Ses an maîtres, il falloit la leur arracher. masters, it was-necessary her to-them to-snatch-away. His anof it, he must therefore wrest it from them. His an cêtres avoient eu des droits sur l'Ingrie, l'Estonie, had of-the rights over the Ingria, the Esthonia, cestors + had cestors had claims upon Ingria, Esthonia, la Livonie: le temps sembloit propice pour faire the Livonia: the time and Livonia: the time + seemed propitious for to-make seemed propitious for revivre ces droits perdues to-revive these rights lost depuis cent ans, since hundred years, reclaiming rights which had been virtually lost a century ago, a league with the king of concluded a league with the king of lever au jeune Charles take-away to-the young to strip the young Charles He therefore Pologne pour en Poland, Douze Twelve for to in order tous ces all these Charles the Twelfth of all those pays, qui sont entre le Golfe de Finlande, la countries, which are between the Gulf of countries, which lie between the Gulf of Mer Baltique, la Pologne, et la Moscovie. Changement prodigieux et subit dans le caractère de Charles Change prodigious and sudden in the character of Charles Astonishing and sudden change in the character of Charles the Douze. À l'âge de dix-huit ans il soutient la guerre At the age of eighteen years he sustains the war At the age of eighteen he maintains a war Twelve. Twelfth. contre le Danemarck, la Pologne, et la Moscovie; termine against the Denmark, the Poland, and the Muscovy; terminates against Denmark, Poland, and Russia; terminates la guerre de Danemarck en six semaines; défait quatre the war defeats four weeks; defeats eighty vingt mille Moscovites avec huit mille Suédois, et passe twenty thousand Muscovites with eight thousand Swedes, and passes thousand Russians with eight thousand Swedes, and marches en Pologne. Description de la Pologne et de son gou into Poland. Description of the Poland and of her gointo Poland. Description of Poland and its go vernement. Charles gagne plusieurs vernment. vernment. Charles gains several maître de la Pologne, où il master of the Poland, where he self master of Poland, where he batailles, et battles, and est is battles, and makes him Charles Douze. Les bruits de ces préparatifs Twelve. The noises of these preparations Charles the Twelfth. The rumours of their preparations consternoient la Suède, et alarmoient le conseil. + dismayed the Sweden, and + alarmed the council. struck Sweden with consternation, and alarmed the council. The great generals Les grands généraux étoient morts; on avoit raison † were dead; one + had reason Their great generals were dead; every thing was de tout craindre sous un jeune roi, qui n'avoit under a young king, who not † had to be feared under a young king, who of all to-fear had encore donné de lui que de mauvaises impressions. yet bad given of him than of impressions. hitherto given only unfavourable impressions of himself. Il n'assistoit presque jamais dans le conseil que He not assisted almost indifférent, il n'avoit paru prendre part à rien. indifferent, he not † had appeared to-take part to nothing. indifferent, he had appeared to take interest in nothing. Le conseil délibéra en sa présence sur le danger où l'on étoit: quelques where the one † was: of their situation: some counsellors + proposed some of the counsellors proposed de détourner la tempête par des of to-turn away the tempest by of-the to avert the storm by se négociations; tout negociations; negociation; all d'un coup le jeune prince lève avec l'air de of a stroke the young prince himself raises with the air of when the young prince suddenly rose with the grave gravité et l'assurance d'un homme supérieur, qui a gravity and the assurance and confident air of a of a man súperior, who has superior man, who has pris son parti: "Messieurs," dit-il, "j'ai résolu taken his determination: taken his resolution: Sirs," "Sirs," said he, "I have resolved said he, "I have resolved de ne jamais faire une guerre injuste; mais de of n'en not of-it never to wage an unjust war, but of but finir une légitime que par la perte de to-finish a lawful than by the loss of never to conclude a lawful one except by the destruction of mes ennemis. Ma résolution est prise: my enemies. My resolution my enemies. My resolution attaquer le premier qui se se déclarera; et quand who himself shall-declare; and when to attack the first who declares himself; and when je l'aurai vaincu, j'espère faire quelque peur I him shall-have vanquished, I hope I have conquered him, I hope aux autres." Ces paroles étonnèrent ces vieux conseillers: ils These words astonished these old se regardèrent sans themselves looked-at looked at each other without étonnés d'avoir un tel roi, et astonished of to-have a such king, and ashamed surprised at having such a king, and ashamed moins less of to-hope of being que lui, ils reçurent avec admiration than he, they received with admiration less sanguine than he, they received with admiration vit renoncer tout d'un coup aux amusemens les plus saw to-renounce all of a stroke to-the amusements the most him instantaneously renounce the most innocent amuse innocens de la jeunesse. innocent of the youth. ments of youth. Du moment qu'il se From-the moment that he himself prépara à la guerre, il commença une vie toute prepared to the prepared for war, war, he nouvelle, dont new, life, a life all began he commenced an entirely new s'est jamais depuis écarté il ne un seul moment. a single moment. for a single moment. since put-away never after deviated Plein de l'idée d'Alexandre, et proposa d'imiter de César, il se tout de of every thing in ces deux conquérans, hors leurs vices. Il ne connut these two He not knew but their vices. He abandoned conquerors, out-of their vices. these two conquerors plus ni magnificence, ni jeux, ni délassemens ; more neither magnificence, nor sports, nor recreations; all magnificence, or amusement, or recreation; il réduisit sa table à la frugalité la plus grande. he reduced his table to the he reduced his table to the Il avoit aimé le faste frugality the most great. greatest frugality. dans les habits; il ne fut He + had loved the show in the clothes; he not was He had been fond of splendour in his dress; from that vêtu depuis que comme un simple soldat. a simple soldier. time he wore only the dress of a common soldier. On l'avoit One him † had He had been soupçonné d'avoir eu une passion pour une femme suspected of to-have had a passion for suspected of entertaining a passion de sa cour; of his court; let-be that this intrigue might-be true of his court; whether this intrigue really existed VOL. I. L |