Путешествие к центру Земли / A Journey to the Centre of the Earth

The house was his own, and everything in it: his god-daughter Gräuben[5 - Gräuben – Гретхен], a young girl of seventeen, Martha[6 - Martha – Марта], and myself. As his nephew and an orphan, I became his laboratory assistant. The blood of a mineralogist was in my veins, and in the midst of my specimens I was always happy.

2

One day I came to his study. It was like a museum. Specimens of every kind lay there in their places in perfect order, and correctly named, divided into inflammable, metallic, and lithoid minerals[7 - lithoid minerals – камневидные материалы].

My uncle was sitting in a velvet armchair, and was looking at a book with intense admiration.

“Here’s a remarkable book! What a wonderful book!” he was exclaiming. “Don’t you see? I have got a priceless treasure, that I found this morning in the bookshop.”

“Magnificent!” I replied, with a good imitation of enthusiasm.

Why worry about this old, bound in rough calf, yellow, faded volume?

“See,” the Professor went on.

“Isn’t it a beauty? Yes; splendid! Did you ever see such a binding[8 - a binding – переплёт]? Doesn’t the book open easily? Yes; it stops open anywhere. But does it shut equally well? Yes; for the binding and the leaves are flush. And look at its back, after seven hundred years!”

I asked a question about its contents, although I did not feel the slightest interest.

“And what is the title of this marvellous work?” I asked.

“This work,” replied my uncle, “this work is the Heims Kringla [9 - Heims Kringla – «Хеймс Кригла» (название книги)]of Snorre Turlleson[10 - Snorre Turlleson – Снорре Турлесон], the most famous Icelandic author of the twelfth century! It is the chronicle of the Norwegian princes who ruled in Iceland.”

“Indeed;” I cried, “and of course it is a German translation?”

“What!” sharply replied the Professor, “A translation! What can I do with a translation? This is the Icelandic original!”

“Ah!” said I; “and is the type [11 - the type – шрифт]good?”

“Type! What do you mean by the type, wretched Axel[12 - Axel – Аксель]? Type! Do you take it for [13 - to take it for – принимать за]a printed book, you ignorant fool? It is a manuscript, a Runic manuscript.

”

“Runic?”

“Yes.