Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. TITELBLATT

2. IMPRESSUM

3. FIRST QUARTER

4. THE SECOND QUARTER

5. THIRD QUARTER

6. FOURTH QUARTER

7. THE CHIMES (ENGLISCH)

Charles Dickens
The Chimes / Die Silvesterglocken
Zweisprachige Ausgabe
Übersetzt von Margit Meyer

Klicken Sie auf die unterstrichenen Querverweise, um zwischen der zweisprachigen Version und dem Original zu wechseln.

Der Originaltext ist gemeinfrei. Die Rechte für die synchronisierte zweisprachige Ausgabe und für die von uns in der Übersetzung ergänzten Textpassagen liegen bei Doppeltext.

Die Übersetzung erschien erstmals 1979 in Alle Weihnachtserzählungen im Verlag Rütten & Loening, Berlin. Rütten & Loening ist eine Marke der Aufbau Verlag GmbH & Co. KG.
Übersetzung © Aufbau Verlag GmbH & Co. KG

Unser Programm umfasst viele weitere zweisprachige Titel. Besuchen Sie www.doppeltext.com, um mehr zu erfahren.

Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Meinung und Kritik.

Doppeltext
Igor Kogan & Tatiana Zelenska
Karwendelstr. 25
D-81369 München
Tel. +49-89-74 79 28 26
www.doppeltext.com
info@doppeltext.com

FIRST QUARTER

ERSTES VIERTEL

THERE are not many people — and as it is desirable

Es gibt nicht viele Menschen – und da es wünschenswert ist,

that a story-teller and a story-reader should establish a mutual understanding as soon as possible, I beg it to be noticed

daß Geschichtenerzähler und Geschichtenleser so bald wie möglich zu gegenseitigem Verstehen gelangen, erlaube ich mir, zu erwähnen,

that I confine this observation neither to young people nor to little people, but extend it to all conditions of people:

daß ich diese Bemerkung weder auf junge noch auf kleine Menschen beschränke, sondern auf Menschen aller Lebenslagen ausdehne:

little and big, young and old: yet growing up, or already growing down again — there are not, I say, many people who would care to sleep in a church.

auf kleine und große, junge und alte, auf die noch heranwachsenden und die schon in die Erde wachsenden –, ja, es gibt nicht viele Menschen, die in einer Kirche schlafen würden.

I don’t mean at sermon-time in warm weather (when the thing has actually been done, once or twice), but in the night, and alone.

Ich meine nicht, bei warmem Wetter während der Predigt (wo so etwas gewiß hin und wieder vorkommen wird), sondern in der Nacht, und dann allein.

A great multitude of persons will be violently astonished, I know, by this position, in the broad bold Day. But it applies to Night.

Eine große Anzahl Menschen wird sicher eine solche Situation schon am hellichten Tag erstaunlich finden. Aber es bezieht sich auf die Nacht.

It must be argued by night, and I will undertake to maintain it successfully on any gusty winter’s night appointed for the purpose, with any one opponent chosen from the rest,

Das soll auch bei Nacht bewiesen werden, und ich verpflichte mich, dies in einer stürmischen, eigens dafür festgelegten Winternacht mit irgendeinem Partner durchzustehen.

who will meet me singly in an old churchyard, before an old church-door; and will previously empower me to lock him in, if needful to his satisfaction, until morning.

Er soll mich allein auf einem alten Friedhof vor einer alten Kirchentür treffen und mich vorher ermächtigen, ihn einzuschließen, nötigenfalls bis zum Morgen.

For the night-wind has a dismal trick of wandering round and round a building of that sort, and moaning as it goes;

Denn der Nachtwind hat die gräßliche Angewohnheit, um ein Gebäude dieser Art herumzuziehen und dabei zu ächzen

and of trying, with its unseen hand, the windows and the doors; and seeking out some crevices by which to enter.

und mit unsichtbarer Hand an Fenstern und Türen zu rütteln und ein paar Spalten zu suchen, durch die er sich Eingang verschaffen kann.

And when it has got in; as one not finding what it seeks, whatever that may be, it wails and howls to issue forth again:

Und wenn er drin ist, wie einer, der nicht findet, was er sucht – was es auch sein mag –, wimmert und heult er, um wieder hinauszugelangen.

and not content with stalking through the aisles, and gliding round and round the pillars,

Und da es ihm nicht genügt, durch das Kirchenschiff zu fegen, um die Säulen zu gleiten

and tempting the deep organ, soars up to the roof, and strives to rend the rafters:

und die volltönende Orgel auszuprobieren, schwingt er sich zum Dach empor und müht sich, an den Dachsparren zu zerren.

then flings itself despairingly upon the stones below, and passes, muttering, into the vaults.

Dann stürzt er sich voller Verzweiflung auf die Fliesen nieder und verschwindet grollend in den Grabgewölben.

Anon, it comes up stealthily, and creeps along the walls, seeming to read, in whispers, the Inscriptions sacred to the Dead.

Sofort kommt er heimlich wieder herauf und schleicht an den Wänden entlang, als ob er flüsternd die den Toten gewidmeten Inschriften lese.

At some of these, it breaks out shrilly, as with laughter; and at others, moans and cries as if it were lamenting.

Bei einigen bricht er wie in schrilles Gelächter aus, bei anderen stöhnt und weint er, als ob er etwas beklage.

It has a ghostly sound too, lingering within the altar;

Er gibt auch Geistertöne von sich, die im Altarraum nachhallen,

where it seems to chaunt, in its wild way, of Wrong and Murder done, and false Gods worshipped,

wo er in seiner wilden Art von Missetat und Mord und angebeteten Göttern zu singen scheint,

in defiance of the Tables of the Law, which look so fair and smooth, but are so flawed and broken.

den Gesetzestafeln zum Trotz, die so makellos und glatt aussehen, aber rissig und zerbrochen sind.

Ugh! Heaven preserve us, sitting snugly round the fire! It has an awful voice, that wind at Midnight, singing in a church!

Hu! Der Himmel behüte uns, die wir gemütlich am Kamin sitzen! Er hat eine furchtbare Stimme, dieser Wind, der um Mitternacht in einer Kirche singt.

But, high up in the steeple! There the foul blast roars and whistles!

Aber hoch oben im Turm erst! Dort brüllt und pfeift der Sturm.

High up in the steeple, where it is free to come and go through many an airy arch and loophole,

Hoch oben im Turm, wo er ungehindert durch viele luftige Bogen und Schlitze wehen,

and to twist and twine itself about the giddy stair, and twirl the groaning weathercock, and make the very tower shake and shiver!

sich um die schwindelerregende Treppe winden, den knarrenden Wetterhahn herumwirbeln und den Turm zum Schwanken und Beben bringen kann!

High up in the steeple, where the belfry is, and iron rails are ragged with rust,

Hoch oben im Turm, wo der Glockenstuhl ist, wo Eisengeländer von Rost zerfressen sind

and sheets of lead and copper, shrivelled by the changing weather, crackle and heave beneath the unaccustomed tread;

und verwitterte Blei- und Kupferbleche krachen und keuchen,

and birds stuff shabby nests into corners of old oaken joists and beams; and dust grows old and grey;

wo Vögel ihre kümmerlichen Nester in die Ecken alter Eichenträger und Balken stopfen, wo Staub alt und grau wird,

and speckled spiders, indolent and fat with long security,

wo sich gesprenkelte Spinnen, die schon von dem langen Leben in Sicherheit dick und träge geworden sind,

swing idly to and fro in the vibration of the bells, and never loose their hold upon their thread-spun castles in the air,

beim Schwingen der Glocken hin und her schaukeln und nie den Halt an ihren aus Fäden gesponnenen Luftschlössern verlieren

or climb up sailor-like in quick alarm, or drop upon the ground and ply a score of nimble legs to save one life!

oder wie ein Matrose bei Alarm hochklettern oder sich auf den Boden fallen lassen und eine Anzahl beweglicher Beine anstrengen, um ihr Leben zu retten!

High up in the steeple of an old church, far above the light and murmur of the town and far below the flying clouds that shadow it,

Hoch oben im Turm einer alten Kirche – weit über dem Licht und Lärm der Stadt und weit unter den fliegenden Wolken, deren Schatten ihn umgeben

is the wild and dreary place at night: and high up in the steeple of an old church, dwelt the Chimes I tell of.

– ist es nachts unheimlich und düster, und hoch oben im Turm einer alten Kirche hingen die Glocken, von denen ich erzähle.

They were old Chimes, trust me. Centuries ago, these Bells had been baptized by bishops:

Es waren alte Glocken, glauben Sie mir. Vor Jahrhunderten waren diese Glocken von Bischöfen geweiht worden;

so many centuries ago, that the register of their baptism was lost long, long before the memory of man, and no one knew their names.

vor so vielen Jahrhunderten, daß das Taufregister schon seit Menschengedenken verschwunden ist und keiner mehr ihre Namen kennt.

They had had their Godfathers and Godmothers, these Bells

Sie hatten ihre Paten und zweifellos auch ihre Silberbecher gehabt, diese Glocken

(for my own part, by the way, I would rather incur the responsibility of being Godfather to a Bell than a Boy), and had their silver mugs no doubt, besides.

(ich für meinen Teil würde übrigens lieber die Verantwortung auf mich laden, bei einer Glocke Pate zu sein als bei einem Jungen).

But Time had mowed down their sponsors, and Henry the Eighth had melted down their mugs;

Aber die Zeit hatte ihre Stifter hinweggerafft, und Heinrich VIII. hatte ihre Becher eingeschmolzen,

and they now hung, nameless and mugless, in the church-tower.

und nun hingen sie ohne Namen und Becher im Kirchturm.

Not speechless, though. Far from it. They had clear, loud, lusty, sounding voices, had these Bells; and far and wide they might be heard upon the wind.

Allerdings nicht stumm. Im Gegenteil. Diese Glocken hatten klare, laute, kräftige, wohltönende Stimmen, die man nah und fern über den Wind hinweg hören konnte.

Much too sturdy Chimes were they, to be dependent on the pleasure of the wind, moreover;

Sie waren viel zu unnachgiebig, als daß sie sich von der Gefälligkeit des Windes abhängig machten,

for, fighting gallantly against it when it took an adverse whim, they would pour their cheerful notes into a listening ear right royally;

denn indem sie tapfer gegen seine widrigen Launen ankämpften, ließen sie ihre fröhliche Melodie großartig an die lauschenden Ohren dringen,

and bent on being heard on stormy nights, by some poor mother watching a sick child,

und in ihrer Entschlossenheit, auch in stürmischen Nächten von der armen Mutter, die bei ihrem kranken Kind wacht,

or some lone wife whose husband was at sea, they had been sometimes known to beat a blustering Nor’ Wester;

und einer einsamen Ehefrau, deren Mann auf See ist, gehört zu werden, waren sie dafür bekannt, daß sie manchmal einen tobenden Nordwest übertönten.

aye, “all to fits,” as Toby Veck said; — for though they chose to call him Trotty Veck, his name was Toby,

Jawohl, mit aller Macht, wie Toby Veck sagte, denn obwohl man ihn Trotty Veck nannte, hieß er Toby,

and nobody could make it anything else either (except Tobias) without a special act of parliament;

und niemand konnte etwas anderes daraus machen (außer Tobias), es sei denn durch ein besonderes Parlamentsgesetz.

he having been as lawfully christened in his day as the Bells had been in theirs,

Er war zu seiner Zeit ebenso rechtmäßig getauft worden wie die Glocken zu der ihrigen,

though with not quite so much of solemnity or public rejoicing.

wenn auch nicht mit ganz so großer Feierlichkeit und öffentlicher Lustbarkeit.

For my part, I confess myself of Toby Veck’s belief, for I am sure he had opportunities enough of forming a correct one. And whatever Toby Veck said, I say.

Ich für mein Teil bekenne mich zu Toby Vecks Ansicht, denn ich bin sicher, daß er genügend Gelegenheit hatte, sich die rechte Meinung zu bilden. Und was Toby Veck sagte, das sage auch ich.

And I take my stand by Toby Veck, although he did stand all day long (and weary work it was) just outside the church-door.

Und ich stelle mich zu Toby Veck, obwohl er den lieben langen Tag (eine beschwerliche Arbeit war das) draußen vor der Kirchentür stand.

In fact he was a ticket-porter, Toby Veck, and waited there for jobs.

Er war nämlich Gepäckträger, dieser Toby Veck, und wartete dort auf Aufträge.

FIRST QUARTER

THERE are not many people — and as it is desirable that a story-teller and a story-reader should establish a mutual understanding as soon as possible, I beg it to be noticed that I confine this observation neither to young people nor to little people, but extend it to all conditions of people: little and big, young and old: yet growing up, or already growing down again — there are not, I say, many people who would care to sleep in a church. I don’t mean at sermon-time in warm weather (when the thing has actually been done, once or twice), but in the night, and alone. A great multitude of persons will be violently astonished, I know, by this position, in the broad bold Day. But it applies to Night. It must be argued by night, and I will undertake to maintain it successfully on any gusty winter’s night appointed for the purpose, with any one opponent chosen from the rest, who will meet me singly in an old churchyard, before an old church-door; and will previously empower me to lock him in, if needful to his satisfaction, until morning.

For the night-wind has a dismal trick of wandering round and round a building of that sort, and moaning as it goes; and of trying, with its unseen hand, the windows and the doors; and seeking out some crevices by which to enter. And when it has got in; as one not finding what it seeks, whatever that may be, it wails and howls to issue forth again: and not content with stalking through the aisles, and gliding round and round the pillars, and tempting the deep organ, soars up to the roof, and strives to rend the rafters: then flings itself despairingly upon the stones below, and passes, muttering, into the vaults. Anon, it comes up stealthily, and creeps along the walls, seeming to read, in whispers, the Inscriptions sacred to the Dead. At some of these, it breaks out shrilly, as with laughter; and at others, moans and cries as if it were lamenting. It has a ghostly sound too, lingering within the altar; where it seems to chaunt, in its wild way, of Wrong and Murder done, and false Gods worshipped, in defiance of the Tables of the Law, which look so fair and smooth, but are so flawed and broken. Ugh! Heaven preserve us, sitting snugly round the fire! It has an awful voice, that wind at Midnight, singing in a church!

But, high up in the steeple! There the foul blast roars and whistles! High up in the steeple, where it is free to come and go through many an airy arch and loophole, and to twist and twine itself about the giddy stair, and twirl the groaning weathercock, and make the very tower shake and shiver! High up in the steeple, where the belfry is, and iron rails are ragged with rust, and sheets of lead and copper, shrivelled by the changing weather, crackle and heave beneath the unaccustomed tread; and birds stuff shabby nests into corners of old oaken joists and beams; and dust grows old and grey; and speckled spiders, indolent and fat with long security, swing idly to and fro in the vibration of the bells, and never loose their hold upon their thread-spun castles in the air, or climb up sailor-like in quick alarm, or drop upon the ground and ply a score of nimble legs to save one life! High up in the steeple of an old church, far above the light and murmur of the town and far below the flying clouds that shadow it, is the wild and dreary place at night: and high up in the steeple of an old church, dwelt the Chimes I tell of.

They were old Chimes, trust me. Centuries ago, these Bells had been baptized by bishops: so many centuries ago, that the register of their baptism was lost long, long before the memory of man, and no one knew their names. They had had their Godfathers and Godmothers, these Bells (for my own part, by the way, I would rather incur the responsibility of being Godfather to a Bell than a Boy), and had their silver mugs no doubt, besides. But Time had mowed down their sponsors, and Henry the Eighth had melted down their mugs; and they now hung, nameless and mugless, in the church-tower.

Not speechless, though. Far from it. They had clear, loud, lusty, sounding voices, had these Bells; and far and wide they might be heard upon the wind. Much too sturdy Chimes were they, to be dependent on the pleasure of the wind, moreover; for, fighting gallantly against it when it took an adverse whim, they would pour their cheerful notes into a listening ear right royally; and bent on being heard on stormy nights, by some poor mother watching a sick child, or some lone wife whose husband was at sea, they had been sometimes known to beat a blustering Nor’ Wester; aye, “all to fits,” as Toby Veck said; — for though they chose to call him Trotty Veck, his name was Toby, and nobody could make it anything else either (except Tobias) without a special act of parliament; he having been as lawfully christened in his day as the Bells had been in theirs, though with not quite so much of solemnity or public rejoicing.

For my part, I confess myself of Toby Veck’s belief, for I am sure he had opportunities enough of forming a correct one. And whatever Toby Veck said, I say. And I take my stand by Toby Veck, although he did stand all day long (and weary work it was) just outside the church-door. In fact he was a ticket-porter, Toby Veck, and waited there for jobs.