# Max Havelaar, Chapter 18

Max Havelaar · Multatuli · The Novel

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/havelaar/hoofdstuk-18. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/havelaar/hoofdstuk-18.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/havelaar/<line id>.m4a.


Hy is vermoord. ACHTTIENDE HOOFDSTUK  
He has been murdered. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
> zijn-passive as a state: is vermoord ('has been murdered / is murdered') uses zijn + participle to name the resulting state. With a perfective verb like vermoorden, Dutch uses zijn rather than worden for the completed result.

't Was namiddag.  
It was afternoon.
> Impersonal het for time: The dummy subject het (here clipped to 't) carries time-of-day statements: ''t was namiddag' = 'it was afternoon'. It refers to nobody and nothing.

Havelaar trad uit de kamer, en vond zyn Tine in de voorgalery, hem wachtende met de thee.  
Havelaar stepped out of the room and found his Tine in the front gallery, waiting for him with the tea.
> Simple past of strong verbs: trad (treden, 'to step') and vond (vinden, 'to find') are strong-verb imperfects, changing the stem vowel rather than adding -te/-de. This is the narrative past that drives the chapter.
> Present participle as adverb: wachtende ('waiting') is the -end(e) present participle describing Tine's posture, with the object hem ('for him') preceding it — an action in progress framed adjectivally.
> voorgalery — the front gallery: The voorgalerij is the open front veranda of a colonial Indies house, where guests were received and tea taken. The spelling with y reflects 1860 orthography.

Mevrouw Slotering trad haar huis uit en scheen zich naar de Havelaars te willen begeven, maar eensklaps wendde zy zich naar 't hek, en wees daar met vry hevige gebaren een man terug die even te-voren was binnengetreden.  
Mevrouw Slotering came out of her house and seemed about to make her way over to the Havelaars, but all at once she turned toward the gate and there, with rather violent gestures, waved back a man who had just stepped inside.
> schijnen te + reflexive infinitive: scheen ('seemed') governs te willen begeven — 'seemed to want to make her way'. zich begeven is reflexive ('betake oneself'); the modal willen sits between te and the main infinitive.
> Separable verb terugwijzen: terugwijzen ('to wave/turn back') splits in a main clause: the finite wees stands second and the prefix terug is stranded at the clause end. eensklaps fronts the sentence, forcing the subject zy after the verb.
> Relative die + pluperfect: die ('who') is the relative pronoun for de-words (een man), opening a clause whose verb stands last. was binnengetreden is the pluperfect of the separable binnentreden ('had stepped inside').

Ze bleef staan tot zy zich verzekerd had dat hy naar-buiten was teruggegaan, en keerde daarop langs het grasveld naar Havelaars huis terug.  
She stood there until she had made sure he had withdrawn outside again, and then walked back across the lawn toward Havelaar's house.
> tot-clause sends verb to the end: The subordinating tot ('until') pushes the finite had to the clause end, after the participle verzekerd: 'until she had assured herself'. zich verzekeren is reflexive.
> Pluperfect + separable terugkeren: was teruggegaan is the pluperfect of the separable teruggaan. In the main clause keerde ... terug, the prefix terug again strands at the end while the finite verb keerde holds second position.

"Ik wil toch eindelyk eens weten wat dit beduidt!" zei Havelaar, en toen de begroeting voorby was, vroeg hy op schertsenden toon, om haar niet te doen meenen dat hy haar een weinigje gezag misgunde, op een erf dat vroeger 't hare was:  
"I really do want to know at last what this means!" said Havelaar, and when the greeting was over he asked, in a bantering tone, so as not to let her think he begrudged her a little authority on a plot of ground that had once been her own:
> toen-clause then inversion: toen ('when', past) opens a subordinate clause whose verb was lands last; the main clause then inverts to vroeg hy. toen + imperfect is the standard way to narrate a single past moment.
> om...te with causative doen: om ... te frames the purpose; doen meenen is causative 'to make (her) think'. The embedded dat-clause then sends its verb misgunde to the end.
> Relative dat for a het-word: erf is a het-word, so its relative pronoun is dat, not die. 't hare ('hers') is the substantivized possessive standing for 'her property'.

--Wel, mevrouw, zeg me toch eens waarom u de menschen die 't erf betreden, zoo terugzendt?  
"Come now, mevrouw, do tell me why you send away like that the people who set foot on the grounds?
> Imperative + embedded question: zeg is the bare-stem imperative ('tell'), softened by toch eens. The indirect question with waarom sends its verb terugzendt to the end (separable terugzenden).
> Polite u to a lady: Havelaar addresses Mevrouw Slotering with the formal u, the courteous 'you', in contrast to the je he uses with intimates like Tine and Verbrugge.
> menschen — the sch- spelling: menschen is the 1860 spelling of modern mensen ('people'). The silent ch in -sch- is a recurring period feature (also menschen, visscher, tusschen).

Als die man van zoo-even nu eens iemand was die kippen te-koop had, of iets anders wat noodig kon zyn voor de keuken?  
Suppose that man just now had been someone with hens to sell, or something else the kitchen might need?"
> als + suppositional 'suppose': Here als ... nu eens sets up a hypothetical ('suppose that man had been...'); the subordinate verb was stands last. The nested relative die (for de-word iemand) likewise ends with its verb had.
> te koop — for sale: te koop is a fixed phrase meaning 'for sale / on offer'. kippen te-koop had = 'had hens for sale'.

Er vertoonde zich op 't gelaat van mevrouw Slotering een pynlyke trek die niet ontsnapte aan Havelaars blik.  
A pained look came over Mevrouw Slotering's face, one that did not escape Havelaar's notice.
> er + reflexive with delayed subject: The clause opens with er, holding the slot while the real subject 'een pynlyke trek' arrives later — common when the subject is indefinite. zich vertoonen ('to show itself') is reflexive.
> Attributive -e and relative die: pynlyke takes -e agreeing with the de-word trek after een. The relative die then opens a clause whose verb ontsnapte closes it.

--Ach, zeide zy, er is zooveel slecht volk! --Zeker, dat is er overal.  
"Ah," she said, "there are so many wicked people about!" "Surely, there are everywhere.
> Existential er: er is here ('there is so much wicked rabble'), the existential use of er answering 'there is/are'. volk is a het-word collective, so the adjective slecht stays uninflected.
> Pro-adverbial er: In 'dat is er overal' the er stands in for the noun just named (slecht volk), so the line means 'that is everywhere'. This anticipatory/locative er is one of the word's hardest uses for learners.

Maar als men 't de menschen zoo moeielyk maakt, zullen de goeden ook weg blyven. Komaan, mevrouw, vertel me toch eens ronduit waarom ge zoo streng opzicht houdt over 't erf?  
But if one makes things so difficult for people, the good ones will stay away too. Come, mevrouw, do tell me plainly why you keep such strict watch over the grounds?"
> Conditional als + future with zullen: The als-clause (verb maakt last) is answered by an inverted main clause with zullen + the separable infinitive weg blyven — the explicit future, 'the good ones will stay away too'.
> Imperative softened, then verb-final question: vertel is an imperative cushioned by toch eens ronduit. The embedded waarom-question pushes the verb houdt to the end. ge is the literary 'you'.

Havelaar zag haar aan, en trachtte vergeefs het antwoord te lezen in haar vochtig oog.  
Havelaar looked at her, and tried in vain to read the answer in her moist eye.
> Separable aanzien + trachten te: aanzien splits: finite zag second, prefix aan at the end ('looked at her'). trachtte te lezen ('tried to read') shows the te-infinitive governed by trachten.

Hy drong iets sterker op verklaring aan ... de weduw berstte in tranen uit, en zei dat haar man ten-huize van het distriktshoofd te Parang-Koedjang vergiftigd was.  
He pressed a little harder for an explanation ... the widow burst into tears and said that her husband had been poisoned at the house of the district chief at Parang-Koedjang.
> Separable uitbersten: uitbersten ('to burst out') separates: finite berstte holds second place, uit closes the clause. berstte is the weak past with -te.
> dat-clause + zijn-passive: The dat-clause sends its verb to the end; vergiftigd was is the past-state passive ('had been poisoned'). zijn rather than worden because the result is what matters.

--Hy wilde rechtvaardig zyn, m'nheer Havelaar, ging de arme vrouw voort, hy wilde een eind maken aan de mishandeling waaronder de bevolking zucht.  
"He wanted to be just, Mijnheer Havelaar," the poor woman went on, "he wanted to put an end to the abuse under which the population groans.
> Separable voortgaan in narration: voortgaan ('to go on, continue') splits in this inserted speech tag: finite ging, prefix voort at the end. arme takes -e agreeing with the de-word vrouw.
> Pronominal adverb waaronder: waaronder fuses the relative idea with the preposition onder ('under which'). Dutch prefers these waar-/daar- compounds to 'onder welke' for things. The relative clause ends with zucht.

Hy vermaande en dreigde de Hoofden, in vergaderingen en schriftelyk ... ge moet zyn brieven gevonden hebben in 't archief?  
He admonished and threatened the Chiefs, in assemblies and in writing ... you must have found his letters in the archive?"
> Weak past -de: vermaande and dreigde are weak imperfects taking -de (the voiced dental, after the voiced stems vermaan- and dreig-). They narrate repeated past action.
> Modal moeten + perfect infinitive: moet here is epistemic ('you must have found'), governing the perfect infinitive gevonden hebben at the clause end. ge is literary 'you'; zyn is the period spelling of zijn ('his').

Dit was zoo.  
This was so.

Havelaar had die brieven gelezen, waarvan afschriften voor my liggen.  
Havelaar had read those letters, copies of which lie before me.
> Pronominal adverb waarvan: waarvan ('of which') joins the relative sense to van, the natural Dutch way to say 'copies of which'. The clause ends with the verb liggen.
> Pluperfect with hebben: had ... gelezen is the pluperfect ('had read'), placing the act behind the narrative present in which the copies now lie before the author.

--Hy sprak telkens met den resident, vervolgde de weduw, maar altyd vergeefs. Want daar 't van algemeene bekendheid was dat de knevelary plaats had ten-behoeve en onder bescherming van den Regent, wien de resident niet by de Regeering wilde aanklagen, leidden al die gesprekken tot niets dan tot mishandeling van de klagers.  
"He spoke again and again with the resident," the widow continued, "but always in vain. For since it was common knowledge that the extortion was carried on for the benefit and under the protection of the Regent, whom the resident was unwilling to denounce to the Government, all those conversations led to nothing but the maltreatment of those who complained.
> daar (causal) sends verb to end; main clause inverts: daar here means 'since/because' and is subordinating, so the long daar-clause ends with 'wilde aanklagen' (closing the embedded relative clause on den Regent), while 'had' closes only the inner dat-clause nested inside it; the main clause then begins with the finite leidden after the heavy fronted material.
> Relative wien (old dative): wien is the inflected dative/oblique relative ('whom'), an archaic form for persons in formal prose. den Regent shows the old accusative article den.

Daarom had myn arme man gezegd dat hy, als er geen verbetering kwam vóór 't einde des jaars, zich rechtstreeks wenden zou tot den Gouverneur-generaal.  
That is why my poor husband had said that, if no improvement came before the end of the year, he would turn directly to the Governor-General.
> Conditional als + future with zou: geen negates the indefinite noun verbetering ('no improvement'). The reported intention uses zou + the reflexive infinitive zich wenden ('would turn'), conditional within reported speech.
> Genitive des jaars: des jaars ('of the year') is a frozen masculine/neuter genitive with both the article des and the noun-ending -s — exactly the 1860 inflection where modern Dutch says van het jaar.

Dat was in November.  
That was in November.

Hy ging kort daarna op een inspektiereis, gebruikte het middagmaal ten huize van den Dhemang van Parang-Koedjang, en werd kort daarop in deerniswaarden toestand te-huis gebracht.  
Shortly afterward he went off on a tour of inspection, took his midday meal at the house of the Dhemang of Parang-Koedjang, and shortly after that was brought home in a pitiable state.
> Chain of pasts ending in a passive: ging and gebruikte (strong, then weak) carry the narrative, then werd ... gebracht is the past worden-passive: 'was brought home' as an action done to him.

Hy riep, op de maag wyzende: "vuur, vuur" en weinige uren later was hy dood, hy die altyd een voorbeeld was geweest van goede gezondheid.  
He cried out, pointing to his stomach: "fire, fire," and a few hours later he was dead — he who had always been a model of good health."
> Present participle 'pointing': wyzende ('pointing') is the -end(e) present participle with its object phrase op de maag before it — a vivid simultaneous action.
> Relative die + pluperfect with zijn: die resumes the de-word hy; was geweest is the pluperfect of zijn ('had been'). zijn forms its own perfect with zijn, not hebben.

--Hebt ge den dokter van Serang laten roepen? vroeg Havelaar.  
"Did you send for the doctor from Serang?" asked Havelaar.
> Causative laten + bare infinitive: laten roepen ('have summoned') is the causative laten with a bare infinitive — Havelaar asks if she had the doctor sent for. The whole sits inside the perfect hebt ... laten roepen (an Ersatzinfinitiv, no participle).

--Ja, maar hy heeft myn echtgenoot slechts kort behandeld, omdat deze kort na zyn komst gestorven is.  
"Yes, but he treated my husband only briefly, since the latter died soon after his arrival.
> omdat + perfect with zijn: omdat ('because') sends the verb to the end: gestorven is ('has died'). sterven takes zijn in the perfect, like all change-of-state verbs. deze ('the latter') is a demonstrative used pronominally.
> Demonstrative deze = 'the latter': deze ('this one') here points back to the most recent referent, her husband — Dutch uses the near demonstrative where English says 'the latter'.

Ik durfde den dokter myn vermoeden niet meedeelen, omdat ik wegens myn toestand voorzag deze plaats niet spoedig te kunnen verlaten, en bevreesd was voor wraak.  
I did not dare confide my suspicion to the doctor, because on account of my condition I foresaw that I should not be able to leave this place soon, and I was afraid of revenge.
> durven + bare infinitive, separable meedeelen: durven ('to dare') takes a bare infinitive meedeelen ('confide'), here split around the negation niet. den dokter is the dative recipient with the old article den.
> omdat-clause + te-infinitive object: omdat ends with voorzag; that verb governs a te-infinitive complement te kunnen verlaten ('to be able to leave'), with the modal kunnen nested inside.

Ik heb gehoord dat gy even als myn echtgenoot u verzet tegen de misbruiken die hier heerschen, en daarom heb ik geen gerust oogenblik.  
I have heard that you, like my husband, set yourself against the abuses that hold sway here, and that is why I have not one untroubled moment."
> Reflexive zich verzetten, here u: zich verzetten tegen ('to set oneself against') is reflexive; with the literary subject gy the reflexive object is u. The relative die then closes with heerschen.
> Relative die for a plural: All plurals are de-words, so the relative pronoun is die ('that hold sway here'), and the clause ends with the verb heerschen (period spelling of heersen).

Ik had dit alles voor u willen verbergen om u en mevrouw niet angstig te maken, en bepaalde my dus tot het bewaken van tuin en erf, opdat geen vreemden toegang zouden hebben tot de keuken.  
"I had wanted to keep all this from you, so as not to alarm you and your wife, and so I confined myself to guarding the garden and grounds, that no strangers might gain access to the kitchen."
> Pluperfect modal: had ... willen verbergen: had ... willen verbergen is a pluperfect with a modal ('had wanted to hide'); the modal willen appears as a bare infinitive (Ersatzinfinitiv) rather than a participle, with verbergen at the end.
> opdat purpose + zou: opdat ('so that') opens a purpose clause sending zouden hebben to the end; geen negates the indefinite plural vreemden ('no strangers').

Nu werd het Tine duidelyk waarom mevrouw Slotering haar eigen huishouding was blyven voeren, en zelfs geen gebruik had willen maken van de keuken "die toch zoo ruim was."  
Now it became clear to Tine why Mevrouw Slotering had gone on running her own household, and had refused even to make use of the kitchen, "which was, after all, so spacious."
> Impersonal het + fronted nu: The fronted nu forces inversion (werd het...), and het is the impersonal/anticipatory subject pointing forward to the waarom-clause: 'now it became clear why...'.
> Pluperfect with blijven + bare infinitive: was blyven voeren ('had gone on running') chains the aspectual blijven ('to keep doing') with a bare infinitive voeren, all inside a pluperfect with zijn.

Havelaar liet den kontroleur roepen.  
Havelaar had the controller summoned.
> Causative laten + bare infinitive: liet ... roepen is causative laten ('had summoned') with the bare infinitive roepen. den kontroleur carries the old accusative article den.

Intusschen richtte hy aan den geneesheer te Serang, een verzoek om opgave der verschynselen by Sloterings dood.  
Meanwhile he addressed to the physician at Serang a request for an account of the symptoms attending Slotering's death.
> Fronted adverb + dative den: Intusschen ('meanwhile') fronts the clause, so richtte stands before hy. aan den geneesheer shows the dative recipient with den; geneesheer is a formal word for 'physician'.
> Genitive der: der verschynselen ('of the symptoms') is the genitive plural article der, formal 1860 usage where modern Dutch would write van de verschijnselen.

Het antwoord dat hy op deze vraag bekwam, was niet in den geest der vermoedens van de weduw.  
The answer he obtained to this question was not in keeping with the widow's suspicions.
> Relative dat + genitive der: antwoord is a het-word, so its relative is dat; the clause ends with bekwam ('obtained'). der vermoedens is again the genitive ('of the suspicions').

Volgens den arts was Slotering gestorven aan een "abcès in de lever." Het is me niet gebleken of zoodanige kwaal zich zoo kan openbaren op-eenmaal, en den dood veroorzaken in weinige uren?  
According to the physician, Slotering had died of an "abscess on the liver." It has not become clear to me whether such an ailment can declare itself so suddenly, all at once, and bring on death within a few hours.
> Impersonal het + reflexive openbaren: het is ... gebleken ('it has become clear') uses impersonal het; the of-clause then sends kan to the end. zich openbaren ('to manifest itself') is reflexive.
> op-eenmaal — all at once: op eenmaal (modern opeens / ineens) means 'suddenly, all at once'. The hyphenation is one of Multatuli's many period spellings.

Ik geloof hier te moeten achtslaan op de verklaring van mevrouw Slotering dat haar echtgenoot vroeger altyd gezond geweest was. Doch als men geen waarde hecht aan zoodanige verklaring--omdat de opvatting van 't begrip: gezondheid, vooral in de oogen van niet-geneeskundigen, zeer onderwerpelyk is--blyft toch de gewichtige vraag bestaan, of iemand die heden sterft aan een "abcès in de lever" zich gister kon te-paard zetten met het doel om een bergachtige landstreek te inspekteeren die in sommige richtingen twintig uren breed is?  
I believe I am bound here to take account of Mevrouw Slotering's statement that her husband had always been healthy before. Yet even if one attaches no value to such a statement — because the notion of what counts as health, especially in the eyes of laymen, is highly subjective — there still remains the weighty question of whether a man who today dies of an "abscess on the liver" could yesterday have mounted a horse with the aim of inspecting a mountainous tract of country that in some directions is twenty hours wide.
> te + modal infinitive (te moeten): geloof governs te moeten achtslaan ('believe I am bound to take account of'), a te-infinitive with the modal moeten nested. achtslaan op is a separable-fixed combination.
> Archaic doch + conditional als: doch is an archaic/literary 'yet, but'. After the heavy als-clause the main clause inverts to blyft ... de vraag bestaan. geen negates the indefinite waarde.
> Relative die + reflexive zich zetten: die opens the relative on iemand. Inside the of-clause, zich te-paard zetten ('mount a horse', lit. set oneself on horseback) is reflexive, governed by the modal kon.

De arts die Slotering behandelde kan een bekwaam geneesheer geweest zyn, en zich niettemin vergist hebben in 't beoordeelen van de verschynselen der ziekte, onvoorbereid als hy was op 't vermoeden van misdaad.  
The physician who treated Slotering may have been a capable doctor, and may nonetheless have erred in judging the symptoms of the illness, unprepared as he was for the suspicion of foul play.
> Modal kan + two perfect infinitives: kan governs two perfect infinitives at the clause end: geweest zyn ('have been') and zich ... vergist hebben ('have erred'), the second reflexive. This stacks the modal over the perfect.
> Concessive 'unprepared as he was': The fronted predicate onvoorbereid with als hy was is a concessive turn ('unprepared as he was'), where als links the adjective to a verb-final clause.

Hoe dit zy, ik kan niet bewyzen dat Havelaars voorganger vergiftigd was, daar men Havelaar den tyd niet heeft gelaten deze zaak tot klaarheid te brengen. Doch wel kan ik bewyzen dat zyn omgeving hem voor vergiftigd hield, en dat men dit vermoeden vastknoopte aan zyn zucht om onrecht te-keer te gaan.  
Be that as it may, I cannot prove that Havelaar's predecessor was poisoned, for Havelaar was not given the time to bring this matter to light. Yet I can indeed prove that those around him held him to have been poisoned, and that this suspicion was bound up with his eagerness to take a stand against injustice.
> Archaic subjunctive 'be that as it may': Hoe dit zy is a fixed concessive with the present subjunctive zy ('be it as it may'), a frozen literary formula. zy is the old subjunctive of zijn.
> Causal daar + te-infinitive: daar ('since') opens a verb-final clause; the impersonal men ('one') is the subject. den tyd ... te brengen ('the time to bring') shows den plus a trailing te-infinitive.
> doch + separable vastknopen: doch wel ('yet I can indeed') fronts and inverts (kan ik). In the dat-clause vastknoopte ('bound up') is the past of separable vastknopen, here whole because it is verb-final.

De kontroleur Verbrugge trad de kamer van Havelaar binnen.  
The controller Verbrugge stepped into Havelaar's room.
> Separable binnentreden: binnentreden ('to enter') splits in the main clause: finite trad second, prefix binnen stranded at the end, around the object de kamer van Havelaar.

Deze vroeg kortaf:  
The latter asked curtly:
> Demonstrative deze = 'the latter': Deze ('the latter / this one') picks out the most recently named man — Havelaar, who has just been mentioned — as the subject of vroeg. Dutch uses the near demonstrative to resume a recent referent without repeating the name.

--Waaraan is m'nheer Slotering gestorven?  
"What did Mijnheer Slotering die of?"
> Pronominal adverb waaraan: waaraan ('of/from what') fuses the question-word with aan, the way Dutch asks 'what did he die of'. is ... gestorven is the perfect of sterven with zijn.

--Dat weet ik niet.  
"That I do not know."

--Is hy vergiftigd?  
"Was he poisoned?"

--Dat weet ik niet, maar ...  
"That I do not know, but ..."

--Spreek duidelyk, Verbrugge!  
"Speak plainly, Verbrugge!"

--Maar hy trachtte de misbruiken te-keer te gaan, zooals u, m'nheer Havelaar, en ... en ...  
"But he tried to take a stand against the abuses, as you do, Mijnheer Havelaar, and ... and ..."
> trachten te + idiom tegengaan: trachtte ... te gaan governs a te-infinitive; te-keer gaan (modern tegengaan / te keer gaan) means 'to counter, take a stand against'. zooals u = 'as you do'.

--Welnu? Ga voort?  
"Well? Go on?"

--Ik ben overtuigd dat hy ... zou vergiftigd geworden zyn als hy langer hier was gebleven.  
"I am convinced that he ... would have been poisoned had he stayed here any longer."
> Conditional perfect passive + pluperfect: zou ... geworden zyn is the conditional of the perfect worden-passive ('would have been poisoned'); the als-clause uses the pluperfect was gebleven ('had he stayed'). A full counterfactual.

--Schryf dat op! Verbrugge heeft die woorden opgeschreven.  
"Write that down!" Verbrugge wrote those words down.
> Imperative of separable opschrijven: schryf ... op is the imperative of separable opschrijven ('write down'): the bare stem schryf commands, the prefix op trails the object. The narration then uses the perfect heeft ... opgeschreven.

Zyn verklaring, ligt voor my!  
His statement lies before me!

--Nog iets. Is 't wáár of is 't niet waar dat er gekneveld wordt in Lebak?  
"One more thing. Is it true, or is it not true, that there is extortion going on in Lebak?"
> Impersonal worden-passive: er gekneveld wordt is a subjectless passive ('that extortion is going on'), where er fills the subject slot and worden + participle gives the process. knevelen = 'to extort, oppress'.

Verbrugge antwoordde niet.  
Verbrugge did not answer.

--Antwoord, Verbrugge!  
"Answer, Verbrugge!"

--Ik durf niet. --Schryf 't op, dat je niet durft!  
"I dare not." "Write it down, that you dare not!"
> Imperative + dat-clause verb-final: Imperative schryf ... op (separable), then the dat-clause sends durft to the end: 'that you dare not'. je marks the intimate 'you' Havelaar uses with Verbrugge.

Verbrugge heeft het opgeschreven: het ligt voor my. --Wèl!  
Verbrugge has written it down: it lies before me. "Well!"

Nog iets: je durft niet antwoorden op de laatste vraag, maar je zei me onlangs, toen er spraak was van vergiftiging, dat je de eenige steun was van je zusters te Batavia, niet waar? Ligt dáárin misschien de oorzaak van je vrees, de grond van wat ik altyd halfheid noemde?  
"One more thing: you dare not answer the last question, but you told me recently, when there was talk of poisoning, that you were the sole support of your sisters at Batavia, did you not? Does the cause of your fear lie there, perhaps — the ground of what I have always called half-heartedness?"
> Nested toen-clause inside reported speech: The inserted toen-clause (er spraak was) interrupts the main clause; toen + imperfect marks a single past moment. The je-forms throughout signal informal address.
> Pronominal adverb daarin + inversion: daarin ('therein') fronts a yes/no question with inversion (Ligt ... de oorzaak). The daar- + preposition compound replaces 'in that'.

--Ja!  
"Yes!"

--Schryf dat op.  
"Write that down."

Verbrugge schreef het op: zyn verklaring ligt voor my!  
Verbrugge wrote it down: his statement lies before me!

--'t Is wèl, zei Havelaar, nu weet ik genoeg. En Verbrugge kon gaan.  
"Very well," said Havelaar, "now I know enough." And Verbrugge was free to go.
> Modal kon + bare infinitive: kon gaan ('was free to go / could go') is the modal kunnen in the imperfect plus the bare infinitive gaan — no te.

Havelaar trad naar buiten en speelde met kleinen Max dien hy met byzondere innigheid kuste.  
Havelaar stepped outside and played with little Max, whom he kissed with particular tenderness.
> Case-marked dien + adjective -en: dien is the old accusative of the relative die ('whom'), and kleinen carries the old masculine accusative -en — both visible case-remnants agreeing with the object Max.

Toen mevrouw Slotering vertrokken was, zond hy 't kind weg en riep Tine in zyn kamer.  
When Mevrouw Slotering had gone, he sent the child away and called Tine into his room.
> toen-clause + separable wegzenden: The toen-clause ends with vertrokken was (pluperfect of vertrekken, which takes zijn). The main clause inverts and uses separable wegzenden — finite zond, prefix weg at the end.

--Lieve Tine, ik heb je een verzoek te doen!  
"Dear Tine, I have a request to make of you!
> hebben te + te-infinitive: hebben ... te doen ('have a request to make') expresses obligation/intent with te + infinitive, the verb closing the clause. je is the intimate indirect object.

Ik wenschte dat je met Max naar Batavia ging: ik klaag heden den Regent aan.  
I should wish you to go to Batavia with Max: I am bringing charges against the Regent today."
> Imperfect for a softened wish: wenschte ('I should wish') and the past ging in the dat-clause are unreal/optative pasts — Dutch uses the imperfect to soften a wish, much like English 'I wished you would go'.

En ze viel hem om den hals, en was ongehoorzaam voor het eerst, en riep snikkende:  
And she fell upon his neck, and for the first time was disobedient, and cried out, sobbing:
> Idiom + accusative den: iemand om de hals vallen means 'to throw one's arms around someone's neck'; den hals shows the old accusative article. viel is the strong past of vallen.
> Present participle snikkende: snikkende ('sobbing') is the -end(e) present participle used adverbially with riep ('cried out, sobbing') to name a simultaneous action.

--Neen Max, neen Max, dat doe ik niet ... dat doe ik niet!  
"No, Max, no, Max, I will not do that ... I will not do that!
> Fronted object + V2 inversion + niet: The object dat fronts, forcing the subject ik after the finite doe (verb-second). niet negates the verb: 'that I will not do'. The doubling intensifies the refusal.

Wy eten en drinken tezamen!  
We eat and drink together!"
> Present tense for resolve; wy: The plain present eten ... drinken ('we eat and drink') states a vowed fact rather than a future event. wy is the period spelling of wij ('we').

Had Havelaar ongelyk toen hy beweerde dat zy evenmin recht had op neussnuiten als de vrouwen te Arles?  
Was Havelaar wrong when he maintained that she had no more right to blow her nose than the women of Arles?
> Inverted yes/no question + nested clauses: A question begins with the finite Had before the subject. The toen-clause (beweerde) and then the dat-clause (recht had) each send their verb to the end — a tidy three-layer subordination.
> Comparison of equality evenmin ... als: evenmin ... als ('no more ... than') is a negative correlative comparison. neussnuiten ('nose-blowing') is a nominalized infinitive used as a noun.

Hy schreef en verzond den brief waarvan ik hier een afschrift geef.  
He wrote and sent off the letter of which I give a copy here.
> Pronominal adverb waarvan: waarvan ('of which') again replaces 'van welke', the idiomatic relative for things. den brief carries the old accusative article.

Nadat ik eenigszins de omstandigheden heb geschetst, waarin dit stuk geschreven werd, geloof ik niet noodig te hebben op de kordate plichtsvervulling te wyzen die daarin doorstraalt, evenmin als op de zachtmoedigheid die Havelaar bewoog den Regent in bescherming te nemen tegen al te zware straf. Doch niet zoo overbodig zal 't wezen, daarby zyn omzichtigheid te doen opmerken die hem geen woord deed uiten over de pas gedane ontdekking om niet het stellige zyner aanklacht te verzwakken door onzekerheid omtrent een wel belangryke, maar nog onbewezen beschuldiging.  
Having sketched out somewhat the circumstances in which this document was written, I think I need not point out the resolute fulfillment of duty that shines through it, any more than the gentleness that moved Havelaar to take the Regent under his protection against too heavy a punishment. Yet it will not be so superfluous to draw attention here to the circumspection that led him to utter not a word about the discovery just made, so as not to weaken the firmness of his accusation through uncertainty about a charge that, however serious, was as yet unproven.
> nadat-clause + te-infinitive complement: nadat ('after') opens a verb-final clause (heb geschetst). The main clause then nests te-infinitives: noodig te hebben ... te wyzen ('need not point out'), the te-infinitive governed by a predicate adjective.
> Relative die + bewegen te: die opens the relative on de zachtmoedigheid; bewoog ... te nemen is bewegen ('to move someone') governing a te-infinitive. den Regent shows the accusative article.
> Causative doen + bare infinitive: deed uiten is causative doen ('made him utter not a word') with a bare infinitive. geen negates the indefinite woord ('not a word').

Zyn voornemen was, 't lyk van zyn voorganger te doen opgraven en wetenschappelyk onderzoeken, zoodra de Regent zou verwyderd zyn, en diens aanhang onschadelyk gemaakt. Maar men heeft hem hiertoe de gelegenheid niet gelaten.  
His intention was to have his predecessor's body exhumed and examined scientifically, as soon as the Regent had been removed and his following rendered harmless. But the opportunity to do so was not granted him.
> Causative doen in a te-infinitive: te doen opgraven ('to have exhumed') is causative doen plus a bare infinitive, all inside a te-infinitive that names Havelaar's intention. zyn = his (period spelling).
> zodra-clause + conditional perfect passive: zoodra ('as soon as') sends the verb to the end; zou verwyderd zyn is a future-perfect-in-the-past passive ('would have been removed'). diens is the genitive demonstrative 'his / the latter's'.
> Pronominal adverb hiertoe + impersonal men: hiertoe ('to this end') is a hier- + preposition compound. men ('one') is the impersonal subject for an agentless statement: 'the opportunity was not granted him'.

In de afschriften van officieele stukken--afschriften die overigens letterlyk overeenstemmmen met het oorspronkelyke--geloof ik de dwaze titulatuur te mogen vervangen door eenvoudige voornaamwoorden.  
In the copies of official documents — copies that otherwise correspond word for word with the originals — I believe I may replace the absurd titulary with simple pronouns.
> Relative die + separable overeenstemmen: die opens the relative on the plural afschriften; the verb overeenstemmen ('correspond') closes the clause. het oorspronkelyke is a substantivized adjective ('the original').
> te + modal mogen: geloof ... te mogen vervangen ('believe I may replace') nests the modal mogen inside a te-infinitive; the whole is the object of geloof.

Van den goeden smaak myner lezers verwacht ik dat zy in deze verandering genoegen nemen.  
I trust to the good taste of my readers that they will be content with this alteration.
> Fronted PP + genitive myner: The fronted phrase forces inversion (verwacht ik). myner is the old genitive of mijn ('of my readers'), with both the inflected article-form and the noun in the genitive — pure 1860 register.
> dat-clause + idiom genoegen nemen: The dat-clause ends with nemen. genoegen nemen met means 'to be content with'; deze is the demonstrative for the de-word verandering.

"N° 88.  
"No. 88.

Geheim.  
Confidential.
> Geheim — 'Confidential': On an official document Geheim marks it 'Secret / Confidential'. The clipped letterhead labels (Geheim, Spoed) reproduce the bureaucratic form of a real dispatch.

Spoed.  
Urgent.

Rangkas-Betoeng, 24 Februari 1856.  
Rangkas-Betoeng, 24 February 1856.

Aan den Resident van Bantam.  
To the Resident of Bantam.

Sedert ik voor een maand myn betrekking alhier aanvaardde, heb ik my hoofdzakelyk beziggehouden met het onderzoek naar de wyze waarop de Inlandsche Hoofden zich kwyten van hun verplichtingen jegens de bevolking op het stuk van heerediensten, poendoetan en dergelyke.  
Since taking up my post here a month ago, I have occupied myself chiefly with inquiring into the manner in which the Native Chiefs discharge their obligations toward the population in the matter of statute-labor, poendoetan, and the like.
> sedert-clause + reflexive perfect: sedert ('since') opens a verb-final clause (aanvaardde). The main clause uses the reflexive zich bezighouden in the perfect: heb ... my beziggehouden ('have occupied myself').
> Pronominal adverb waarop + reflexive: waarop ('in which way') is the relative for de wyze. zich kwyten van ('discharge, acquit oneself of') is reflexive, the clause closing with the prepositional phrase.

Zeer spoedig ontdekte ik dat de Regent op eigen autoriteit, en ten zynen-behoeve, menschen liet opkomen, vèr boven het hem wettig toekomend aantal pantjens en kemits.  
Very soon I discovered that the Regent, on his own authority and for his own benefit, had men called up far beyond the number of pantjens and kemits lawfully due to him.
> Causative laten + separable opkomen: In the dat-clause liet ... opkomen is causative laten with the separable infinitive opkomen ('had men called up'), the verbs clustered at the end. ten zynen-behoeve = 'for his own benefit'.

Ik weifelde tusschen de keus om terstond officieel te rapporteeren, en de zucht om door zachtheid, of later zelfs door bedreigingen, dien Inlandschen Hoofdambtenaar daarvan terug te brengen, ten-einde het tweeledig doel te bereiken om dat misbruik te doen ophouden en te-gelyker-tyd dien ouden dienaar van het Gouvernement niet terstond al te streng te behandelen, vooral uit aanmerking van de slechte voorbeelden die, naar ik geloof, hem dikwyls gegeven zyn, en in-verband met de byzondere omstandigheid dat hy bezoek verwachtte van twee verwanten, de Regenten van Bandoeng en van Tjanjor, althans van den laatsten--die, naar ik meen, reeds met groot gevolg op weg is--en hy dus meer dan anders in de verzoeking was--en met het oog op den benarden staat zyner geldmiddelen, als-het-ware in de noodzakelijkheid--om door onwettige middelen te voorzien in de noodige toebereidselen voor dat bezoek.  
I wavered between the choice of reporting officially at once and the wish to bring that Native officer back from this practice through gentleness — or later, if need be, through threats — so as to attain the twofold aim of putting a stop to that abuse and at the same time not treating that old servant of the Government too harshly straightaway: chiefly out of regard for the bad examples that, I believe, have often been set before him, and in connection with the particular circumstance that he was expecting a visit from two relatives, the Regents of Bandoeng and of Tjanjor — or at least from the latter, who, I understand, is already on his way with a large retinue — so that he was, more than at other times, under temptation; and in view of the strained state of his finances, being as it were under the necessity of providing, through unlawful means, for the preparations needful for that visit.
> Parallel om...te purpose phrases: Two om ... te infinitive phrases hang off keus and zucht ('the choice to report' / 'the wish to bring back'), each closing with te + infinitive. This single monster sentence is a deliberate parody of bureaucratic prose.
> Accusative -en on demonstrative + adjective: dien is the old masculine accusative of die, and Inlandschen / ouden carry the matching -en — the full case-marking of a 1860 object phrase, repeated for rhythm.

Dit alles leidde my tot zachtheid omtrent hetgeen reeds geschied was, doch geenszins tot toegevendheid voor den vervolge.  
All this inclined me to leniency regarding what had already taken place, but by no means to indulgence for the future.
> Negative geenszins + archaic doch: geenszins ('by no means') is a single negative governing the clause (no double negation), and doch is the literary 'but'. voor den vervolge ('for the future') keeps the old dative article.

Ik drong aan op dadelyke staking van elke onwettigheid.  
I insisted on the immediate cessation of every illegality.
> Separable aandringen: aandringen op ('to insist on') splits: finite drong second, prefix aan stranded before the prepositional object. drong is the strong past of dringen.

Van die voorloopige proeve om den Regent door zachtheid tot zyn plicht te brengen, heb ik u onder'shands doen kennis dragen.  
Of that preliminary attempt to bring the Regent to his duty through gentleness, I have given you private notice.
> Fronted PP + causative doen: The fronted phrase inverts to heb ik. doen kennis dragen is causative doen with a bare infinitive ('have given you notice'). onder'shands ('privately') keeps a fossilized genitive -s.

My is echter gebleken dat hy met brutale onbeschaamdheid alles in den wind slaat, en ik gevoel my krachtens myn ambtseed verplicht u meetedeelen:  
It has become evident to me, however, that with brazen effrontery he flings everything to the winds, and I feel myself bound by my oath of office to inform you:
> Fronted dative My + impersonal gebleken: The dative My fronts ('to me it has become evident'); the dat-clause sends slaat to the end. in den wind slaan ('to fling to the winds, ignore') is an idiom, with the old dative den.
> Reflexive zich verplicht voelen: zich verplicht voelen ('to feel obliged') is reflexive (my). meetedeelen joins prefix + te + infinitive into one word — a striking period spelling of mee te delen.

dat ik den Regent van Lebak, Radhen Adhipatti Karta Natta Nagara, BESCHULDIG van misbruik van gezag, door het onwettig beschikken over den arbeid zyner onderhoorigen, en VERDENK van knevelary, door het vorderen van opbrengsten in naturâ, zonder, of tegen willekeurig vastgestelde, onvoldoende, betaling; dat ik voorts den Dhemang, van Parang-Koedjang zyn schoonzoon--verdenk van medeplichtigheid aan de genoemde feiten.  
that I ACCUSE the Regent of Lebak, Radhen Adhipatti Karta Natta Nagara, of abuse of authority, through the unlawful disposal of the labor of his subjects, and SUSPECT him of extortion, through the exaction of deliveries in kind, without payment, or against arbitrarily fixed, insufficient payment; and that I furthermore — suspect the Dhemang of Parang-Koedjang, his son-in-law — of complicity in the said acts.
> Nominalized infinitive + genitive zyner: het ... beschikken is an infinitive used as a noun ('the disposing'). zyner onderhoorigen is the genitive of zijn ('of his subjects'), formal 1860 inflection.

Om beide zaken behoorlyk te kunnen instrueeren, neem ik de vryheid u voortestellen, my te gelasten:  
In order to investigate both matters properly, I take the liberty of proposing to you that you instruct me:
> Joined infinitive voortestellen: voortestellen welds the separable prefix voor + te + stellen into one word ('to propose'), a hallmark 1860 spelling. It governs the further te-infinitive my te gelasten ('to instruct me').

1° den Regent van Lebak voornoemd, met den meesten spoed naar Serang optezenden, en zorgtedragen dat hy noch voor zyn vertrek, noch gedurende de reize in de gelegenheid zy, door omkooping of op andere wyze te influenceeren op de getuigenissen die ik zal moeten inwinnen;  
1. to dispatch the aforesaid Regent of Lebak to Serang with all speed, and to see to it that, neither before his departure nor during the journey, he should have any opportunity, through bribery or in any other way, to influence the testimony I shall have to gather;
> Joined infinitives optezenden / zorgtedragen: optezenden (op + te + zenden, 'to dispatch') and zorgtedragen (zorg + te + dragen, 'to take care') again fuse prefix, te, and verb into a single written word, the characteristic period orthography of these official clauses.
> Archaic subjunctive zy + te-infinitive: zy is the present subjunctive of zijn ('that he be in a position'), proper to formal/legal style; it governs the trailing te-infinitive te influenceeren.

2° den Dhemang van Parang-Koedjang voorloopig, in arrest te nemen;  
2. to place the Dhemang of Parang-Koedjang under provisional arrest;

3° gelyken maatregel toetepassen op zoodanige personen van minderen rang, als, behoorende tot de familie van den Regent, geacht kunnen worden invloed uitteoefenen op de zuiverheid van het intestellen onderzoek;  
3. to apply the same measure to such persons of lower rank as, belonging to the Regent's family, may be supposed capable of exercising influence on the integrity of the inquiry to be set on foot;
> Joined infinitives + worden-passive: toetepassen and uitteoefenen are again the fused te-infinitives. geacht kunnen worden ('may be deemed') is a modalized worden-passive — agentless and impersonal, fitting the document.

4° dat onderzoek terstond te doen plaats hebben, en van den uitslag te dienen van omstandig bericht.  
4. to have that inquiry held at once, and to furnish a detailed report of its outcome.
> Causative doen + idiom plaats hebben: te doen plaats hebben is causative doen ('to have take place') with the fixed expression plaats hebben ('to occur'). van den uitslag te dienen van omstandig bericht = 'to furnish a report of the outcome'.

Ik neem de vryheid u voorts in overweging te geven, de komst des Regents van Tjanjor te kontramandeeren.  
I further take the liberty of submitting for your consideration that the arrival of the Regent of Tjanjor be countermanded.
> Genitive des Regents: des Regents ('of the Regent') shows the masculine genitive article des with the noun-ending -s — the inflected possessive of formal prose where modern Dutch uses van.

Ten-slotte heb ik de eer--ten-overvloede voor u, die de Afdeeling Lebak beter kent dan my nog mogelyk is--de verzekering te geven dat uit een politiek oogpunt de streng rechtvaardige behandeling dezer zaak geen het minste bezwaar heeft, en dat ik eer voor gevaar zou beducht zyn als ze niet tot klaarheid gebracht werd. Want ik ben geïnformeerd dat de geringe man die, naar een getuige my zeide, poessing is van de vexatie, reeds lang naar redding uitziet.  
Finally, I have the honor — needlessly, for you, who know the Division of Lebak better than is yet possible for me — to give the assurance that, from a political point of view, the strictly just handling of this matter presents not the least difficulty, and that I should sooner fear danger were it not brought to light. For I am informed that the humble man who, as one witness told me, is poessing under the vexation, has long been looking for deliverance.
> Comparative + dan: beter ... dan is the comparative with dan for 'than'. The relative die opens a clause on u, closing with kent. dan my ... mogelyk is = 'than is yet possible for me'.
> Conditional zou + als-clause passive: zou ... beducht zyn ('should fear') is the conditional; the als-clause uses a past worden-passive niet ... gebracht werd ('were it not brought to light'). A counterfactual pair.
> poessing — a Malay borrowing: poessing (Malay pusing) means 'dizzy, distracted, at wit's end'; vexatie is 'harassment/oppression'. Multatuli salts the bureaucratic Dutch with Indies words to convey the native's distress.

Ik heb de kracht tot den moeielyken plicht dien ik door het schryven van dezen brief volbreng, gedeeltelyk geput uit de hoop dat het my vergund zal wezen ter-zyner-tyd een en ander bytebrengen ter verschooning van den ouden Regent, met wiens pozitie, hoezeer door eigen schuld veroorzaakt, ik evenwel diep medelyden gevoel.  
The strength to perform the difficult duty I discharge by writing this letter I have drawn, in part, from the hope that I shall be permitted, in due time, to bring forward this and that in extenuation of the old Regent, with whose position — caused though it is by his own fault — I nevertheless feel a deep compassion.
> Accusative dien + adjective -en: dien is the old masculine accusative relative ('which/that'), and moeielyken takes the matching -en — full object case-marking. The relative clause ends with volbreng.
> Impersonal het + joined infinitive: het ... vergund zal wezen is an impersonal future passive ('that it shall be permitted me'). bytebrengen (by + te + brengen, 'to bring forward') is another fused te-infinitive.
> Genitive relative wiens: wiens ('whose') is the genitive form of the relative for persons — 'with whose position'. The clause ends with gevoel; hoezeer door eigen schuld veroorzaakt is a concessive aside.

De Adsistent-resident van Lebak  
The Assistant-Resident of Lebak,

MAX HAVELAAR."  
MAX HAVELAAR."

Den volgenden dag antwoordde hem ... de resident van Bantam?  
The next day there answered him ... the resident of Bantam?
> Fronted time-phrase + accusative den ... -en: Den volgenden dag ('the next day') is a fronted adverbial in the old accusative (den ... -en), forcing inversion: antwoordde hem ... de resident.

O neen, de heer Slymering, partikulier!  
Oh no — Mijnheer Slymering, in a private capacity!

Dit antwoord is eene kostbare bydrage tot de kennis van de wyze waarop het bestuur in Nederlandsch-Indie wordt uitgeoefend.  
This answer is a priceless contribution to the knowledge of the manner in which government is carried on in Netherlands India.
> waarop + worden-passive (separable): waarop ('in which') relativizes de wyze; wordt uitgeoefend is the worden-passive of separable uitoefenen, both verbs at the clause end.

De heer Slymering beklaagde zich "dat Havelaar hem van de zaak die voorkwam in den brief N° 88, niet eerst mondeling had kennis gegeven." Natuurlyk omdat er dan meer kans ware geweest op "schipperen" En voorts: "dat Havelaar hem stoorde in zyn drukke bezigheden!"  
Mijnheer Slymering complained "that Havelaar had not first informed him by word of mouth of the matter raised in letter No. 88." Naturally — because there would then have been more chance of "hushing it up." And furthermore: "that Havelaar had disturbed him in his pressing duties!"
> dat-clause + pluperfect: The dat-clause ends with the pluperfect had ... kennis gegeven ('had not first informed'). van de zaak die voorkwam... nests a relative clause closing with voorkwam.
> schipperen — to 'hush up / compromise': schipperen literally 'to manoeuvre like a skipper', figuratively to compromise, fudge, or smooth a matter over. Multatuli puts it in scare-quotes to expose Slymering's wish to avoid a written record.

De man was zeker bezig met een jaarverslag over rustige rust!  
The man was surely busy with an annual report on peaceful peace!
> rustige rust — 'peaceful peace': rust en orde ('peace and order') was the colonial bureaucracy's watchword. Multatuli mocks it with the tautology rustige rust, a jab at officials who report calm precisely while injustice festers.

Ik heb dien brief voor my liggen en vertrouw myn oogen niet.  
I have that letter lying before me and cannot believe my eyes.
> hebben + bare infinitive liggen: hebben ... liggen ('have lying') uses a bare infinitive of position to mean 'I have that letter lying before me'. dien is the old masculine accusative of the demonstrative die ('that letter'); the definite article in this position would be den.

Ik herlees den brief van den adsistent-resident van Lebak ik plaats hèm en den resident van Bantam, Havelaar en Slymering naast elkander...  
I read again the letter from the assistant-resident of Lebak — I set him and the resident of Bantam, Havelaar and Slymering, side by side ...
> Present tense + accusative den: herlees and plaats are vivid presents that bring the past into the reader's now. den brief and den resident carry the old accusative article; hèm is stressed ('him').

Die Sjaalman is een gemeene schooier!  
That Sjaalman is a common vagabond!
> gemeene schooier — period vocabulary: gemeen here means 'common, vulgar, base' (not 'mean' in the modern narrow sense); schooier is a tramp or vagabond. Droogstoppel's voice returns, contemptuous of Sjaalman.

Ge moet weten, lezer, dat Bastiaans weer dikwyls niet op 't kantoor komt, omdat hy de jicht heeft.  
You must know, reader, that Bastiaans is again often absent from the office, because he has the gout.
> Modal moeten + nested omdat: moet weten ('must know') is the modal with bare infinitive. The dat-clause sends komt to the end, and the further omdat-clause likewise ends with heeft.

Daar ik nu een gewetenszaak maak van het wegwerpen der fondsen van de firma--Last & Co--want in principes ben ik onwrikbaar, kwam ik eergister op 't denkbeeld dat Sjaalman toch een tamelyk goede hand schryft, en daar hy er zoo armoedig uitziet, en dus voor matig loon wel zou te krygen zyn, begreep ik aan de firma verplicht te wezen, op de goedkoopste wys in de vervanging van Bastiaans te voorzien.  
Now, since I make it a matter of conscience not to throw away the funds of the firm — Last & Co. — for in principle I am unshakable, the day before yesterday it occurred to me that Sjaalman writes a tolerably good hand after all, and since he looks so poverty-stricken, and so might well be had for a modest wage, I judged myself bound to the firm to provide for Bastiaans's replacement in the cheapest way.
> Causal daar + main-clause inversion: daar ('since') opens the long subordinate clause; after it the main clause inverts to kwam ik. gewetenszaak ('matter of conscience') is a noun compound (geweten + zaak).
> Nominalized infinitive + genitive der: het wegwerpen ('the throwing away') is an infinitive used as a noun; der fondsen is the genitive ('of the funds'). begreep ... te voorzien shows a te-infinitive complement.

Ik ging dus naar de Lange-leidsche-dwarsstraat.  
So I went to the Lange-leidsche-dwarsstraat.

De vrouw van den winkel was voor, doch scheen me niet te herkennen, schoon ik haar onlangs heel duidelyk had gezegd dat ik m'nheer Droogstoppel was, Makelaar in koffi, van de Lauriergracht.  
The woman of the shop was at the front, but did not seem to recognize me, although I had recently told her very plainly that I was Mijnheer Droogstoppel, coffee broker, of the Lauriergracht.
> Concessive schoon + pluperfect: schoon (modern hoewel, 'although') is a concessive conjunction sending the verb to the end; had gezegd is the pluperfect. doch scheen me niet te herkennen uses scheen + te-infinitive.

Er is altyd iets stuitends in dat niet herkennen, maar omdat het nu wat minder koud is, en ik den vorigen keer myn jas met bont aanhad, schryf ik het dááraan toe, en trek 't my niet aan ... de beleediging, meen ik.  
There is always something offensive in such non-recognition, but because it is rather less cold now, and because the last time I had on my fur-lined coat, I put it down to that, and do not take it to heart ... the affront, I mean.
> Two separable verbs: toeschrijven & aantrekken: toeschrijven ('attribute') and zich aantrekken ('take to heart', reflexive) both split. dááraan is a stressed pronominal adverb ('to that'). niet negates the second verb.

Ik zei dus nogeens, dat ik m'nheer Droogsstoppel was, Makelaar in Koffi van de Lauriergracht, en verzocht haar te gaan zien of die Sjaalman thuis was, omdat ik niet weer zooals onlangs wilde te doen hebben met zyn vrouw, die altyd ontevreden is. Maar die uitdraagster weigerde naar-boven te gaan.  
So I said once more that I was Mijnheer Droogstoppel, coffee broker of the Lauriergracht, and asked her to go and see whether that Sjaalman was at home, since I did not wish, as recently, to have anything to do with his wife, who is always discontented. But that secondhand-dealer woman refused to go upstairs.
> te-infinitive + embedded of-question: verzocht ... te gaan zien ('asked her to go and see') has a te-infinitive; the embedded of-question (whether) sends was to the end. niet weer ... wilde te doen hebben adds a modal with te.
> uitdraagster — secondhand dealer: An uitdraagster is a woman who deals in secondhand goods (an uitdragerij being a junk/secondhand shop). The detail fixes Sjaalman's poverty and the shabby quarter he lives in.

"Ze kon niet den heelen dag trappen klimmen voor dat bedelvolk, zeide zy, ik moest maar zelf gaan zien." En daar volgde weer een beschryving van de trappen en portalen, die ik volstrekt niet noodig had, want ik herken altyd een plaats waar ik eens geweest ben, omdat ik altyd zoo op alles acht geef.  
"She could not be climbing stairs all day long for that beggarly lot," she said; "I should just go and see for myself." And then followed yet another description of the stairs and landings, which I did not need in the least, for I always recognize a place where I have once been, because I always pay such close attention to everything.
> Modal kon + bare infinitive klimmen: kon ... klimmen ('could not be climbing') is the modal kunnen with a bare infinitive. den heelen dag ('the whole day') is an accusative-of-duration phrase keeping the old den ... -en.
> Relative adverb waar + perfect with zijn: waar ('where') relativizes plaats; geweest ben is the perfect of zijn ('have been'), which forms its perfect with zijn, not hebben.

Dit heb ik my aangewend in de zaken.  
This I have trained myself to in business.
> Fronted object + reflexive aanwennen: Dit fronts, inverting to heb ik. zich aanwennen ('to train/accustom oneself to') is reflexive (my) and separable, its participle aangewend at the clause end.

Ik klom dus de trappen op, en klopte aan de bekende deur, die terugweek.  
So I climbed the stairs and knocked at the familiar door, which gave way.
> Separable opklimmen + relative die: opklimmen splits (klom ... op). The relative die (for de-word deur) closes with the strong past terugweek (separable terugwijken, 'to give way').

Ik trad binnen, en daar ik niemand in de kamer vond, zag ik eens rond.  
I stepped inside, and since I found no one in the room, I had a look around.
> daar = 'since' (subordinator): Here daar is the literary causal conjunction 'since/because', which sends its verb (vond) to the clause-final position. The main clause that follows then opens with the verb (zag ik), keeping the finite verb in second position overall.
> Separable verb: binnentreden: Binnentreden ('to step inside') splits in a finite main clause: the prefix binnen drops to the end while the stem trad stands second. Trad is the strong simple past of treden.

Nu, veel te zien was er niet.  
Now, there was not much to see.
> Fronting plus existential er: The object phrase veel te zien ('much to see') is fronted for emphasis, pushing the subject behind the verb; er is the existential 'there'. Literally: 'much to see there was not'.

Er hing een half broekje met geborduurde strook over een stoel ... wat hoeven zulke menschen geborduurde broekjes te dragen?  
A pair of half-trousers with an embroidered border hung over a chair ... what need have such people to wear embroidered breeches?
> Diminutive broekje: Broekje is the diminutive of broek ('trousers'), formed with -je and therefore neuter. The diminutive here is neutral in size rather than affectionate; broekjes is its plural.
> Period spelling: menschen: Menschen ('people') shows the 19th-century sch- spelling where modern Dutch writes mensen. The sound is just /s/; the silent ch is a frozen orthographic relic.
> hoeven te + infinitive: Hoeven ('to need to') governs a te-infinitive (te dragen) parked at the clause end. It is the typical verb of necessity used in questions and negatives.

In een hoek stond een niet zeer zware reiskoffer, dien ik in gedachte aan het hengsel vatte, en op den schoorsteenmantel lagen eenige boeken die ik eens inzag.  
In a corner stood a not very heavy travelling trunk, which I gauged in my mind by its handle, and on the mantelpiece lay a few books that I glanced over.
> Case remnant: accusative dien: Dien is the old masculine accusative of the relative die, agreeing with reiskoffer as the object 'which I gripped'. Modern Dutch has levelled this to plain die.
> Case remnant: dative den: After the preposition op, the article takes the old masculine/dative form den (op den schoorsteenmantel). In 1860 prose den routinely marks an object or post-prepositional noun; modern Dutch uses de.
> Inversion after a fronted adverbial: The clause opens with the place phrase op den schoorsteenmantel, so the verb lagen comes before its subject eenige boeken — the verb-second rule forcing subject-verb inversion.

Een wonderlyke verzameling!  
A strange collection!
> Period spelling: -lyke for -lijke: Wonderlyke ('strange') writes y where modern Dutch writes ij (wonderlijke). This y-for-ij is the single most pervasive feature of the 1860 page.

Een paar deelen van Byron, Horatius, Bastiat, Béranger, en ... raad eens? Een bybel, een kompleete bybel, met de apokriefe boeken er in!  
A few volumes of Byron, Horace, Bastiat, Béranger, and ... can you guess? A Bible — a complete Bible, with the apocryphal books in it!
> Split pronominal adverb: er ... in: Er ... in is the pronominal adverb erin ('in it') pulled apart, with er early and in at the end. Dutch routinely splits these er-/daar- + preposition forms across the clause.
> raad eens = 'guess': Raad is the imperative of raden ('to guess'); the particle eens softens it to a chatty 'go on, guess'. Note this raden is unrelated to the noun raad ('advice/counsel') seen elsewhere in the chapter.

Dàt had ik by Sjaalman niet verwacht.  
That I had not expected of Sjaalman.
> Fronted object dàt + pluperfect: The object dàt is fronted for emphasis (the grave accent marks the stress), forcing inversion: had ik. Had ... verwacht is the pluperfect — past auxiliary plus the participle verwacht at the end.
> Period spelling: by: By is the 1860 spelling of modern bij ('with/at/of'), another instance of y standing for ij.

En er scheen in gelezen te zyn ook, want ik vond veel aanteekeningen op losse stukken papier, die betrekking hadden op de Schrift--hy zegt dat Eva tweemaal ter-wereld kwam ... de man is gek!--nu, alles was van dezelfde hand als de stukken in dat verwenschte pak.  
And it seemed to have been read in, too, for I found many annotations on loose sheets of paper that bore on the Scriptures — he says that Eve came into the world twice ... the man is mad! — well, it was all in the same hand as the papers in that accursed bundle.
> Impersonal passive infinitive: Literally 'there seemed to have been read in it' — an impersonal construction with no real subject, built on the passive infinitive gelezen te zyn ('to have been read'). Dummy er fills the subject slot.
> Idiom: betrekking hebben op: Betrekking hebben op means 'to bear/relate to'. Here die (relative, agreeing with the de-word plural aanteekeningen) opens a verb-final clause, so hadden lands before the fixed phrase.

Vooral 't boek van Job scheen hy yverig bestudeerd te hebben, want daar gaapten de bladen.  
The book of Job in particular he seemed to have studied diligently, for there the pages gaped open.
> schijnen + perfect te-infinitive: Schijnen ('to seem') takes a te-infinitive; here the whole perfect infinitive bestudeerd te hebben ('to have studied') sits at the end. Fronting the object 't boek van Job triggers the inversion scheen hy.
> yverig and gapende bladen: Yverig (modern ijverig) means 'diligently'. The image daar gaapten de bladen ('there the pages gaped') means the well-thumbed book fell open by itself — physical proof of frequent reading.

Ik denk dat hy de hand des Heeren begint te voelen, en daarom door lektuur in de heilige boeken zich wil verzoenen met God. Ik heb er niets tegen.  
I believe he is beginning to feel the hand of the Lord, and that this is why he wishes to be reconciled with God through reading in the holy books. I have nothing against it.
> Genitive: des Heeren: Des Heeren is the old genitive 'of the Lord' (des is the masculine/neuter genitive article, with -en on the noun). This frozen biblical genitive survives in solemn 1860 prose where modern Dutch says van de Heer.
> Reflexive zich with a modal: Zich verzoenen ('to reconcile oneself') is reflexive; zich is the 3rd-person reflexive pronoun. The modal wil sends the main verb verzoenen to the end as a bare infinitive.
> Split er ... tegen: Er ... tegen is the pronominal adverb ertegen ('against it') split around the negation niets. The idiom ergens niets tegen hebben means 'to have no objection'.

Maar, zoo al wachtende, viel myn oog op een dames-werkdoosje, dat op tafel stond. Zonder erg bezag ik dat.  
But while I sat waiting, my eye fell on a lady's workbox standing on the table. Without any harm in it, I looked the thing over.
> Present participle: wachtende: Wachtende is the present participle of wachten ('waiting'); the -end(e) form names an action in progress. The phrase zoo al wachtende means 'while thus waiting'.
> Separable verb: opvallen / op ... vallen: Here vallen op ('to fall on') describes the gaze landing; the prepositional op closes the clause while the fronted manner-clause forces inversion viel myn oog. Myn is the 1860 spelling of mijn.
> Compound + diminutive: Dames-werkdoosje glues dames ('lady's') + werk ('work') + doosje, the diminutive of doos ('box'). Dutch builds such right-headed compounds freely into a single word.

Er waren een paar half-afgewerkte kinderkousjes in, en een tal van zotte verzen. Ook een brief aan Sjaalmans vrouw, zooals uit het opschrift bleek.  
Inside were a couple of half-finished children's stockings, and a heap of silly verses. Also a letter to Sjaalman's wife, as the heading showed.
> Diminutive plural: kousjes: Kousjes is the diminutive plural of kous ('stocking'), compounded with kinder- ('children's'). Diminutive plurals always end in -jes/-tjes.
> zooals clause sends verb to the end: Zooals ('as') is a subordinator, so its verb bleek (simple past of blijken, 'to appear/be evident') stands at the clause end. Bleek is a strong past with vowel change.

De brief was geopend, en zag er uit alsof men hem in drift had saamgeknepen.  
The letter had been opened, and looked as though someone had crumpled it together in a fit of temper.
> State passive with zijn/was: Was geopend describes the resulting state ('had been opened / was open') rather than the act of opening. The zijn-passive (here in the past, was + participle) names a condition, contrasting with the worden-process passive.
> alsof + pluperfect, verb-final: Alsof ('as if') is a subordinator pushing the verbs to the end; had ... saamgeknepen is the pluperfect of samenknijpen ('to crumple together'). Saam is an archaic form of samen.
> Indefinite subject men: Men ('one/someone/people') is the impersonal subject pronoun, used where English reaches for the passive or 'someone'. It always takes a singular verb.

Nu is myn vast principe, nooit iets te lezen dat niet aan my gericht is, omdat ik dit niet fatsoenlyk vind.  
Now it is a fixed principle of mine never to read anything not addressed to me, because I do not consider that decent.
> te + infinitive after a noun, and negation: Te lezen modifies principe ('a principle ... never to read'); nooit ('never') is the clause's single negative word. The relative clause dat ... gericht is sends its verb to the end.
> omdat sends the verb to the end: Omdat ('because') is a subordinating conjunction, so the finite verb vind moves to the clause-final slot after its object and predicate.

Ik doe het dan ook nooit als ik er geen belang by heb. Maar nu kreeg ik een ingeving dat het myn plicht was, dien brief eens intezien omdat de inhoud my misschien zou voorlichten omtrent de menschlievende bedoeling die me tot Sjaalman voerde.  
And so I never do it when I have no interest in the matter. But now I had a prompting that it was my duty to look this letter over for once, because its contents might perhaps enlighten me as to the charitable purpose that had brought me to Sjaalman.
> geen + split er ... by: Geen negates the indefinite noun belang ('interest'), and er ... by is the split pronominal adverb erbij. The idiom ergens belang bij hebben means 'to have an interest in something'.
> Joined te-infinitive: intezien: Intezien is the 1860 habit of writing the separable verb inzien together with its te ('in-te-zien' → intezien). Modern Dutch separates it: in te zien. Dien is again the accusative case remnant.
> Conditional with zou: Zou + infinitive (voorlichten) expresses the hypothetical 'might enlighten / would inform'. Zou is the past of zullen used to soften and to mark unreal conditions.

Ik dacht er aan, hoe toch de Heer altyd naby de Zynen is, daar Hy me hier onverwachts in de gelegenheid stelde, iets meer van dien man te weten te komen, en me dus behoedde voor 't gevaar een weldaad te bewyzen aan een onzedelyk persoon.  
I reflected on how the Lord is always near to His own, since here, unexpectedly, He had given me the chance to learn something more about this man, and thus guarded me against the danger of doing a kindness to an immoral person.
> Indirect question, verb-final: Hoe ('how') opens an embedded question, so the verb is moves to the end after the time adverb altyd and place naby de Zynen. De Zynen ('His own') is the substantivized possessive.
> Causal daar + separable idiom: Daar here is literary 'since/because', sending stelde to the end. In de gelegenheid stellen ('to put in a position to') is a fixed idiom; the weak past stelde (stem 'stel' + -de) governs a following te-infinitive.
> behoeden voor + reflexive object: Behoeden voor ('to guard against') is a fixed preposition pairing; me is the 1st-person reflexive/object pronoun. The fixed van-less preposition voor governs 't gevaar.

Ik let nauwkeurig op zulke vingerwyzingen van den Heer, en dit heeft me dikwyls veel nut in de zaken gedaan.  
I pay close attention to such pointings of the Lord, and this has often been of great use to me in business.
> Periphrastic genitive: van den Heer: Possession is here expressed with van + the dative form den ('of the Lord'). Den is the old masculine inflected article surviving after van.
> Present perfect with hebben: Heeft ... gedaan is the present perfect — present of hebben plus the participle gedaan at the end. Nut doen is an idiom 'to be of use'.

Tot myn groote verwondering zag ik, dat die vrouw van Sjaalman van deftige familie was, althans de brief was geteekend door een bloedverwant, wiens naam in Nederland aanzienlyk is, en ik was inderdaad opgetogen over den schoonen inhoud van dat schryven.  
To my great astonishment I saw that this wife of Sjaalman's was of genteel family — at any rate the letter was signed by a relative whose name is of standing in the Netherlands — and I was indeed delighted at the fine contents of that writing.
> Genitive relative: wiens: Wiens ('whose') is the masculine genitive relative pronoun, opening a verb-final clause where is lands at the end. It belongs to the heavier, formal relative system.
> Inflected adjective + den: Schoonen carries both the attributive -e ending and an old -n agreeing with the masculine accusative/dative inhoud after the preposition over. In 1860 the article (den) and adjective could still take this masculine -(e)n.
> deftig = 'genteel': Deftig means 'distinguished, well-bred, genteel' — a recurring word in this chapter as the snobbish narrator measures everyone's social standing. It is not the false friend 'hefty'.

Het scheen iemand te zyn, die yverig werkt voor den Heer, want hy schreef "dat de vrouw van Sjaalman zich moest laten scheiden van zulk een ellendeling, die haar armoed liet lyden, die zyn brood niet kon verdienen, die bovendien een schurk was, omdat hy schulden had ... dat de schryver van den brief met haar toestand begaan was, hoewel zy zich dat lot had op den hals gehaald door eigen schuld, daar ze den Heer had verlaten, en Sjaalman aanhing ... dat ze tot den Heer moest terugkeeren, en dat dan de heele familie misschien de handen zou inéénslaan, om haar naaiwerk te bezorgen. Maar vóór alles moest ze scheiden van dien Sjaalman, die een ware schande was voor de familie."  
He seemed to be someone who labors zealously for the Lord, for he wrote "that Sjaalman's wife ought to have herself divorced from such a wretch, who left her to suffer poverty, who could not earn his bread, who was moreover a scoundrel because he had debts ... that the writer of the letter was moved by her condition, although she had brought this lot upon herself through her own fault, since she had forsaken the Lord and clung to Sjaalman ... that she ought to return to the Lord, and that then the whole family might perhaps join hands to procure her some sewing-work. But before all else she must part from this Sjaalman, who was a true disgrace to the family."
> Causative laten + reflexive: Zich laten scheiden literally 'have oneself divorced' — laten is the causative auxiliary 'to have/let something be done', taking a bare infinitive (scheiden). The modal moest stacks the verbs at the clause end.
> laten as 'let/allow' + bare infinitive: Here liet lyden means 'left her to suffer / made her suffer poverty'; laten again takes a bare infinitive (lyden, modern lijden). The relative die opens a verb-final clause.
> van + den for possession: Van den brief ('of the letter') again uses the inflected den after van. Schryver is the 1860 spelling of schrijver ('writer').
> Conditional + separable inéénslaan: Zou ... inéénslaan is conditional 'would join hands'; the separable verb ineenslaan parks its prefix-and-stem at the end after the modal zou. The purpose clause om ... te bezorgen follows.

Kortom, in de kerk zelf was niet meer stichting te halen dan er in dien brief stond.  
In short, no more edification was to be had in church itself than stood in that letter.
> te-infinitive of availability + comparative dan: Was ... te halen means 'was to be had / could be got' — a passive-like te-infinitive. The comparison niet meer ... dan ('no more ... than') closes with the verb-final clause er in dien brief stond.
> stichting = 'edification': In this religious sense stichting means spiritual 'edification', not the modern everyday meaning 'foundation/charity'. The narrator sardonically finds more uplift in the cruel letter than in church.

Ik wist genoeg, en was dankbaar dat ik op zoo wonderbare wys was gewaarschuwd.  
I knew enough, and was grateful that I had been warned in so marvelous a way.
> State passive in the past: was gewaarschuwd: Was gewaarschuwd ('had been warned') is the zijn-passive (state passive), expressing the resulting state; the worden-passive past would be 'werd gewaarschuwd'. Op zoo wonderbare wys means 'in such a marvellous way'.

Zonder deze waarschuwing toch ware ik zeker weer 't slachtoffer geworden van myn goed hart.  
Without this warning I should surely have fallen victim once again to my good heart.
> Archaic conditional ware: Ware is the old subjunctive of zijn ('would have been'); ware ik ... geworden is a literary conditional perfect with the conditionalmeaning of zou ... geworden zijn. This subjunctive survives only in solemn or fixed phrasing.

Ik besloot dus nogmaals om Bastiaans maar te houden tot ik een geschikten vervanger vind, want ik zet niet gaarne iemand op-straat, en we kunnen op 't oogenblik geen bediende missen, omdat er zooveel by ons omgaat.  
So I resolved once more to keep Bastiaans on after all, until I find a suitable replacement, for I do not like to turn anyone out into the street, and we cannot spare a single clerk at the moment, because there is so much going on with us.
> Purpose om ... te with particle maar: Om ... te houden frames the purpose 'to keep on'; the resolve verb besloot governs it. The particle maar here softens to 'after all / for now', a flavouring word with no negative force.
> Inflected accusative -n: geschikten: Geschikten carries the old masculine accusative -(e)n on the adjective, agreeing with the de-word object vervanger ('replacement'). Modern Dutch would write geschikte.
> omdat + er + separable omgaan: Omdat sends the verb to the end; the separable omgaan ('to go on / happen') puts its stem gaat last with prefix om before it (er ... omgaat). Existential er fills the subject slot.

De lezer zal wel nieuwsgierig zyn, te weten hoe ik 't gemaakt heb op den laatsten krans, en of ik den triolet heb gevonden?  
The reader will surely be curious to know how I got on at the last meeting of the circle, and whether I found the triolet.
> Future/presumptive zullen: Zal ... zyn is zullen + infinitive; with the particle wel it reads less as a pure future than as a confident 'surely will be'. The infinitive zyn closes the clause.

Ik ben niet op den krans geweest.  
I was not at the circle.

Er zyn wonderlyke dingen voorgevallen: ik ben naar Driebergen geweest, met myn vrouw en Marie.  
Remarkable things have happened: I have been to Driebergen, with my wife and Marie.
> Perfect of a separable verb with zijn: Voorgevallen is the participle of voorvallen ('to happen'), which forms its perfect with zijn (zyn ... voorgevallen) because it denotes a change/event. Existential er opens the clause.

Myn schoonvader, de oude Last, de zoon van den eersten Last--toen de Meyers er nog in waren, maar die zyn er lang uit--had al zoo dikwyls gezegd, dat hy myn vrouw en Marie eens wilde zien.  
My father-in-law, old Last, the son of the first Last — back when the Meyers were still in the firm, but they have long been out of it — had so often said that he wished to see my wife and Marie for once.
> Ordinal + den + genitive van: Van den eersten Last shows the dative den plus the inflected ordinal eersten ('of the first Last'). The firm is named for its founders, and the narrator is fussy about the lineage.
> Pluperfect framing a modal bijzin: Had ... gezegd is the pluperfect; the dat-clause is verb-final, where the modal wilde sends zien to the very end (wilde zien). Eens here means 'for once / sometime', a softening particle.

Nu was 't vry goed weer, en myn vrees voor de liefdegeschiedenis waarmee Stern gedreigd had, bracht my op-eens weer die uitnoodiging in de gedachten.  
Now the weather was fairly good, and my dread of the love-story Stern had threatened me with suddenly brought that invitation back to mind.
> Pronominal relative waarmee: Waarmee ('with which') is the pronominal-adverb relative used for things instead of met + die. It opens a verb-final clause where the pluperfect gedreigd had lands at the end.
> Separable idiom: in de gedachten brengen: Bracht ('brought', strong past of brengen) frames the idiom iets in de gedachten brengen ('to bring something to mind'); the fronted Nu ... triggers inversion bracht my.

Ik sprak er over met onzen boekhouder, die een man is van veel ondervinding, en me na ryp beraad in overweging gaf, my op myn plan te beslapen.  
I spoke about it with our bookkeeper, who is a man of much experience, and who after mature deliberation advised me to sleep on my plan.
> in overweging geven + te-infinitive: In overweging geven ('to advise/suggest') governs a te-infinitive clause (te beslapen). Beslapen 'to sleep on (a plan)' is itself a transitive verb here; my is the reflexive 'my'.
> Non-restrictive relative die: Die ('who') agrees with the de-word boekhouder and opens a verb-final relative clause, with is pushed to the end after the predicate. Modern punctuation would set it off with commas as here.

Dit nam ik terstond voor, want ik ben snel in de uitvoering van myn besluiten.  
I resolved on this at once, for I am quick in carrying out my decisions.
> Separable voornemen, fronted object: Voornemen ('to resolve/intend') splits: the object Dit is fronted, nam (strong past of nemen) stands second, and the prefix voor drops to the end.

Den volgenden dag reeds zag ik in, hoe wys die raad geweest was, want de nacht had my op het denkbeeld gebracht, dat ik niet beter kon doen dan de beslissing uittestellen tot vrydag.  
The very next day I saw how wise that advice had been, for the night had brought me to the notion that I could do no better than to put off the decision until Friday.
> Adverbial accusative of time + inversion: Den volgenden dag ('the next day') is an old accusative-of-time phrase (note den and -en); fronting it inverts to zag ik in, with the separable prefix in stranded by the dat-clause.
> Comparative dan + joined te-infinitive: Niet beter ... dan ('no better than') is the comparison; uittestellen is the 1860 joined writing of uit te stellen ('to postpone'), the separable verb fused with its te.

Kortom, na rypelyk alles te hebben overwogen--er was veel vóór, maar ook veel tegen--zyn we gegaan, saturdag-middag, en maandag-morgen teruggekeerd.  
In short, after maturely weighing everything — there was much for it, but also much against — we went, on Saturday afternoon, and returned on Monday morning.
> na + perfect te-infinitive: Na + a perfect te-infinitive (te hebben overwogen) means 'after having weighed'. This na ... te hebben + participle pattern is the standard Dutch way of saying 'after doing'.
> Perfect of motion with zijn: Gaan ('to go') takes zijn in the perfect (zyn ... gegaan), as motion-and-change verbs do, not hebben. The fronted na-clause forces inversion zyn we.

Ik zou dit alles niet zoo uitvoerig verhalen, als 't niet in nauw verband stond met myn boek.  
I would not relate all this so circumstantially if it did not stand in close connection with my book.
> Counterfactual: zou + als-clause: This is an unreal conditional: the main clause zou ... verhalen ('would relate') pairs with the als-clause 't niet ... stond. Als sends stond to the clause end.

Ten-eerste hecht ik er aan, dat ge zoudt weten, waarom ik niet protesteer tegen de zotternyen die Stern den laatsten zondag zeker weer heeft uitgekraamd.--Wat is dat voor een vertelling, van iemand die wat hooren zou als hy dood was?  
In the first place, I am anxious that you should know why I do not protest against the absurdities Stern certainly trotted out again last Sunday. — What sort of tale is that, about a man who would hear something if he were dead?
> Archaic pronoun ge + 2nd-sg zoudt: Ge is the literary/archaic 'you' of 1860 prose, and zoudt is its old 2nd-person conditional ending. Modern Dutch uses je/jij with zou.
> Relative die + perfect of separable verb: Die agrees with the plural de-word zotternyen and opens a verb-final clause; uitkramen ('to trot out') forms its perfect heeft uitgekraamd, participle at the end.

Marie sprak er van. Ze had het van de Rosemeyertjes, die in suiker doen.--Ten-tweede, omdat ik nu op-nieuw de zekere overtuiging heb opgedaan, dat al die vertellingen over ellende en onrust in den Oost, klinkklare leugens zyn.  
Marie spoke of it. She had it from the little Rosemeyers, who are in sugar. — In the second place, because I have now afresh gained the certain conviction that all those tales of misery and unrest in the East are downright lies.
> Diminutive plural of a surname: Rosemeyertjes is the diminutive plural of the family name — 'the little Rosemeyers' — a familiar, slightly belittling way to name the younger members of a household.

Zoo ziet men, hoe 't reizen iemand in de gelegenheid stelt, de zaken goed te doorgronden.  
So one sees how travel puts a man in a position to fathom matters properly.
> Nominalized infinitive 't reizen + te-infinitive: 't Reizen ('travelling') is an infinitive used as a neuter noun (subject). In de gelegenheid stellen then governs the te-infinitive te doorgronden ('to fathom').

Saturdag-avend namelyk, had myn schoonvader een uitnoodiging aangenomen by een heer die vroeger in den Oost resident was, en nu op een groot buiten woont.  
On Saturday evening, that is, my father-in-law had accepted an invitation from a gentleman who had formerly been a Resident in the East, and who now lives on a great country estate.
> Relative die + verb-final, den Oost: Die opens a verb-final relative clause where was lands at the end. In den Oost ('in the East') keeps the dative den; the East means the Dutch East Indies.

Dáár zyn we geweest, en waarlyk, ik kan de lieve ontvangst niet genoeg roemen.  
There we went, and truly, I cannot praise the kind reception enough.
> Fronted Dáár + perfect of zijn: The stressed place adverb Dáár ('there') is fronted, inverting to zyn we; zyn ... geweest is the perfect of zijn ('have been'), which forms its own perfect with zijn. The accent marks emphatic deixis.
> Modal kan + niet genoeg: The modal kan sends the infinitive roemen ('to praise') to the end; niet genoeg ('not enough') is the negation. Lieve takes attributive -e before the de-word ontvangst.

Hy had zyn rytuig gezonden om ons aftehalen, en de koetsier had een rood vest aan.  
He had sent his carriage to fetch us, and the coachman wore a red waistcoat.
> om ... te with joined aftehalen: Om ... te frames the purpose 'to fetch us'; aftehalen is the 1860 fused writing of af te halen (separable afhalen + te). Gezonden is the perfect participle of zenden ('to send').
> Separable aanhebben: Aanhebben ('to have on / be wearing') splits: aan strands at the end while had stands second. The red waistcoat becomes a running comic motif of colonial display.

Nu was 't nog wel wat te guur om de buitenplaats te bezien, die prachtig moet wezen in den zomer, maar in 't huis zelf verlangde men naar niets meer, want er was vol-op van alles wat vermaak geeft: een billardzaal, een bibliotheekzaal, een overdekte yzeren glasgalery als broeikast, en de kakatoea zat op een kruk van zilver.  
Now it was still a bit too raw to look over the grounds, which must be magnificent in summer, but in the house itself one wanted for nothing more, for there was an abundance of everything that gives pleasure: a billiard-room, a library-room, a covered iron glass-gallery for a hothouse, and the cockatoo sat on a perch of silver.
> Inferential modal moet + wezen: Moet wezen here means 'must be / surely is' — an inference, not an obligation. Wezen is the older infinitive of zijn, common in 1860; the relative die opens the verb-final clause.
> Relative wat (no antecedent noun): Wat is the relative used after indefinite alles ('everything that...'); it opens a verb-final clause with geeft at the end. Wat/wie cover antecedents that aren't a definite de-/het-noun.

Ik had nooit zoo-iets gezien, en maakte terstond de opmerking, hoe toch altyd goed gedrag beloond wordt.  
I had never seen anything like it, and at once made the observation how good conduct is always rewarded after all.
> worden-passive in an indirect question: Beloond wordt is the process passive ('is rewarded'), worden + participle. Hoe opens an embedded clause, pushing wordt to the end after the participle beloond.

Die man had terdeeg op zyn zaken gepast, want hy had wel drie ridderorden.  
That man had thoroughly minded his affairs, for he had a good three orders of knighthood.
> Perfect of oppassen / op zijn zaken passen: Op zyn zaken passen ('to mind one's affairs') is the idiom; had ... gepast is its perfect. Terdeeg means 'thoroughly'.

Hy bezat een heerlyke buitenplaats, en bovendien een huis te Amsterdam.  
He possessed a splendid country estate, and besides that a house in Amsterdam.
> Simple past bezat + bovendien: Bezat is the strong simple past of bezitten ('to possess'), with vowel change. Bovendien ('besides') is an adverb of addition; een huis te Amsterdam uses te for 'in/at' a place name, a slightly formal usage.

Aan 't souper was alles getruffeld, en ook de bedienden aan tafel hadden roode vesten aan, net als de koetsier.  
At supper everything was truffled, and the servants at table too wore red waistcoats, just like the coachman.
> getruffeld = 'truffled': Getruffeld means the food was prepared with truffles — the height of luxury dining. It is the past participle of the (rare) verb truffelen, used adjectivally.
> Separable aanhebben (plural): Again the separable aanhebben with aan stranded at the end: 'wore red waistcoats'. Net als means 'just like'.

Daar ik veel belang stel in indische zaken--om de koffi--bracht ik dáárop het gesprek, en zag al heel spoedig waaraan ik me te houden had.  
Since I take much interest in Indies matters — on account of the coffee — I brought the conversation round to that, and very soon saw where I stood.
> Causal daar + idiom belang stellen in: Daar opens a causal clause ('since'), sending stel to the end. Belang stellen in ('to take an interest in') is a fixed verb-preposition idiom.
> Pronominal-adverb relative waaraan + idiom: Waaraan ('to what') is the relative pronominal adverb; zich aan iets te houden hebben means 'to know where one stands'. The verb-final clause closes with had.

Die resident heeft me gezegd, dat hy 't in den Oost altyd heel goed heeft gehad, en dat er dus geen woord waar is aan al die vertellingen over ontevredenheid onder de bevolking.  
That Resident told me that he had always had it very good in the East, and that there is therefore not a word of truth in all those tales of discontent among the population.
> geen + existential er: Geen negates the indefinite woord ('not a word'); existential er anchors the clause and the dat-subordinator sends is to the end.

Ik bracht het gesprek op Sjaalman.  
I brought the conversation round to Sjaalman.

Hy kende hem, en wel van een zeer ongunstige zyde.  
He knew him, and indeed from a very unfavorable side.
> Attributive -e on a chain of adjectives: Ongunstige takes -e agreeing with the de-word zyde ('side') after the indefinite article; zeer ('very') modifies it without inflecting. Wel here means 'indeed/certainly'.

Hy verzekerde my, dat men zeer goed had gedaan dien man wegtejagen, want hy was een zeer ontevreden persoon, die altyd op alles aanmerking maakte, terwyl er bovendien veel viel aftekeuren in zyn eigen gedrag.  
He assured me that they had done very well to drive that man away, for he was a very discontented person who always found fault with everything, while there was besides much to censure in his own conduct.
> Joined wegtejagen after 'goed gedaan': Wegtejagen is the 1860 fused weg te jagen ('to drive away'), the separable wegjagen with te. The impersonal men plus the pluperfect had gedaan frames it; dien is the accusative case remnant.
> terwijl + te-infinitive of availability: Terwyl ('while/whereas') sends its verb to the end; viel ... aftekeuren combines the idiom er valt iets af te keuren ('there is something to censure') with the joined spelling aftekeuren.

Hy schaakte namelyk telkens meisjes, en bracht die dan by zyn eigen vrouw, en hy betaalde zyn schulden niet, wat toch zeer onfatsoenlyk is.  
That is to say, he was forever carrying off young girls, and then bringing them home to his own wife, and he did not pay his debts, which is surely most improper.
> schaken = 'to abduct/carry off': Schaken (here past schaakte) means to abduct or elope with someone — a false friend, unrelated to the homonym schaken 'to play chess'. The slander accuses Sjaalman of carrying off young women.
> niet negating a definite object: Because schulden is a definite/specific plural here, the clause is negated with niet placed after the object, not geen. Contrast geen schulden ('no debts').

Daar ik nu uit den brief dien ik gelezen had, zoo juist wist hoe gegrond al die beschuldigingen waren, deed het me groot genoegen, te zien dat ik de zaken zoo goed beoordeeld had, en was ik zeer tevreden met myzelf.  
Since now, from the letter I had read, I knew so precisely how well-founded all those accusations were, it gave me great pleasure to see that I had judged the matter so rightly, and I was very satisfied with myself.
> Long fronted daar-clause + inversion: A heavy causal daar-clause fills the first position, so the main clause inverts to deed het ('it gave'). Dien is the accusative relative case remnant agreeing with brief.
> Emphatic reflexive myzelf: Myzelf ('myself') is the emphatic 1st-person reflexive. The self-satisfaction is the chapter's running joke about the narrator's complacency.

Ik ben hiervoor dan ook bekend by myn pilaar ... dat ik altyd zoo juist oordeel, meen ik.  
I am known for this, indeed, at my pillar ... for always judging so accurately, I mean.

Die resident en zyn vrouw waren lieve, gulle menschen.  
That Resident and his wife were dear, open-handed people.

Ze verhaalden ons veel van hun levenswys in den Oost. Het moet daar toch wel aangenaam wezen.  
They told us a great deal about their way of life in the East. It must really be quite pleasant there.
> Inferential moet + impersonal het: Moet ... wezen here is inferential ('must surely be'), not obligation; wezen is the archaic infinitive of zijn. The subject het is the dummy/impersonal 'it', and the particles toch wel add the narrator's wistful conviction.

Zy zeiden dat hun buitenplaats by Driebergen niet half zoo groot was als hun "erf", zooals ze dat noemden, in de binnenlanden van Java, en dat daartoe wel honderd menschen noodig waren tot onderhoud.  
They said that their estate near Driebergen was not half so large as their "holding," as they called it, in the interior of Java, and that fully a hundred people were needed to keep it up.
> Pronominal adverb daartoe + dat-clause: Daartoe ('for that') is the pronominal adverb tying back to the estate; dat sends waren to the end. Tot onderhoud ('for upkeep') doubles the purpose.

Maar--en dit is wel een bewys hoe bemind ze waren--dat deden die menschen geheel om-niet, en alleen uit genegenheid.  
But — and this is surely a proof of how beloved they were — those people did all of it entirely for nothing, and solely out of affection.
> om niet = 'for free': Om niet means 'for nothing, gratis'. The bitter irony is that a hundred Javanese labour for the Resident gratis — which the company politely reframes as devotion (uit genegenheid).

Ook verhaalden zy, dat by hun vertrek de verkoop hunner meubelen wel tienmaal meer dan de waarde had opgebracht, omdat de Inlandsche Hoofden zoo graag een aandenken koopen van een resident die goed voor hen geweest is.  
They also told us that at their departure the sale of their furniture had fetched fully ten times more than its worth, because the Native Chiefs are so eager to buy a keepsake of a Resident who has been good to them.
> Genitive possessive: hunner: Hunner is the old genitive of the possessive hun ('of their furniture'), an inflected -er form alive in 1860 formal prose. Modern Dutch says van hun meubels.

Ik zei dit later aan Stern, die beweerde dat het door dwang geschiedde, en dat hy dit uit Sjaalmans pak bewyzen kon. Maar ik heb hem gezegd, dat die Sjaalman een lasteraar is, dat hy meisjes heeft geschaakt--even als die jonge Duitscher by Busselinck & Waterman--en dat ik volstrekt geen waarde hecht aan zyn oordeel, want dat ik nu van een resident zelf had gehoord hoe de zaken stonden, en dus van m'nheer Sjaalman niets te leeren had.  
I said this afterward to Stern, who maintained that it happened through compulsion, and that he could prove it from Sjaalman's parcel. But I told him that this Sjaalman is a slanderer, that he had carried off young girls — just like that young German at Busselinck & Waterman — and that I attach absolutely no value to his judgment, for I had now heard from a Resident himself how matters stood, and so had nothing to learn from Mr. Sjaalman.
> geschieden + door (agent): Geschiedde (past of geschieden, 'to happen/come to pass') is an elevated verb; door dwang ('through compulsion') names the cause, the way door marks the agent in a passive. The dat-clause is verb-final.

Er waren daar nog meer menschen uit den Oost, onder anderen een heer die heel ryk was, en nog altyd veel geld verdiende aan thee, die de Javanen voor hem moeten maken voor weinig geld, en die de Regeering van hem koopt voor hoogen prys, om de werkzaamheid van die Javanen aantemoedigen.  
There were still more people from the East there, among others a gentleman who was very rich, and still earned a great deal of money from tea, which the Javanese have to make for him for little money, and which the Government buys from him at a high price, in order to encourage the industry of those Javanese.
> Relative die (object) + modal: Die is the relative object 'which' (referring to thee); the real subject de Javanen follows, with the modal moeten and infinitive maken at the end. Word order makes the Javanese the compelled producers.

Ook die heer was zeer boos op al de ontevreden menschen, die gedurig spreken en schryven tegen de Regeering.  
That gentleman too was very angry at all the discontented people who continually speak and write against the Government.
> Relative die (plural) + present tense: Die agrees with the plural de-word menschen and opens a verb-final relative clause where the present-tense verbs spreken en schryven stand at the end. Boos op ('angry at') is the fixed preposition pairing.

Hy kon 't bestuur van de kolonien niet genoeg roemen, want hy zei overtuigd te wezen dat er veel verloren werd op de thee die men van hem kocht, en dat het dus een ware edelmoedigheid was, by voortduring een zoo hoogen prys te betalen voor een artikel dat eigenlyk weinig waarde heeft, en dat hyzelf dan ook niet lustte, want hy dronk altyd chinesche thee.  
He could not praise the administration of the colonies enough, for he said he was convinced that much was lost on the tea they bought from him, and that it was therefore a true magnanimity to go on paying so high a price for an article that is really of little worth, and that he himself did not even care for, since he always drank Chinese tea.
> Impersonal worden-passive in the past: Verloren werd ('was lost') is the process passive, past tense werd + participle, with dummy er as subject. The dat-clause sends werd to the end.
> lusten = 'to care for / like (food)': Lusten (past lustte) specifically means to like the taste of food or drink. The capping irony: he sells tea he himself won't drink, preferring Chinese tea. Hyzelf is the emphatic 'he himself'.

Ook zeide hy dat de Gouverneur-generaal die de zoogenaamde theekontrakten had verlengd, in weerwil van de berekening dat er door 't Land zooveel verloren wordt op die zaken, zulk een bekwaam braaf mensch was, en vooral zulk een trouw vriend voor wie hem vroeger gekend hadden. Want die Gouverneur-generaal had zich volstrekt niet gestoord aan de praatjes over 't verlies op de thee, en hem, toen er spraak was van de intrekking dier kontrakten, ik geloof in 1846, een grooten dienst gedaan door te bepalen dat men maar altyd zou voortgaan met het koopen van zyn thee.  
He also said that the Governor-General who had renewed the so-called tea-contracts, in spite of the reckoning that the Country loses so much on those dealings, was such an able, honest man, and above all such a faithful friend to those who had known him in earlier days. For that Governor-General had paid no heed at all to the talk about the loss on the tea, and had done him a great service, when there was talk of canceling those contracts — in 1846, I believe — by ordaining that they should simply go on buying his tea.
> worden-passive + agentive door 't Land: Verloren wordt is again the process passive; door 't Land ('by the Country') marks the agent that bears the loss. 't is the clitic reduction of het.

"Ja, riep hy uit, het hart bloedt me als ik zulke edele menschen hoor lasteren! Als hy er niet geweest was, liep ik nu te-voet met vrouw en kinderen." Toen liet hy zyn barouchet voorkomen, en die zag er zóó keurig uit, en de paarden staken zóó goed in 't vleesch, dat ik best begrypen kan, hoe men gloeit van dankbaarheid voor zulk een Gouverneur-generaal.  
"Yes," he cried out, "my heart bleeds when I hear such noble men slandered! If it had not been for him, I should now be going on foot with my wife and children." Then he had his barouche brought round, and it looked so trim, and the horses were so well filled out in the flesh, that I can well understand how one glows with gratitude for such a Governor-General.
> Ethical dative me: Het hart bloedt me ('my heart bleeds') uses an old dative me where English uses a possessive 'my'. This 'dative of feeling' is idiomatic in expressions of bodily and emotional reaction.
> Counterfactual als-clause + present 'liep': An unreal conditional: the als-clause is pluperfect (geweest was), and the main clause uses liep ('would now be walking') for the contrary-to-fact present. Inverted word order liep ik follows the fronted condition.
> barouchet (barouche): A barouchet/barouche is a fashionable four-wheeled open carriage — another marker of conspicuous colonial wealth, like the red waistcoats and the silver perch.

Het doet inde ziel goed, het oog te vestigen op zoo liefelyke aandoeningen, vooral wanneer men die vergelykt met dat verwenschte morren en klagen van wezens als zoo'n Sjaalman.  
It does the soul good to fix the eye upon such lovely sentiments, especially when one compares them with that accursed grumbling and complaining of creatures like that Sjaalman.
> te-infinitive after impersonal 'het doet goed': The dummy het ('it does the soul good') is filled out by the te-infinitive het oog te vestigen op ('to fix the eye upon'). Vergelykt is 1860 spelling of vergelijkt.
> zo'n = zo een: Zoo'n (modern zo'n) is the contraction of zoo een 'such a'. The dismissive zoo'n Sjaalman ('a fellow like Sjaalman') drips with the narrator's contempt.

Den volgenden dag bracht die resident ons een bezoek terug, en ook die heer voor wien de Javanen thee maken. 't Zyn beste menschen, en toch deftig van belang!  
The next day that Resident paid us a return visit, and so did that gentleman for whom the Javanese make tea. They are the very best of people, and yet of considerable standing!
> Formal relative voor wien: Voor wien ('for whom') uses the inflected accusative wien after a preposition for a person — the heavier, formal relative. Modern Dutch says voor wie. The clause is verb-final (maken at the end).
> deftig van belang: Deftig van belang means 'of considerable standing/distinction'. The phrase, like deftige familie earlier, fixes social rank — the narrator's true measure of worth.

Beiden tegelyk vroegen zy met welken trein we dachten aantekomen te Amsterdam? Wy begrepen niet wat dit beteekenen moest, maar later werd het ons duidelyk, want toen we maandagmorgen daar aankwamen, waren er aan de station twee bedienden, één met een rood vest, en één met een geel vest, die tegelyk ons zeiden met den telegraaf last te hebben bekomen, ons aftehalen met rytuig.  
Both at once asked us by which train we expected to arrive at Amsterdam. We did not understand what this was meant to signify, but later it became clear to us, for when we arrived there on Monday morning, there were at the station two servants, one with a red waistcoat and one with a yellow waistcoat, who both at once told us that they had received orders by telegraph to fetch us with a carriage.
> Formal interrogative welken + joined aantekomen: Welken ('which', inflected accusative) is the formal interrogative/relative agreeing with the de-word trein. Aantekomen is the fused aan te komen ('to arrive'). The embedded question is verb-final.
> Stacked te-infinitives: Two te-infinitives stack: te hebben bekomen ('to have received') and the joined aftehalen ('to fetch'). Bekomen here is the older verb 'to receive/obtain', a false friend to English 'become'.

Myn vrouw was konfuus, en ik dacht er aan, wat Busselinck en Waterman zouden gezegd hebben, als ze dat gezien hadden ... dat er twee rytuigen tegelyk voor ons waren, meen ik.  
My wife was flustered, and I thought of what Busselinck and Waterman would have said if they had seen it ... that there were two carriages at once for us, I mean.
> Split er ... aan + conditional perfect: Eraan ('about it') is split as er ... aan around the verb (denken aan, 'to think about'). The embedded clause zouden gezegd hebben is a conditional perfect ('would have said'), verb cluster at the end.
> konfuus = 'flustered': Konfuus (a Latinate loan, modern confuus) means 'embarrassed, flustered', not English 'confused' in the sense of 'puzzled'. The wife is overwhelmed by the showy double reception.

Maar 't was niet gemakkelyk een keus te doen, want ik kon niet besluiten een der partyen te krenken, door 't afwyzen van een zoo lieve attentie.  
But it was not easy to make a choice, for I could not bring myself to slight either party by refusing so kind an attention.
> Genitive partitive: een der partyen: Een der partyen ('one of the parties') uses the old genitive der instead of van de. Besluiten ('to decide') governs the te-infinitive te krenken ('to offend').

Goede raad was duur. Maar ik heb my uit die hoogstmoeielyke omstandigheid alweer gered.  
Good counsel was hard to come by. But I extricated myself once again from that most awkward predicament.
> Reflexive perfect: zich redden: Zich redden ('to extricate/save oneself') is reflexive; heb my ... gered is its perfect. Alweer ('once again') needles at the narrator's self-congratulation.
> Proverb: goede raad is duur: Goede raad was duur is a set proverb, literally 'good advice was expensive', meaning 'it was hard to know what to do'. Here raad is 'counsel/advice', the homonym distinct from raden 'to guess'.

Ik heb myn vrouw en Marie in 't roode rytuig gezet--in den wagen van 't rooie vest, meen ik--en ik ben in 't gele gaan zitten ... in 't gele rytuig, meen ik.  
I put my wife and Marie in the red carriage — in the coach of the red waistcoat, I mean — and I went and sat in the yellow ... in the yellow carriage, I mean.
> Colloquial -ie: rooie: Rooie is the colloquial/spoken inflected form of rood ('red') beside the standard roode — Multatuli mimicking the narrator's chatty self-correction (meen ik). 't is reduced het.

Wat die paarden liepen! Op de Weesperstraat, waar 't altyd zoo vuil is, vloog de modder rechts en links huizenhoog, en, alsof weer 't spel sprak, daar liep die schooierige Sjaalman, in gebogen houding, met gebukt hoofd, en ik zag hoe hy met de mouw van zyn kaal jasje, zyn bleek gelaat trachtte te reinigen van de spatten.  
How those horses ran! On the Weesperstraat, where it is always so filthy, the mud flew right and left as high as the houses, and, as though chance were speaking once more, there walked that shabby Sjaalman, stooped over, with bowed head, and I saw how, with the sleeve of his threadbare little jacket, he was trying to clean his pale face of the spatters.
> Past participles as adjectives: Gebogen ('bent', strong) and gebukt ('stooped', weak) are past participles used attributively to describe Sjaalman's posture. Participles regularly serve as adjectives in Dutch.
> trachten te + infinitive: Trachten ('to try', literary) governs a te-infinitive; trachtte te reinigen ('tried to clean'). Kaal jasje is a diminutive ('threadbare little jacket') carrying pathos.
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Source text: public domain (Multatuli / Eduard Douwes Dekker, d. 1887; Dutch 1860, Project Gutenberg #11024). English translation: original, © 1732 Studios (2026); rendered freshly from the public-domain Dutch, not derived from any prior English translation. Sentence-aligned by 1732 Studios.