# Max Havelaar, Chapter 7

Max Havelaar · Multatuli · The Novel

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/havelaar/hoofdstuk-7. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/havelaar/hoofdstuk-7.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/havelaar/<line id>.m4a.


ZEVENDE HOOFDSTUK  
CHAPTER SEVEN

De resident van Bantam stelde den Regent en den kontroleur aan den nieuwen adsistent-resident voor.  
The Resident of Bantam presented the Regent and the Controller to the new Assistant Resident.
> Separable voorstellen split wide: The separable voorstellen ('to introduce/present') splits: finite stelde sits second, and the prefix voor is hurled all the way to the clause's end. The three den forms are old accusatives/datives on masculine de-words.

Havelaar begroette beide beambten hoffelyk. Den kontroleur--er is altyd iets pynlyks in de ontmoeting van een nieuwen chef--zette hy door eenige vriendelyke woorden op zyn gemak, als wilde hy terstond reeds een soort van gemeenzaamheid invoeren, die 't verkeer zou gemakkelyk maken.  
Havelaar greeted both officials courteously. The Controller—there is always something awkward in meeting a new chief—he set at ease with a few friendly words, as though wishing to introduce at once a kind of familiarity that would make their dealings easy.
> Separable op zyn gemak zetten: The idiom iemand op zyn gemak zetten ('to put someone at ease') splits around the middle field: zette leads, op zyn gemak closes. The fronted object Den kontroleur triggers the inversion.
> als + inverted clause (as though): als here means 'as though', and unusually it triggers inversion (wilde hy) like a main clause, governing the modal-plus-infinitive invoeren — an elevated, period construction.

Met den Regent was zyn ontmoeting zooals dit behoorde met een persoon die den gouden pajong voert maar die te-gelykertyd zyn "jonger broeder" wezen zou.  
His meeting with the Regent was such as befitted a person who carries the golden pajong but who was, at the same time, to be his "younger brother."
> Two relative die clauses + conditional: Two die clauses describe persoon, joined by coordinating maar. The second ends on the conditional wezen zou ('was to be'), with the comparative jonger ('younger') unmarked before broeder.

Met deftige minzaamheid berispte hy hem over zyn te vurigen dienstyver, die in zùlk een weder hem tot aan de grenzen zyner afdeeling gevoerd had, 'tgeen dan ook de Regent, strikt genomen volgens de regelen der etikette, niet had behoeven te doen.  
With dignified cordiality he chided him for his over-eager zeal in his duties, which in such weather had carried him all the way to the boundaries of his district—something the Regent, strictly speaking and by the rules of etiquette, had not been obliged to do.
> Adjective -en after te + possessive: te vurigen carries the heavy -en ending on the adjective ('too fervent'), agreeing with the masculine accusative object dienstyver — period inflection. zùlk's grave accent marks emphatic stress.
> Pluperfect modal-like behoeven: had behoeven te doen ('had not needed to do') is a pluperfect; behoeven governs te + infinitive but behaves like a modal, so its participle appears as the infinitive behoeven (the IPP rule). 'tgeen is an archaic relative, 'which'.

--Waarlyk, mynheer de Adhipatti, ik ben boos op u dat ge u zooveel moeite gegeven hebt om-mynentwil!  
"Truly, Mr. Adhipatti, I am vexed with you that you have taken so much trouble on my account!
> Reflexive zich moeite geven + ge/u: zich moeite geven ('to take trouble') is reflexive; here ge ... u ('you ... yourself'), the period second-person. om-mynentwil ('for my sake') is a fixed archaic phrase built on the old genitive of myn.

Ik dacht u eerst te Rangkas-Betoeng aantetreffen. --Ik wenschte den heer adsistent-resident zoo spoedig mogelyk te zien om vriendschap te sluiten, zei de Adhipatti.  
I had thought to find you first at Rangkas-Betoeng." "I wished to see the Assistant Resident as soon as possible, to seal a friendship," said the Adhipatti.
> dachten + joined te-infinitive: dacht ('thought, expected') governs te + infinitive; aantetreffen is the separable aantreffen ('to come upon') written joined around te (= aan te treffen).
> om ... te purpose clause: wenschte governs te zien; om vriendschap te sluiten ('in order to seal a friendship') is a separate purpose clause with om ... te. den heer keeps the old accusative den.

--Zeker, zeker, ik voel me zeer vereerd!  
"Certainly, certainly, I feel myself greatly honored!

Maar ik zie niet gaarne iemand van uw rang en uw jaren zich al te veel inspannen.  
But I do not like to see anyone of your rank and your years exert himself overmuch.
> Perception zien + reflexive infinitive: zie ('see') takes a bare infinitive zich inspannen ('exert oneself'), a reflexive separable verb. niet gaarne is the period way of saying 'do not like to'.

En te-paard nogal!  
And on horseback, no less!"

--Ja, mynheer de adsistent-resident!  
"Yes, Mr. Assistant Resident!

Waar de dienst me roept, ben ik nog altyd vlug en sterk. --Dit is te veel van uzelf gevergd!  
Wherever duty calls me, I am still nimble and strong." "This is asking too much of yourself!
> Fronted waar-clause + inversion: The subordinate waar-clause ('wherever duty calls me') fills first position and is verb-final (roept at the end), so the main clause inverts to ben ik.
> Impersonal passive of vergen: is ... gevergd is a passive of vergen ('to demand'); 'this is asked too much of yourself'. uzelf is the emphatic reflexive of the polite u.

Niet waar, resident?  
Is it not so, Resident?"

--De heer Adhipatti.  
"The Adhipatti.

Is.  
Is.

Zeer.  
Very."

--Goed, maar er is een grens.  
"Good, but there is a limit."

--Yverig, sleepte de resident achterna.  
"Zealous," the Resident dragged out after him.
> achternaslepen — to drag out behind: The resident's word Yverig is described as dragged out achterna ('afterward, trailing behind') — a running joke that he speaks in slow, broken single words, here parsed comically as separate sentences in the translation.

--Goed, maar er is een grens, moest Havelaar nogeens zeggen, als om 't vorige terugteslikken. Als u 't goed vindt, resident, zullen we plaats in den wagen maken.  
"Good, but there is a limit," Havelaar had to say once more, as if to swallow back what had gone before. "If you think well of it, Resident, let us make room in the carriage.
> Modal moeten + om ... te: moest ... zeggen is the modal moeten in the past ('had to say'); als om ... te frames a purpose-like clause, with separable terugslikken joined around te (terugteslikken = terug te slikken, 'to swallow back').
> Future zullen + conditional als: The als-clause is verb-final (vindt at the end); the main clause then leads with the future zullen ('we will make room'). den wagen keeps the old accusative den.

De baboe kan hier blyven, we zullen haar een tandoe zenden van Rangkas-Betoeng.  
The baboe can stay here; we will send her a tandoe from Rangkas-Betoeng.
> Modal kan + future zullen: Two clauses, two verb-types: kan ... blyven (modal kunnen + bare infinitive) and zullen ... zenden (future). haar is the dative object, 'send her'.

Myn vrouw neemt Max op den schoot ... niet waar, Tine? En dan is er plaats genoeg.  
My wife will take Max on her lap ... is it not so, Tine? And then there is room enough.
> Present tense for the near future: neemt is the simple present ('will take') used for an imminent action — Dutch routinely lets the present do future duty. den schoot shows the old accusative den.

--Het. Is.  
"It. Is.

My. --Verbrugge, we zullen ook u passage geven, ik zie niet in ...  
To. Me." "Verbrugge, we will give you passage too; I do not see why ..."

--Wèl! zei de resident.  
"Well!" said the Resident.

--Ik zie niet in waarom ge zonder noodzaak te-paard door den modder zoudt klepperen ... er is plaats genoeg voor ons allen. We kunnen dan met-een terstond kennis maken.  
"I do not see why you should clatter on horseback through the mud without need ... there is room enough for us all. We can then make one another's acquaintance straightaway.
> Conditional zoudt in an embedded question: zoudt is the conditional of zullen with the period -t ending for ge ('you should'). The waarom-clause is verb-final, with klepperen closing it. inzien is separable: zie ... in.
> Modal kunnen + kennis maken: kunnen + bare infinitive (kennis maken, 'to get acquainted'). The middle field orders the adverbs dan (time) met-een terstond (manner) before the verb cluster.

Niet waar, Tine, we zullen ons wel schikken? Hier, Max ... kyk eens, Verbrugge, is dat niet een aardig kereltje?  
Is it not so, Tine, we will manage well enough? Here, Max ... just look, Verbrugge, is that not a fine little fellow?
> Reflexive zich schikken + future: zich schikken ('to manage, accommodate oneself') is reflexive; ons is the first-person-plural reflexive. zullen makes it future. kyk eens is an imperative softened by eens ('just look').
> Diminutive kereltje: kereltje is the diminutive of kerel ('fellow') — '-tje' makes it small and affectionate, and automatically neuter (hence dat). aardig here means 'nice, fine'.

Dat is myn kleine jongen ... dat is Max!  
That is my little boy ... that is Max!"

De resident had met den Adhipatti in de pendoppo plaats genomen. Havelaar riep Verbrugge om hem te vragen wien die schimmel behoorde met roode schabrak?  
The Resident had taken his seat with the Adhipatti in the pendoppo. Havelaar called Verbrugge over to ask him whose was that gray horse with the red saddlecloth.
> om ... te + dative wien: om hem te vragen is a purpose clause (om ... te). wien is the old dative of wie ('to whom'), because behoren ('to belong to') governs a dative — 'whose that gray horse was'.
> schimmel, schabrak: schimmel is a gray (or white) horse; schabrak (from Turkish via German) is the ornamental saddlecloth laid under the saddle. Both are period equestrian vocabulary.

En toen Verbrugge naar den ingang van de pendoppo trad, om te zien welk paard hy bedoelde, legde hy dezen de hand op den schouder, en vroeg:  
And when Verbrugge stepped to the entrance of the pendoppo to see which horse he meant, Havelaar laid his hand on his shoulder and asked:
> toen-clause then inverted main clause: toen ('when', past) opens a verb-final clause (trad at the end); the main clause then inverts to legde hy. dezen is the demonstrative as dative object ('laid his hand on his shoulder'), with den marking old accusatives.

--Is de Regent altyd zoo dienstyverig?  
"Is the Regent always so zealous in his duties?"

--'t Is een kras man voor zyn jaren, m'nheer Havelaar, en u begrypt dat hy gaarne een goeden indruk op u maken zou.  
"He is a vigorous man for his years, Mr. Havelaar, and you understand that he would gladly make a good impression on you."
> Conditional zou at clause end: The dat-clause is verb-final, closing on the conditional maken zou ('would make'). goeden carries the old masculine accusative -en before indruk. kras means 'vigorous, hale'.

--Ja, dat begryp ik.  
"Yes, that I understand.

Ik heb veel goeds van hem gehoord ... hy is beschaafd, niet waar?  
I have heard much good of him ... he is cultivated, is he not?"

--O ja ...  
"Oh, yes ...

En hy heeft een groote familie?  
And he has a large family?"

Verbrugge zag Havelaar aan, als begreep hy dezen overgang niet.  
Verbrugge looked at Havelaar as if he did not grasp the transition.
> Separable aanzien + als (as if) inversion: zag ... aan is the separable aanzien ('to look at'), prefix flung to the end. als here = 'as if' and triggers inversion (begreep hy), an elevated period construction. dezen is the demonstrative 'this' inflected.

Dit was dan ook, voor wie hem niet kende, dikwyls moeielyk.  
And indeed this was, for anyone who did not know him, often difficult.
> Free relative voor wie: voor wie hem niet kende ('for anyone who did not know him') is a free relative with wie and no antecedent; the embedded clause is verb-final (kende at the end).

De vlugheid van zyn geest deed hem in gesprekken meermalen eenige schakels der redeneering overslaan, en hoe geleidelyk ook deze overgang plaats vond in zyn gedachten, was het toch iemand die minder vlug was, of niet gewoon aan zyn vlugheid, niet euvel te duiden wanneer men by zulk een gelegenheid hem aanstaarde met de onuitgesproken vraag op de lippen: ben je gek ... of hoe is het?  
The quickness of his mind made him, in conversation, skip over several links in the chain of reasoning more than once; and however gradually this transition took place in his thoughts, it was still not to be held against someone less quick, or unaccustomed to his quickness, if on such an occasion they stared at him with the unspoken question on their lips: are you mad ... or what is it?
> Causative doen + bare infinitive: deed hem ... overslaan uses causative doen ('made him skip') with a bare infinitive — like laten, doen forms causatives. der redeneering is a genitive case-remnant, 'of the reasoning'.
> te + infinitive of obligation/possibility: niet euvel te duiden ('not to be held against') is a te-infinitive expressing 'not to be ...ed'. The wanneer-clause is verb-final, ending on aanstaarde (separable aanstaren).
> Modern je in reported speech: Inside the imagined unspoken question, the register drops to the familiar je ('are you mad?') — contrasting with the narrator's literary ge/gy elsewhere.

Zoo-iets lag er dan ook in de trekken van Verbrugge, en Havelaar moest de vraag herhalen, vóór hy antwoordde:  
Something of the sort showed in Verbrugge's features just then, and Havelaar had to repeat the question before he answered:
> Modal moeten + vóór subordinator: moest ... herhalen is the modal moeten ('had to repeat'). vóór ('before') opens a verb-final clause, sending antwoordde to the end.

--Ja, hy heeft een zeer uitgebreide familie.  
"Yes, he has a very extensive family."

--En zyn er Medjiets in aanbouw in de afdeeling? ging Havelaar voort, alweer op een toon die, geheel in tegenspraak met de woorden zelf, scheen aanteduiden dat er verband bestond tusschen die moskeën en de "groote familie" van den Regent.  
"And are there Medjiets being built in the district?" Havelaar went on, again in a tone that, wholly at odds with the words themselves, seemed to suggest there was a connection between those mosques and the Regent's "large family."
> scheen + joined te-infinitive + er: scheen governs aanteduiden (= aan te duiden, separable joined around te, 'to suggest'). The dat-clause uses existential er with bestond at the end. die moskeën is the demonstrative for the plural de-word.

Verbrugge antwoordde dat er werkelyk veel aan moskeën gearbeid werd.  
Verbrugge answered that there was, in fact, a good deal of work being done on the mosques.
> Impersonal worden-passive: er ... gearbeid werd is a subjectless (impersonal) process passive: 'there was much being worked on'. er fills the empty subject slot that an impersonal passive needs.

--Ja, ja, dat wist ik wel! riep Havelaar. En zeg me nu eens, of er veel achterstand is in de betaling van de landrenten?  
"Yes, yes, that I knew well!" cried Havelaar. "And now tell me, are the land-rents much in arrears?"
> Imperative zeg + indirect of-question: zeg is the bare-stem imperative ('tell'), softened by eens. The of-clause is an indirect yes/no question, verb-final with is at the end and existential er introducing achterstand.

--Ja, dat kon wel beter zyn ...  
"Well, that could stand to be better ..."

--Juist, en vooral in het distrikt Parang-Koedjang, zei Havelaar, als vond hy 't makkelyker zelf te antwoorden.  
"Just so, and above all in the district of Parang-Koedjang," said Havelaar, as if he found it easier to answer for himself.
> als (as if) + comparative: als here = 'as if', triggering inversion (vond hy). makkelyker is the comparative ('easier'), governing te antwoorden — 'as if he found it easier to answer himself'.

Hoe hoog is de aanslag van dit jaar? ging hy voort, en bemerkende dat Verbrugge eenigszins weifelde, als om zich op 't antwoord te bezinnen, voorkwam hem Havelaar, die in één adem aldus vervolgde:  
"How high is this year's assessment?" he continued, and, noticing that Verbrugge hesitated somewhat, as if to collect himself for the answer, Havelaar forestalled him, going on without pause:
> Present participle as adverbial clause: bemerkende ('noticing') is a present participle heading a whole adverbial clause. voorkwam is the separable voorkomen ('to forestall'), here with prefix joined as a finite verb leading the main clause.
> Reflexive zich bezinnen + om ... te: zich bezinnen op ('to collect/ponder') is reflexive; als om ... te frames the purpose ('as if to collect himself for the answer'). in één adem = 'in one breath'.

--Goed, goed, ik weet het al ... zes-en-tachtig duizend en eenige honderden ... vyftien duizend meer dan in 't vorige jaar ... doch maar zesduizend boven '45. We zyn sedert '43 maar achtduizend vooruit gegaan ... en ook de bevolking is zeer schraal ... nu ja, Malthus!  
"Good, good, I know it already ... eighty-six thousand and a few hundred ... fifteen thousand more than in the previous year ... but only six thousand above '45. Since '43 we have advanced only eight thousand ... and the population, too, is very sparse ... well, yes, Malthus!

In twaalf jaar zyn we maar elf procent gestegen, en dit is nog de vraag, want de tellingen waren vroeger zeer onnauwkeurig ... en nog! Van '50 op '51 is er zelfs een teruggang.  
In twelve years we have risen by only eleven percent, and even this is in question, for the earlier counts were very inaccurate ... and even so! From '50 to '51 there is actually a decline.
> Fronted adverbial + present perfect: The time phrase In twaalf jaar fronts the clause, inverting to zyn we ... gestegen (present perfect of stijgen, which takes zijn). The second clause uses existential er ('there is a decline').

Ook de veestapel gaat niet vooruit ... dat is een slecht teeken, Verbrugge! Wat drommel, zie dat paard eens springen, ik geloof dat het koldert ... kom eens kyken, Max!  
The livestock, too, is not advancing ... that is a bad sign, Verbrugge! What the deuce, just look at that horse rear—I believe it has the staggers ... come and look, Max!"
> Imperatives softened by eens: zie, kom, kyk are bare-stem imperatives; the particle eens ('just') softens a command into an invitation. springen is a bare infinitive after the perception verb zie.
> kolderen — to have the staggers: kolderen is a veterinary term: a horse afflicted with kolder (the 'staggers', a neurological disorder) behaves wildly. Wat drommel! is a mild period oath, 'what the deuce'.

Verbrugge bemerkte dat hy den nieuwen adsistent-resident weinig zou te leeren hebben, en dat er geen kwestie was van overwicht door "lokale ancienneteit" wat de goede jongen dan ook niet begeerd had.  
Verbrugge perceived that he would have little to teach the new Assistant Resident, and that there was no question of an advantage from "local seniority"—which the good fellow had not, in any case, coveted.
> Conditional zou + te-infinitive at end: The dat-clause is verb-final, closing on zou te leeren hebben ('would have little to teach'). den nieuwen carries the old accusative den + adjective -en.
> geen negating an indefinite noun: geen kwestie ('no question') — geen negates an indefinite noun, where niet would negate a verb or definite. The trailing wat-relative ('which') refers back to the whole idea.

--Maar 't is natuurlyk, ging Havelaar voort, terwyl hy Max op den arm nam.  
"But it is only natural," Havelaar went on, while he took Max in his arms.
> Separable voortgaan + terwyl-clause: ging ... voort is the separable voortgaan ('to go on'). terwyl ('while') opens a verb-final subordinate clause, sending nam to the end. den arm keeps the old accusative den.

In het Tjikandische en Bolangsche zyn ze er heel bly om ... en de opstandelingen in de Lampongs ook. Ik beveel me zeer aan voor uw medewerking, m'nheer Verbrugge!  
"In the Tjikandi and Bolang districts they are very glad of it ... and so are the rebels in the Lampongs. I commend myself warmly to your cooperation, Mr. Verbrugge!
> Pronominal adverb split: er ... om: er ... om is a split pronominal adverb ('glad of it') — er and the preposition om straddle the middle field, the normal pattern when the 'it' is non-personal. The fronted place phrase inverts to zyn ze.

De Regent is een man van jaren, en dus moeten we ... zeg eens, is zyn schoonzoon nog altyd distriktshoofd? Alles saamgenomen houd ik hem voor een persoon die inschikkelykheid verdient ... de Regent, meen ik.  
The Regent is a man of years, and so we must ... tell me, is his son-in-law still district chief? All things considered, I take him for a person who deserves forbearance ... the Regent, I mean.
> Coordinating dus (no verb-final): dus ('so, therefore') is coordinating — it joins clauses without sending the verb to the end, so moeten we keeps normal main-clause order. Contrast subordinating omdat, which would push the verb back.
> houden voor + relative die: houden voor ('to take/consider as') governs the object hem; the relative die opens a verb-final clause ending in verdient. The fronted Alles saamgenomen inverts to houd ik.

Ik ben zeer bly dat hier alles zoo achterlyk en armoedig is, en ... hoop hier lang te blyven.  
I am very glad that everything here is so backward and impoverished, and ... I hope to stay here a long time."
> dat-clause + hopen te: The dat-clause is verb-final (is at the end). hoop ... te blyven uses hopen with te + infinitive, 'hope to stay'. The irony — gladness at poverty — is the chapter's moral hinge.

Hierop reikte hy aan Verbrugge de hand, en deze, met hem terugkeerende naar de tafel waar de resident, de Adhipatti en mevrouw Havelaar gezeten waren, voelde reeds iets beter dan vyf minuten vroeger, dat "die Havelaar zoo gek niet was" als de kommandant meende. Verbrugge was volstrekt niet misdeeld van verstand, en hy die de afdeeling Lebak kende, nagenoeg zoo goed als een zoo groote landstreek, waar niets gedrukt wordt, door één persoon gekend worden kàn, begon intezien dat er toch verband was tusschen de schynbaar niet samenhangende vragen van Havelaar, en tevens dat de nieuwe adsistent-resident, hoezeer hy nooit de afdeeling betreden had, iets wist van wat er omging.  
At this he reached out his hand to Verbrugge, and the latter, returning with him toward the table where the Resident, the Adhipatti, and Mrs. Havelaar were seated, already felt, somewhat better than five minutes earlier, that "this Havelaar was not so mad" as the Commandant supposed. Verbrugge was by no means lacking in understanding, and he—who knew the district of Lebak about as well as so large a region, where nothing is printed, can be known by a single person—began to see that there was, after all, a connection among Havelaar's seemingly unconnected questions, and likewise that the new Assistant Resident, however little he had set foot in the district, knew something of what was going on there.
> Fronted Hierop + present participle phrase: The pronominal adverb Hierop ('at this') fronts and inverts to reikte hy. deze is the demonstrative used as a pronoun ('the latter'), and terugkeerende is a present participle heading a long adjunct.
> Separable inzien + relative + er: intezien = in te zien (separable inzien, joined around te) governed by begon. A relative die-clause (kende ... kan) is embedded, and the dat-clause uses existential er with was at the end.
> worden-passive with modal: gekend worden kàn ('can be known') stacks the worden-passive infinitive with the modal kunnen, all at the clause end. door marks the agent één persoon. zoo ... als is the equality comparison 'as ... as'.

Wel begreep hy nog altyd die vreugde niet over de armoede in Lebak, maar hy drong zich op, die uitdrukking verkeerd verstaan te hebben. Later evenwel, toen Havelaar hem meermalen hetzelfde zeide, zag hy in hoeveel groots en edels er was in die vreugde.  
He still did not understand that joy over the poverty of Lebak, but he pressed upon himself the belief that he had misheard the expression. Later, however, when Havelaar said the same thing to him many times over, he saw how much that was great and noble lay in that joy.
> Fronted Wel + niet negation: Wel ('admittedly') fronts and inverts to begreep hy. niet negates the verb begrijpen ('did not understand'). die vreugde is the far demonstrative for a de-word.
> Reflexive zich opdringen + perfect infinitive: zich iets opdringen ('to press a belief on oneself') is reflexive and separable (drong ... op). verstaan te hebben is a perfect te-infinitive, 'to have misunderstood'.
> Partitive genitive groots en edels: After hoeveel, the adjectives take a partitive -s (groots, edels) — 'how much that was great and noble'. inzien is separable (zag ... in), and existential er fills the subject slot.

Havelaar en Verbrugge namen plaats by de tafel, en onder 't gebruiken van thee over onbeduidende dingen sprekende, wachtte men tot Dongso den resident kwam berichten dat de versche paarden waren voorgespannen. Men pakte zich zoo goed mogelyk in den wagen, en reed heen.  
Havelaar and Verbrugge took their seats at the table, and while drinking tea and speaking of trifling matters, they waited until Dongso came to inform the Resident that the fresh horses had been harnessed. They packed themselves into the carriage as well as they could, and drove off.
> Present participle + tot-clause: sprekende ('speaking') is a present participle leading the adjunct; the main clause inverts to wachtte men. tot ('until') opens a verb-final clause where kwam berichten ('came to report') sits at the end.
> zijn-passive (state) of voorspannen: waren voorgespannen is a state passive with zijn: 'the fresh horses had been harnessed/were hitched up'. The dat-clause is verb-final.

Door 't hotsen en stooten viel 't spreken moeielyk. Kleine Max werd rustig gehouden met pisang en zyn moeder die hem op den schoot had, wilde volstrekt niet bekennen dat ze vermoeid was, als Havelaar aanbood haar van den zwaren jongen te ontlasten.  
With the jolting and lurching, conversation came hard. Little Max was kept quiet with a pisang, and his mother, who held him on her lap, would absolutely not admit that she was tired when Havelaar offered to relieve her of the heavy boy.
> Nominalized infinitives as subjects: 't hotsen en stooten ('the jolting and lurching') and 't spreken ('speaking') are infinitives used as neuter nouns. The fronted cause-phrase inverts to viel 't spreken.
> worden-passive in the past: werd ... gehouden is the past process passive ('was kept quiet'), with met marking the means. Contrast the zijn-passive, which would give the resulting state instead.

In een oogenblik van gedwongen rust in een moddergat, vroeg Verbrugge den resident, of hy met den nieuwen adsistent-resident reeds gesproken had over mevrouw Slotering? --M'nheer.  
During a moment of enforced rest in a mudhole, Verbrugge asked the Resident whether he had already spoken with the new Assistant Resident about Mrs. Slotering. "Mr.
> Dative den resident + indirect of-question: den resident is the dative object of vragen ('asked the Resident'), with the old accusative/dative den. The of-clause is an indirect question, verb-final on gesproken had (present perfect).

Havelaar. Heeft.  
Havelaar. Has.

Gezegd. --Welzeker, Verbrugge, waarom niet?  
Said." "Why, of course, Verbrugge, why not?

Die dame kan by ons blyven. Ik zou niet gaarne ...  
That lady may stay with us. I would not gladly ..."
> Modal kan + conditional zou: kan ... blyven is the modal kunnen + bare infinitive. Ik zou ('I would') begins a conditional left trailing off — the resident keeps interrupting word by word. Die is the far demonstrative for the de-word dame.

--Dat. Het.  
"That. It.

Goed. Was. sleepte de resident er met veel moeite by.  
Good. Was," the Resident dragged in with much effort.

--Ik zou niet gaarne myn huis ontzeggen aan een dame in háár omstandigheden! Zoo-iets spreekt vanzelf ... niet waar, Tine?  
"I would not gladly refuse my house to a lady in her condition! Such a thing goes without saying ... is it not so, Tine?"
> Conditional zou + possessive háár: zou ... ontzeggen is the conditional ('would refuse'). háár is the feminine possessive 'her', stressed by the accent — delicately meaning 'in her condition' (pregnant). Zoo-iets spreekt vanzelf = 'such a thing goes without saying'.

Ook Tine meende dat het vanzelf sprak. --U heeft twee huizen te Rangkas-Betoeng, zei Verbrugge.  
Tine, too, thought it went without saying. "You have two houses at Rangkas-Betoeng," said Verbrugge.
> Fronted Ook + dummy het: Ook Tine together form the fronted first constituent; meende follows in V2 position, with the subject Tine still before the verb — no inversion here. het vanzelf sprak uses near-impersonal het with the idiom vanzelf spreken ('to go without saying'); the dat-clause is verb-final.
> Polite U as subject: U is the polite second-person 'you', here as subject ('You have'). It contrasts with the literary ge/gy and the familiar je used elsewhere in the chapter — the full 1860 'you' system on display.

Er is ruimte in overvloed voor twee familien. --Maar, al was dit zoo niet.  
"There is room in abundance for two families." "But even were it not so.
> Existential er is: Er is ... ('there is') is the existential construction introducing the indefinite subject ruimte. familien is a period plural of familie (modern families). Maar, al was dit zoo niet uses al ... 'even if'.

--Ik. Durfde.  
"I. Should. Dare.

Het. Haar.  
It. Her.

--Wel, resident, riep mevrouw Havelaar, er is geen twyfel aan! --Niet.  
"Why, Resident," cried Mrs. Havelaar, "there is no doubt about it!" "Not.

Toezeggen. Want.  
Promise. For.

Het. Is.  
It. Is.

--Al waren ze met hun tienen, als ze 't maar voor lief nemen by ons. --Een.  
"Even were there ten of them, so long as they will take us as they find us. "A.
> Concessive al + conditional als: Al waren ze ('even if there were') is a concessive with inversion and an archaic past-subjunctive flavor. met hun tienen ('ten of them') is the fixed met hun + numeral pattern. voor lief nemen = 'to take as one finds it'.

Groote. Last.  
Great. Burden.

En. Zy.  
And. She.

Is. --Maar het reizen in haar pozitie is onmogelyk, resident!  
Is." "But traveling in her condition is impossible, Resident!"

Een hevige schok van den wagen die ontmodderd werd, zette een uitroepingsteeken achter Tine's verklaring dat het reizen onmogelyk was voor mevrouw Slotering.  
A violent jolt of the carriage, as it was hauled out of the mud, set an exclamation point after Tine's declaration that traveling was impossible for Mrs. Slotering.
> Relative die + worden-passive: The relative die opens a clause with the worden-passive ontmodderd werd ('was hauled out of the mud'), verb-final. The main verb zette then follows the long subject — verb-second across a heavy noun phrase.
> ontmodderen — a coined verb: Multatuli's vivid coinage from modder ('mud') with the prefix ont- (un-/de-): literally 'to de-mud', i.e. to drag the carriage free of the mire — matching the chapter's running mud motif.

Ieder had het gebruikelyke hè! geroepen, dat op zulk een stoot volgt, Max had in den schoot zyner moeder de pisang weergevonden, die hy door den schok verloor, en reeds was men een heel eind nader aan de modderdiepte die straks komen zou, voor de resident besluiten kon zyn zinsnede te voleinden, door er bytevoegen:  
Everyone had cried out the customary "hey!" that follows such a jolt, Max had recovered in his mother's lap the pisang he had lost at the shock, and they were already a good way nearer the mud-pit that was soon to come, before the Resident could resolve to complete his sentence by adding:
> voor-clause + modal + door + te-infinitive: voor ('before') opens a verb-final clause where the modal besluiten kon sits at the end; te voleinden is te + infinitive. door er bytevoegen ('by adding to it') uses the means-phrase door + a joined te-infinitive (bytevoegen = bij te voegen) with pronominal er.
> Pluperfect + relative dat: had ... geroepen is the pluperfect. The relative dat refers to the neuter het ... hè! ('the customary hey') and opens a verb-final clause ending on volgt. Max ... had ... weergevonden is another pluperfect.

--Een. Inlandsche.  
"A. Native.

Vrouw. --O, dit is volkomen hetzelfde, trachtte mevrouw Havelaar verstaanbaar te maken.  
Woman." "Oh, that is exactly the same," Mrs. Havelaar tried to make herself understood.
> te + infinitive, and inversion after a fronted quote: The verb trachten ('to try') governs a following infinitive with te: verstaanbaar te maken, 'to make (herself) understood.' Because the direct speech is fronted, the finite verb trachtte comes before its subject mevrouw Havelaar — the hallmark of verb-second order.
> volkomen as an intensifier: Here volkomen means 'completely, exactly' rather than the English false friend 'welcome.' Volkomen hetzelfde is 'exactly the same.'

De resident knikte, als vond hy het goed dat die zaak dus geregeld was, en daar het spreken zoo moeielyk viel, brak men 't gesprek af.  
The Resident nodded, as if he found it well that the matter was thus settled, and since speaking came so hard, they broke off the conversation.
> Inversion in an als-clause of comparison: Here als ('as if') triggers verb-first inversion: vond hy het goed instead of hy vond het goed. The y in hy is the 1860 spelling of the modern pronoun hij.
> Subordinating daar + separable afbreken: Daar ('since, because') opens a subordinate clause and sends its verb to the end (viel). The main clause then inverts (brak men), and the separable verb afbreken splits, parking its prefix af at the very end of the clause.
> Impersonal men: Men is the indefinite pronoun 'one / people / they,' here meaning 'they broke off the conversation.' It always takes a third-person singular verb.

Die Mevrouw Slotering was de weduw van Havelaars voorganger die twee maanden geleden gestorven was.  
This Mrs. Slotering was the widow of Havelaar's predecessor, who had died two months earlier.
> Relative die and a 's-less genitive: The relative pronoun die refers back to the de-word voorganger and opens a verb-final clause (gestorven was, 'had died'). Havelaars voorganger uses the inflected genitive -s on the name, 'Havelaar's predecessor.'

Verbrugge, daarop voorloopig belast met het ambt van adsistent-resident, zou 't recht gehad hebben, gedurende dien tyd de ruime woning te betrekken, die te Rangkas-Betoeng, zooals in elke afdeeling, van-landswege voor 't hoofd van het gewestelyk bestuur is opgericht.  
Verbrugge, charged in the meantime with the office of Assistant Resident, would have had the right, during that time, to occupy the spacious residence which at Rangkas-Betoeng, as in every district, has been built at government expense for the head of the regional administration.
> Conditional zou with a perfect infinitive: Zou ('would') + the perfect infinitive gehad hebben expresses an unrealized past possibility: 'would have had the right.' The noun-phrase complement is then unfolded with te betrekken, 'to occupy.'
> Case remnant: accusative den/dien: Dien is the old masculine accusative of die, surviving here in the frozen phrase gedurende dien tyd ('during that time'). In modern Dutch this is simply die tijd.
> zijn-passive of the result: Is opgericht ('has been erected') is a passive formed with zijn + past participle, naming the resulting state of the building. Van-landswege means 'at the State's expense / by the government.'

Hy had dit echter niet gedaan, gedeeltelyk misschien uit vrees dat hy te spoedig op-nieuw zou moeten verhuizen, gedeeltelyk om 't gebruik daarvan aan die dame met haar kinderen overtelaten.  
He had not, however, done so—partly perhaps out of fear that he would too soon have to move again, partly to leave the use of it to that lady and her children.
> Pluperfect with had + participle: Had gedaan is the pluperfect (voltooid verleden tijd): the imperfect of hebben plus the past participle gedaan, 'had done.' Echter ('however') sits in the middle field without disturbing verb-second order.
> Purpose clause om ... te: Om frames a purpose ('in order to') that closes with te + infinitive. In 1860 spelling the te is written joined to the verb: overtelaten = over te laten, 'to leave over (to someone).'
> Stacked verbs at the clause end: In the dat-clause all the verbs pile up at the end: zou moeten verhuizen ('would have to move'). The modal moeten sends the main verb verhuizen to the very end as a bare infinitive.

Er ware anders ruimte genoeg geweest, want behalve de vry groote adsistent-residentswoning zelf, stond daarneven op 'tzelfde "erf" nog een ander huis dat vroeger daartoe gediend had, en in-weerwil van den eenigszins bouwvalligen staat, nog altyd zeer geschikt was ter bewoning.  
There would otherwise have been room enough, for besides the fairly large Assistant Resident's residence itself, there stood beside it, on the same "compound," another house that had formerly served the purpose, and which, despite a somewhat ramshackle state, was still quite fit to live in.
> Existential er and the subjunctive ware: Er here is the existential particle ('there'), as in English 'there would have been room.' Ware is the old subjunctive of zijn, a literary alternative to zou ... geweest zijn.
> Adjective -e/-en endings and case remnant den: Den is the old masculine accusative article surviving after a preposition, and the attributive adjectives take the matching old ending: bouwvalligen staat. In modern Dutch this is de ietwat bouwvallige staat.

Mevrouw Slotering had den resident verzocht haar voorspraak te zyn by den opvolger van haar echtgenoot, om de vergunning dat oude huis te bewonen tot na haar verlossing, die zy over eenige maanden te-gemoet zag.  
Mrs. Slotering had asked the Resident to be her advocate with her husband's successor, for permission to live in that old house until after her confinement, which she expected in a few months' time.
> Pluperfect plus te-infinitive complement: Had ... verzocht is the pluperfect of verzoeken ('to request'). The request itself is unfolded as a te-infinitive clause: haar voorspraak te zyn, 'to be her advocate.' Den resident shows the old accusative article.
> verlossing = confinement / delivery: Literally 'release, deliverance,' verlossing is the period euphemism for childbirth — 'her confinement.' The same root gives the religious sense 'redemption,' which colors Multatuli's diction throughout.

Het was dit verzoek dat door Havelaar en zyn vrouw zoo gereedelyk was toegestaan, iets dat geheel in hun aard lag, want gastvry en hulpvaardig waren zy in de hoogste mate.  
It was this request that Havelaar and his wife had so readily granted, a thing wholly in keeping with their nature, for hospitable and ready to help they were in the highest degree.
> Cleft het was ... dat + worden-less passive: The cleft Het was dit verzoek dat ('it was this request that') foregrounds the object. Was toegestaan is a passive built with zijn ('had been granted'), naming the accomplished state.
> Fronted predicate forcing inversion: Fronting the predicate adjectives gastvry en hulpvaardig pushes the verb to second position and the subject after it (waren zy). Want ('for') is a coordinating conjunction and, unlike a subordinator, does not send the verb to the end.

We hoorden den resident zeggen dat mevrouw Slotering een "inlandsche vrouw" was. Dit vereischt voor niet-indische lezers eenige opheldering, daar men al licht tot de onjuiste meening geraken zou hier met een eigenlyk-javaansche te doen te hebben.  
We heard the Resident say that Mrs. Slotering was a "native woman." This requires some explanation for non-Indies readers, since one might easily fall into the mistaken notion that we are dealing here with a Javanese woman proper.
> Perception verb + bare infinitive: Verbs of perception like horen ('to hear') take a bare infinitive with no te: hoorden ... zeggen, 'heard (the Resident) say.' Den resident is the old accusative form of the object.
> daar-clause with verb cluster at the end: Daar ('since') subordinates the clause, so the verbs gather at the end: geraken zou ('would fall into'). Tot de onjuiste meening geraken is an idiom, 'to arrive at the mistaken notion.'

De europesche maatschappy in Nederlandsch Indiën is vry scherp in twee deelen gesplitst: de eigenlyke Europeanen, en dezulken die--hoezeer wettelyk in geheel denzelfden rechtstoestand verkeerende--niet in Europa geboren zyn, en min of meer inlandsch bloed in de aderen hebben.  
European society in the Dutch East Indies is split fairly sharply into two parts: the Europeans proper, and those who—however much they stand, legally, in altogether the same condition of rights—were not born in Europe and have, more or less, native blood in their veins.
> zijn-passive of a completed state: Is gesplitst ('is split') uses zijn + participle to describe society's settled, divided condition rather than the act of dividing it.
> Frozen dative/accusative denzelfden: Denzelfden is the old inflected form of dezelfde, surviving here after the preposition in. Modern Dutch keeps no such case ending: in geheel dezelfde rechtstoestand.
> dezulken = 'those (kind of people)': A literary demonstrative pronoun meaning 'such persons, those of that sort.' It is archaic in modern Dutch, where one would say zij die or degenen die.

Ter-eere der begrippen van menschelykheid in Indie, haast ik me hier bytevoegen dat, hoe scherp ook de lyn zy, die in 't maatschappelyk verkeer wordt getrokken tusschen de twee soorten van individuën, welke tegenover den inlander gelykelyk den naam van Hollander dragen, deze afscheiding evenwel geenszins 't barbaarsch karakter vertoont, dat in Amerika by de standsplitsing wordt waargenomen.  
In honor of the notions of humanity in the Indies, I hasten to add here that, however sharp may be the line drawn in social intercourse between the two kinds of individuals who, before the native, alike bear the name of Hollander, this separation nevertheless in no way exhibits the barbarous character observed in America in the division of castes.
> worden-passive: the ongoing process: Wordt getrokken ('is drawn') is a worden-passive, presenting the line as something habitually, actively drawn by society — contrast the zijn-passive of a finished state.
> Concessive with subjunctive zy: Hoe scherp ook ... zy is a concessive, 'however sharp ... may be.' Zy is the literary subjunctive of zijn, and ter-eere der begrippen uses the old genitive article der ('of the notions').
> Reflexive zich haasten + joined te: Zich haasten ('to hasten') is reflexive; here me is the first-person reflexive object. Bytevoegen is the 1860 joined spelling of bij te voegen, 'to add.'

Ik ontken niet dat er nog altyd veel onrechtvaardigs en stuitends in deze verhouding blyft bestaan, en dat het woord liplap my meermalen in de ooren klonk als een bewys hoe ver de niet-liplap, de blanke, dikwerf van ware beschaving verwyderd is.  
I do not deny that much that is unjust and offensive still persists in this relation, and that the word liplap has more than once rung in my ears as proof of how far the non-liplap, the white man, is often removed from true civilization.
> Existential er + blijven + bare infinitive: Er is the existential 'there'; blijven ('to remain') takes a bare infinitive bestaan, 'continues to exist.' Veel onrechtvaardigs uses the partitive -s ('much that is unjust').

Het is waar dat de liplap niet dan by-uitzondering in gezelschappen wordt toegelaten, en dat hy gewoonlyk, als ik me hier van een zeer gemeenzame uitdrukking bedienen mag: "niet voor vol wordt aangezien" maar zelden zal men zulke uitsluiting of geringschatting hooren voorstellen en verdedigen als een grondbeginsel.  
It is true that the liplap is admitted into company only by way of exception, and that he is usually—if I may avail myself here of a very colloquial expression—"not reckoned as a full man"; but rarely will one hear such exclusion or disparagement put forward and defended as a basic principle.
> worden-passive with separable toelaten: Wordt toegelaten ('is admitted') is a worden-passive, and the separable verb toelaten keeps its prefix on the participle (toe-ge-laten). Niet dan means 'only, not except.'
> Reflexive zich bedienen van + modal mag: Zich bedienen van means 'to avail oneself of'; me is the reflexive object. The modal mag ('may') sits at the end of the parenthetical als-clause, after its infinitive partner.

Het staat natuurlyk ieder vry, zyn eigen omgeving en gezelschap te kiezen, en men mag het den eigenlyken Europeaan niet euvel duiden, wanneer hy den omgang met lieden van zyn landaard voortrekt boven 't verkeer met personen die--hun meer of minder zedelyke en verstandelyke waarde in 't midden gelaten--zyn indrukken en denkbeelden niet deelen, of--en dit is misschien by vermeend verschil van beschaving, zeer dikwyls de hoofdzaak--wier vooroordeelen een andere richting hebben genomen dan de zyne.  
Everyone is naturally free to choose his own circle and company, and the European proper is not to be blamed when he prefers association with people of his own stock to dealings with persons who—their greater or lesser moral and intellectual worth left aside—do not share his impressions and ideas, or—and this, in cases of supposed difference of civilization, is perhaps very often the main point—whose prejudices have taken a different direction from his own.
> Impersonal het + te-infinitive: Het ... staat ieder vry is an impersonal construction with dummy het: 'it is open to everyone.' What is free is then named by the te-infinitive te kiezen, 'to choose.'
> Genitive relative wier ('whose'): Wier is the feminine/plural genitive relative pronoun, 'whose' — referring to the persons. Inside its clause the verb cluster goes to the end: hebben genomen.
> Idiom euvel duiden + accusative den: Iemand iets euvel duiden means 'to hold something against someone, to blame them for it.' Den eigenlyken Europeaan carries the old accusative ending on article and adjective alike.

Een liplap--om den term te bezigen die voor beleefder wordt gehouden, zou ik moeten zeggen een "dusgenaamd inlandsch kind" maar ik vraag vergunning my te houden aan 't spraakgebruik dat uit allitteratie geboren schynt, zonder dat ik met die uitdrukking iets beleedigends bedoel, en wat beteekent het woord dan ook?--een liplap heeft veel goeds.  
A liplap—to use the term that is held more polite, I should have to say a "so-called native child," but I beg leave to keep to the usage that seems born of alliteration, without intending by that expression anything insulting, and what, after all, does the word mean?—a liplap has much that is good.
> om ... te plus comparative beleefder: Om ... te bezigen is a purpose clause, 'in order to use the term.' Beleefder is the comparative of beleefd ('more polite'), formed with -er; voor ... wordt gehouden is a passive idiom, 'is held to be.'
> Reflexive zich houden aan + te-infinitive: Zich houden aan means 'to stick to, abide by'; my is the reflexive. The whole is an infinitive complement with te: my te houden aan, 'to keep to (the usage).'

Ook de Europeaan heeft veel goeds. Beiden hebben veel verkeerds, en ook hierin alzoo gelyken zy op elkaar.  
The European, too, has much that is good. Both have much that is wrong, and in this also, then, they resemble one another.
> Pronominal adverb hierin + fronting: Hierin fuses hier + in ('in this'); fronting it inverts the verb and subject (gelyken zy). Op elkaar means 'one another,' and the verb gelijken op takes a fixed preposition op.

Maar 't goede en 't verkeerde dat aan beiden eigen is loopt te veel uit elkander, dan dat hun verkeering over 't algemeen tot wederzydsch genoegen kan strekken.  
But the good and the bad that are proper to each diverge too far for their intercourse, on the whole, to make for mutual pleasure.
> te ... dan dat — 'too ... for': The correlative te veel ... dan dat means 'too far ... for (something to happen).' The dat-clause is verb-final, with the modal kan closing it: kan strekken.
> verkeering = intercourse / dealings: Here verkeering means 'social intercourse, association' (from verkeren met, 'to associate with'), not the modern colloquial sense of 'courting / dating.'

Bovendien--en hieraan heeft de Regeering veel schuld--is de liplap dikwyls slecht onderwezen.  
Moreover—and for this the Government is much to blame—the liplap is often poorly educated.
> zijn-passive of an enduring state: Is ... onderwezen ('is educated') uses zijn + the strong participle of onderwijzen to describe a settled condition. Bovendien ('moreover') fronts the clause, so the verb is precedes the subject.

De vraag is nu niet hoe de Europeaan wezen zou, als hy zoo van der jeugd af ware belemmerd geworden in zyn ontwikkeling, maar zeker is het dat de geringe wetenschappelyke ontwikkeling van den liplap in 't algemeen zyn gelykstelling met den Europeaan in den weg staat, ook dáár waar hy als individu in beschaving, wetenschap of kunst, misschien den voorrang boven een bepaalden europeschen persoon verdienen zou.  
The question now is not how the European would turn out if from his youth he had been so hampered in his development; but certain it is that the liplap's slight scholarly development in general stands in the way of his being placed on a level with the European, even there where he, as an individual, in civilization, scholarship, or art, might perhaps deserve precedence over a particular European person.
> Conditional passive with subjunctive ware ... geworden: This is a counterfactual passive: ware ... geworden is the literary subjunctive of the worden-passive perfect ('had he been hampered'). Van der jeugd af keeps the old genitive article der.
> Separable idiom in de weg staan: In den weg staan ('to stand in the way of') is a fixed expression; den keeps the old accusative ending after in. The subject zyn gelykstelling pushes the verb staat to the clause end after a long subordinate stretch.

Ook hieraan is weder niets nieuws.  
In this, too, there is again nothing new.
> Pronominal adverb hieraan + negative spread: Hieraan fuses hier + aan ('to/in this'). Niets nieuws ('nothing new') carries the single clause-negation; Dutch allows only one negative word per clause.

Het lag ook, byv. in de staatkunde van Willem den Veroveraar, om den minstbeduidenden Normandier te verheffen boven den beschaafdsten Sakser, en elke Normandier beriep zich gaarne op 't overwicht der Normandiers in het algemeen, om zyn persoon ook dáár te doen gelden, waar hy de minste zou geweest zyn zonder den invloed zyner stamgenooten als bovenliggende party.  
It lay also, for example, in the statecraft of William the Conqueror, to raise the most insignificant Norman above the most cultivated Saxon, and every Norman gladly appealed to the predominance of the Normans in general, in order to make his own person count even there where he would have been the least, but for the influence of his kinsmen as the party uppermost.
> Superlatives in -st + om ... te: Minstbeduidenden uses the prefix minst (superlative of weinig) + beduidend + attributive -en after den; beschaafdsten is formed with the regular -st superlative + accusative -en after den. Om ... te verheffen is the purpose infinitive, 'in order to elevate.'
> Reflexive zich beroepen op + genitive der: Zich beroepen op means 'to appeal to, invoke'; zich is the third-person reflexive. Der Normandiers is the old genitive plural, 'of the Normans.'

Uit zoo-iets wordt natuurlyk in 't verkeer zekere gedwongenheid geboren. die niet zou weg te nemen zyn dan door wysgeerige onbekrompen inzichten en maatregelen van het bestuur.  
Out of such a thing there is naturally born, in social intercourse, a certain constraint, which would not be removable except by philosophical, broad-minded insights and measures on the part of the administration.
> worden-passive with fronted prepositional phrase: Wordt ... geboren ('is born') is a worden-passive describing the process. Fronting Uit zoo-iets inverts subject and verb, a classic verb-second effect.
> Conditional zou + te-infinitive of possibility: Zou ... weg te nemen zyn means 'would be removable.' The separable verb wegnemen splits around te, and the construction te + zijn here carries a passive-potential sense ('to be able to be removed').

Dat de Europeaan, die in zulke verhouding aan den winnenden kant is, zich in dit kunstmatig overwicht zeer gemakkelyk schikt, spreekt vanzelf. Maar dikwyls is 't koddig, iemand die zyn beschaving en taal grootendeels opdeed in de rotterdamsche Zandstraat, den liplap te hooren uitlachen omdat deze een glas water en 't gouvernement, mannelyk-, of zon en maan onzydig maakt.  
That the European, who in such a relation is on the winning side, accommodates himself very easily to this artificial predominance, goes without saying. But it is often droll to hear someone who acquired his civilization and his language largely in the Zandstraat of Rotterdam laugh at the liplap because the latter makes a glass of water and the government masculine, or sun and moon neuter.
> Reflexive zich schikten + fronted dat-clause subject: Zich schikken in means 'to accommodate oneself to.' The whole dat-clause is the subject of spreekt vanzelf ('goes without saying'), so that idiom's verb stands second after it.
> Perception horen + bare infinitive, stacked: Horen ('to hear') governs the bare infinitive uitlachen ('to laugh at'); the whole is itself a te-infinitive after koddig ('droll to hear...'). Den liplap is the old accusative object.
> Grammatical gender as the butt of the joke: The European laughs because the liplap assigns the wrong gender — making a glass of water masculine, or sun and moon neuter. This previews the very de/het distinction Dutch learners wrestle with.

Een liplap moge beschaafd, goed onderwezen zyn, of geleerd--er zyn er zoo!--zoodra de Europeaan, die zich ziek hield om achterteblyven van 't schip waarop hy borden waschte, en die zyn aanspraken op beleefdheid bazeert op "uwee" en "verexkuseer" aan het hoofd staat van de handelsonderneming die zoo "enorm" gewonnen heeft op de indigo in 1800 zooveel ... neen, lang vóór hy de "toko" bezat, waarin hy hammen en jachtgeweren verkoopt--wanneer zoo'n Europeaan opmerkt dat de beschaafdste liplap moeite heeft de h en de g, uit elkaar te houden, lacht hy over de domheid van den man die niet weet dat er onderscheid is tusschen een gouden hek en een houten gek.  
A liplap may be cultivated, well educated, or learned—there are such!—the moment the European, who feigned sickness so as to be left behind from the ship on which he washed plates, and who bases his claims to refinement on "if it please you" and "by your leave," stands at the head of the trading firm that won so "enormously" on the indigo in the year eighteen hundred and something ... no, long before he owned the "toko" in which he sells hams and hunting guns—when such a European remarks that the most cultivated liplap has trouble keeping the h and the g apart, he laughs at the stupidity of the man who does not know that there is a difference between a golden gate and a wooden fool.
> Concessive subjunctive moge: Moge is the subjunctive of mogen, used concessively: 'a liplap may (well) be cultivated ...' It concedes a point before the contrast that follows. Er zyn er zoo! stacks two er's — existential and quantitative ('there are such').
> Reflexive zich houden + om ... te: Zich ziek houden means 'to feign illness.' Om achterteblyven (= om achter te blijven) is a purpose clause, 'in order to stay behind,' written joined in 1860 style.

Maar om hierover niet te lachen, had hy moeten weten dat in het arabisch en maleisch de cha en de hha door één karakter worden uitgedrukt, dat Hieronymus viâ Geronimo in Jérôme overgaat, dat we van huano, guano maken, dat een want een handschoen is, dat kous van hose afstamt, en dat we voor Guild Heaume in 't hollandsch Huillem of Willem zeggen.  
But in order not to laugh at this, he would have had to know that in Arabic and Malay the cha and the hha are expressed by a single character, that Hieronymus passes by way of Geronimo into Jérôme, that out of huano we make guano, that a mitten is a hand-shoe, that stocking descends from hose, and that for Guild Heaume we say in Dutch Huillem or Willem.
> worden-passive with separable uitdrukken: Worden uitgedrukt ('are expressed') is a worden-passive; the separable verb uitdrukken forms its participle as uit-ge-drukt. The dat-clauses keep their verbs at the end (overgaat, maken).
> Etymological wordplay on h and g: Multatuli defends the liplap by listing sound-shifts: huano→guano, hose→kous ('stocking'), Guild Heaume→Willem. His point is that h/g confusion has respectable historical precedent.

Zooveel eruditie is te veel gevergd van iemand die zyn fortuin maakte "in" de indigo, en z'n beschaving haalde uit het welgelukken van dobbelary ... of erger!  
So much erudition is too much to ask of someone who made his fortune "in" indigo, and drew his civilization out of the lucky run of the dice ... or worse!
> zijn-passive + imperfect maakte: Is ... gevergd ('is demanded') is a zijn-passive of result. Inside the relative clause the verb is the simple past (imperfect) maakte, the narrative tense for past events.
> Period spelling -ary for -arij: Dobbelary ('gambling, dice-play') shows the 1860 spelling -ary where modern Dutch writes -arij (dobbelarij). The same ending appears later in knevelarij and chicanes.

En zulk een Europeaan kan toch niet omgaan met zulk een liplap!  
And such a European can hardly associate with such a liplap!
> Modal kan + separable omgaan + niet: The modal kan sends omgaan ('to associate') to the end as a bare infinitive. Niet negates the whole verb phrase, and the fixed verb omgaan met takes the preposition met.

Ik begryp hoe Willem van Guillaume komt, en moet erkennen dat ik, vooral in de Molukken, zeer dikwyls "liplappen" heb leeren kennen, die me deden verbaasd staan over den omvang hunner kennis, en die my op 't denkbeeld brachten dat wy Europeanen, hoeveel hulpmiddelen ons ook ten-dienste stonden, dikwyls--en niet vergelykender-wyze alleen--verre ten-achteren staan by de arme pariah's die van de wieg af hadden te stryden met kunstmatig-onbillyke terugzetting en 't zot vooroordeel tegen hun kleur.  
I understand how Willem comes from Guillaume, and I must own that I, especially in the Moluccas, very often came to know "liplaps" who left me astonished at the range of their knowledge, and who put me upon the thought that we Europeans, however many aids stood at our service, often—and not merely by way of comparison—stand far behind the poor pariahs who from the cradle had to struggle against an artificially unfair holding-back and the absurd prejudice against their color.
> Concessive hoeveel ... ook with verb-final: Hoeveel ... ook ('however many') is concessive; its verb stonden lands at the clause end. Wy Europeanen ... verre ten-achteren staan reads 'we stand far behind.'
> hebben te + infinitive (obligation): Hadden te stryden expresses obligation/necessity, 'had to struggle.' This hebben + te + infinitive pattern is the period equivalent of moesten strijden.

Maar mevrouw Slotering was eens-voor-al gevrywaard voor fouten in 't hollandsch, omdat ze nooit anders dan maleisch sprak.  
But Mrs. Slotering was, once and for all, safeguarded against errors in Dutch, because she never spoke anything but Malay.
> omdat + verb-final, with nooit: Omdat ('because') subordinates and sends sprak to the end. Nooit anders dan means 'never anything but,' and nooit is the single permitted negative in the clause.
> zijn-passive of a protected state: Was gevrywaard ('was safeguarded') uses zijn + participle for the resulting state — Mrs. Slotering was permanently safe from Dutch mistakes because she only ever spoke Malay.

We zullen haar later te zien krygen, als we met Havelaar, Tine en kleinen Max thee-drinken in de voorgalery der adsistent-residents-woning te Rangkas-Betoeng, waar ons reisgezelschap, na lang hotsen en stooten, eindelyk behouden aankwam.  
We shall come to see her later, when we drink tea with Havelaar, Tine, and little Max in the front gallery of the Assistant Resident's residence at Rangkas-Betoeng, where our traveling party, after long jolting and lurching, at last arrived safe and sound.
> Future with zullen: Zullen + the infinitive cluster te zien krygen forms the explicit future, 'we shall come to see her.' Te zien krygen is an idiom, 'to get to see.'
> Adjective -en after a name (case remnant): Kleinen Max carries the old masculine accusative/dative -en on the adjective klein — a frozen agreement now lost in modern Dutch, which writes kleine Max.

De resident, die slechts was meegekomen om den nieuwen adsistent-resident in zyn ambt te bevestigen, gaf den wensch te kennen nog dienzelfden dag naar Serang terugtekeeren: --Omdat.  
The Resident, who had come along only to install the new Assistant Resident in his office, made known his wish to return to Serang that very same day: "Because.
> Idiom te kennen geven + joined te: Te kennen geven means 'to make known, express.' The wish itself is a te-infinitive: terugtekeeren = terug te keren ('to return'), written joined in 1860 style.

Hy. Havelaar betuigde insgelyks bereid te zyn tot allen spoed ...  
He." Havelaar declared that he, likewise, was ready for all dispatch ...

--Het. Zoo.  
"It. So.

Druk. Had.  
Busy. Had."

...en de afspraak werd gemaakt, dat men daartoe over een half uur in de groote voorgalery der woning van den Regent zou by-eenkomen. Verbrugge, hierop voorbereid, had reeds voor vele dagen aan de Distriktshoofden, den Patteh, den Kliwon, den Djaksa den belasting-kollekteur, eenige mantries, en voorts aan alle inlandsche beambten die deze plechtigheid moesten bywonen, last gegeven zich op de hoofdplaats te verzamelen.  
... and the arrangement was made that to that end they would assemble half an hour later in the large front gallery of the Regent's residence. Verbrugge, prepared for this, had already, days before, given orders to the District Chiefs, the Patteh, the Kliwon, the Djaksa, the tax collector, a few mantries, and furthermore to all the native officials who were to attend this ceremony, to gather at the chief town.
> dat-clause future with separable bijeenkomen: Inside the dat-clause the future zou ... by-eenkomen sits at the end; the separable verb bijeenkomen ('to assemble') keeps its prefix attached here. Daartoe = daar + toe ('to that end').
> Pluperfect had ... gegeven: Had ... gegeven is the pluperfect of geven, here in the idiom last geven ('to give orders'). The long string of indirect objects (the chiefs and officials) fills the middle field before the participle.

De Adhipatti nam afscheid, en reed naar zyn huis.  
The Adhipatti took his leave, and rode to his house.
> Strong imperfects nam and reed: Nam (from nemen) and reed (from rijden) are strong-verb simple pasts that change the stem vowel rather than adding -te/-de — the narrative tense.

Mevrouw Havelaar bezag haar nieuwe woning, en was er zeer mee ingenomen, vooral omdat de tuin groot was, 'tgeen haar zoo goed voorkwam voor kleinen Max die veel in de lucht moest. De resident en Havelaar waren naar hun kamers gegaan om zich te verkleeden, want by de plechtigheid die er plaats hebben zou, scheen het officieel voorgescheven kostuum een vereischte te wezen.  
Mrs. Havelaar looked over her new dwelling, and was very pleased with it, above all because the garden was large, which seemed to her so good for little Max, who had to be in the open air a great deal. The Resident and Havelaar had gone to their rooms to change, for at the ceremony that was to take place, the officially prescribed costume seemed to be a requirement.
> Pronominal adverb split: er ... mee: Er ... mee is the split pronominal adverb 'with it' (= met + the house). Such splitting, with er at the start of the middle field and mee later, is standard Dutch. Ingenomen met means 'pleased with.'
> Pluperfect with zijn + reflexive purpose: Waren ... gegaan is the pluperfect of gaan, which takes zijn as its auxiliary (a verb of motion). Om zich te verkleeden ('in order to change clothes') is reflexive: zich verkleeden.

Rondom het huis stonden honderden menschen, die of te-paard den wagen van den resident hadden begeleid, of tot het gevolg der saamgeroepen Hoofden behoorden.  
Around the house stood hundreds of people, who had either escorted the Resident's carriage on horseback or belonged to the retinue of the summoned Chiefs.
> Relative die with of ... of: The relative die opens a verb-final clause; of ... of ('either ... or') coordinates two predicates inside it, hadden begeleid and behoorden. Te-paard means 'on horseback.'

De policie- en bureau-oppassers liepen bedryvig heen-en-weer. Kortom, alles toonde aan dat de eentonigheid op dat vergeten plekje gronds in den javaschen Westhoek, voor een oogenblik werd afgebroken door wat leven.  
The police and office attendants ran busily to and fro. In short, everything showed that the monotony of that forgotten patch of ground in the Javanese Westhoek was, for a moment, broken by a little life.
> Separable aantonen + worden-passive in the dat-clause: Aantonen ('to show') is separable; here the prefix aan stays at the clause end (toonde ... aan). The dat-clause holds a worden-passive, werd afgebroken ('was broken off').
> Partitive genitive gronds: Gronds is an old partitive genitive, 'patch of ground.' Plekje is a diminutive in -je (always neuter, hence dat plekje), lending the spot a small, forgotten air.

Weldra reed de fraaie wagen van den Adhipatti 't voorplein op. De resident en Havelaar, schitterend van goud en zilver, maar ietwat struikelend over hun degens, stapten er in, en begaven zich naar de woning van den Regent, waar ze met muziek van gongs en gamlangs ontvangen werden.  
Before long the Adhipatti's handsome carriage drove up into the forecourt. The Resident and Havelaar, glittering with gold and silver but stumbling somewhat over their dress-swords, stepped into it, and betook themselves to the Regent's residence, where they were received with the music of gongs and gamlangs.
> Separable oprijden with fronted adverb: Fronting weldra ('soon') forces inversion (reed de wagen). The separable verb oprijden splits, sending op to the very end of the clause.
> Reflexive zich begeven + worden-passive: Zich begeven naar means 'to betake oneself to'; zich is reflexive. The relative waar-clause ends in a worden-passive, ontvangen werden ('were received').

Ook Verbrugge, die zich van zyn bemodderd kostuum had ontdaan, was reeds daar aangekomen.  
Verbrugge too, who had rid himself of his mud-spattered costume, had already arrived there.
> Reflexive zich ontdoen van in the pluperfect: Zich ontdoen van means 'to rid oneself of'; zich is the reflexive object, and had ... ontdaan is the pluperfect. Note the relative die opening a verb-final clause.

De mindere Hoofden zaten in een grooten kring, naar oostersche wyze op matten op den grond, en aan 't eind van de lange galery stond een tafel, waaraan de resident, de Adhipatti, de adsistent-resident, de kontroleur en een zestal Hoofden plaats namen. Men diende thee met gebak rond, en de eenvoudige plechtigheid begon.  
The lesser Chiefs sat in a great circle, after the eastern manner, on mats upon the ground; and at the end of the long gallery stood a table, at which the resident, the Adhipatti, the assistant-resident, the controller, and some half-dozen Chiefs took their places. Tea was passed round with pastries, and the simple ceremony began.
> Fronted place-phrase → inversion: Fronting the locative aan 't eind van de lange galery puts the verb stond second and the subject een tafel after it — verb-second order in action.
> Pronominal relative waaraan: Waaraan ('at which') fuses waar + aan and serves as a relative referring to the table. Plaats nemen is the idiom 'to take a seat.'
> Impersonal men + separable rondienen: Men ('one, they') is the impersonal subject. Rondienen ('to serve round') is separable, so rond parks at the clause end.

De resident stond op, en las het besluit van den Gouverneur-generaal voor, waarby Max Havelaar was aangesteld tot adsistent-resident van de afdeeling Bantan-Kidoel of Zuid-Bantam, zooals Lebak door de inlanders genoemd wordt.  
The resident rose and read aloud the decree of the Governor-General by which Max Havelaar had been appointed assistant-resident of the division of Bantan-Kidoel, or South Bantam, as Lebak is called by the natives.
> Two separable verbs: opstaan, voorlezen: Both opstaan ('to stand up') and voorlezen ('to read aloud') are separable; their prefixes op and voor split to the end of each clause (stond ... op, las ... voor).
> Pronominal relative waarbij + zijn-passive: Waarby ('by which') is a pronominal relative; was aangesteld ('had been appointed') is a zijn-passive of the separable aanstellen.

Hy nam daarna 't staatsblad waarin de eed stond die tot de aanvaarding van bedieningen in 't algemeen voorgeschreven is, en houdende: "dat men om tot het ambt van ***** te worden benoemd of bevorderd, niemand iets beloofd of gegeven heeft, beloven of geven zal; dat men gehouw en getrouw zal zijn aan zijne Majesteit den Koning der Nederlanden; gehoorzaam aan zijner Majesteits vertegenwoordiger in de Indische gewesten; dat men stiptelijk zal opvolgen en doen opvolgen de wetten en bepalingen, die gegeven zijn of gegeven zullen worden, en dat men zich in alles zal gedragen gelijk een goed ... (hier: adsistent-resident) betaamt."  
He then took up the official gazette in which stood the oath prescribed in general for the assumption of public offices, and reading: "that, in order to be named or promoted to the office of *****, one has promised or given nothing to anyone, nor shall promise or give; that one shall be loyal and true to His Majesty the King of the Netherlands; obedient to His Majesty's representative in the Indian provinces; that one shall strictly observe and cause to be observed the laws and regulations that have been given or shall be given; and that one shall conduct oneself in all things as becomes a good ... (here: assistant-resident)."
> Negative niemand and verb-final oath formula: The oath's dat-clauses are verb-final, with the auxiliary heeft at the end. Niemand ('no one') is the single clause-negative; Dutch does not stack it with another negative.
> Modern spelling and possessive zijne in the quoted oath: The quoted oath is set in standard (ij) spelling, not Multatuli's y, marking it as an official document. Zijne Majesteit and zijner Majesteits show the old inflected possessive with -e and genitive -er.
> Both passives side by side: Gegeven zijn is the state passive ('have been given'); gegeven zullen worden is the future process passive ('shall be given'). The pair shows the zijn/worden contrast in one breath.

Hierop volgde natuurlyk het sakramenteele: "zoo waarlijk helpe mij God Almachtig."  
To this followed naturally the sacramental words: "so truly help me God Almighty."
> Optative subjunctive helpe: Helpe is the third-person subjunctive of helpen, surviving in this fixed religious oath-formula ('so truly help me God Almighty'). The subjunctive is otherwise nearly dead in modern Dutch.

Havelaar sprak de voorgelezen woorden na.  
Havelaar repeated the words that had been read out to him.
> Separable nazeggen/naspreken + participle as adjective: Naspreken ('to repeat after') is separable: na lands at the clause end. Voorgelezen ('read aloud') is a past participle used attributively before woorden, taking the adjective slot.

Als in dezen eed begrepen, had eigenlyk moeten worden beschouwd de belofte: de inlandsche bevolking, te zullen beschermen tegen uitzuiging, en onderdrukking.  
As comprehended within this oath, there ought properly to have been understood the promise to protect the native population against extortion and oppression.
> Modal + passive infinitive cluster: Had ... moeten worden beschouwd stacks a pluperfect, the modal moeten, and a worden-passive infinitive: 'ought to have been regarded.' The subject de belofte ('the promise') is held back to the end for emphasis.
> Future infinitive te zullen beschermen: This is a future te-infinitive, 'to be going to protect' — te + zullen + infinitive. It names the content of the oath the narrator says ought to have been implied.

Want, zwerende dat men de bestaande wetten en bepalingen zou handhaven, behoefde men slechts het oog te slaan op de talryke voorschriften dienaangaande, om intezien dat eigenlyk een byzondere eed hieromtrent niet te-pas kwam. Maar de wetgever schynt gemeend te hebben dat overvloed van goed niet schaden kan, althans men vordert van de adsistent-residenten een afzonderlyken eed, waarby die verplichting omtrent den geringen man nogeens uitdrukkelyk vermeld wordt.  
For, in swearing that one would uphold the existing laws and regulations, one need only cast one's eye over the numerous prescriptions on that head to see that, properly speaking, a special oath in this matter was scarcely called for. But the lawgiver seems to have held that an abundance of good can do no harm; at any rate, an additional oath is required of the assistant-residents, by which that obligation toward the lowly man is once more expressly stated.
> Present participle zwerende: Zwerende ('swearing') is a present participle in -end(e), here used adverbially to set the circumstance: 'in swearing that...' The -e is the literary inflected form.
> behoeven te + om ... te purpose: Behoeven ('to need') governs a te-infinitive: behoefde ... te slaan, 'one need only cast.' The result is framed by om ... te: intezien = in te zien ('to realize'), written joined.
> Pronominal relative waarbij + worden-passive: Waarby ('by which') relates back to the oath; vermeld wordt ('is mentioned') is a worden-passive. Afzonderlyken carries the old accusative -en on the adjective.

Havelaar moest dus andermaal "God Almachtig" tot getuige nemen by de belofte: dat hy de "inlandsche bevolking, beschermen zou tegen onderdrukking, mishandeling en knevelarij." Voor een fynen opmerker zou 't de moeite waard zyn geweest, het onderscheid gadeteslaan tusschen houding en toon van den resident en van Havelaar by deze gelegenheid.  
Havelaar therefore had once again to take "God Almighty" as witness to the promise: that he would "protect the native population against oppression, ill-treatment, and extortion." For a fine observer it would have been worth the trouble to mark the difference, on this occasion, between the bearing and tone of the resident and those of Havelaar.
> Modal moeten + infinitive at the end: The modal moest ('had to') sends the main verb nemen to the clause end. Iemand tot getuige nemen is the idiom 'to take someone as witness.'
> Conditional perfect + joined te: Zou ... zyn geweest is a conditional perfect ('would have been'). Gadeteslaan = gade te slaan, the joined 1860 spelling of the idiom gadeslaan ('to observe').

Beiden hadden zy dusdanige plechtigheid meermalen bygewoond. Het onderscheid dat ik bedoel, lag dus niet in 't meer of min getroffen zyn door het nieuwe en ongewone, doch werd alleen veroorzaakt door 't uiteenloopende der karakters en begrippen van deze beide personen.  
Both of them had attended such a ceremony many times before. The difference I mean, then, did not lie in being more or less struck by what was new and unaccustomed, but was caused solely by the divergence of the characters and conceptions of these two persons.
> Fronted object + pluperfect of separable bijwonen: Fronting beiden ('both') inverts subject and verb (hadden zy). Bywonen ('to attend') is separable; its participle is by-ge-woond. Dusdanige means 'such, of that kind.'
> worden-passive + genitive der: Werd veroorzaakt ('was caused') is a worden-passive. Der karakters en begrippen is the old genitive plural, 'of the characters and conceptions.'

De resident sprak wel iets sneller dan gewoonlyk, daar hy 't besluit en de eeden slechts behoefde vóórtelezen, 'tgeen hem de moeite bespaarde naar zyn slotwoorden te zoeken, maar toch geschiedde van zyn kant alles, met een deftigheid en een ernst, die den oppervlakkigen beschouwer een zeer hoog denkbeeld moesten inboezemen van 't gewicht dat hy aan de zaak hechtte.  
The resident did indeed speak somewhat faster than usual, since he had only to read out the decree and the oaths — which spared him the labor of searching for his concluding words; yet on his part everything was done with a gravity and an earnestness that must have impressed upon a superficial onlooker a very high notion of the weight he attached to the affair.
> Comparative sneller + dan: Sneller is the comparative of snel ('faster'), and dan introduces the standard of comparison ('than usual'). Wel here softens to 'indeed, somewhat.'
> daar-clause + behoeven + joined voorlezen: Daar ('since') subordinates the clause; behoefde ('needed') governs the infinitive. Vóórtelezen = voor te lezen, the 1860 joined spelling of voorlezen ('to read aloud').
> Modal moesten + separable inboezemen with case -en: The modal moesten sends inboezemen ('to instil') to the end. Den oppervlakkigen beschouwer is a dative phrase ('in the superficial onlooker') with the old -en endings preserved.

Havelaar integendeel, toen hy met opgeheven vinger de eeden nasprak, had iets in gelaat, stem en houding, alsof hy zeggen wilde: "dat spreekt vanzelf, ook zonder God Almachtig, zou ik dat doen" en wie menschkunde bezat, zou meer vertrouwd hebben op zyn ongedwongenheid en schynbare onverschilligheid, dan op de ambtelyke deftigheid van den resident.  
Havelaar, on the contrary, when he repeated the oaths with raised finger, had something in his face, voice, and bearing as if he meant to say: "that goes without saying — I would do it even without God Almighty"; and whoever understood human nature would have trusted more to his unconstrained ease and seeming indifference than to the official solemnity of the resident.
> toen-clause + fronting forcing inversion: Toen ('when') opens a verb-final subordinate clause (nasprak), and because it is fronted the main clause inverts to verb-second: had iets. Nasprak is the separable naspreken in the imperfect.
> Free relative wie + conditional perfect: Wie ('whoever') is a free relative with no antecedent. The main clause uses the conditional perfect zou ... vertrouwd hebben, 'would have trusted.'

Is 't niet inderdaad bespottelyk, te meenen dat de man die geroepen is recht te spreken, de man aan wien het wel of wee van duizenden is in handen gegeven, zich zou gebonden achten door een paar uitgesproken klanken, wanneer hy niet, ook zonder die klanken, zich daartoe gedrongen voelt door zyn eigen hart? Wy gelooven van Havelaar, dat hy de armen en onderdrukten, waar hy die mocht aantreffen, zou beschermd hebben, al had hy by "God Almachtig" het tegendeel beloofd.  
Is it not indeed absurd to suppose that the man who is called to administer justice, the man into whose hands the weal or woe of thousands has been given, would hold himself bound by a few spoken syllables, when he does not feel himself driven to it, even without those syllables, by his own heart? We believe of Havelaar that he would have protected the poor and the oppressed, wherever he might find them, even had he sworn the opposite by "God Almighty."
> Reflexive zich achten + conditional: Zich gebonden achten means 'to consider oneself bound'; zich is reflexive. The conditional zou ... achten frames the hypothetical: 'would consider himself bound.'
> Relative aan wien + zijn-passive: Aan wien ('to whom') is the relative for a person governed by a preposition, keeping the old dative -en. In handen gegeven is is a zijn-passive idiom, 'has been placed in (his) hands.'
> Counterfactual al + inverted concession: Al ('even if') opens a concessive clause with verb-first inversion (had hy ... beloofd). The main clause carries the conditional perfect zou ... beschermd hebben.

Daarop volgde een toespraak van den resident tot de Hoofden, waarop hy hun den adsistent-resident als opperhoofd der Afdeeling voorstelde, hen uitnoodigde hem te gehoorzamen, hun verplichtingen stipt natekomen, en dergelyke gemeenplaatsen meer. De hoofden werden daarop één-voor-één by name aan Havelaar voorgesteld.  
There followed upon this an address by the resident to the Chiefs, in which he presented to them the assistant-resident as the head of the Division, invited them to obey him, to fulfill their obligations punctually, and more commonplaces of the like. The chiefs were then presented to Havelaar one by one, by name.
> Strings of te-infinitives: Uitnoodigen ('to invite') governs te-infinitives: te gehoorzamen ('to obey') and natekomen = na te komen ('to fulfil'), the latter in joined 1860 spelling. Hen and hem distinguish object 'them' from 'him.'
> worden-passive with separable voorstellen: Werden ... voorgesteld ('were presented') is a worden-passive; voorstellen is separable, so its prefix appears on the participle voor-ge-steld. Eén-voor-één means 'one by one.'

Hy reikte ieder de hand, en de "installatie" was afgeloopen. Men gebruikte ten-huize van den Adhipatti 't middagmaal, waartoe ook de kommandant Duclari genoodigd was.  
He gave each of them his hand, and the "installation" was over. The midday meal was taken at the Adhipatti's house, to which the commandant Duclari had also been invited.
> Impersonal men + genitive ten-huize: Men is the impersonal subject. Ten-huize van is a frozen old dative ('at the house of'), and den Adhipatti shows the old accusative/dative article.
> Pronominal relative waartoe + zijn-passive: Waartoe ('to which') fuses waar + toe as a relative. Genoodigd was ('had been invited') is a zijn-passive of the result.

Terstond na afloop daarvan, stapte de resident die gaarne nog dien avend te Serang wilde terug zyn: --Omdat.  
Immediately after its conclusion, the resident, who would gladly be back in Serang that same evening, set off: --Because.

Hy. Het.  
He. It.

Zoo. Byzonder.  
So. Particularly.

Druk. Had.  
Busy. Had.

...weder in zyn reiswagen, en zoo keerde Rangkas-Betoeng weldra terug tot een stilte, als te verwachten is van een javasche binnenpost die door slechts weinig Europeanen bewoond werd en daarenboven niet aan den grooten weg gelegen was. De kennismaking tusschen Duclari en Havelaar was spoedig op een gemakkelyken voet gebracht.  
...back into his traveling-carriage; and so Rangkas-Betoeng soon sank again into a stillness such as is to be expected of an inland Javanese post inhabited by only a few Europeans and lying, moreover, off the great road. The acquaintance between Duclari and Havelaar was soon brought onto an easy footing.
> Fronted zoo + separable terugkeren: Fronting zoo ('and so') inverts to verb-second (keerde Rangkas-Betoeng). Terugkeren ('to return') is separable; terug lands later in the clause.
> te-infinitive of expectation + relative + worden-passive: Als te verwachten is means 'as is to be expected.' The relative die opens a verb-final clause closing in the worden-passive bewoond werd ('was inhabited').
> zijn-passive of result: Was ... gebracht ('had been brought') is a zijn-passive naming the achieved state. Op een gemakkelyken voet keeps the old accusative -en on the adjective ('onto an easy footing').

De Adhipatti gaf blyken van ingenomenheid met zyn nieuwen "ouder broeder" en Verbrugge verhaalde later dat ook de resident, dien hy op zyn terugreis naar Serang een eind wegs-uitgeleide had gedaan, zich zeer gunstig over de familie Havelaar, die op haar doortocht naar Lebak eenige dagen ten-zynen-huize vertoefde, had uitgelaten. Ook zeide hy dat Havelaar, by de Regeering goed aangeteekend staande, hoogstwaarschynIyk spoedig tot een hooger ambt bevorderd, of althans naar een meer "voordeelige" afdeeling verplaatst worden zou.  
The Adhipatti showed signs of being pleased with his new "elder brother," and Verbrugge related afterward that the resident too — whom he had escorted part of the way on his return journey to Serang — had expressed himself very favorably about the Havelaar family, who had tarried some days at his house on their passage to Lebak. He also said that Havelaar, standing well noted with the Government, would most probably soon be promoted to a higher office, or at least transferred to a more "lucrative" division.
> dat-clause with reflexive zich uitlaten at the end: Inside the long dat-clause the verbs gather at the end: had uitgelaten. Zich uitlaten over means 'to express oneself about'; zich is the reflexive.
> Relative die + frozen dative ten-zynen-huize: Ten-zynen-huize ('at his house') is a fossilized dative phrase with the old possessive zynen. The relative die opens a verb-final clause (vertoefde).
> Present participle staande + future worden-passive: Goed aangeteekend staande ('standing well noted') is a present-participle phrase. The future passive bevorderd ... worden zou ('would be promoted') closes the clause.

Max en "zyn Tine" waren eerst onlangs van een reis naar Europa teruggekeerd, en gevoelden zich vermoeid van wat ik eens zeer eigenaardig een koffertjes-leven heb hooren noemen. Zy achtten zich dus gelukkig, na veel omzwervens eindelyk weder eens een plek te bewonen waar zy zouden te-huis behooren.  
Max and "his Tine" had only lately returned from a journey to Europe, and felt weary of what I once heard very aptly called a portmanteau-life. They counted themselves happy, therefore, to be able at last, after much wandering, to dwell once more in a place where they would be at home.
> Pluperfect of motion with zijn: Waren ... teruggekeerd is the pluperfect of the separable terugkeren ('to return'), which takes zijn as a verb of motion. Eerst onlangs means 'only lately.'
> Reflexive zich achten + te-infinitive: Zich gelukkig achten means 'to count oneself happy.' What makes them happy is then unfolded with te: een plek te bewonen, 'to dwell in a place.'
> Compound + diminutive: 'portmanteau-life': Koffertjes-leven glues koffertje ('little trunk,' a diminutive of koffer) to leven ('life') into one compound — a vivid coinage for the rootless suitcase existence of colonial transfers.

Vóór hun reis naar Europa, was Havelaar adsistent-resident van Amboina geweest, waar hy met veel moeielykheden had te stryden gehad, omdat de bevolking van dat eiland in een gistenden en oproerigen toestand verkeerde ten-gevolge van de vele verkeerde maatregelen die in den laatsten tyd genomen waren. Niet zonder veerkracht had hy dezen geest van verzet weten te onderdrukken, doch uit verdriet over de weinige hulp die men hem hierin van-hoogerhand verleende, en uit ergernis over 't ellendig bestuur dat sedert eeuwen de heerlyke streken der Molukken ontvolkt en bederft ...  
Before his journey to Europe, Havelaar had been assistant-resident of Amboina, where he had had many difficulties to contend with, because the population of that island was in a fermenting and rebellious state in consequence of the many wrong measures that had been taken of late. Not without vigor had he managed to suppress this spirit of revolt; but out of grief at the scant help he was given in this from higher quarters, and out of vexation at the wretched administration that for centuries has been depopulating and ruining the splendid regions of the Moluccas ...
> Pluperfect with zijn (was ... geweest): Was ... geweest is the pluperfect of zijn itself, 'had been.' Fronting the time-phrase Vóór hun reis inverts subject and verb.
> hebben te + infinitive in the pluperfect: Had te stryden gehad is the pluperfect of the obligation idiom hebben te + infinitive: 'had had to contend.' The relative waar opens the verb-final clause.
> Genitive der + present tense of indictment: Der Molukken is the old genitive ('of the Moluccas'). Multatuli shifts to the present tense ontvolkt en bederft ('depopulates and ruins') to make the colonial abuse feel ongoing, not safely past.

De belangstellende lezer trachte te lezen te krygen wat over dit onderwerp reeds in 1825 door den baron Van der Capellen geschreven werd, en kan de Publikatien van dezen menschenvriend vinden in het Indische Staatsblad van dat jaar. De toestand is er sedert dien tyd niet beter op geworden!  
Let the interested reader seek to obtain what was already written on this subject in 1825 by the Baron Van der Capellen, and he may find the Proclamations of this friend of man in the Indian Gazette of that year. The condition there has not improved since that time!
> Hortative subjunctive trachte: Trachte is a third-person subjunctive used as a polite imperative ('let the reader seek'). It governs the te-infinitive cluster te lezen te krygen ('to get to read').
> Free relative wat + worden-passive: Wat ('what, that which') is a free relative without antecedent. Geschreven werd ('was written') is a worden-passive in the imperfect.

Hoe dit zy, Havelaar deed te Amboina wat hy mocht en kon, maar uit ergernis over gebrek aan medewerking van hen die in de eerste plaats geroepen waren zyn pogingen te steunen, was hy ziek geworden, en dit had hem bewogen naar Europa te vertrekken. Strikt genomen had hy by wederplaatsing aanspraak gehad op beter keuze dan de arme geenszins welvarende afdeeling Lebak, daar zyn werkkring te Amboina van grooter gewicht was, en hy dáár, zonder resident boven zich, geheel op zichzelf gestaan had.  
However that may be, Havelaar did at Amboina what he might and could; but out of vexation at the lack of cooperation from those who were called in the first place to support his efforts, he had fallen ill, and this had moved him to set out for Europe. Strictly speaking, on being reposted he would have had a claim to a better choice than the poor, by no means prosperous division of Lebak, since his sphere of work at Amboina had been of greater importance, and there, with no resident over him, he had stood wholly on his own.
> Concessive subjunctive: 'however that may be': Hoe dit zy is a fixed concessive formula with the subjunctive zy of zijn, meaning 'however that may be.' It is markedly literary register.
> worden-perfect + pluperfect + te-infinitive: Was ... geworden is the pluperfect of worden ('had become ill'). Had ... bewogen is the pluperfect of bewegen, here governing the te-infinitive te vertrekken, 'to depart.'
> Comparative beter + daar-clause: Beter is the comparative of goed, here uninflected before keuze. Daar ('since') opens the causal clause, sending its verb was to the end.

Bovendien was er, reeds voor hy naar Amboina vertrok, spraak van geweest hem tot resident te verheffen, en het bevreemdde dus sommigen dat hem thans het bestuur eener Afdeeling werd opgedragen, die aan kultuur-emolumenten zoo weinig opbracht, dewyl velen het belang eener bediening naar de daaraan verbonden inkomsten afmeten.  
Moreover, even before he set out for Amboina, there had been talk of raising him to resident, and it surprised some, therefore, that the administration of a Division should now be entrusted to him which yielded so little in cultivation-emoluments — since many measure the importance of a post by the income attached to it.
> Existential er + idiom spraak van + te-infinitive: Er ... spraak van zijn means 'there is talk of'; was ... geweest is its pluperfect. What was talked of is then named: hem ... te verheffen, 'to raise him.'
> Dummy het + worden-passive in the dat-clause: The first het is impersonal ('it surprised'); the dat-clause holds a worden-passive werd opgedragen ('was entrusted'), with hem as the dative recipient.
> Archaic subordinator dewyl: Dewyl ('because, since') is a now-archaic subordinating conjunction; it sends its verb afmeten to the end. Modern Dutch would use omdat or aangezien.

Hyzelf echter beklaagde zich hierover volstrekt niet, want zyn eerzucht was geenszins van dien aard, dat hy bedelen zou om hoogeren rang of meer gewin. En dit laatste ware hem toch goed te-stade gekomen!  
He himself, however, did not complain of this at all, for his ambition was by no means of such a nature that he would beg for a higher rank or greater gain. And yet this last would have stood him in good stead!
> Negative geenszins + case remnant dien: Geenszins ('by no means') is the clause's single negative. Van dien aard preserves the old accusative dien ('of that nature').
> Conditional subjunctive ware ... gekomen: Ware ... gekomen is the literary conditional perfect ('would have come'). Te stade komen is the idiom 'to stand in good stead.'

Want op zyn reizen in Europa had hy het weinige uitgegeven, dat hy in vorige jaren had overgegaard. Zelfs had hy daar schulden achtergelaten, en hy was dus, in één woord, arm.  
For on his travels in Europe he had spent the little that he had laid by in former years. He had even left debts behind there, and so he was, in a word, poor.
> Pluperfects with separable verbs: Both clauses are pluperfect: had ... uitgegeven (separable uitgeven) and had overgegaard (separable overgaarden (or overgaren), 'to save up'). Het weinige nominalizes the adjective, 'the little.'

Doch nooit had hy zyn ambt beschouwd als een geldwinning, en by zyn benoeming naar Lebak nam hy zich met tevredenheid voor, het achterstallige door zuinigheid intehalen, in welk voornemen zyn vrouw die zoo eenvoudig was in smaak en behoeften, hem met groot genoegen ondersteunen zou.  
Yet he had never regarded his office as a means of making money, and on his appointment to Lebak he resolved, with contentment, to make up the arrears by thrift — a resolution in which his wife, who was so simple in her tastes and needs, would support him with great pleasure.
> Pluperfect with negative nooit: Had ... beschouwd is the pluperfect of beschouwen. Nooit ('never') is the single clause-negative; iets beschouwen als means 'to regard something as.'
> Reflexive zich voornemen + joined inhalen: Zich voornemen ('to resolve') is reflexive and separable: nam ... voor. The resolution is a te-infinitive, intehalen = in te halen ('to make up, recover').

Maar zuinigheid viel Havelaar moeielyk.  
But thrift came hard to Havelaar.
> Fronted subject + dative experiencer: Iets valt iemand moeilijk means 'something comes hard to someone,' with the person as dative (Havelaar). Maar ('but') is coordinating, so it does not push the verb to the end.

Hy voor zichzelf kon zich tot het strikt-noodige bepalen. Ja, zonder de minste inspanning kon hy binnen de grens daarvan blyven, doch waar anderen hulp behoefden, was hem 't helpen, het geven, een ware hartstocht.  
For himself he could confine his wants to the strictly necessary. Indeed, without the least effort he could keep within those bounds; but wherever others needed help, to help, to give, was for him a true passion.
> Modal kon + reflexive zich bepalen: The modal kon ('could') sends the verb to the end. Zich bepalen tot means 'to confine oneself to'; zich is reflexive.
> Fronted waar-clause forcing inversion: The fronted relative-like clause waar anderen hulp behoefden ('wherever others needed help') triggers inversion in the main clause: was hem 't helpen. 't Helpen, het geven are nominalized infinitives ('the helping, the giving').

Hyzelf zag dit zwak in, beredeneerde met al 't gezond verstand dat hem gegeven was, hoe onrecht hy deed, iemand te ondersteunen, waar hyzelf meer aanspraak zou gehad hebben op zyn eigen hulp ... gevoelde dit onrecht nog levendiger, wanneer ook "zyn Tine" en Max, die hy beiden zoo lief had, te lyden hadden onder de gevolgen zyner vrygevigheid ... hy verweet zich zyn goedhartigheid als zwakte, als ydelheid, als zucht om voor een verkleeden prins doortegaan ... hy beloofde zich beterschap, en toch ... telkens als deze of gene zich aan hem wist voortedoen als 't slachtoffer van tegenspoed, vergat hy alles om te helpen.  
He himself saw this weakness, reasoned with all the sound sense that had been given him how wrongly he acted in supporting someone else when he himself had more claim upon his own aid ... felt this wrong still more keenly when "his Tine" and Max too, whom he both loved so dearly, had to suffer under the consequences of his open-handedness ... he reproached himself for his good-heartedness as a weakness, as vanity, as a craving to pass for a prince in disguise ... he promised himself he would mend his ways; and yet ... every time this person or that contrived to present himself as the victim of misfortune, he forgot everything in order to help.
> Separable inzien: Inzien ('to recognize, realize') is separable: the prefix in lands at the end of the clause, after the object dit zwak ('this weakness'). Hyzelf is the emphatic 'he himself.'
> Comparative meer + conditional perfect: Meer aanspraak ('more claim') uses the comparative meer. Zou gehad hebben is the conditional perfect, 'would have had,' inside the relative waar-clause.
> Reflexive zich voordoen + joined te: Zich voordoen als means 'to present oneself as'; zich is reflexive. Voortedoen = voor te doen, the joined 1860 spelling. Deze of gene means 'this person or that.'

En dit in-weerwil der bittere ondervinding van de gevolgen dezer door overdryving tot fout geworden deugd.  
And this in spite of the bitter experience of the consequences of this virtue, which through excess had turned into a fault.
> Heavy genitive der + participial modifier: Der is the old genitive article ('of the ... virtue'). The long pre-nominal phrase door overdryving tot fout geworden ('turned into a fault through excess') modifies deugd, in German-like left-branching style.

Acht dagen vóór de geboorte van zyn kleinen Max, bezat hy 't noodige niet om 't yzeren wiegje te koopen waarin zyn lieveling rusten zou, en weinig tyds te-voren nog had hy de weinige versierselen zyner vrouw opgeofferd, om iemand bytestaan, die gewis in beter omstandigheden verkeerde dan hyzelf.  
Eight days before the birth of his little Max, he did not have what was needed to buy the iron cradle in which his darling was to rest, and a short while before that he had given up the few ornaments of his wife to stand by someone who was assuredly in better circumstances than himself.
> om ... te + diminutive wiegje: Om ... te koopen is the purpose clause ('in order to buy'). Wiegje is the diminutive of wieg ('cradle'), tender in tone and grammatically neuter. Niet negates bezat.
> Pluperfect opofferen + om ... te: Had ... opgeofferd is the pluperfect of the separable opofferen ('to sacrifice'). Bytestaan = bij te staan ('to assist'), the joined spelling, frames the purpose.

Maar dit alles lag al weer ver achter hen toen zy waren aangekomen te Lebak!  
But all this lay far behind them again by the time they had arrived at Lebak!
> toen-clause with pluperfect of motion: Toen ('by the time') opens a verb-final clause; waren aangekomen is the pluperfect of aankomen, which takes zijn as a motion verb. Achter hen lag earlier in the main clause.

Met vroolyke kalmte hadden zy bezit genomen van het huis: "waar ze nu toch eenigen tyd hoopten te blyven." Met een eigenaardig genot hadden zy te Batavia de meubelen besteld, die alles zoo comfortable en gezellig maken zouden.  
With cheerful calm they had taken possession of the house "where they now hoped at last to stay for some time." With a peculiar delight they had ordered at Batavia the furniture that was to make everything so comfortable and snug.
> Fronted manner-phrase + pluperfect idiom: Fronting Met vroolyke kalmte ('with cheerful calm') inverts subject and verb. Bezit nemen van is the idiom 'to take possession of,' here in the pluperfect hadden ... genomen.
> Relative die + future in the relative clause: Die refers back to de meubelen and opens a verb-final clause whose future maken zouden ('that were to make') sits at the end.

Zy toonden elkaar de plekken waar ze zouden ontbyten, waar kleine Max spelen zou, waar de bibliotheek zou staan, waar hy 's avends haar zou voorlezen wat hy dien dag geschreven had, want hy was altyd bezig met het ontwikkelen zyner denkbeelden op 't papier ... en: "eens zou dat gedrukt worden, meende Tine, en dan zou men zien wie haar Max was!" Maar nooit had hy iets ter-perse laten leggen van wat er in zyn hoofd omging, omdat zekere schroom hem bezielde, die wel iets zweemde naar eerbaarheid.  
They showed each other the spots where they would breakfast, where little Max would play, where the library would stand, where in the evenings he would read aloud to her what he had written that day — for he was always busy unfolding his ideas on paper ... and: "one day that shall be printed," thought Tine, "and then people will see who her Max was!" But he had never let anything be set in type of what went on in his head, because a certain bashfulness possessed him, something not unlike modesty.
> Stacked waar-relatives with future zou: A chain of waar-clauses ('where they would breakfast, where Max would play') each ends in the future with zou(den) plus the infinitive — a roll of imagined domestic scenes.
> bezig met + nominalized infinitive + genitive zyner: Bezig met means 'busy with'; het ontwikkelen is a nominalized infinitive ('the unfolding'). Zyner denkbeelden is an old genitive possessive, 'of his ideas.'
> Causative laten + bare infinitive: Laten + the bare infinitive leggen is causative: 'had let / had had (something) be laid.' Ter perse leggen means 'to send to press.' Fronted nooit forces inversion and is the lone negative.

Hyzelf althans wist dezen schroom niet beter te beschryven, dan door aan wie hem aanspoorden tot publiciteit, te vragen: "zoudt gy uw dochter op-straat laten loopen zonder hemd?"  
He himself, at any rate, knew no better way to describe this bashfulness than by asking those who urged him toward publicity: "would you let your daughter walk out into the street without a shift?"
> Period pronoun gy + causative laten loopen: Gy is the 1860 literary 'you,' with the matching verb form zoudt; uw is its possessive. Laten loopen is causative laten + bare infinitive ('let walk').
> Case remnant dezen + comparative niet beter ... dan: Dezen schroom keeps the old accusative -en on the demonstrative. Niet beter ... dan ('no better ... than') is comparative, and te beschryven / te vragen are te-infinitives.

Dit was dan weer een van de vele boutades, die zyn omgeving deden zeggen dat "die Havelaar toch een zonderling mensch was, en ik beweer het tegendeel niet. Maar als men de moeite nam zyn ongewone wyze van spreken te vertalen, zou men in die vreemde vraag over het toilet van een meisje, wellicht den tekst gevonden hebben voor een verhandeling over de kuisheid van den geest, die schuw is voor de blikken van den lompen voorbyganger, en zich terugtrekt in een hulsel van maagdelyke schroomvalligheid.  
This, again, was one of the many boutades that made his circle say that "this Havelaar was after all an odd sort of man," and I do not maintain the contrary. But if one took the trouble to translate his uncommon way of speaking, one would have found, in that strange question about a girl's toilet, perhaps the text for a discourse on the chastity of the mind — which is shy before the gaze of the boorish passer-by, and withdraws into a covering of maidenly modesty.
> Causative doen + bare infinitive: Doen + the bare infinitive zeggen is causative, 'made (his circle) say.' Like laten, doen takes no te. The relative die refers back to boutades.
> Relative die + reflexive zich terugtrekken: Die ('which') opens a verb-final relative clause. Zich terugtrekken is reflexive and separable ('to withdraw'); zich is the reflexive object.
> boutade — a French loan: A boutade is a witty, sudden sally or quip, often paradoxical. Multatuli's French loanwords (boutade, roman intime, rêve aux millions, grand seigneur) mark Havelaar's cultivated, cosmopolitan voice.

Ja, ze zouden gelukkig zyn te Rangkas-Betoeng, Havelaar en zyn Tine!  
Yes, they would be happy at Rangkas-Betoeng, Havelaar and his Tine!
> Future/conditional zou + infinitive: Zouden ... zyn is zou(den) + infinitive — the future-in-the-past or wishful conditional, 'they would be happy.' The exclamatory ja and trailing names heighten the hopeful tone.

De eenige zorg die hen drukte, waren de schulden die zy in Europa hadden achtergelaten, verhoogd met de nog onbetaalde kosten der terugreis naar Indie, en met de uitgaven voor 't meubelen hunner woning. Maar nood was er niet.  
The only care that weighed upon them was the debts they had left behind in Europe, swelled by the still unpaid costs of the return journey to the Indies, and by the outlay for the furnishing of their dwelling. But there was no real want.
> Relative die + agreement with plural predicate: Die refers back to zorg and is verb-final (drukte). The copula is plural (waren) because the predicate noun de schulden is plural — a notable agreement quirk.
> Existential er with niet negation: Er is existential ('there'); fronting nood ('want, distress') inverts the verb. Nood was er niet means 'there was no real distress' — niet negates the existence.

Ze zouden immers leven van de helft, van een derde zyner inkomsten? Misschien ook, ja waarschynlyk, zou hy spoedig resident worden, en dan werd alles makkelyk geregeld in weinig tyds ...  
Would they not, after all, live on the half, on a third of his income? Perhaps too — yes, probably — he would soon become resident, and then everything would be easily settled in a short time ...
> Conditional zou + genitive zyner: Zouden ... leven is the conditional ('they would live on'). Zyner inkomsten is the old genitive possessive, 'of his income.' Immers ('after all') reinforces the rhetorical question.
> Future worden + worden-passive: First worden is a copula-future ('would become resident'); then werd ... geregeld is a worden-passive ('was settled'). The same verb worden carries both meanings.

--Hoewel 't my erg spyten zou, Tine, Lebak te verlaten, want er is hier veel te doen.  
--Although it would grieve me sorely, Tine, to leave Lebak, for there is much to be done here.
> Concessive hoewel + impersonal spijten: Hoewel ('although') subordinates, sending the verb cluster spyten zou to the end. 't ... my spyten is impersonal ('it would grieve me'), and Lebak te verlaten is the te-infinitive subject.

Je moet heel zuinig wezen, beste, dan kunnen wy misschien alles afdoen, ook zonder bevordering ... en dan hoop ik lang hier te blyven, heel lang!  
You must be very thrifty, dearest, and then perhaps we can clear it all off, even without promotion ... and then I hope to stay here long, very long!
> Familiar je + modal moeten: Here Havelaar drops the literary gy for the intimate je ('you') with his wife — a register shift into tenderness. The modal moet sends wezen (the older infinitive of zijn) to the end.
> Fronted dan + modal kunnen + separable afdoen: Fronting dan ('then') inverts to kunnen wy. The modal kunnen sends the separable afdoen ('to clear off, settle') to the end as a bare infinitive.

Een aansporing tot zuinigheid nu, behoefte hy tot háár niet te richten.  
An exhortation to thrift, now, he had no need to address to her.
> behoeven + te-infinitive with niet: Behoeven ('to need') governs the te-infinitive te richten ('to address'). Háár carries an accent for stress ('to her'). The fronted object Een aansporing inverts the verb.

Zy had er waarlyk geen schuld aan, dat spaarzaamheid noodig was geworden, doch ze had zich zoo vereenzelvigd met haar Max, dat ze die aansporing geenszins opvatte als een verwyt, wat het dan ook niet was. Want Havelaar wist zeer goed dat hy alleen gefaald had door zyn te ver gedreven vrygevigheid, en dat haar fout--àls er dan een fout bestond aan hare zyde--alleen hierin had gelegen, dat ze uit liefde voor Max altyd alles had goedgekeurd wat hy deed.  
She was truly not to blame that economy had become necessary; yet she had so identified herself with her Max that she by no means took that exhortation as a reproach, which indeed it was not. For Havelaar knew very well that he alone had failed through his too-far-driven open-handedness, and that her fault — if indeed there was any fault on her side — had lain solely in this: that out of love for Max she had always approved everything he did.
> Reflexive zich vereenzelvigen in the pluperfect: Zich vereenzelvigen met means 'to identify oneself with'; zich is reflexive, and had ... vereenzelvigd is the pluperfect.
> Conditional als + existential er: Als ('if') opens a verb-final conditional clause; er is existential ('if there existed a fault'). Hare zyde shows the old inflected possessive hare ('her').

Ja, zy had het goed gevonden, toen hy die beide arme vrouwen uit de Nieuwstraat, die nooit Amsterdam hadden verlaten, en nooit waren "uitgeweest" rondleidde op de Haarlemmer kermis, onder 't koddig voorwendsel dat de Koning hem belast had met: "het amuzeeren van oude vrouwtjes die zich zoo goed gedragen hadden". Zy vond het goed dat hy de weeskinderen uit alle gestichten te Amsterdam op koek en amandelmelk onthaalde, en ze overlaadde met speelgoed.  
Yes, she had thought it good when he led those two poor women from the Nieuwstraat, who had never left Amsterdam and had never "been out," about the Haarlem fair, under the droll pretext that the King had charged him with "the amusing of old women who had behaved so well." She thought it good that he treated the orphans from all the institutions in Amsterdam to cake and almond-milk, and loaded them with toys.
> toen-clause + separable rondleiden: Toen ('when') subordinates, sending the verb to the end; rondleiden ('to lead around') is separable, here written as one word in the imperfect rondleidde.
> Anticipatory het + dat-clause: Iets goed vinden takes an anticipatory het pointing forward to the dat-clause: 'she thought it good that...' Inside the dat-clause the verbs onthaalde and overlaadde stand at the end.

Zy begreep volkomen dat hy de logementsrekening van de familie arme zangers betaalde, die terug wilden naar hun land, maar niet gaarne de have achterlieten, waartoe de harp behoorde, en de viool, en de bas, die zy zoo noodig hadden voor hun schamel bedryf.  
She fully understood that he paid the inn-bill of the family of poor singers who wanted to go back to their own country but were loath to leave behind their belongings, among which were the harp, and the fiddle, and the bass, that they so needed for their meager trade.
> Modal wilden + separable achterlaten with niet: Wilden ('wanted') is a modal; achterlaten ('to leave behind') is separable. Maar ('but') coordinates the two predicates without sending the verb to the end. De have means 'belongings, goods.'
> Pronominal relative waartoe: Waartoe ('to which, among which') is a pronominal relative referring to the belongings. The repeated en ... en lists the instruments in a deliberately tender cadence.

Zy kon het niet afkeuren dat hy 't meisje tot haar bracht, dat 'savends op de straat hem had aangesproken ... dat hy haar te eten gaf en herbergde, en 't àl te goedkoop "ga heen, en zondig niet meer!" niet uitsprak, voor hy haar dat "niet zondigen" had mogelyk gemaakt.  
She could not blame him for bringing to her the girl who had accosted him in the street at night ... that he gave her food and shelter, and did not speak the all-too-cheap "go, and sin no more!" before he had made that "not sinning" possible for her.
> voor (= voordat) + pluperfect: Voor here is short for voordat ('before') and subordinates: the verb cluster had ... gemaakt lands at the end. Iets mogelijk maken means 'to make something possible.'
> Relative dat + separable aanspreken: Dat is the relative for the het-word meisje (despite referring to a girl, the diminutive is neuter). Aanspreken ('to accost') is separable; the pluperfect is had ... aangesproken.

Zy vond het zeer schoon in haar Max, dat hy 't klavier liet terugbrengen in de voorkamer van den huisvader, dien hy had hooren zeggen hoe leed het hem deed dat de meisjes verstoken waren van muziek "na dat bankroet." Zy begreep zeer goed dat haar Max de slavenfamilie vrykocht te Menado, die zoo bitter bedroefd was te moeten stygen op de tafel des afslagers.  
She found it very fine in her Max that he had the piano carried back into the front room of the householder whom he had heard say how it grieved him that his daughters were deprived of music "after that bankruptcy." She understood very well that her Max bought free the slave-family at Menado who were so bitterly distressed at having to mount the auctioneer's table.
> Causative laten + bare infinitive terugbrengen: Laten + the bare infinitive terugbrengen is causative: 'had the piano brought back.' The agent is unstated — laten lets the action be done by someone else.
> Perception horen + bare infinitive, dative experiencer: Had hooren zeggen ('had heard say') is horen + bare infinitive in the perfect — note the infinitive hooren, not the participle, in this 'infinitivus pro participio.' Het deed hem leed is impersonal, 'it grieved him.'

Zy vond het natuurlyk dat Max paarden weergaf aan de Alfoeren in de Minahassa, wier paarden waren doodgereden door de officieren van de Bayonnaise.  
She thought it natural that Max gave horses back to the Alfoers in the Minahassa, whose horses had been ridden to death by the officers of the Bayonnaise.
> Anticipatory het + imperfect weergeven: Het anticipates the dat-clause ('she thought it natural that...'). Weergaf is the imperfect of the separable weergeven ('to give back'), with the prefix fused in this single-word past form.
> Genitive relative wier + zijn-passive: Wier ('whose') is the genitive relative for the plural Alfoeren. Waren doodgereden ('had been ridden to death') is a zijn-passive of the result.

Zy had er niet tegen dat hy te Menado en te Amboina de schipbreukelingen der amerikaansche whalers by zich riep en verzorgde, en zich te grand seigneur achtte om een herbergiersrekening voorteleggen aan 't amerikaansch Gouvernement.  
She had nothing against his calling to himself, at Menado and at Amboina, the shipwrecked crews of the American whalers and caring for them, and thinking himself too much the grand seigneur to present an innkeeper's bill to the American Government.
> Split pronominal adverb er ... tegen + reflexive by zich: Er ... tegen hebben means 'to object to'; the parts split across the clause. By zich riep means 'called to himself,' with zich the reflexive. Both verbs riep and verzorgde sit at the dat-clause end.
> Reflexive zich achten + om ... te: Zich ... achten om te means 'to consider oneself too (something) to do.' Voorteleggen = voor te leggen ('to present'), in joined 1860 spelling, completes the om-clause.

Zy begreep volkomen waarom de officieren van byna elk aangekomen oorlogschip grootendeels by Max logeerden, en dat zyn huis hun geliefd pied-à-terre was. Was hy niet háár Max?  
She fully understood why the officers of almost every man-of-war that put in lodged for the most part with Max, and why his house was their beloved pied-à-terre. Was he not her Max?
> Indirect question waarom + verb-final: Waarom ('why') opens an embedded question that behaves like a subordinate clause, sending logeerden to the end. Begreep volkomen waarom = 'fully understood why.'
> Inverted yes/no question with stressed háár: A yes/no question fronts the finite verb (Was hy...). Háár carries a stress accent — 'was he not her Max?' — the refrain that excuses all her indulgence.

Was het niet te klein, te nietig, was 't niet ongerymd, hem die zoo vorstelyk dacht, te willen binden aan de regels van spaarzaamheid en huishoudelykheid die voor anderen gelden?  
Was it not too petty, too trifling, was it not absurd, to wish to bind him — who thought so princely — to the rules of economy and household management that hold for others?
> Impersonal het + modal infinitive te willen binden: 't ... was niet ongerymd is impersonal ('was it not absurd'). What is absurd is the te-infinitive te willen binden, in which the modal willen takes the bare infinitive binden ('to wish to bind').
> Relative die after a personal pronoun: Die here relates back to hem ('him who thought so princely'), opening a verb-final clause (dacht). Zoo vorstelyk means 'so princely, in such a kingly way.'

En bovendien, al mocht er dan soms voor 't oogenblik iets onevenredigs wezen tusschen inkomsten en uitgaven, was Max, háár Max, niet bestemd voor een schitterende loopbaan? Moest hy niet weldra in omstandigheden verkeeren, die hem zouden in-staat stellen zonder overschryding zyner inkomsten den vryen loop te laten aan zyn groothartige neigingen?  
And besides, even if for the moment there should sometimes be something disproportionate between income and outlay, was not Max, her Max, destined for a brilliant career? Must he not soon find himself in circumstances that would enable him, without exceeding his income, to give free rein to his magnanimous impulses?
> Concessive al + modal mocht + existential er: Al ('even if') opens a concessive with inversion; the modal mocht ('might') and er existential combine: 'even if there might be something disproportionate.' Iets onevenredigs uses the partitive -s.
> Relative + future zou + te-infinitive: Die opens a verb-final relative clause; zouden ... stellen is the future ('would enable'). In staat stellen om te / te governs the te-infinitive te laten ('to give free rein').

Moest háár Max niet Gouverneur-generaal worden van dat lieve Indie, of ... een koning?  
Must not her Max become Governor-General of that dear Indies, or ... a king?
> Rhetorical question with modal moeten: A yes/no question fronts the modal moest ('must not'), with worden ('become') at the end. Háár is stressed. The hyperbole — Governor-General, even a king — measures Tine's adoration.

Wast 't niet vreemd zelfs, dat hy niet reeds koning wàs?  
Was it not even strange that he was not a king already?
> Accent on wàs and verb-final dat-clause: Inside the dat-clause the verb wàs lands at the end, and the grave accent marks emphatic stress ('was not already a king'). The opening Wast 't is the inverted Was het.

Als er een fout by haar kon gevonden worden, dan was haar ingenomenheid met Havelaar schuld daaraan, en zoo ooit, dan zou 't hier gelden: dat men veel vergeven moet aan wie veel heeft lief gehad!  
If any fault could be found in her, then her infatuation with Havelaar was to blame for it; and if ever, then here it would hold good: that much must be forgiven to whoever has loved much!
> Conditional als + worden-passive with modal: Als ('if') subordinates; er is existential. Kon gevonden worden stacks the modal kon with a worden-passive infinitive: 'could be found.'
> Free relative wie + perfect heeft lief gehad: Wie ('whoever') is a free relative without antecedent. Heeft lief gehad is the perfect of liefhebben ('has loved much') — the sentence echoes Luke 7:47.

Doch men had haar niets te vergeven.  
But there was nothing in her to forgive.
> hebben te + infinitive with negative niets: Had ... te vergeven is the obligation idiom hebben te + infinitive ('had to forgive'). Niets ('nothing') is the lone negative — 'there was nothing in her to forgive.'

Zonder nu te deelen in de overdreven begrippen die zy van haren Max koesterde, mag men toch aannemen dat hy een goede loopbaan voor zich had, en wanneer dit gegrond uitzicht zich had verwezenlykt, zouden inderdaad de onaangename gevolgen zyner vrygevigheid weldra uit den weg te ruimen geweest zyn.  
Without sharing the exaggerated notions she cherished of her Max, one may yet grant that he had a good career before him, and that, had this well-founded prospect been realized, the unpleasant consequences of his open-handedness would indeed soon have been cleared out of the way.
> Preposition zonder + te-infinitive: Zonder ('without') governs a te-infinitive: zonder te deelen, 'without sharing.' The relative die opens a verb-final clause (koesterde). Haren Max keeps the old inflected possessive haren.
> Counterfactual wanneer + reflexive + conditional perfect: Wanneer ('if/when') opens the condition; zich verwezenlijken ('to be realized') is reflexive. The main clause is conditional perfect: zouden ... uit den weg te ruimen geweest zyn ('would have been removable').

Maar nog een reden van geheel anderen aard verontschuldigde hare en zyne schynbare zorgeloosheid.  
But yet another reason of an entirely different kind excused her seeming carelessness, and his.
> Inflected possessives hare and zyne: Hare ('her') and zyne ('his') are the old inflected possessive forms, here agreeing with the feminine zorgeloosheid in a coordinated phrase. Modern Dutch uses bare haar and zijn.

Ze had zeer jong haar beide ouders verloren, en was by hare familie opgevoed.  
She had lost both her parents very young, and had been brought up by her relatives.
> Pluperfect (hebben) coordinated with zijn-passive: Had ... verloren is the pluperfect of verliezen; was ... opgevoed is a zijn-passive ('had been brought up'). The two auxiliaries hebben and zijn share the one subject across en.

Toen ze huwde, deelde men haar mede dat zy een klein vermogen bezat, 'tgeen dan ook werd uitbetaald, doch Havelaar ontdekte uit enkele brieven van vroeger tyd, en uit eenige losse aanteekeningen die zy in een van haar moeder afkomstige kassette bewaarde, dat haar familie zoo van vaders- als van moeders-zyde zeer ryk was geweest, zonder dat hem evenwel duidelyk worden kon, wáár, waardoor of wanneer die rykdom was verloren gegaan.  
When she married, she was told that she possessed a small fortune, which was then in fact paid out; but Havelaar discovered, from a few letters of an earlier time and from some loose notes that she kept in a casket inherited from her mother, that her family, on her father's side as on her mother's, had been very rich, without its becoming clear to him, however, where, how, or when that wealth had been lost.
> toen-clause + separable mededelen: Toen ('when') subordinates (huwde at the end), and fronting it inverts the main clause (deelde men). Mededelen ('to inform') is separable; here mede splits off (deelde ... mede).
> zonder dat + impersonal worden + embedded wh-clause: Zonder dat ('without ... -ing') subordinates. Duidelyk worden kon stacks the modal with worden ('could become clear'). The embedded wáár-clause keeps its verb cluster at the end (was verloren gegaan).

Zyzelf, die nooit belang gesteld had in zaken van geldelyken aard, wist weinig of niets te antwoorden, toen Havelaar by haar aandrong op eenige inlichtingen aangaande de vorige bezittingen van haar verwanten. Haar grootvader, de baron Van W., was met Willem den vyfden naar Engeland uitgeweken en ridmeester geweest by 't leger des hertogs van York.  
She herself, who had never taken any interest in matters of a pecuniary kind, knew little or nothing to answer when Havelaar pressed her for some information concerning the former possessions of her kin. Her grandfather, the Baron Van W., had gone over to England with William the Fifth and had been a cavalry captain in the army of the Duke of York.
> Embedded relative + negative nooit ... niets: The relative die opens a verb-final clause (gesteld had). Note nooit and niets each negate their own clause — one negative per clause, never doubled. Belang stellen in means 'to take an interest in.'

Hy scheen met de uitgeweken leden der stadhouderlyke familie een vroolyk leven geleid te hebben, wat dan ook door velen werd opgegeven als oorzaak van den ondergang zyner fortuin.  
He seems to have led a merry life with the exiled members of the stadtholder's family, which was indeed given by many as the cause of the downfall of his fortune.
> schijnen + perfect te-infinitive: Schijnen ('to seem') governs a perfect te-infinitive: geleid te hebben, 'to have led.' This is the literary way to report hearsay about the past.
> Free relative wat + worden-passive: Wat ('which') is a free relative referring to the whole preceding fact. Werd opgegeven ('was given') is a worden-passive of the separable opgeven; door velen names the agent.

Later, by Waterloo, sneuvelde hy in een charge onder de huzaren van Boreel.  
Later, at Waterloo, he fell in a charge among the hussars of Boreel.
> Weak imperfect sneuvelen + fronting: Sneuvelde ('fell, was killed in battle') is the imperfect, the narrative past. Fronting the adverbials Later, by Waterloo inverts subject and verb.

Aandoenlyk was het, de brieven te lezen van haar vader--toen een jongeling van achttien jaren, die als luitenant by dat korps in dezelfde charge een sabelhouw op 't hoofd bekwam, aan welks gevolgen hy acht jaren later krankzinnig sterven zou--brieven aan zyn moeder, waarin hy zich beklaagde hoe hy vruchteloos op het slagveld naar 't lyk zyns vaders had gezocht.  
Moving it was to read the letters of her father — then a youth of eighteen, who as a lieutenant in that corps, in the very same charge, received a saber-cut to the head, of whose consequences he was to die insane eight years later — letters to his mother, in which he lamented how he had searched in vain over the battlefield for the body of his father.
> Fronted predicate + impersonal het + te-infinitive: Fronting Aandoenlyk ('moving') inverts to was het, where het is the dummy subject pointing to the te-infinitive de brieven te lezen ('to read the letters').
> Formal relative welks + future zou: Welks is the old genitive of the formal relative welk ('of whose'), a heavier, period form. The clause closes with the future-in-the-past sterven zou, 'was to die.'

Wat haar afkomst van moederszyde aangaat, herinnerde zy zich dat haar grootvader op zeer aanzienlyken voet geleefd had, en uit sommige papieren bleek dat deze in het bezit was geweest van de posteryen in Zwitserland, op de wyze zooals thans nog in een groot gedeelte van Duitschland en Italie, die tak van inkomst de apanage uitmaakt der vorsten van Turn en Taxis.  
As for her descent on her mother's side, she remembered that her grandfather had lived in very considerable style, and from some papers it appeared that he had been in possession of the posts in Switzerland, in the way that even now, in a great part of Germany and Italy, that branch of revenue makes up the appanage of the Princes of Thurn and Taxis.
> Separable aangaan as a discourse opener: Wat ... aangaat means 'as for, as regards' — the separable verb aangaan with its prefix at the end. It frames a topic shift to the maternal line. Note period spellings: moederszyde, aanzienlyken.
> Demonstrative deze as subject + pluperfect: Deze ('this one, he') refers back to the grandfather. In het bezit zijn van means 'to be in possession of'; was geweest is the pluperfect.

Dit deed een groot vermogen veronderstellen, maar ook hiervan was door geheel onbekende oorzaken niets, of zeer weinig althans, overgegaan op het tweede geslacht.  
This led one to suppose a great fortune; but of this too, through wholly unknown causes, nothing — or at any rate very little — had passed to the second generation.
> Causative doen + bare infinitive: Doen + the bare infinitive veronderstellen is causative: 'this made (one) suppose / led one to suppose a great fortune.' Doen takes no te.
> Pluperfect of motion overgaan + negative niets: Was ... overgegaan is the pluperfect of the separable overgaan ('to pass over'), with zijn. Niets ('nothing') is the single negative; door geheel onbekende oorzaken means 'through wholly unknown causes.'

Havelaar vernam 't weinige dat daarvan te vernemen was, eerst na zyn huwelyk, en by zyn nasporingen wekte het zyn verwondering dat de kassette waarvan ik zoo-even sprak--met den inhoud uit een gevoel van pieteit bewaarde, zonder te gissen dat daarin misschien stukken waren, die belang hadden uit een geldelyk oogpunt--op onbegrypelyke wyze was verloren gegaan.  
Havelaar learned the little that was to be learned of it only after his marriage, and in his inquiries it stirred his wonder that the casket of which I spoke just now — kept, with its contents, out of a feeling of piety, without her guessing that there might be papers in it of importance from a pecuniary point of view — had, in an unaccountable way, been lost.
> Anticipatory het + extraposed dat-clause: Het anticipates the long dat-clause ('it stirred his wonder that...'). Far down, the subject clause ends in the pluperfect was verloren gegaan ('had been lost').
> Pronominal relative waarvan: Waarvan ('of which') fuses waar + van and serves as the relative for the casket. Zoo-even means 'just now.'

Hoe onbaatzuchtig ook, hy bouwde op deze en vele andere omstandigheden de meening dat hierachter een roman intime verscholen lag, en men mag 't hem niet euvel duiden dat hy, die voor zyn duren inborst veel behoefde, met vreugde dien roman een bly einde had zien nemen.  
However disinterested he was, he built upon these and many other circumstances the opinion that behind all this lay hidden a roman intime, and one cannot take it amiss in him that he — who, for his costly disposition, needed a great deal — should have seen with joy that romance come to a happy end.
> Elliptical concessive hoe ... ook: Hoe onbaatzuchtig ook ('however disinterested') is a concessive with the verb elided. It sets up the contrast that even this selfless man indulged a dream of wealth.
> Idiom euvel duiden + perception zien + bare infinitive: Het iemand euvel duiden means 'to hold it against someone.' Had ... zien nemen is the perception verb zien + bare infinitive in the perfect (infinitivus pro participio), 'had seen (the romance) take.'
> roman intime — French for 'private romance': A roman intime is a hidden domestic drama or secret family story. Havelaar imagines a concealed intrigue behind Tine's vanished inheritance — one of several French phrases lending the passage a worldly irony.

Hoe 't nu wezen moog met het bestaan van dien roman, en of er al dan niet spoliatie had plaats gehad, zeker is 't dat er in Havelaars verbeelding iets geboren werd, wat men een rêve aux millions zou kunnen noemen.  
However it may stand with the existence of that romance, and whether or not there had been any spoliation, certain it is that in Havelaar's imagination something was born which one might call a rêve aux millions.
> Concessive subjunctive moog + impersonal het: Hoe 't ... wezen moog is a concessive with the subjunctive moog ('however it may be'). The main clause fronts the predicate (zeker is 't), with het pointing to the following dat-clause.
> rêve aux millions — 'dream of millions': Another French phrase: a fantasy of coming into millions. Multatuli names Havelaar's recurring illusion of a hidden fortune with deliberate, faintly mocking elegance.

Doch alweer was 't eigenaardig dat hy die zoo nauwkeurig en scherp het recht van een ander--hoe diep ook begraven onder stoffige akten en dikwebbige chicanes--zou hebben nagespoord en verdedigd, dat hy hier waar zyn eigen belang in 't spel was, met slordigheid het oogenblik verwaarloosde, waarin misschien de zaak had moeten worden aangevat.  
Yet once again it was peculiar that he, who would have tracked down and defended so meticulously and sharply the right of another — however deeply buried under dusty deeds and tangled chicaneries — should here, where his own interest was at stake, have with negligence let slip the moment at which the matter might have had to be taken in hand.
> Impersonal het + relative die + conditional perfect: 't ... was eigenaardig is impersonal. The relative die ('he who') opens a verb-final clause; zou hebben nagespoord en verdedigd is the conditional perfect, 'would have tracked down and defended.'
> Relative waarin + modal + worden-passive perfect: Waarin ('in which') is a pronominal relative for het oogenblik. Had moeten worden aangevat stacks pluperfect, modal moeten, and a worden-passive infinitive: 'ought to have been taken in hand.'

Hy scheen iets als schaamte te gevoelen omdat het hier zyn eigen voordeel gold, en ik geloof zeker wanneer "zyn Tine" gehuwd ware geweest met een ander, met iemand die zich tot hem had gewend met het verzoek de spinrag te verbreken waarin haar voorouderlyk fortuin was blyven hangen, dat hy geslaagd zou zyn "de interessante wees" in 't bezit te stellen van het vermogen dat haar behoorde.  
He seemed to feel something like shame because it was here his own advantage that was concerned; and I firmly believe that, had "his Tine" been married to another — to someone who had turned to him with the request to break the cobweb in which her ancestral fortune had remained entangled — he would have succeeded in putting "the interesting orphan" in possession of the fortune that belonged to her.
> Counterfactual: subjunctive ware geweest + conditional perfect: Ware geweest is the literary pluperfect subjunctive ('had been married'); the main clause answers with the conditional perfect zou ... geslaagd zyn ('would have succeeded'). A full unreal past conditional.
> Reflexive zich wenden tot + te-infinitive: Zich wenden tot means 'to turn to'; zich is reflexive and had ... gewend is the pluperfect. The request is unfolded with te: de spinrag te verbreken, 'to break the cobweb.'

Maar nu was die interessante wees zyn vrouw, háár vermogen was het zyne, hy vond er dus iets koopmansachtigs in, iets derogeerends, in haar naam te vragen: "zyt ge my niet nog iets schuldig?"  
But now that interesting orphan was his wife, her fortune was his own; he found, therefore, something tradesmanlike in it, something demeaning, to ask in her name: "do you not still owe me something?"
> Split pronominal adverb er ... in + partitive -s: Er ... in ('in it') is a split pronominal adverb. Iets koopmansachtigs ('something tradesmanlike') and iets derogeerends use the partitive -s after iets.
> Archaic pronoun ge + inverted question: Zyt ge is the 1860 second-person 'are you' (ge being the unstressed gij). The yes/no question fronts the verb. Iets schuldig zijn means 'to owe something.'

En toch kon hy dien millioenendroom niet van zich schudden, al ware het dan ook slechts om een verontschuldiging by de hand te hebben, by het dikwyls voorkomend zelfverwyt dat hy te veel geld uitgaf.  
And yet he could not shake off that dream of millions, were it only to have an excuse at hand against the often-recurring self-reproach that he spent too much money.
> Modal kon + reflexive van zich + niet: The modal kon sends schudden to the end. Iets van zich afschudden means 'to shake something off oneself'; zich is reflexive and niet the clause negative. Dien keeps the old accusative.
> Concessive subjunctive ware + om ... te: Al ware het ('even if it were') is a concessive with the subjunctive ware. Om ... te hebben frames the purpose, 'only to have (an excuse) at hand.'

Eerst kort voor het terugkeeren naar Java, toen hy reeds veel geleden had onder den druk van geldgebrek, toen hy zyn fier hoofd had moeten buigen onder de furca caudina van menigen schuldeischer, had hy zyn traagheid of zyn schroom kunnen overwinnen om werk te maken van de millioenen die hy meende nog te-goed te hebben.  
Only shortly before the return to Java — when he had already suffered much under the pressure of lack of money, when he had had to bow his proud head beneath the furca caudina of many a creditor — had he been able to overcome his sloth, or his bashfulness, and set about the matter of the millions he believed were still owed to him.
> toen-clause + modal in the pluperfect: Toen ('when') subordinates. Had moeten buigen stacks the pluperfect with the modal moeten ('had had to bow'), the verbs clustering at the clause end.
> Pluperfect + modal kunnen + om ... te: Had ... kunnen overwinnen is the pluperfect with modal kunnen ('had been able to overcome'). Om ... te maken ('in order to set about') frames the goal; werk maken van is the idiom 'to take in hand.'

En men antwoordde hem met eene oude rekening-courant ... een argument, zooals men weet, waartegen niets valt intebrengen.  
And he was answered with an old current account ... an argument, as everyone knows, against which nothing can be urged.
> Inflected article eene + indirect object hem: Eene is the old inflected indefinite article ('an'), now simply een. Men is the impersonal subject, and hem is the dative recipient of antwoordde.
> Pronominal relative waartegen + valt te + joined inbrengen: Waartegen ('against which') is a pronominal relative. Niets valt in te brengen ('nothing can be urged') uses valt te + infinitive for possibility; intebrengen is the joined 1860 spelling.

Maar ze zouden zoo spaarzaam wezen te Lebak!  
But they would be so thrifty at Lebak!
> zou(den) + infinitive: The conditional zouden + the infinitive wezen ('to be', an older form of zijn) frames a hoped-for outcome — 'they would be so thrifty'. wezen is the literary/archaic infinitive of zijn, still common in 1860.

En waarom ook niet?  
And why not, after all?
> ook niet — emphasizing the negation: ook ('also, after all') sits before niet to soften and intensify the rhetorical question; niet negates the whole clause rather than a single noun. Compare geen, which would negate an indefinite noun instead.

Er dwalen in zoo'n onbeschaafd land, op den laten avend geen meisjes over straat, die een weinig eer te verkoopen hebben voor een weinig voedsel.  
In such an uncivilized land there are no girls roaming the streets late in the evening with a little honor to sell for a little food.
> Existential er with geen: er introduces an existential statement ('there roam no girls...'), and geen negates the indefinite plural meisjes — Dutch uses geen, not niet, before an indefinite noun. Note the verb dwalen stands second after the fronted er.
> Case remnant den + period spelling: den is the frozen masculine accusative/dative article surviving in 1860 prose after the preposition op; the adjective takes -e (laten). avend is the older spelling of avond.
> Relative die + te-infinitive: The relative pronoun die ('who') refers back to the de-word plural meisjes, and te verkoopen hebben means 'have to sell / have for sale'. verkoopen shows the 1860 doubled-vowel spelling for verkopen.

Er zwerven daar zoo geen menschen rond, die van problematische beroepen leven.  
There are no people wandering about there who live by problematic trades.
> Existential er + separable verb: rondzwerven ('to wander about') is separable: the prefix rond detaches to the clause end while zwerven stands second. geen negates the indefinite menschen (1860 spelling of mensen).

Daar valt het niet voor, dat een gezin op-eens te-gronde gaat door wisseling van fortuin ... en van zoodanigen aard toch waren gewoonlyk de klippen waarop de goede voornemens van Havelaar strandden.  
There it does not happen that a household is suddenly ruined by a turn of fortune ... and yet it was of just such a kind that the reefs usually were on which Havelaar's good intentions ran aground.
> Separable voorvallen + dummy het: voorvallen ('to occur, happen') splits, sending voor to the end; the het is an impersonal subject anticipating the dat-clause that follows. The construction reads 'There it does not occur that...'.
> te gronde gaan — fixed idiom: te gronde gaan ('to be ruined, go to ruin') is a fixed expression preserving the old dative te + gronde. door + noun expresses the cause ('through/by a turn of fortune').
> Pronominal adverb waarop: waarop fuses the relative 'which' with the preposition op ('on which') — Dutch routinely merges a preposition with a thing into waar- + preposition. strandden is the weak (regular) past plural of stranden, formed with the dental -de suffix.

Het getal Europeanen in die Afdeeling was zoo gering dat het niet in aanmerking komen kon, en de javaan te Lebak te arm om--by welke lotwisseling ook--belangwekkend te worden door nog grooter armoede.  
The number of Europeans in that Division was so small that it could not come into consideration, and the Javanese at Lebak too poor — under whatever turn of fate — to become of interest through still greater poverty.
> Subordinate clause word order: dat opens a subordinate clause and drives the verbs to the end: the modal kon and the infinitive komen cluster finally as 'could not come into consideration'. in aanmerking komen is a fixed idiom.
> Afdeeling — administrative 'Division': An Afdeeling (modern afdeling) was a colonial administrative division headed by an assistant-resident; here it names the district of Lebak. The -ee- spelling is the 1860 doubled vowel.

Dit alles overdacht Tine zoo niet--hiertoe toch had zy zich, juister dan zy uit liefde voor Max doen wilde, rekenschap moeten geven van de oorzaken hunner min gunstige omstandigheden--maar er lag in hun nieuwe omgeving iets dat kalmte ademde, en afwezen van alle aanleidingen --met meer of min valsch-romanesken tint dan--die vroeger Havelaar zoo dikwyls hadden doen zeggen: --Niet waar, Tine, dàt is nu toch een geval waaraan ik me niet onttrekken kan?  
All this Tine did not so reflect upon — for to do so she would have had to give herself, more exactly than out of love for Max she cared to do, an account of the causes of their less favorable circumstances — but there lay in their new surroundings something that breathed calm, and an absence of all those occasions — of more or less falsely romantic tint — that had so often made Havelaar say in earlier days: --Is it not so, Tine, that this, after all, is a case from which I cannot withdraw?
> Reflexive zich in a modal perfect: zich is the 3rd-person reflexive ('to herself'); zich rekenschap geven van means 'to give oneself an account of'. The verb cluster moeten geven shows the modal driving the main verb to a bare infinitive at the end.
> Genitive hunner: hunner is an inflected genitive possessive ('of their'), a 1860 case form modern Dutch replaces with van hun. The bare adverb min ('less') modifies gunstige — 'less favorable'.
> Existential er lag + relative dat: er + the past-tense lag ('there lay') introduces the indefinite subject iets; the relative dat agrees with the neuter iets and closes its clause with the verb ademde. The whole reads 'there lay something that breathed calm'.

En waarop zy altyd geantwoord had: --Wel neen, Max, dááraan kanje je niet onttrekken!  
And to which she had always answered: --Why no, Max, from that you cannot withdraw!
> Pronominal adverb + pluperfect: waarop ('to which') is a pronominal adverb relativizing the preposition op; geantwoord had is the pluperfect (imperfect of hebben + participle) — 'she had always answered'.
> Reflexive zich onttrekken aan + clitic: zich onttrekken aan means 'to withdraw from'; here je is both the clitic subject (kanje = kan je) and the reflexive object. The fronted, stressed dááraan is the pronominal adverb 'from that'.

We zullen zien hoe't eenvoudige, schynbaar onbewogen Lebak Havelaar meer kostte dan alle vorige uitspattingen van zyn hart te-zamen genomen.  
We shall see how the simple, seemingly unmoved Lebak cost Havelaar more than all the former extravagances of his heart taken together.
> Future with zullen: zullen + the infinitive zien forms the explicit future, 'we shall see'. The following hoe-clause is subordinate, so its verb kostte ('cost') sits at the end.
> uitspattingen — 'extravagances': uitspatting normally means 'excess, debauchery'; here applied figuratively to the heart's impulsive generosity, 'extravagances of his heart'. zyn is the 1860 spelling of zijn.

Maar dit wisten zy niet! Zy zagen de toekomst met vertrouwen te-gemoet, en voelden zich zoo gelukkig in hun liefde en in 't bezit van hun kind ...  
But this they did not know! They looked toward the future with confidence, and felt themselves so happy in their love and in the possession of their child ...
> Fronting + V2 inversion: The object dit ('this') is fronted for emphasis, forcing subject–verb inversion: the finite verb wisten stays in second position and the subject zy follows. This is the hallmark V2 rule of Dutch main clauses.
> Separable tegemoetzien: tegemoetzien ('to look forward to') is separable; its prefix tegemoet (here spelled te-gemoet) lands at the clause end while zagen stands second. voelden zich is reflexive — 'felt themselves'.

--Wat al rozen in den tuin, riep Tine, en ziedaar ook rampeh en tjempaka, en zooveel melati, en zie eens al die schoone lelien ...  
--What a lot of roses in the garden, cried Tine, and there too are rampeh and tjempaka, and so much melati, and just look at all those beautiful lilies ...
> Exclamative wat al: wat al is an archaic exclamative meaning 'what a lot of', here 'what a lot of roses'. in den tuin shows the case-remnant den after the preposition.

En, kinderen als ze waren, vermaakten zy zich met hun nieuw huis. En toen 's avends Duclari en Verbrugge, na een bezoek by Havelaar, terugkeerden naar hun gemeenschappelyke woning, spraken zy veel over de kinderlyke vroolykheid van de nieuw aangekomen familie.  
And, children as they were, they amused themselves with their new house. And when in the evening Duclari and Verbrugge, after a visit to Havelaar, returned to their shared dwelling, they spoke much of the childlike cheerfulness of the newly arrived family.
> Concessive 'als ze waren' + reflexive: The fronted concessive phrase 'children as they were' triggers V2 inversion in the main clause (vermaakten zy). zich vermaken is reflexive, 'to amuse oneself'.
> toen-clause sends verb to the end: The subordinating conjunction toen ('when', past) pushes the finite verb terugkeerden to the clause end. 's avends is a frozen genitive ('in the evening', des avonds), here in 1860 spelling.

Havelaar begaf zich naar zyn kantoor, en bleef daar den nacht door, tot den volgenden morgen.  
Havelaar betook himself to his office, and stayed there through the night, until the following morning.
> Reflexive zich begeven: zich begeven naar ('to betake oneself to, head for') requires the reflexive zich; begaf is the strong past of begeven. The structure is verb-second with the reflexive in the middle field.
> Case remnants den ... den: den nacht and den volgenden morgen both keep the old masculine accusative den (with adjective -en in volgenden), frozen relics of case that 1860 prose still uses after time expressions and prepositions.
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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.