Charles Dickens (1810-1870) CASA DESOLATA / BLEAK HOUSE

Dopo essere rimasti li per circa mezz’ ora, la causa in corso - ammesso si possa usare una frase tanto ridicola in un caso simile - sembrò spegnersi per la propria inconsistenza senza giungere ad alcun risultato, ma nessuno se ne sorprese. Il Lord Cancelliere gettò dal banco un fascio di carte ai signori sotto di lui e qualcuno disse "Jarndyce contro Jarndyce". A questo seguirono un brusio, una risata, il ritiro generale dei presenti e l’arrivo di enormi mucchi, fasci, sacchi, montagne di carte.

Credo che si trattasse di "altre indagini", su alcune note di spese, se ben compresi. Ma contai ventitre signori in parrucca che dissero di conoscere bene la causa, e nessuno di essi sembrava capirne molto piu di me. Ne parlarono con il Lord Cancelliere contraddicendosi e dandosi delle spiegazioni a vicenda, e alcuni dissero che era così, altri che era cosà, e altri ancora proposero per scherzo di leggere alcuni grossi volumi di testimonianze giurate, sollevando molti mormorii e risate, giacché tutti gli interessati parevano in divertente ozio e nessuno ci capiva nulla. Dopo circa un’ora di questa schermaglia e molti discorsi incominciati e interrotti, la causa fu "per il momento rinviata", come disse Mr Kenge, e le carte vennero affastellate di nuovo, prima che gli impiegati avessero finito di portarle tutte.

Al termine di queste procedure disperate, guardai Richard e fui colpita dalla triste espressione del suo bel viso. - Non durerà per sempre, Donna Durden. La prossima volta andrà meglio, - fu tutto quello che disse.

When we had been there half an hour or so, the case in progress — if I may use a phrase so ridiculous in such a connexion — seemed to die out of its own vapidity, without coming, or being by anybody expected to come, to any resuIt. The Lord Chancellor then threw down a bundle of papers from his desk to the gentlemen below him, and somebody said, “JARNDYCE AND JARNDYCE.” Upon this there was a buzz, and a laugh, and a general withdrawal of the bystanders, and a bringing in of great heaps, and piles, and bags and bags-full of papers.

I think it came on “for further directions,” — about some bill of costs, to the best of my understanding, which was confused enough. But I counted twenty-three gentlemen in wigs, who said they were “in it,” and none of them appeared to understand it much better than I. They chatted about it with the Lord Chancellor, and contradicted and explained among themselves, and some of them said it was this way, and some of them said it was that way, and some of them jocosely proposed to read huge volumes of affidavits, and there was more buzzing and laughing, and everybody concerned was in a state of idle entertainment, and nothing could be made of it by anybody. After an hour or so of this, and a good many speeches being begun and cut short, it was “referred back for the present,” as Mr Kenge said, and the papers were bundled up again, before the clerks had finished bringing them in.

I glanced at Richard, on the termination of these hopeless proceedings, and was shocked to see the worn look of his handsome young face. “It can’t last for ever, Dame Durden. Better luck next time!” was all he said.

[Torino, Tascabili Einaudi, 1995, pp.329]

[Versione originale tratta dal sito: http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/bleakhouse]

Dopo essere rimasti li per circa mezz’ ora, la causa in corso - ammesso si possa usare una frase tanto ridicola in un caso simile - sembrò spegnersi per la propria inconsistenza senza giungere ad alcun risultato, ma nessuno se ne sorprese. Il Lord Cancelliere gettò dal banco un fascio di carte ai signori sotto di lui e qualcuno disse "Jarndyce contro Jarndyce". A questo seguirono un brusio, una risata, il ritiro generale dei presenti e l’arrivo di enormi mucchi, fasci, sacchi, montagne di carte.

Credo che si trattasse di "altre indagini", su alcune note di spese, se ben compresi. Ma contai ventitre signori in parrucca che dissero di conoscere bene la causa, e nessuno di essi sembrava capirne molto piu di me. Ne parlarono con il Lord Cancelliere contraddicendosi e dandosi delle spiegazioni a vicenda, e alcuni dissero che era così, altri che era cosà, e altri ancora proposero per scherzo di leggere alcuni grossi volumi di testimonianze giurate, sollevando molti mormorii e risate, giacché tutti gli interessati parevano in divertente ozio e nessuno ci capiva nulla. Dopo circa un’ora di questa schermaglia e molti discorsi incominciati e interrotti, la causa fu "per il momento rinviata", come disse Mr Kenge, e le carte vennero affastellate di nuovo, prima che gli impiegati avessero finito di portarle tutte.

Al termine di queste procedure disperate, guardai Richard e fui colpita dalla triste espressione del suo bel viso. - Non durerà per sempre, Donna Durden. La prossima volta andrà meglio, - fu tutto quello che disse.

When we had been there half an hour or so, the case in progress — if I may use a phrase so ridiculous in such a connexion — seemed to die out of its own vapidity, without coming, or being by anybody expected to come, to any resuIt. The Lord Chancellor then threw down a bundle of papers from his desk to the gentlemen below him, and somebody said, “JARNDYCE AND JARNDYCE.” Upon this there was a buzz, and a laugh, and a general withdrawal of the bystanders, and a bringing in of great heaps, and piles, and bags and bags-full of papers.

I think it came on “for further directions,” — about some bill of costs, to the best of my understanding, which was confused enough. But I counted twenty-three gentlemen in wigs, who said they were “in it,” and none of them appeared to understand it much better than I. They chatted about it with the Lord Chancellor, and contradicted and explained among themselves, and some of them said it was this way, and some of them said it was that way, and some of them jocosely proposed to read huge volumes of affidavits, and there was more buzzing and laughing, and everybody concerned was in a state of idle entertainment, and nothing could be made of it by anybody. After an hour or so of this, and a good many speeches being begun and cut short, it was “referred back for the present,” as Mr Kenge said, and the papers were bundled up again, before the clerks had finished bringing them in.

I glanced at Richard, on the termination of these hopeless proceedings, and was shocked to see the worn look of his handsome young face. “It can’t last for ever, Dame Durden. Better luck next time!” was all he said.

[Torino, Tascabili Einaudi, 1995, pp.329]

[Versione originale tratta dal sito: http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/bleakhouse]