Section 58. The Bequest. II

The father continued: “I leave to my son James my money⁠, amounting⁠ to four thousand pounds⁠.” “Ah, father,” said⁠ James, of course in⁠ great affliction, “may (App. § 34) heaven give you life and health to enjoy the gift yourself.” The⁠ father, then addressing the spendthrift, said: “As⁠ for you, Dick, you⁠ will never come to good; you will never be rich. I leave you a shilling to (S. 19, N. 7) buy⁠ a halter.” “Ah, father,” said Dick in a most⁠ melancholy voice, “may heaven give you life and health to enjoy the gift yourself!”—Anonymous.

‘money’, here = ready money, bares Geld.

to amount to something, sich auf etwas belaufen. See S. 16, N. 4.

Das Pfund, one pound English money, never takes the sign of the Plural in German, and the same refers to ‘die Mark’, a German coin corresponding to one shilling English.

said = exclaimed; in = with.

Say ‘Upon this the father addressed himself (sich wenden) to (an) the spendthrift and said’.

As — Dick, Was dich betrifft, Richard.

Introduce this clause by the adverbial conjunction so, and see App. § 15; to come to good, zu etwas Rechtem kommen.

The German language, as a rule, requires that the person for whose benefit an action is performed, is clearly indicated. When this is not done by a noun in the dative case, it is generally done by means of the dative of a personal pronoun; as—

I will buy a hat. Ich will mir einen Hut kaufen.

We have built a house. Wir haben uns ein Haus gebaut.

Supply, therefore, the necessary pronoun after the conjunction um; a halter = a rope, Strick, m.

Render ‘most’ here by ‘höchst’.