

No.

We entered the land of Vstoupili jsme do pustiny svižným 1 desolation on wings… tempem.

“I don’t care a fig for the „Voda je to poslední, co mě trápí.“ 2 river.”

The scarcity of wood made it a Udržovat oheň byla kvůli 3 business to keep the fire nedostatku dřeva pořádná fuška… going…

I only know that great column of Vím pouze to, že se ty postavy figures ascended darkly into the ponuře vznášely k obloze nekonečně sky for what seemed a very long dlouho a bylo to natolik skutečné, 4 period of time, and with a very nakolik to je jen člověk schopen complete measure of reality as podle všech možných měřítek most men are accustomed to posoudit. gauge reality.

5 Then suddenly they were gone! A najednou zmizely!

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And once they were gone and S nimi mne však opustil i ten the immediate wonder of their bezprostřední pocit údivu nad jejich great presence had passed, fear existencí a padla na mne úzkost a came down upon me with a strach jako ledová sprcha. cold rush.

Yet, though the deep lassitude of I přes všechnu tu malátnost probdělé a sleepless night was on me, my noci jsem měl však nervy na 6 nerves were tingling with the pochodu ze stejně neodbytného activity of an equally tireless pocitu strachu… apprehension…

As the highlighted phrase “we entered on wings” hints at first sight, it indicates a rather swift movement as if being done in-flight. Unfortunately, the closest Czech equivalent “za letu” does not stylistically fit in the phrase, since a possible outcome “vstoupili jsme do pustiny za letu” implies either a use of aeroplane or other flying means of transport. Although the figurative meaning is still marginally present, and the narrator had not indicated any exchange of the canoe for a plane, it would definitely decrease readability forcing the readership to contemplate an unusually sounding sentence, which probably does not correspond to author’s intentions. Therefore, there was an intention to emphasize the sailing speed by the simplest means possible in order to avoid the above-mentioned issues with comprehension as well as to maintain the tempo of action-based description of the voyage from the preceding part when the canoe was being carried through whirlpools at top speed. Also, it conveys the dynamics to the succeeding events as, for instance, a struggle to reach the shore of an island.

The example 2 represents an idiom that can be deciphered from the context; also the meaning was checked in dictionaries in order to avoid misinterpretation. Its usual translation “je mi to fuk” or “je mi to jedno”, however, did correspond well either with the noun “řeka” and the continuity of the dialogue, as “řeka je mi fuk” does not carry the proper contextual meaning. Moreover, the phrase would sound rather clumsy.

Therefore, it was important to look for a different phrase conveying similar information while being stylistically fitting. The right method turned out to be

55 paraphrasing the sentence and looking at it from different points of view. The idiom communicates the information that the speaker could not care less for the river. As it was necessary to put the noun “river” to the front in order to connect the sentence better with the succeeding part of the dialogue which begins with a reference to the flood, the desired paraphrase proved to be that the river was the last thing the speaker cared for.

Subsequently, the sentence required to undergo a modification towards colloquial language to preserve the stylistic level of the dialogue, for instance, the noun “řeka” was generalized to “voda”, which links the sentence with the preceding part of the dialogue dealing with rising of the water level, and the final verb was changed according to the corresponding Czech idiom “To je to poslední, co mě trápí”.

The next example demonstrates a phrase that is halfway between idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms, for its sense can be derived directly from the context, however, a literal translation still would not provide desired results. The phrase describes a necessity to ceaselessly search for wood in order to keep the fire burning, as at this point of the story the narrator and his friend Swede temporarily reside an island with an utter lack of fuel. During the translation process an effort was made to keep the colloquial language and there were two options to consider. In the first one, “Udržovat oheň byla kvůli nedostatku dřeva pořádná dřina”, words “dřeva”, “dřina” and marginally “pořádná” impart an alliterative quality to the sentence that, nevertheless, neither reflects the original stylistic intention in the source text nor it ameliorates the translation. On the contrary, the alliteration protrudes from the sentence, giving it unnecessary heaviness, which results into stylistic discrepancy. More appropriately, the second option offered an exchange of the noun “dřina” for “fuška” that substantially reduces the alliteration effect.

It is important to mention that the following examples represent the point when the narrator starts doubting his own reason as the reality around him rapidly changes every moment. They describe his inner processes as they influenced his judgement and distinction between the real and unreal. One of the most difficult complex sentences for me to translate is shown in the example 4. The meaning of the sentence itself takes some time to absorb and I had to re-read it several times before the full comprehension of what the author had intended to convey by this particular excerpt.

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The first part of the sentence describes the way of ascension of the supernatural beings in the air, stressing the time length “a very long period of time” expressing an undefined but rather long-lasting period of time, which could be subjectively perceived as “eternity”. This perception was used in the translation process reflected in the adverbial phrase “nekonečně dlouho”. Translation of the second part of the sentence turned out to be a very tricky one, since it required a brand new phrase that would carry the meaning while keeping it as close to the original sentence as possible. In the phrase, the narrator expresses an opinion that the encounter with the supernatural beings was as real to him as it were possible to “gauge” or assess by human standards. The keywords “reality” and “measure” or “gauge” were to be preserved in the translation while it was necessary for the outcome to sound natural in order no to interrupt the fluency of the text. At the beginning of the procedure, the phrase “with a very complete measure of reality” was rephrased to highlight the meaning – “it was genuinely real for me” while, subsequently, connecting it to last part of the sentence “as most men are accustomed to gauge reality” simplified into “the way people usually gauge or measure reality”. The ultimate step consisted in transforming this whole second part of the sentence into an adverbial phrase of degree to express the degree of reality that narrator perceived during the experience while taking into consideration all the measures or points of view that could be applied to objectively assess the situation.

At this point the main character conceded that the aforementioned situation could be real, since, as it was already mentioned in the story, “the reality has changed”, however, the next example illustrates the dramatical changes in his emotional state when the reality alters once again by sudden disappearance of the beings. The phrase “fear came down upon me with a cold rush” shows the emotion of fear unexpectedly flooding the narrator, paralyzing him for a moment. In Czech such a shock reaction accompanying a negative feeling can be equivalently expressed as “studená sprcha” metaphorically comparing it to the effect of cold water in the shower on the human body.

The last example refers to the moment succeeding the point when the narrator found out that the “patterings” and the pressure upon the tent had not been caused by a fallen branch and the situation cannot be resolved by any rational explanation. The phrase describes the contrast between his psychical state of exhaustion due to the lack of sleep and inability to rest provoked by the overall stressful situation which I strived to

57 preserve. The expression “my nerves were tingling” conveys its meaning in the Czech idiom “měl jsem nervy na pochodu” or “byl jsem na nervy” of which the former was chosen as it best accords in stylistic means with the original while preserving the keyword “nerves”.

Finally, the idiomatic expressions presented in this chapter reflect a wide range of translation approaches employed to successfully carry the meaning and impression of the sentence from the source language to the target language. In the first example, the translation was achieved by changing the metaphorical expression into a literal one while keeping the stylistic quality of the former one. The second example then illustrates usage of paraphrase and sentence transformation for the choice of the corresponding idiom. The fourth one describes the complete transformation to convey the core meaning and, last but not least, the third and fifth ones show the process of choosing the equivalent idiom while preserving the keywords.

4.4 Metaphor “Kde slovo nemá význam samo o sobě, nýbrž jen jako součást celku, překládá se celek bez ohledu na významy jednotlivých slov. […] U obrazného výrazu jsou důležité i vedlejší implikace jednotlivých slov, jejich vztahy ke smyslové skutečnosti a vztah mezi myšlenkou a jejím uměleckým výrazem.“ (Levý 129)

In accordance with the aforementioned quotation, an emphasis is put on the meaning in terms of its preservation. During the translation process many examples of a metaphor were encountered that proved to be rather challenging expressions for an inexperienced translator, as I would consider myself to be. In some cases, the phrase had to be completely rebuilt, i. e. from the scratch using different words in order to convey the meaning of the original sentence.

…but in normal seasons the bushes bend and rustle in the free winds, showing their silver leaves to the sunshine in an ever-moving plain of bewildering beauty.

…obyčejně však křoviny šustí, prohýbají se pod poryvy větru a nastavují své stříbřité listy slunečním paprskům tak jednoduše a dojímavě, až se z té nádhery člověku točí hlava.

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In the example above, an emphasis was made to keep the lexical equivalents of the source language to the greatest extent possible, however, in the second part of the phrase no suitable counterpart were to be found. After looking up all the words in a dictionary, I started reconstructing the sentence according to the resulting impression it is supposed to carry.

The adjective “moving” intensified by the adverb “ever” can be translated as “tak dojímavý” and seemingly makes no obstacle. The word “plain”, even though used as a noun, refers to simplicity and clarity, adopting the meaning of its adjective form. Since the noun phrase “bewildering beauty” shows a very high intensity of the impression, I decided to turn the noun phrase “an ever-moving plain” into an adverbial phrase intensifying the former. At first, I considered the expression “…až jde z té nádhery hlava kolem” but finally, I favoured the other one, for it sounds more personal and therefore more appropriately fits the first-person narrating style of the story.

Similarly, the below-mentioned metaphor cannot be translated literally, for an expression “v lázni živlů” or “v koupeli živlů” sounds strange and unnatural. The narrator describes the feeling after heavy labour of beaching the canoe in windy weather, when him and his friend lay down on a sandy beach, exhausted and tired but happy to have managed to beat the odds. The feeling of relaxation while stimulated by the elements that puts the narrator at ease as if he were taking a bath. This trail of thought helped me to find an appropriate metaphor that would carry a similar feeling for Czech readers. The key expression “bath” was to be preserved while emphasizing the role of elements. Consequently, “vnímal jsem všechny živly” based the feeling on the elements and “a ponořil se do toho pocitu jako do lázně” tied it into a metaphor, giving it a relaxed touch to evoke bathing. Owing to the richness of Czech language concerning metaphorical expressions the solution did not take too long to find.

I lay by his side, happy and peaceful in the bath of the elements—water, wind, sand, and the great fire of the sun…

Ležel jsem vedle něj, šťastný a spokojený; vnímal jsem všechny živly – vodu, vítr, písek i sluneční žár – a ponořil se do toho pocitu jako do lázně.

To conclude, the metaphors can be highly tricky expressions to translate as the source language always has its own traits that cannot be accurately conveyed to the target language without losing some of their charm. Nevertheless, the translator has at his

59 disposal a wide range of means of expression of his own language which can be used to “imitate” the impression or carry the core meaning the metaphor.

The examples in this subchapter explore such means using various approaches to explore and discover the way how to convey as much of the information from the original as possible while also carrying the impression and feeling of the source text. The methods can vary from examining similar expressions in the target language and using its parts to compose a brand new metaphor appropriate to the context to specification of the meaning and carrying the impression by a metaphor of completely different wording.

4.5 Similes “Similes are the poor cousins of metaphors. Unlike metaphors, they are not ipso facto a lie. Their purpose is to describe approximately to illustrate, and often to decorate. Normally, they present no translation problems, and are translated literally in any type of text, however improbable or bizarre they may be.” (Newmark “Paragraphs on Translation” 19)

The difficulty of translating similes solely depends on existence of a suitable equivalent in the target language. In the table below, there are shown several examples of similes encountered in the source text, each of them requiring a slightly different method of approach during the translation process.

Example Original My translation no.

(water)…twisted us like a cork in (voda)…vířila a točila s námi 1 many a sudden belching jako se špuntem… whirlpool…

…then the canoe, leaping like a …nato se kánoe jako divoký 2 spirited horse, flew at top speed kůň prudce vrhla pod jeho šedé under the grey walls… zdi...

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Cormorants lined the banks in Na opuštěných místech se podél 3 lonely places in rows like short nich řadili kormoráni, jako by black palings je chtěli ohradit

Curious sounds accompanied it Ten nezvyklý hukot občas sometimes, like the explosion of připomínal dělovou palbu, 4 heavy guns, and it fell upon the která ztěžka dopadala na ostrov i water and the island in great flat řeku v dunivých salvách. blows of immense power.

And a chief pleasure, in those early V těch dnech nezodpovědného days of its irresponsible youth, was mládí pro něj ale bylo největším to lie low, like Brer Fox, just before potěšením schovat se jako the little turbulent tributaries came Kmotra Liška jen chvíli před 5 to join it from the Alps, and to refuse tím, než se k němu chystaly to acknowledge them when in… připojit malé divoké alpské přítoky, a odmítnout je vpustit k sobě. …this shouting hurricane that might …s tím hučícím hurikánem, který almost carry up a few acres of mohl takřka zvednout najednou 6 willows into the air and scatter pár hektarů vrb a rozesít je po them like so much chaff over the krajině. landscape.

As presented in the first example, the noun “cork” has a perfect equivalent in the Czech noun “špunt”, which can be used without any modification whereas the adverbial phrase “in many a sudden belching whirlpool” was generalized into the verb “vířila”, for the literal translation “v mnoha nečekaně chrlících vírech” does not comply with Czech stylistics nor it sounds natural. The compromise had to be reached by lowering intensity of the phrase without compensating for this step in other parts of the sentence, although I am not entirely satisfied with the outcome, since the two friends enter Hungary at high speed and this modification slightly reduces the course of action.

However, owing to the next sentence which further enlivens the train of events, the final impact of the resulting translation on the fluency of the story can be described as

61 nearly negligible. The successive example illustrates the quickening of action as the canoe shot rapids below Bratislava Castle in order to carry the friends to the final setting of the story – the inland delta of the Danube river beginning right after the contemporary capital of Slovakia.

This time the challenging part turned out to be the collocation “spirited horse” literally meaning “kurážný kůň” or “energický kůň”. Nevertheless, neither of the obvious translations fit into the context without sounding rather archaic or misplaced. Therefore, I searched for a synonym that would carry the qualities of both aforementioned adjectives. The adjective “divoký” contains both energy and courage, moreover, it collocates well in Czech with the noun “kůň”. Also, the noun phrase “divoký kůň” more adequately connects to the second part of the sentence, smoothing the natural look of the simile.

The example 3 illustrates the thin line dividing a metaphor and simile, for, as Newmark observed, “the main translation problem is to decide when a similar is a simile, and when it is a metaphor” depending on availability of an adequate equivalent or other means to carry the meaning in the target language in order to avoid the ambiguity. Sometimes the decision may be forced on the translator, which appears to be this case. (“Paragraphs on Translation” 19)

Since the simile “like short black palings” has no perfect equivalent in the Czech language, I looked for a different means of expression by observing the situation from above. Taking into consideration the keyword “paling”, the line of cormorants occupying the banks in rows on both sides of the river could look like imaginary fences running along the river. The river is literally fenced in. Hence, the verb “ohradit” seems appropriate as the keyword for the translation in the form of simile. The colour was omitted in the Czech version on purpose, as it carries no relevance to the simile anymore.

In a form of example 4, here comes the phrase that could probably be considered either a metaphor or simile. A nut to crack turned out to be choosing the right translation of “heavy guns” as this term refers to several types of weaponry from firearms to artillery. I toyed with a term “kulometná palba” but the second part of the sentence where the narrator compares the sound effect to “great flat blows” showed me the way, as the proper expression of such power in Czech can be nothing else than “rány jako z děla”

62 solving the above-mentioned dilemma right away. On the basis of this solution, translation of the rest of the sentence posed no problems whatsoever.

The following example illustrates the narrator’s comparison of the Danube river to a character of Br’er Fox for its cunningness to resist Alpine tributaries as they strived to join in. Br’er Fox is a fictional folktale character, who “is constantly trying to capture and kill his nemesis, Br'er Rabbit, but always fails humorously.” (Br'er Fox). This character has no cultural background for Czech readers, for Br’er Fox comes from “African-American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris” and published in 1881. (Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear) Hence, the comparison can be translated either directly but further supplemented with explanatory notes, furnishing the reader with plenty of information about folk roots of the character in order to allow him or her better understanding of the simile. Or, there is a shortcut by exploring Czech cultural knowledge and seek a character bearing similar qualities of slyness and cunningness that could substitute Br’er Fox’s ones in the translation.

Fortunately, Czech tradition includes just such a character – Kmotra Liška, which not only carries the required attributes but also perfectly accords with the former one in appearance, for “liška” is a Czech equivalent of the English noun “fox”.

Finally, the author dedicates one more simile to the wind. Again, the last example shows the very thin line between the metaphor and simile, leaving the decision to make for the translator. One of the aspects that helped me to categorize the phrase was the degree of its feasibility; whether the wind could truly lift up several hectares of willow bushes and spread them over the landscape. Taking into consideration the immense power of the element, as illustrated, for instance, with an annual windstorm season in the USA where the wind shows its capability to shatter whole buildings and, in the case of tornadoes, carry the remains even hundred meters far from their place of origin. (“The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC): Frequently Asked Questions About Tornadoes”) On the basis of the information it is possible to assume that in theory the wind could act exactly as Blackwood poetically hints with his simile. Subsequently, I proceeded to the translation process itself while being aware of the fact that the method of literal equivalence cannot be used in this case but it is necessary to transform the sentence in accordance with the original meaning by using the relevant vehicles of expression of the target language.

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As the best way to achieve this goal proved to be association of the mass noun “chaff” to the noun “grain” and its ensuing connection to the verb “scatter” resulting in the choice of the verb “rozesít”, for it offers well balanced ratio of the meanings of both the mass noun and the verb in the Czech language. The resulting simile then compares the willows to seeds or grains carried by the wind, conveying the message of the author by the means comprehensible for Czech readers.

To conclude, the similes can be translated either by a perfect equivalent or by conveying their meaning by a means available in the target language. Both ways are illustrated by the first example which uses the literal translation in the first part and the generalization in the second part, slightly modifying the dynamics of narration by choosing the verb expressing lower intensity of the action. However, the final impact is negligible due to the change of the narration pace in the succeeding sentence.

As for the second example, it illustrates the process of composition of the suitable noun phrase to reflect the qualities of the original and deals with factors the translator has to consider when selecting appropriate equivalents.

In the following example there is described a situation placing the sentence between the metaphor and simile, leaving the decision to the translator alone while tracking the process of decoding meanings behind the expression and usage of imagination to find an appropriate method to carry the meaning by such a means that will carry the atmosphere and impression of the original phrase.

The fourth example then shows the necessity to explore the cultural context in order to interpret the phrase and find the optimal way to express the meaning in the target language.

Finally, the last example describes the process of seeking the information within the context while consulting secondary sources about additional facts in order to correctly choose the vehicles of expression while keeping the mood of the given part of the story.

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4.6 Interjections “The meanings of sounds derive from the spontaneous cries of humans and animals and the noise of the wind and the rain, reflected in pleasure, pain, anger, fear, tranquillity, and other spontaneous emotions. These are universal sound elements, and translators who are writers have to be aware of them.” (Newmark “Paragraphs on Translation” 15)

Translating interjections poses rather stylistic than lexical challenges, for the Czech language abounds with a great variety of such expressions, many of them being onomatopoeic. Still, the broad selection can be either an advantage preventing repetition or an inconvenience in situations when the translator struggles to decide which expression to use while having too many of them at his disposal.

Due to its mostly natural setting, The Willows is abundant in lengthy descriptions of the environment as building blocks of the atmosphere. Usage of interjections further animates the setting in order to depict the nature as a living creature, be it animal cries, howling of the wind, splashing of the water or simple rustling of the leaves. Also, the sounds directly affected emotional states of the main characters influencing their subsequent behaviour.

Since each set of interjections is treated differently by the author, they are going to be analysed in separate subchapters.

4.6.1 Water Water intertwines the whole story in a form of the Danube river with extremely detailed descriptions of its multiple sounds depending on, for instance, the velocity of the flow, water level, type or shape of the riverbed, or natural phenomena such as whirlpools.

At the beginning of the story, the Danube spreads his waters widely into the countryside due to the summer flood season, offering a wide range of phenomena to observe.

“…the Danube here wanders about at will among the intricate network of channels intersecting the islands everywhere with broad avenues down which the waters pour with a shouting sound; making whirlpools, eddies, and foaming rapids…”

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„Kličkuje spletitou sítí kanálů a průlivů, které propojují ostrůvky s hlavním tokem, kudy se voda burácivě valí, víří a pění…“

In this excerpt Blackwood simplified the description to “a shouting sound” while enumerating the phenomena, letting the reader’s imagination do the rest without further intervention. On the grounds of this fact, the translation suggested above respects the intention, expressing an acoustic quality of the scene only by the adverb “burácivě” which does not literally correspond to the original adjective “shouting”, however, considering collocations in the target language appropriate to the aforementioned situation, it carries the meaning more accurately. Subsequently, the part showing the waters pouring down the avenues offered a perfect collocate “valí“ resulting in the expression “burácivě valí”. Whirlpools and eddies, being closely related in the sense, were generalized and transformed into the verb “víří” as in the case of the noun phrase “foaming rapids” substituted by the verb “pění” and omitting the noun “rapids”. The resulting phrase contains all the information of the original one while taking advantage of vehicles of expression of the Czech language.

In contrast to the aforementioned transformations, the following phrase illustrates the case which does not require any essential modifications during the transfer into the target language, therefore it can be translated almost literally with only a slight adjustment laying in omission of the adjective “tiny”, as the meaning is partially carried by the adjective “pobublávající” reflecting lower intensity of the process, hence referring to a ‘tiny’ spring.

“From its tiny bubbling entry into the world among the pinewood gardens of Donaueschingen…” “…od pobublávajícího příchodu na svět v borových zahradách německého městečka Donaueschingen… “

Moreover, there is a similar onomatopoeic verb “gurgle” to describe such a “bubbling” sound of water in English. The online dictionary Oxford Dictionaries defines the verb “ gurgle”, when associated with water, as “a hollow bubbling sound like that made by water running out of a bottle” (Oxford) while its Czech equivalent, according to the Lingea dictionary corresponds to verbs “bublat, zurčet, klokotat” (Lingea), and therefore offering several ways how to express the given sound to choose from in

66 compliance with the context. The following example illustrates the usage of the aforementioned verb “gurgle” and also “bubble up” with the common subject “whirlpools” which narrows the choice of synonymic verbs, for “bubble up” has a direct equivalent in “vybublat”, forcing the translator to look for another way to describe the verb “gurgle” in order to avoid repetition. Subjectively, I considered to be the best solution to use the verb “klokotat” for its onomatopoeic form making space for reader’s imagination when going through this passage.

“We knew, too, the voice of its gurgling whirlpools, suddenly bubbling up on a surface previously quite calm…” „Poznali jsme hlas klokotajících vodních vírů, když zčistajasna vybublaly na předtím tak klidnou hladinu…“

Gradually, as the journey continues, the main characters develop a close relationship with the Danube river, regarding it as a “Great Personage”, thus anthropomorphising it as demonstrated in the following examples.

“At night we heard it singing to the moon as we lay in our tent, uttering that odd sibilant note peculiar to itself…” “V noci, když jsme leželi ve stanu, jsme jej slyšeli zpívat měsíci tím zvláštním sykavým tónem, pro něj tak charakteristickým. “

The verb “sing” has a perfect Czech equivalent in the verb “zpívat” and the second part of the sentence complements it with further information regarding the manner, which was converted into the full-blown adverbial phrase within the translation process.

Blackwood also uses the verbs to show contrasts in river’s behaviour – it can roar out with laughter, softly whisper, thunder or chatter which was translated as “brebentění”.

„And how its laughter roared out when the wind blew up-stream…” „Nebo jak řval smíchem, když vítr fičel proti proudu…“

“…its constant steady thundering below all mere surface sounds…” „…jeho soustavné dunění pod všemi těmi zvuky…“

“…watching the impetuous crimson flood bearing down with a shouting roar…” „…pozoroval, jak se ta zbrklá karmínová povodeň s burácením valí…

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Generally, the roaring sound was translated as “burácet” with the above-mentioned exception associated with laughter; thundering was transformed into “dunět” or “burácet” according to the context or stylistic appropriateness, and whispering with the direct Czech equivalent “šeptat” or “šepot” as showed in “sweet whisperings” – “sladký šepot”. The verb “valit se” was also used as an equivalent of the interjection “tumblings”.

Finally, there are also sounds in the story that are regarded typical for the water element and its representations, as, for example, “splash” which offers a rich selection of lexical equivalents as, to mention a few, “cákat”, “šplouchat” or “stříkat”.

4.6.2 Wind (Air) As already mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, Blackwood used the interjections to animate the setting. To be more precise, the sounds of each element associate with the specific part of the nature. While the water sounds are almost exclusively associated with the Danube river, the air or wind element and its acoustic representations in the text mostly concern the willow bushes. In the first part of the story, as the two friends travel in the canoe, the water sounds prevail over all the other ones, showing their struggle to understand the river and ending up respecting it, making their relationship with it harmonious. At this point, the wind serves only as a background aspect contributing to the complexity of the image of environment:

“…in normal seasons the bushes bend and rustle in the free winds…” “…obyčejně však křoviny šustí, prohýbají se pod poryvy větru… “

From the translator’s point of view the above-mentioned phrase does not create any issues, for the verb “rustle” has a Czech equivalent in the form of “šustit” or “šumět” depending on the object it refers to. The collocation “free winds”, on the contrary, required a more attentive approach which lied either in finding a suitable Czech counterpart or choosing an appropriate means to transfer the information. The suggested translation used generalization by omission of the adjective, thus regarding the word “vítr” as a mass noun.

On the other hand, Blackwood used the verb “roar” not only to describe the loud sound of water mass running heavily in the riverbed but also in association with a strong wind blowing through treetops. as shown in the example below. In this case, I sought a verb collocate that would express the interaction of the fast-moving mass of air with tree

68 branches and leaves and the verb “hučet” carried the degree of intensity corresponding with the original.

“…birch trees roaring in the wind…” „…břízky hučely pod náporem větru...“

Just before reaching the shore of the island, the water sounds slowly retreated into the background, making space for vivid descriptions of the windy weather animating the former “inhabitants” of the place – willows. The wind becomes “a most tempestuous” making “the ceaseless buffetings” which annoy both campers.

“…the ceaseless buffetings of a most tempestuous wind…” “…neutuchající divoké nárazy větru… “

As illustrated above, the noun phrase “the ceaseless buffetings” accords with its Czech equivalent “neutuchající nárazy”, however, concerning the prepositional phrase postmodifier “of a most tempestuous wind”, an effort was made to preserve the meaning of the intensified adjective by placing it as a premodifier to the noun phrase resulting in intensification of the whole sentence. The intensifier “most” was omitted for stylistic reasons, since the adjective “divoký” carries appropriately the required meaning.

Approaching the island, they struggled to safely reach the shore as the flood was carrying them very quick, forcing them to hold on willow branches in order to stop the canoe, although the branches tore their hands while at the same time the wind made the situation even more difficult to handle. Finally, they succeeded in their efforts, completely exhausted. Paradoxically, it was the wind that helped them in the end as describes the example below.

“we pulled many a yard of sandy bank into the water before at length we shot with a great sideways blow from the wind into a backwater and managed to beach the bows in a cloud of spray…” “Než se nám podařilo v prudkém poryvu větru a skrz vodní tříšť přirazit k písčitému břehu, strhli jsme jeho velkou část do vody. “

At this point it was deemed necessary to reconstruct the sentence to adapt it to the Czech language using various tools. First, the expression “many a yard of sandy bank” was generalized into “velkou část břehu” preserving the original meaning of a big yet

69 further unspecified amount of mass. Second, the structure consisting of the second and third phrase was merged into one, omitting the verb “shot” while replacing its meaning of rapidity with the quick sequence of events “v prudkém poryvu větru a skrz vodní tříšť” making it an adverbial phrase for the verb “manage” meaning “zvládnout” but the given context offered the usage of the synonym “podařit se”, which I did as a subjective choice. Concerning the adverbial phrase, the decision was made to generalize the description of the wind for the sake of fluency as well as the expression “a cloud of spray”. The phrase “beach the bows” transformed into “přirazit k písčitému břehu” partially omitted the noun “bow” as the meaning is carried by the verb “přirazit” and not doing so would create an unintentional alliteration “přirazit přídí k písčitému břehu”. Since there is already one equally unintentional alliteration in the phrase “podařilo v prudkém poryvu větru” it would be easily noticeable, altering Blackwood’s writing style, as he does not use this particular literary device. Finally, the merged phrase was placed at the beginning of the sentence in accordance with Czech stylistics while causing no change in the meaning.

4.6.3 Animal sounds Although being a perfectionist when producing long passages of detailed descriptions on nature and all it embraces, Blackwood dedicated comparatively less space in his writing to animals, save for a few instances to emphasize the “magic of the moment”. Consequently, hardly ever did he use interjections in such situations. Generally, he restricted their use to bird sounds only.

Nevertheless, some the examples appeared to be catalysts for ensuing action, as shows the example below.

“The melancholy shrill cry of a night-bird sounded overhead, and suddenly I nearly lost my balance as the piece of bank I stood upon fell with a great splash into the river…” „Nad hlavou mi posmutněle zazněl pronikavý křik nočního ptáka a málem jsem upadl, když se kus břehu, na které jsem stál, s mocným šplouchnutím zřítil do vody…“

When translating this sentence, it is important to decide about the intended meaning and impression of the resulting phrase in Czech, for there are several points of view to look at the situation. As the key elements can be regarded the words “melancholy” and “shrill” which offer a variety of different equivalents in the context. “Melancholy”

70 means “smutný” but can be modified also into “posmutnělý” or “posmutněle” while “shrill” means “pronikavý, ječivý, ostrý” or “ječet”. Such a wide interpretation offers considerable liberty to the translator about subjectively choosing his own way of expression according to the perceived impression. Personally, I have changed the resulting phrase several times, experimenting with word order as well as with different word classes as, for instance, “nad hlavou mi pronikavě zazněl smutný křik” or “nad hlavou mi posmutněle zazněl ječivý křik”. While the former one was my immediate first choice, after letting the phrase settle for several days, I tried to convert the adverb into adjective to further emphasize the sound and make contrast to the ensuing action. The modification made the overall impression of the phrase more powerful, however, the adjective “ječivý” did not collocate well with the bird’s cry, hence I chose the alternative meaning resulting in the adjective “pronikavý” which gave the sentence the right vibe.

The second example serves as a mood-creating device for a animating a scene of early morning twilight.

“A bird uttered its morning cry, and a string of duck passed with whirring flight overhead in the twilight.” “V ranním pološeru nade mnou s hukotem přeletělo hejno kachen a odněkud se ozval ptačí křik. “

As the suggested translation illustrates, I transformed the whole sentence changing the word order and further modifying noun phrases by moving the adjective premodifier “morning” to the noun “twilight” to specify that the scene takes place at dawn while also fronting the noun phrase in order to stretch the “morning feeling” over the whole sentence, premodifying the duck flight as well as the bird cry.

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4.6.4 Willow sounds Willows, the true main character of the story together with the river and wind, were endowed with qualities of living being including their own acoustic representations in the text, although, logically speaking, their sounds should be attributed to the wind in the first place. The willow sounds accompany the first climax of the story, serving to intensify narrator’s emotions towards fear and horror. The example below shows the beginning of the escalation when the narrator sits in the tent, nervously listening to strange sounds coming from outside.

“Outside there was a sound of multitudinous little patterings.” „Znělo to, jako by zvenku ťukalo na stan tisíce malých ruček.“

Although short and brief, the phrase becomes an unexpected challenge when put under the magnifying glass of the translating process. It literally resists the efforts by not offering enough clues what associate the sound with, leaving all the work to the translator alone. Fortunately, the succeeding paragraphs provide additional information about the nature of the sound at the point when the narrator wonders whether it was “the pattering rain” or “the spray blown from the river” and suddenly, an idea crosses his mind that it could be caused by leaves of a branch – the excerpt dealing with this point is going to be examined later in this subchapter.

Consequently, having obtained the long sought hints, I proceeded with exploring the possible meanings of the keyword “patterings” which would provide the necessary base to build on. During the process, the best approach turned out to be usage of a metaphor, as the Czech language abounds in figurative expressions and, moreover, it accords with author’s rich usage of this means as well, even though in this case it changes the meaning of the phrase when compared to the original – the issue already addressed by Jiří Levý in Umění překladu, where he claims that “překladatelovo lpění na složce sdělovací se odráží již ve stylizaci vět. Neumělý překladatel jde jen po významu věty originálu” concluding that “umělecké dílo se však nevyčerpává součtem věcných významů, součtem slov plnovýznamových”, which means that the intention behind the text should be conveyed by the means of expression available in the target language (Levý 151). On the basis of this argument, the analysis of the word “patterings” leads to the extraction of the meaning “ťukání” or “pleskání” which can be associated, for example, with raindrops or hands. Furthermore, taking into consideration the fact that for purposes of the story the willows are considered to be 72 alive and at one point the narrator compares the sound of willow branches to “clapping” of “their thousand little hands”, it is appropriate and contextually completely acceptable to connect the “pattering” sound to “thousand little hands”. Nevertheless, I led the metaphor one step further and specified the circumstances by providing the information that the sound was made by pattering on the canvas of the tent from outside, which is not evident until the narrator crawls out to look for the nature of the sound, as illustrated below.

The narrator extrapolates from the position of the tent on the island that a bough from the largest tree around fell down with the wind and while still being caught by other branches “meanwhile its leaves brushed and tapped upon the tight canvas surface of the tent”. Compared to the previous example, this phrase did not pose any issues concerning its translation into Czech, as the verbs “brush” and “tap” concorded with their contextual equivalents “otírat se” and “poklepávat”.

To conclude, while the wind and water sounds play their important part in the story, it is the sound of willows that influences the emotional development of the main characters, animal sounds then being only a mood-creating device supporting the atmosphere of the scenery. The water sounds are mainly associated with the Danube river, referring to a wide range of acoustic representations when describing natural phenomena as whirlpools or anthropomorphising the river into a living being, attributing it almost human variety of sounds from “whispering” to “laughter”. The wind sounds express the struggle of campers with the forces of nature, complicating their movement on the river as well as on the island and the animal sounds, being represented only marginally in the story, serve to accentuate the impression of several natural scenes.

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5 Conclusion The translation of the short story The Willows proved to be very demanding and constantly challenging, as there were many unexpected issues that appeared throughout the whole process. However, it helped me to understand more thoroughly the thoughts and intentions behind the writing, allowing me to appreciate how highly creative and enriching the procedure is.

The analytical part allowed me to broaden my horizons in translation theory and techniques as well as providing me with a completely different perspective concerning the literary text. Also, it made me aware of new aspects of the whole plot.

Moreover, I found the translation process also highly educative from a geographical and historical point of view, as the gradually changing setting offers unique facts about the topographical features of towns and landscape known to the Czech as they were in 1900 including details about Bratislava or Vienna.

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3) Ashley, Michael. Algernon Blackwood: an extraordinary life. New York: 395.p., 2001. Print.

4) Levý, Jiří. Umění překladu. Vyd. 3., upr. a rozš. Praha: Ivo Železný, 1998. Print.

5) Knittlová, Dagmar, Bronislava Grygová, and Jitka Zehnalová. Překlad a překládání. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, Filozofická fakulta, 2010. Print. Monografie

6) Newmark, Peter. More paragraphs on translation. Clevedon: Multilingual matters, c1998. Print.

7) Newmark, Peter. Paragraphs on translation. Clevedon: Multilingual matters, 1993. Print. Topics in translation

8) Newmark, Peter. About translation. Clevedon: Multilingual matters, c1991. Print. Multilingual matters

9) Newmark, Peter. A textbook of translation. New York: Prentice Hall, c1988. Print.

10) Hogle, Jerrold E. The Cambridge companion to gothic fiction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. Cambridge companions to literature

11) Lovecraft, H. Supernatural horror in literature. New York: Dover Publications, c1973. Print.

12) Velký slovník anglicko-český, česko-anglický: --nejen pro překladatele. 2. vyd. Brno: Lingea, c2007. Print. ..nejen pro překladatele

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