Table of contents

INTRODUCTION 4
CHAPTER I 6
THEORY OF TRANSLATION 6
1. TRANSLATION 6
1.1. TYPES OF TRANSLATION 7
1.1.1. ORAL TRANSLATION 7
1.1.2. WRITTEN TRANSLATION 8
1.1.3. MACHINE TRANSLATION 10
1.2. LITERARY TRANSLATION 11
1.2.1. DOMESTICATION AND FOREIGNIZATION 13
1.2.2 EQUIVALENCE 14
CHAPTER II 15
TRANSLATION OF ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE’S SHORT STORY “THE
CABMAN’S STORY” 15
1. TRANSLATION OF “THE CABMAN’S STORY” BY ARTHUR
CONAN DOYLE 16
CHAPTER III 32
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES 32
1. NOTES 33
CONCLUSION 39
BIBLIOGRAPHY 40

4
 INTRODUCTION
This thesis explores theory and practice of translation, using Arthur Conan
Doyle’s “The Cabman’s Story” as a case study. The aim of this work is to
compile and explain various aspects of translation, while focusing on literary
translation, in order to provide an example of discussed content.
The thesis includes three main chapters, each dedicated to a particular
aspect of the translation process.
The first chapter delves into the Theory of Translation, providing an
overview followed by specific types of translation such as: Oral, Written and
Machine. The discussion then transitions into the nuances of Literary Translation,
focusing on the concepts of Domestication and Foreignization, and concluding
with an analysis of Equivalence, a fundamental principle in translation studies.
This section provides a comprehensive theoretical grounding that sets the stage
for the practical translation exercise in the following section.
The second chapter of the thesis presents the translation “The Cabman’s
Story" by Arthur Conan Doyle from English language to Polish. Overview
followed by the presented translation is intended to serve as a practical
illustration of the theory of translation presented in the first chapter. It is aimed to
allow readers to witness the application of the theory of translation by translating
a work of literature written by an acclaimed author during the nineteenth century.
The third and final chapter focuses on the Translator’s Notes. Beginning
with an introduction, this chapter provides a guide through the translation process
undertaken in the previous section. Those notes offer an insight into the choices
and challenges encountered during the translation of a short story written by
Arthur Conan Doyle titled “The Cabman’s Story”.

5
 CHAPTER I
THEORY OF TRANSLATION

Since the beginning of communication the human species has struggled to

understand foreign languages. The need to comprehend works created in an alien
language, or to communicate with other cultures, led us to the development of
translation, which is a process that aims to bridge the gap between mentioned
cultures in terms of understanding. Although every language is different, it is the
translator's job to convey a message closest in meaning to the original one. This
paper is intended to explore the processes of various types of translations, while
focusing on a process of literary translations. As an example of the
aforementioned literary translation, a short story titled “The Cabman’s Story” by
Arthur Conan Doyle is translated and provided with translator’s notes. This short
story is a depiction of the literary English language used by an acclaimed author
in the nineteenth century, and will help in exploring the topic of literary
translations.

1. TRANSLATION

The art of translation is a process in which a translator tries to convert a message

from the source language to a message that is understandable for recipients of
another language (target language). According to Lipiński, “The translation
process therefore does not only change the language code, but it is also a process
designed to supplement or modify the message in a way that produces the same
communicative effect” (2000: 22). Translation process is a complex task
requiring skill, knowledge, and cultural awareness. Translators need to be fluent
in both the source language and the target language, and have a comprehensive
understanding of the text they are translating. In addition to translating the words
and phrases in a text, translators must also take into account cultural differences
and ensure that the translated text is accurate and appropriate for the target
language and culture. There are multiple types of translations, each one having its
distinctive purpose. Depending on the nature of the text translator will use a type

6
of translation that suits best for a given situation. The quality of translation is
subjective, since there is no perfect translation. It is an art of trade-offs and
compromises.

1.1. TYPES OF TRANSLATION

Translation can be distinguished primarily by the method of translation: oral

translation, written translation or machine translation. A type of translation itself
can be also differentiated into more direct translation focusing more on the logic
and meaning literal of the words, which is used to translate functional texts, and
more oblique translation which aims to provide the receiver with cultural context
and enjoyment of reading literary work. Arkadiusz Belczyk wrote that ‘from the
point of view of the art of literary translation functional texts differentiate from
literary translation by their primary function, which is conveying the information,
and later comes the astonishment of style and everything else that is literary’
(2007: 7). The translator has to decide what is the purpose of translation, and then
choose a method and type of the translation done. Oral translations by their
imprecise and rushed nature are a useful tool of immediate interlingual
communication, while written translations can be used mostly to translate work
of art, and functional texts. Machine translations on the other hand can be used to
translate large amounts of text of negligible importance, due its high output of
information and high chance of inability to understand context and multiple
meanings of the words.

1.1.1. ORAL TRANSLATION

Oral translation (interpretation) is the art of spoken language translation. There

are multiple ways in which translators can perform an oral translation -
consecutively, simultaneously, and by whisper interpreting.
Consecutive interpretation is a method where the translator processes and
delivers translations in small segments. Typically utilized in official
environments, the translator absorbs the speaker's message briefly before

7
presenting the translation. This technique ensures greater precision but can
lengthen the process or interfere with the dialogue's continuity.
Simultaneous interpretation is a method of translation used when the
audience does not share the same language, hence the need for multiple
translations. Simultaneous interpretation is performed by the interpreter listening
to the speaker, while translating what is being said into the target language, using
specialized equipment. “Chuchotage” is a type of simultaneous interpretation
which is used when there is no specialized equipment available, and it is
performed mostly by whispering into another person's ear. Such translation
techniques demand an exceptional degree of expertise and focus. The translator is
tasked with the simultaneous responsibilities of hearing, comprehending, and
rendering the speaker's statements into another language.
Performing oral translation is a challenging and demanding task requiring
deep proficiency in both the source and target languages, in addition to superior
listening, articulation, and understanding abilities. It is generally employed in
contexts where written translation is either impractical or unsuitable.

1.1.2. WRITTEN TRANSLATION

Written translation, encapsulated by Catford as “the replacement of textual

material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language
(TL),” (1965: 20) is the art of translating written texts from the source language
to the target language. It allows for a more accurate translation, in contrast to oral
translation, as the translator can dedicate more time to carefully consider the best
translation choices and refer to dictionaries and other resources as needed. The
type of written translation ought to be chosen based on the source text and target
audience.
Mainly two approaches are visible when it comes to written translations -
direct and indirect. Direct translations are frequently utilized when the structure
of the original text holds significant importance, as seen in legal or technical
documents. On the other hand, indirect translations do not strive to closely mirror

8
the source text's format. They are employed to translate deeper texts, often with a
rich cultural context such as literary works.
A direct translation of a text, also called a literal translation, is described
by Shuttleworth as the “type of translation procedure in which a TT [target text]
is produced directly from the original ST [source text], rather than via another,
intermediate translation in another language” (1997: 40). This approach aims to
be as close to the original in form and wording as possible. Translator tries not to
omit or add anything to the original text and maintain the logic of the text. While
translating a source text, translators frequently risk losing fluency and idiomatic
expressions in the output text, which then requires further explanation or
interpretation. Translations conducted directly may pose challenges in terms of
readability and comprehension, particularly when dealing with vastly dissimilar
languages. Direct translations tend to incorporate numerous borrowings and
calques.
Borrowings are words from another language that are left untranslated in
the output text. There are multiple reasons why borrowings are needed in
translation. Some words in foreign language can be untranslatable in a manner
that would convey their whole meaning. Leaving the word as it is, while
providing additional explanation might be less confusing to a reader than the
attempt at indirect translation. Some of the borrowed words are also widely used
in target language, making them understandable to the target audience.
Calques on the other hand are words or phrases that have been directly
translated from source language to target language. Calques often contain
directly translated idiomatic terms or phrases instead of adopting existing ones
might be confusing for the reader.
Indirect translation of a text, referred also as oblique, is described by
Shuttleworth as “a term used to denote the procedure whereby a text is not
translated directly from an original ST [source text], but via an intermediate
translation in another language” (1997: 76). This method of translation aims to
provide the reader with a wider context of any given situation and comes with a
more creative approach than direct translation. The goal of indirect translation is

9
to provide the reader with enjoyment of reading a literary work, as well as to
create a target text that carries over cultural value and context from the source.
While translating indirectly one can preserve the properties of the source text,
such as tone or style while making it still comprehensible to the reader. A
significant amount of texts are written in a way that would make direct
translations awkward and unclear to the target audience, by using idiomatic
expressions, cultural references, allusions or colloquialisms. Translator performs
creative work, while translating indirectly, due to the amount of text he has to
change and write himself in order to translate the text. Indirect translation is a
main method of translation for creative content such as literary works, movies,
plays, songs, speeches or even video games. In indirect translations often
prevalent are additions and omissions. Some idiomatic parts of source text can be
significantly difficult to translate while preserving the intended meaning. In the
cases where cultural substitution is impossible, translators have to resort to
omissions or additions. It is also important to remember that idirect translations
are essentially creative adaptations of the source text and will always differ from
the original text in many ways.

1.1.3. MACHINE TRANSLATION

Machine translation, “the automatic conversion of text from one natural

language to another,” is a process of computer-assisted automated translation
(Baker and Saldanha, 1997: 305). Translators use computer software to quickly
translate copious amounts of text. Machine translation being the fastest method
of translation does not come without any shortcomings. This type of translation is
prone to making errors or mistranslations which would be instantly visible to
human translators. Although the technology of machine translation has advanced
and improved greatly in recent years it is still mostly unable to correctly translate
texts which require the translator to know the context and linguistic nuances
appearing within them. Due to limitations of machine translation engines, this
type of translation is mostly unable to translate colloquialisms, idiomatic
expressions and cultural concepts. The output machine-translated texts often need

10
revision from a human translator in order to ensure that the target text is
translated correctly. Automatic machine translation proves quite useful when it
comes to direct translations, which do not need additional context nor contain
idiomatic expressions. Machine translation is a great tool that can significantly
accelerate translation tasks. However, due to existing technology constraints, it
still needs human oversight to prevent inaccurate translations.
Another type of machine translation is Computer-Assisted Translation
(CAT), where computer programs support translators throughout the translation
procedure. The difference between pure machine translation and CAT is the
degree of human involvement. While machine translations are fully automated,
Computer-Assisted Translations depend on human translators to operate the
software.
The most common type of CAT tool is a Translation Memory system. This
system stores previously translated sentences, paragraphs, or segments in a
database and then proposes them when similar segments come up in a new text.
This can save a lot of time, especially when translating documents that are very
similar or have repetitive content. It also helps maintain consistency across
translations. CAT tools are aimed to help translators instead of replacing them
with fully automated technology.

1.2. LITERARY TRANSLATION

Literary translation is a process of translating written works of art, such as

novels, plays, poetry, movie scripts or even song lyrics. This type of translation is
a form of creative work, depending heavily on the translator to include the
original tone, style and cultural meaning. Literary translation aims to preserve
what is unique about the source text, while rendering it accessible and pleasant to
read in target language.
Literary translations differ from non-literary ones by not applying a focus
on strictly conveying information as accurately as possible. Unlike non-literary
translation, the main focus of literary one is to preserve the style of the original
work. While non-literary translation is useful for sorts of things such as legal

11
documents, news articles, technical manuals or cooking recipes, literary
translation has its place in works that are considered to be artistic.
Translator’s role in literary translation is to focus on preserving the style
and meaning of the original text. To accomplish that, the translator has to know
both source and target language well, while having extensive understanding of
the context, culture and linguistic nuances presented in the original text. One
should not underestimate the need for a translator to be fluent in his native
language for he has to provide a good structure and find equivalents in the target
language to capture the essence of the original work. Moreover the translator has
to balance the faithfulness to the source text, while creating a translation which is
true to the author’s intentions and style, which is often not a simple task. Taking
for example the sentence “I oiled his tongue with glass of gin”, could be
translated to Polish as “Naoliwiłem mu język szklanką ginu”, which would be a
bad literary translation, since Polish idiom “zwilżyć gardło” exists and can be
used in the mentioned sentence. It is the translator's job to know and use existing
idioms and collocations in literary translation.
One of the main challenges translators face in literary translation is the act
of conveying cultural references and idiomatic expressions in a way that will be
understandable and accurate in the target language. For example, the idiom “I’m
all ears” can be translated into Polish as “Zamieniam się w słuch”, which is a
Polish equivalent idiom with exactly the same meaning, while literally translated
to “I’m becoming the hearing”. However idiomatic expressions often do not
possess equivalents in other languages, which may force the translator to use
other phrases which are not idiomatic, just to convey the author’s thought.
Another challenge in literary translation might be the use of metaphors,
symbols or similes. Those elements of source language when translated directly
might have other meanings in target language. For example “snake in the grass”
which for English speaking readers might be an obvious metaphor for deceitful
person, while in China snakes symbolize good luck and fortune. Therefore
finding a proper equivalent for metaphors, symbols and similes is crucial in
literary translation.

12
To tackle these kinds of challenges translators might use footnotes explaining
idiomatic expressions or cultural references, when there is no available substitute.

1.2.1. DOMESTICATION AND FOREIGNIZATION

Domestication is a translation strategy aiming to translate the target text in a way

that is more familiar and relatable to the target audience. It is about adapting the
source text while taking into consideration the cultural and linguistic norms of
the target audience. This strategy is performed usually at the expense of
faithfulness to the original work. The purpose of domestication is to minimize
cultural and linguistic differences between the texts. Children's literature,
advertisements or instructions are often the target of domestication. An example
of domestication is used by Hejwowski where he suggested that some people
may translate wolves as leopards for a target audience who does not know
wolves, since both animals are typical dangerous predators (2006: 39). It is
important however to take into consideration the drawbacks of domestication. As
domestication changes the literal meaning of translated text it can also lead to
loss of cultural and literary elements that are crucial to the original work.
Moreover domestication can be viewed as lack of respect for the target audience,
which may assume that they are perceived as unable to appreciate different
cultures. That is why it is often used in literary works with less demanding target
audiences, such as children’s literature.
Foreignization on the other hand is a translation strategy aiming to
translate the text, while preserving cultural and linguistic features. It is performed
with the goal of remaining faithful to the original work. Foreignization’s purpose
is to keep the important cultural details, even if those are unfamiliar and
unrelatable to the target audience. This translation strategy is mostly used in
literary works with demanding target audiences, as it relies heavily on readers'
knowledge and footnotes. Foreignization often leaves untranslated words or even
phrases if they do not have an equivalent in the target language. An example of
foreignization is leaving the word “yukata”, meaning the traditional japanese
clothing, untranslated with the hope that the target audience will be able to

13
understand the term. While Foreignization might render the target text more
inaccessible, it is a valuable tool in preserving cultural and literary elements of
the text, if used for the correct target audience.

1.2.2 EQUIVALENCE

Equivalence is the ability for the translated text to convey the same message in
target language, as it does in the source. Target audience for such text is supposed
to have the same understanding of translated text, while reading a text composed
of different words. As an example provided by Dzierżanowska, if an
advertisement uses the Polish phrase “white as snow”, then in translation aimed
at inhabitants of equatorial climate it has to be translated as “white as a cotton
flower” (1988: 109). Equivalence ensures that the target audience has similar
experience while reading the translation, as they would have while reading the
original text. Achieving equivalence can pose challenges due to variations in the
meanings of words and phrases, influenced by cultural and contextual factors.
The symbolism associated with colors, animals, and numerous other examples
may differ across cultures, making it harder to establish universal equivalence.
Translators must be aware of those cultural differences while translating the text,
and strive to convey the same message while using different words, preserving
the cultural context.

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 CHAPTER II
TRANSLATION OF ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE’S SHORT STORY “THE
CABMAN’S STORY”

This chapter presents a practical translation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story
titled “The Cabman’s Story” from the English language to Polish. The aim of this
chapter is to portray practical application of translation techniques mentioned in
the previous chapter.
“The Cabman’s Story” is a work set in nineteenth century London, which
is a bustling period in the city’s history due to the industrial revolution. This
narrative is riddled with language of its times and filled by phrases and
expressions which are no longer used in the current English language. Therefore
in order to translate this type of literary work, the translator has to be
linguistically proficient and needs to understand the historical, cultural and social
contexts of the presented story.
The objective of this chapter extends beyond generating a mere direct
translation of this short story. The aim is to forge a translation that encapsulates
the original's essence, atmosphere, and tone as closely as possible while
rendering it relatable for contemporary readers.This task focuses on maintaining
the balance between foreignization, preserving the nineteenth century London
atmosphere, and domestication, ensuring that the output text is comprehensible
and relatable to modern readers. The goal of this translation process is not to
create a perfect translation, since no such thing exists, but to create a Polish
version of the source text which will resonate with readers while remaining
faithful to Arthur Conan Doyle’s original work.

15
 1. TRANSLATION OF “THE CABMAN’S STORY” BY ARTHUR
CONAN DOYLE

The Mysteries of a London "Growler" Tajemnice londyńskiej “dryndy”1

We had to take a "growler," for the day Ponieważ dzień zdawał się być raczej
looked rather threatening and we agreed pochmurny, postanowiliśmy więc wziąć
that it would be a very bad way of “dryndę”. 2Jednomyślnie3 stwierdziliśmy,
beginning our holiday by getting wet, że zaczęcie urlopu od przemoczenia nie
especially when Fanny was only just jest najlepszym pomysłem, zwłaszcza
coming round from the whooping cough. kiedy Fanny dopiero co przechodziła
Holidays were rather scarce with us, and krztusiec. Rzadko miewamy wolne, ale
when we took one we generally arranged kiedy w końcu wzięliśmy urlop, to
some little treat, and went in for enjoying postanowiliśmy trochę się zabawić. Tym
ourselves. On this occasion we were razem pozwoliliśmy sobie na podróż
starting off from Hammersmith to the czterokołowcem4, zabawę zaczęliśmy od
Alexandra Palace in all the dignity of a dzielnicy5 Hammersmith, a dokładniej
four-wheeler. What with the wife and her Alexandra Palace6. Wnętrze dorożki było
sister, and Tommy and Fanny and Jack, zajęte przez7 żonę, jej siostrę, Tommiego,
the inside was pretty well filled up, so I Fanny i Jacka, więc musiałem sobie jakoś
had to look out for myself. I didn't adopt poradzić. Nie pognałem na koniu, jakby
the plan of John Gilpin under similar to zrobił John Gilpin8 w podobnej
circumstances, but I took my waterproof sytuacji, ale wziąłem swój wodoodporny
and climbed up beside the driver. płaszcz i usiadłem obok woźnicy.

This driver was a knowing-looking old Woźnica wyglądał jakby wiele w życiu
veteran, with a weather-beaten face and przeszedł9. Twarz miał zahartowaną
white side whiskers. It has always seemed pogodą10, a na jej bokach miał białe
to me that a London cabman is about the bokobrody. Zawsze zdawało mi się, że
shrewdest of the human race, but this londyńscy dorożkarze, to najbystrzejszy
specimen struck me as looking like the ludzki sort, ale ten osobnik sprawiał
shrewdest of the cabmen. I tried to draw wrażenie najbystrzejszego z wszystkich

16
him out a bit as we jogged along, for I am dorożkarzy. Starałem się go trochę
always fond of a chat; but he was a bit ciągnąć za język11, kiedy sunęliśmy
rusty until I oiled his tongue with glass of ulicami, gdyż zawsze jestem chętny na
gin when we got as far as the "Green pogawędkę; ale nie kwapił się do
Anchor." Then he rattled away quickly rozmowy, dopóki nie przepłukałem mu
enough, and some of what he said is gardła szklanką ginu, kiedy
worth trying to put down in black and dojeżdżaliśmy do “Green Anchor”.
white. Wtedy zaczął dość szybko gadać, a
niektóre rzeczy, które mówił, warto
zapisać czarno na białym.

"Wouldn't a hansom pay me better?" he “Czy nie zarobiłbym więcej jeżdżąc na

said, in answer to a question of mine. kabriolecie?12” powtórzył w odpowiedzi
"Why, of course it would. But look at the na moje pytanie. “Oczywiście, że tak. Ale
position! A four-wheeler's a respectable zobacz jaka to pozycja! Czterokołowiec
conveyance, and the driver of it's a jest szanowanym środkiem transportu, a
respectable man, but you can't say that of jego woźnica szanowanym człowiekiem,
a rattling, splashing 'ansom. Any boy czego nie można powiedzieć o
would do for that job. Now, to my mind rozklekotanym, chlapiącym13 kabriolecie.
money hain't to be compared to position, Na taką robotę nadawałby się każdy
whatever a man's trade may be." chłopiec. Cóż, według mnie nie powinno
się porównywać pieniędzy do pozycji, nie
ważne jakie to rzemiosło”.

"Certainly not!" I answered. “Pewnie, że nie!” Odpowiedziałem.

"Besides, I've saved my little penny, and “Oprócz tego, swoje już zaoszczędziłem,
I'm got too old to change my ways. I've a i jestem za stary, żeby zmieniać swoje
begun on a growler, and I'll end on one. If metody. Zacząłem na dryndzie i na niej
you'll believe me, sir, I've been on the skończę. Jeśli da pan wiarę, to jeżdżę na
streets for seven-and-forty year." tych ulicach już od czterdziestu siedmiu
lat”.

17
"That's a long time," I said. “To kawał czasu,” odpowiedziałem.

"Well, it's long for our trade," he replied. “No cóż, kawał czasu jak na ten zawód,”
"You see, there ain't no other in the world kontynuował. “Widzisz, żaden zawód na
that takes the steam out of a man so świecie nie wypala tak szybko człowieka
quickly— what with wet and cold and jak ten— z tym zimnem i wilgocią, i
late hours, and maybe no hours at all. późnymi godzinami, a czasem i bez
There's few that lasts at it as long as I pracy.14 Jedynie garstka wytrwała tak
have." długo jak ja”.

"You must have seen a deal of the world “Pewnie widziałeś w tym czasie jak
during that time," I remarked. "There are działa ten świat,”15 zauważyłem.
few men who can have greater “Niewielu ludzi ma taką okazję, żeby
opportunities of seeing life." obserwować życie”.

"The world!" he grunted, flicking up the “Świat!” odburknął poganiając konia

horse with his whip. "I've seen enough of batem. “Jego widziałem już dosyć, aby
it to be well-nigh sick of it. As to life, if mieć go prawie dość. A jeśli chodzi o
you'd said death, you'd ha' been nearer the życie, to gdybyś powiedział śmierć, to
mark." byłbyś bliżej prawdy”.

"Death!" I ejaculated. “Śmierć!” wykrztusiłem.

"Yes, death," he said. "Why, bless your “Tak, śmierć,” odpowiedział. “Gdybym
soul, sir, if I was to write down all I've tak, nie daj Boże16, miał spisać wszystko
seen since I've been in the trade, there's co widziałem od czasu jak zacząłem
not a man in London would believe me, pracę, to żaden człowiek w Londynie by
unless maybe some o' the other cabbies. I mi nie uwierzył, za wyjątkiem innych
tell ye I took a dead man for a fare once, dorożkarzy. Mówię ci, wziąłem raz
and drove about with him nigh half the nieboszczyka na taryfę i jeździłem z nim
night. Oh, you needn't look shocked, sir, prawie pół nocy. Och, nie musi pan się
for this wasn't the cab—no, nor the last martwić, nie, to nie było w tej dorożce,
one I had neither." ani też w poprzedniej, którą miałem”.

18
"How did it happen?" I asked, feeling “Jak to się stało?” zapytałem, czując ulgę,
glad, in spite of his assurance, that że Matylda nie usłyszała o tym zajściu,
Matilda had not heard of the episode. mimo jego zapewnień.

"Well, it's an old story now," said the “Cóż, to już stara historia,” odpowiedział
driver, putting a small piece of very black woźnica wkładając mały kawałek mocno
tobacco into the corner of his mouth. "I czarnego tytoniu w kącik swoich ust.
daresay it's twenty odd years since it “Śmiem twierdzić, że minęło już
happened, but it's not the kind o' thing as dwadzieścia parę lat od czasu jak to się
slips out of a man's memory. It was very stało, ale nie jest to taka rzecz, która
late one night, and I was working my łatwo ucieka z pamięci. Było już bardzo
hardest to pick up something good, for I'd późno tamtego wieczora i starałem się jak
made a poor day's work of it. The theatres mogłem, żeby znaleźć dobre zlecenie,
had all come out, and though I kept up gdyż dzień miałem marny. Wszyscy już
and down the Strand till nigh one o'clock, wyszli z teatrów i mimo tego, że
I got nothing but one eighteenpenny job. I krążyłem po ulicy Strand17 prawie do
was thinking of giving it up and going pierwszej, to nie mogłem znaleźć nic,
home, when it struck me that I might as prócz zlecenia za osiem pensów.
well make a bit of a circuit, and see if I Myślałem aby się poddać i wrócić do
couldn't drop across something. Pretty domu, kiedy dotarło do mnie, że równie
soon I gave a gentleman a lift as far as the dobrze mogę trochę pojeździć dookoła i
Oxford Road, and then I drove through zobaczyć czy coś się trafi. Niewiele
St. John's Wood on my way home. By później odwiozłem pewnego pana aż do
that time it would be about half-past one, Oxford Road18, a potem pojechałem przez
and the streets were quite quiet and dzielnicę St. John’s Wood19 w drodze do
deserted, for the night was cloudy and it domu. W tamtym momencie dochodziło
was beginning to rain. I was putting on już wpół do pierwszej, a ulice były już
the pace as well as my tired beast would dość ciche i opuszczone, bo zbierały się
go, for we both wanted to get back to our chmury i zaczynało padać.
suppers, when I heard a woman's voice Przyśpieszałem na tyle, na ile dawało
hail me out of a side street. I turned back, radę moje zwierzę20, gdyż obydwoje
and there in about the darkest part of the chcieliśmy już wrócić na kolację, kiedy

19
road was standing two ladies—real usłyszałem damski głos wołający do mnie
ladies, mind you, for it would take a deal z bocznej uliczki. Zawróciłem, a tam,
of darkness before I would mistake one gdzieś w najciemniejszej części ulicy
for the other. One was elderly and stały dwie damy—prawdziwe damy,
stoutish; the other was young, and had a zaznaczam, ponieważ musiałoby być
veil over her face. Between them there naprawdę ciemno, żebym pomylił jedne z
was a man in evening dress, whom they drugimi. Jedna była starsza i postawna;
were supporting on each side, while his druga była młoda i miała welon na
back was propped up against a lamp-post. twarzy. Pomiędzy nimi był mężczyzna,
He seemed beyond taking care of himself którego wspierały po obydwu stronach,
altogether, for his head was sunk down on opierając jego plecy o lampę. Sprawiał
his chest, and he'd have fallen if they wrażenie, jakby nie był w stanie się
hadn't held him. samemu poruszać21, bo głowa opadała mu
na klatkę, a gdyby go nie trzymano, to by
upadł.
'Cabman,' said the stout lady, with a very
shaky voice, 'I wish you would help us in “Panie dorożkarzu”, powiedziała
this painful business.' Those were her postawna dama mocno drżącym głosem,
very hidentical words. ‘chciałabym żebyś nam pomógł w tej
trudnej sytuacji’.22 To było dokładnie to
co powiedziała.
"'Cert'nly, mum,' I says for I saw my way
to a good thing. 'What can I do for the “Z pewnością, pani”, powiedziałem, gdyż
young lady and yourself?' I mentioned the nie miałem nic przeciwko zrobieniu
other in order to console her like, for she czegoś dobrego. “Cóż mogę zrobić dla
was sobbing behind her veil something pani i tej młodej damy?” Wspomniałem
pitiful. tę drugą, aby ją pocieszyć, gdyż skryta za
welonem płakała, jakże smutne.
"'The fact is, cabman,' she answers, 'this
gentleman is my daughter's husband. “Prawda jest taka, panie dorożkarzu”,
They have only just been married, and we odpowiedziała, “że ten dżentelmen jest
are visiting at a friend's house near here. mężem mojej córki. Dopiero co się
My son-in-law has just returned in a state pobrali i byliśmy w odwiedzinach, tutaj

20
of complete intoxication, and my blisko, w domu przyjaciela. Mój zięć
daughter and I have brought him out in dopiero co wrócił, kompletnie pijany, i
the hope of seeing a cab in which we razem z córka go wyniosłyśmy, z
could send him home, for we have most nadzieją, że znajdziemy dorożkę, w której
23
particular reasons for not wishing our mógłby wrócić do domu. Mamy
friends to see him in this state, and as yet szczególne powody, dla których nie
they are ignorant of it. If you would drive chcielibyśmy aby nasi znajomi widzieli
him to his house and leave him there, you go w tym stanie, a na ten moment nic o
would do us both a very great kindness, tym nie wiedzą. Gdybyś odwiózł go do
and we can easily account to our hosts for domu i go tam zostawił, wyświadczyłbyś
his absence.' nam obu wielką przysługę, a my byśmy
mogły z łatwością wytłumaczyć jego
nieobecność naszym gospodarzom”.
"I thought this rather a rum start, but I
agreed, and no sooner had I said the word Uznałem to za dość dziwną historię24, ale
than the old one she pulls open the door, się zgodziłem i od razu jak to
and she and the other, without waiting for powiedziałem, starsza z nich otworzyła
me to bear a hand, bundled him in drzwiczki i obie, nie czekawszy na moją
between them. pomoc, zapakowały go do środka.25

"'Where to?' I asked.

“Dokąd?” zapytałem.
"'Forty-seven, Orange Grove, Clapham,'
she said. 'Hoffman is the name. You'll “Orange Grove, czterdzieści siedem, w
easily waken the servants.' Clapham”, odpowiedziała. “Nazywa się
Hoffman. Bez problemu obudzisz
służbę”.
"'And how about the fare?' I suggested,
for I thought maybe there might be a “A co z opłatą za przejazd?” zapytałem,
difficulty in collecting it at the end of the ponieważ pomyślałem, że może być
journey. problem z pobraniem jej na końcu
przejazdu.
"'Here it is,' said the young one, slipping

21
what I felt to be a sovereign into my “Tutaj masz”, powiedziała ta młodsza,
hand, and at the same time giving it a sort wsuwając mi do ręki coś, co wydało mi
of a grateful squeeze, which made me się suwerenem26, a jednocześnie jakby
feel as if I'd drive anywhere to get her out wdzięcznie uściskając moją dłoń, co
of trouble. sprawiło, że poczułem się zdolny jechać
wszędzie, byle wybawić ją z kłopotów.
"Well, off I went, leaving them standing
by the side of the road. The horse was “Cóż, tak więc ruszyłem zostawiając ich
well-nigh beat, but at last I found my way stojących na skraju drogi. Koń był już
to 47, Orange Grove. It was a biggish prawie wycieńczony, ale w końcu udało
house, and all quiet, as you may suppose, mi się znaleźć drogę do Orange Grove
at that hour. I rang the bell, and at last 47. To był dość duży dom i jak można
down came a servant—a man, he was. było przypuszczać, o tej porze całkiem
cichy. Zadzwoniłem dzwonkiem i służący
w końcu przyszedł.27
"'I've got the master here,' I said.
“Mam tutaj pana domu”, powiedziałem.
"'Got who?' he asked.
“Kogo pan ma?” zapytał.
"'Why Mr. Hoffman—your master. He's
in the cab, not quite himself. This is “Pana Hoffmana—waszego pana domu.
number forty-seven, ain't it? Jest w dorożce, nie do końca przytomny.
To jest numer czterdzieści siedem,
prawda?”
"'Yes, it's forty-seven, right enough; but
my master's Captain Ritchie, and he's “Tak, to czterdzieści siedem, w rzeczy
away in India, so you've got the wrong samej; ale moim panem jest Kapitan
house.' Ritchie, a on jest w Indiach, więc musiał
pan pomylić domy”.
"'That was the number they gave me,' I
said, 'But maybe he's come to himself by “To jest numer, który mi podano”,
this time, and can give us some odpowiedziałem, “Chociaż, być może już
information. He was dead drunk an hour do tej pory oprzytomniał i będzie w stanie

22
ago.' udzielić nam jakichś informacji. Godzinę
temu był pijany do nieprzytomności”.

"Down we went to the cab, the two of us, “Zeszliśmy we dwójkę do dorożki i
and opened the door. He had slipped off otworzyliśmy drzwiczki. Mężczyzna
the seat and was lying all in a heap on the zsunął się z siedzenia i leżał w bezruchu
floor. na ziemi.28

"'Now, then, sir,' I shouted. 'Wake up and “Tak więc proszę pana”, zawołałem.
give us your address.' “Niech pan się obudzi i da nam swój
adres”.

"He didn't answer. Mężczyzna nie odpowiedział.

"I gave another shake. 'Pull yourself Potrząsnąłem nim ponownie. “Weź się w
together,' I roared. 'Give us your name, garść”, ryknąłem. “Podaj nam swoje
and tell us where you live.' nazwisko i powiedz nam gdzie
mieszkasz”.

"He didn't answer again. I couldn't even Mężczyzna nie odpowiadał. Nie
hear the sound of breathing. Then a kind słyszałem nawet jego oddychania. Potem
of queer feeling came over me, and I put ogarnęło mnie dziwne uczucie i
down my hand and felt his face. It was as położyłem rękę na jego twarzy. Była
cold as lead. The cove's dead, mate,' I zimna jak ołów. “Facet jest martwy,
said. kolego” powiedziałem.

"The servant struck a match, and we had Służący zapalił zapałkę i mogliśmy się
a look at my passenger. He was a young, przyjrzeć mojemu pasażerowi. Był to
good-looking fellow, but his face wore an młody, przystojny człowiek, choć jego
expression of pain, and his jaw hung twarz nosiła wyraz bólu, a szczękę miał
down. He was evidently not only dead, opuszczoną. Ewidentnie nie tylko był
but had been dead some time. martwy, ale był martwy już od dłuższego
czasu.

23
"'What shall we do?' said the flunkey. He “Co my teraz zrobimy?” powiedział
was as white as death himself, and his lokaj. Był biały jak sama śmierć, a włosy
hair bristled with fear. jeżyły mu się ze strachu.

"'I'll drive to the nearest police station,' I “Pojadę do najbliższego posterunku”,

answered; and so I did, leaving him odpowiedziałem; i tak właśnie zrobiłem,
shivering on the pavement. There I gave pozostawiając go dygocącego na
up my fare, and that was the last I ever chodniku. Tam właśnie wysadziłem
saw of him." swojego pasażera i był to ostatni raz jak
go widziałem”.

"Did you never hear any more of it?" I “Nie udało ci się już nigdy nic więcej o
asked. tym usłyszeć?” zapytałem.

"Hear! I thought I should never hear the “Usłyszeć!29 Myślałem, że nie przestanę o
end of it, what with examinations and tym słyszeć, co wyszło z badań,
inquests and one thing and another. The dochodzeń i innych takich. Lekarze
doctors proved that he must have been wykazali, że musiał być już martwy w
dead at the time he was shoved into the momencie, w którym wrzucono go do
cab. Just before the inquest four little blue dorożki. Tuż przed dochodzeniem
spots came out on one side of his neck, przyczyny zgonu, na boku jego szyi
and one on the other, and they said only a pojawiły się cztery małe niebieskie
woman's hand could have fitted over plamki, a na drugim boku jedna.
them, so they brought in a verdict of Powiedzieli, że pasują jedynie do
willful murder; but, bless you, they had damskiej dłoni, więc wydali werdykt o
managed it so neatly that there was not a umyślnym zabójstwie; choć, na miłość
clue to the women, nor to the man either, boską,30 udało im się to tak zgrabnie, że
for everything by which he might have nie było żadnej poszlaki wiodącej do
been identified had been removed from kobiet, a także do owego mężczyzny,
his pockets. The police were fairly gdyż wszystko co mogłoby do niego
puzzled by that case. I've always thought prowadzić zostało wyjęte z jego kieszeni.
what a bit o' luck it was that I got my Policja była dość bezradna w tej

24
fare, for I wouldn't have had much chance sprawie.31 Zawsze myślałem sobie, jakie
of it if it hadn't been paid in advance." miałem wtedy szczęście, że dostałem
zapłatę za przejazd, gdyż nie miałbym na
nią za bardzo szans, gdyby nie została
opłacona z góry".
My friend the driver began to get very
husky about the throat at this stage of the Mojemu towarzyszowi - woźnicy32, na
proceedings, and slackened his speed tym etapie podróży zaczęło już zasychać
very noticeably as we approached a large w gardle tak, że znacząco zwolnił tempo,
public-house, so that I felt constrained to kiedy zbliżaliśmy się do dużego pubu,
offer him another gin, which he więc poczułem się zobowiązany
graciously accepted. The ladies had some zaoferować mu kolejny gin, który chętnie
wine, too, and I followed the example of przyjął. Panie również wypiły trochę
my companion on the box, so that we all wina, a ja poszedłem w ślady mojego
started refreshed. towarzysza siedzącego na koźle, tak
żebyśmy wszyscy się odświeżyli.
"The police and me's been mixed up a
good deal," continued the veteran “Miałem sporo do czynienia z policją”,
resuming his reminiscences: "They took kontynuował weteran wznawiając swoje
the best customer I ever had away from opowieści: “Zabrali mi mojego
me. I'd have made my fortin if they'd let najlepszego klienta. Zarobiłbym fortunę,
him carry on his little game a while gdyby pozwolili mu prowadzić tę jego
longer." małą grę jakiś czas dłużej”.

Here, with the coquetry of one who

knows that his words are of interest, the Wtem, woźnica z kokieterią osoby
driver began to look around him with an wiedzącej, że jego słowa wzbudzają
air of abstraction and to comment upon zainteresowanie, zdając się rozkojarzony,
the weather. zaczął komentować pogodę.

"Well, what about your customer and the

police?" I asked. “Więc, co z tym klientem i z policją?”
zapytałem.

25
"It's not much to tell," he said, coming
back to his subject. "One morning I was “Nie ma zbytnio co opowiadać”,
driving across Vauxhall Bridge when I odpowiedział wracając do tematu.
was hailed by a crooked old man with a “Pewnego ranka przejeżdżałem przez
pair of spectacles on, who was standing at Vauxhall Bridge, kiedy zawołał do mnie
the Middlesex end, with a big leather bag zgarbiony staruszek. Z okularami na
in his hand. 'Drive anywhere you like,' he nosie i dużą skórzaną torbą czekał na
said; 'only don't drive fast for I'm getting granicy hrabstwa Middlesex.33 “Jedź
old, and it shakes me to pieces.' He gdziekolwiek chcesz”, powiedział; “tylko
jumped in, and shut himself up, closing nie jedź za szybko, gdyż już jestem stary i
the windows, and I trotted about with him bolą mnie kości”. Wskoczył do środka,
for three hours, before he let me know zamknął za sobą drzwi i okna, i
that he had had enough. When I stopped, kłusowałem z nim tak przez trzy godziny,
out he hopped with his big bag in his zanim dał mi znać, że ma już dosyć.
hand. Kiedy się zatrzymałem, on wyskoczył ze
swoją wielka torbą.
"'I say cabbie!' he said, after he had paid
his fare. “Powiem ci dorożkarzu!” powiedział po
tym jak zapłacił za przejazd.
"'Yes, sir,' said I, touching my hat.
“Tak, proszę pana”, powiedziałem
dotykając kapelusza.
"'You seem to be a decent sort of fellow,
and you don't go in the break-neck way of “Wyglądasz mi na porządnego człowieka
some of your kind. I don't mind giving i nie jeździsz na złamanie karku, jak
you the same job every day. The doctors niektórzy w twoim fachu. Nie mam nic
recommend gentle exercise of the sort, przeciwko zlecaniu ci codziennie takiej
and you may as well drive me as another. samej trasy.34 Lekarze zalecają delikatne
Just pick me up at the same place ćwiczenia tego typu, a ty możesz równie
tomorrow.' dobrze wozić mnie, zamiast kogoś
innego. Po prostu odbierz mnie jutro z
tego samego miejsca”.
"Well, to make a long story short, I used

26
to find the little man in his place every “Cóż, żeby nie przedłużać, każdego ranka
morning, always with his black bag, and spotykałem tego starego mężczyznę35 w
for nigh on to four months never a day tamtym miejscu, zawsze z jego czarną
passed without his having his three hours' torbą i przez prawie cztery miesiące nie
drive and paying his fare like a man at the było dnia, w którym nie odbyłby swojej
end of it. I shifted into new quarters on trzygodzinnej podróży, płacąc na końcu
the strength of it, and was able to buy a chojnie za przejazd. Dzięki temu
new set of harness. I don't say as I przeprowadziłem się do nowego
altogether swallowed the story of the mieszkania i mogłem kupić nowy
doctors having recommended him on a komplet uprzęży. Niekoniecznie
hot day to go about in a growler with both łyknąłem36 tę gadkę o lekarzach
windows up. However, it's a bad thing in zlecających mu jeżdżenie dryndą w
this world to be too knowing, so though I gorący dzień, zasuwając oba okna.
own I felt a bit curious at times, I never Jednak na tym świecie wiedzieć za dużo
put myself out o' the way to find out what nie jest dobrze, więc, mimo że przyznam,
the little game was. One day, I was że czasem byłem trochę ciekawy, to
driving tap to my usual place of dropping nigdy się nie wysilałem, żeby dowiedzieć
him—for by this time we had got into the się na czym polegała ta jego mała gra.
way of going a regular beat every Pewnego dnia jechałem sobie powoli,
morning—when I saw a policeman stępem37 do miejsca, w którym zwykle go
waiting, with a perky sort of look about odstawiałem—gdyż do tego czasu
him, as if he had some job on hand. When weszliśmy już w rutynę porannych
the cab stopped out jumped the little man przejażdżek, kiedy nagle zauważyłem
with his bag right into the arms of the czekającego, energicznie spoglądającego
'bobby.' policjanta, jakby miał do wykonania
jakieś zadanie. Kiedy dorożka się
zatrzymała, mężczyzna wyskoczył,
trzymając swoją torbę, prosto w ręce
‘gliny’.
"'I arrest you, John Malone,' says the
policeman. “Jesteś aresztowany, Johnie Malone”,
powiedział policjant.
"'On what charge?' he answers as cool as

27
a turnip. “Pod jakim zarzutem?” odparł mężczyzna
ze stoickim spokojem.38
"'On the charge of forging Bank of
England notes,' says the 'bobby'. “Pod zarzutem fałszowania banknotów
Banku Anglii”, odpowiedział ‘glina’.
"'Oh, then the game is up!' he cries, and
with that he pulls off his spectacles, and “Och, więc to koniec!” zawołał, po czym
his wig and whiskers, and there he was, zdjął swoje okulary, perukę i wąsy, i tak
as smart a young fellow as you'd wish to oto stał, mądry, młody mężczyzna jak się
see. patrzy.

"'Good-bye, cabby,' he cried, as they led

him off, and that was the last I saw of “‘Żegnaj dorożkarzu’, krzyknął, kiedy go
him, marching along between two of odciągali, a był to ostatni raz kiedy go
them, and another behind with the bag." widziałem, wleczonego we dwójkę, z
trzecim z tyłu niosącym torbę”.
"And why did he take a cab?" I asked,
much interested. “A dlaczego jeździł dorożką?” zapytałem
mocno zainteresowany.
"Well, you see, he had all his plant for
making the notes in that bag. If he were “Więc widzisz, on miał swoją fabrykę do
to lock himself up in his lodging several fałszowania tych banknotów w tamtej
hours a day it would soon set people torbie. Gdyby zamykał się na kilka
wondering, to say nothing of the chance godzin dziennie w kwaterze, wkrótce
of eyes at the window or key-hole. Again, ludzie zaczęliby się zastanawiać, nie
you see, if he took a house all on his own mówiąc już o szansie na wścibskie oczy
hook, without servant nor anyone, it przy oknie lub dziurce od klucza. No i
would look queer. So he made up his znowu, widzisz, jakby wziął dla siebie
mind as the best way of working it was to cały dom, bez żadnego służącego, czy
carry it on in a closed cab, and I don't kogokolwiek innego, wyglądałoby to
know that he wasn't right. He was known podejrzanie. Więc podjął decyzję, że
to the police however, and that was how najlepszym sposobem na tę pracę będzie
they spotted him. Drat that van! It was as prowadzenie jej w zamkniętej dorożce, i

28
near as a touch to my off-wheel. wydaje mi się, że miał rację. Policja
jednak o nim wiedziała i tak właśnie go
znaleźli. Cholerny karawan!39 Minął nas
na odległość koła.40
"Bless you, if I was to tell you all the
thieves and burglars, and even murderers, Jakbym ci, nie daj Boże, miał opowiadać
as have been in my growler one time or o każdym złodzieju, włamywaczu czy
another, you'd think I'd given the whole nawet mordercy, którzy za swojego czasu
Newgate Calendar a lift, though to be znaleźli się w mojej dryndzie,
sure this young chap as I spoke of was the pomyślałbyś, że dawałem podwózkę
only one as ever reg'lar set up in business każdemu przestępcy z Newgate
there. There was one though as I reckon Calendar, choć z pewnością ten młody
to be worse than all the others put chłopak, o którym mówiłem, był
together, if he was what I think him to be. jedynym, który założył tu interes.
It's often laid heavy on my mind that I Chociaż był jeden, który jak sądzę, był
didn't have that chap collared before it gorszy niż wszyscy inni razem wzięci, o
was too late, for I might have saved some ile był tym, kim myślę, że był. Często
mischief. It was about ten years ago—I miałem wyrzuty sumienia, że nie
never was a good hand for dates—that I wydałem tego faceta, kiedy jeszcze był na
picked up a stout-built sailor-sort of to czas, gdyż mógłbym oszczędzić
fellow, with a reddish moustache, who niektórym cierpienia. To było około
wanted to be taken down to the docks. dziesięciu lat temu—nigdy nie miałem
After this chap as I told you of had taken głowy do dat—kiedy odebrałem
such liberties with the premises I'd had a masywnego faceta, kogoś w rodzaju
little bit of a glass slit let in in front marynarza z czerwonawym wąsikiem,
here—the same that your little boy's który chciał się dostać do portu. Po tym
flattening his nose against at this jak ten chłopak, o którym ci mówiłem,
moment—so as I could prevent any such sobie na tyle pozwalał, zleciłem
games in the future, and have an idea, zainstalowanie małego okienka41 tutaj z
whenever I wished, of what was going on przodu—tego, na którym w tym
inside. Well, something or another about momencie twój synek płaszczy sobie
this sailor fellow made me suspicious of nos—żebym mógł zapobiec takim
him, and I took a look at what he was gierkom w przyszłości i wiedzieć, jeśli

29
after. He was sitting on the seat, sir, with będę chciał, co się dzieje w środku. Cóż,
a big lump o' coal in his lap, and was a to czy tamto jeżeli chodzi o tego
looking at it most attentive. Now this marynarza sprawiło, że był dla mnie dość
seemed to me rather a rum start, so I kept podejrzany, i spojrzałem co robił. Siedział
on watching of him, for as you'll see, my na swoim siedzeniu, proszę pana, z
window's not a very large one, and it's wielką bryłą węgla i przyglądał się jej z
easier to see through it than to be seen. uwagą. Więc wydało mi się to dość
Well, he pulls a spring or something, and dziwne, dlatego obserwowałem go dalej,
out jumps one of the sides of this bit of ponieważ jak widzisz, moje okienko nie
coal, and then I saw it was really a hollow jest zbyt duże i łatwo się przez nie patrzy,
box, painted, you see, and made rough so a trudniej zauważyć obserwującego.
as to look like the other. I couldn't make Więc, mężczyzna pociągnął za sprężynę
head or tail of it anyhow, and indeed I'd czy coś takiego, i jeden z boków
pretty near forgot all about it when there węgielka się wysunął i wtedy
came news of the explosion at zobaczyłem, tak naprawdę to była
Bemerhaven, and people began to talk wydrążona skrzynka, pomalowana tak
about coal torpedoes. Then I knew as in aby wyglądała jak co innego. Nie
all probability I'd carried the man who potrafiłem się w tym połapać i w sumie
managed the business, and I gave word to już prawie o tym zapomniałem, kiedy
the police, but they never could make usłyszałem wiadomości o eksplozji w
anything of it. You know what a coal Bremerhaven42, a ludzie zaczęli mówić o
torpedo is, don't you? Well, you see, a węglowych torpedach. Wtedy
cove insures his ship for more than its wiedziałem, że prawdopodobnie wiozłem
value, and then off he goes and makes a człowieka, który zajmował się tym
box like a bit o'coal, and fills it chock full interesem i dałem znać policji, ale nic im
with dynamite, or some other cowardly to nie dało. Wiesz co to węglowa torpeda,
stuff of the sort. He drops this box among prawda? Widzisz, zatoka ubezpiecza
the other coals on the quay when the swoje statki ponad ich wartość, a potem
vessel is filling her bunkers, and then in taki mężczyzna robi takie pudełko
course of time box is shoveled on to the przypominające węgiel i wypełnia je
furnaces, when of course the whole ship dynamitem, albo innymi tego typu
is blown sky high. They say there's many podejrzanymi rzeczami. Zostawia tą
a good ship gone to the bottom like that." skrzynkę między węglem na wybrzeżu,

30
 kiedy statek prowadzi załadunek, i z
biegiem czasu pudełko wrzucają do
pieca, a wtedy oczywiście cały statek
wylatuje w powietrze. Mówią, że wiele
dobrych statków poszło tak na dno”.
"You've certainly had some queer
experiences," I said. “Z pewnością miałeś trochę dziwnych
doświadczeń”, powiedziałem.
"Why bless you!" remarked the driver,
"I've hardly got fairly started yet, and “A żebyś wiedział!” odpowiedział
here we are at the 'Alexandry.' I could tell woźnica, “Dopiero co zacząłem, a już
you many another story as strange as jesteśmy przy ‘Alexandrii’. Mógłbym ci
these—and true, mind ye, true as Gospel. opowiedzieć wiele innych historii, tak
If ever your missus looks in need of a dziwnych jak te i prawdziwych, pamiętaj,
breath of fresh air you send round for prawdziwych jak Ewangelia. Jeśli
me—Copper Street, number kiedykolwiek twoja żona będzie
ninety-four—and I'll give her a turn into potrzebowała odetchnąć świeżym
the country, and if you'll come up beside powietrzem, poślij po mnie—na Cooper
me on the box, I'll tell you a good deal Street, dziewięćdziesiąt cztery—a ja
that may surprise you. But there's your zabiorę ją na wycieczkę po wsi, a ciebie
little lad a hollering to you like mad, and wezmę obok na kozła i opowiem ci wiele
the wife wants to get out, and the other rzeczy, które cię zadziwią. Ale teraz twój
one's a tapping at the window with a synek macha do ciebie jak szalony, żona
parasol. Take care how you get down, sir! chce już wychodzić, a drugi puka w okno
That's right! Don't forget number parasolem. Proszę uważać jak będzie pan
ninety-four! Good day missus! Good day, schodził! O tak! Nie zapomnij, numer
sir!" And the growler rumbled heavily dziewięćdziesiąt cztery! Miłego dnia
away until I lost sight both of it and of its panienko! Miłego dnia, proszę pana!” I
communicative driver among the crowd tak drynda odjechała klekocząc, aż
of holiday-makers who thronged the road straciłem ją i jej rozmownego woźnicę z
which led to the Palace. oczu w tłumie turystów, którzy kłębili się
na drodze prowadzącej do pałacu.

31
 CHAPTER III
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES

This chapter shows the thought process and decision making behind this
translation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Cabman’s Story”. This section’s focus
on Translator’s Notes, as well as providing an insight into the challenging task of
translating a piece of literature from nineteenth century London, with its
distinctive aged English language, colloquialisms and phrases used in that age.
Translator’s Notes include a commentary on the key decisions made during the
translation, as well as reasoning used in that process. Each note offers insights
into specific choices, whether it involves the translation of a complex phrase, the
adaptation of a culturally specific reference, or the preservation of a particular
stylistic element. These notes aim to illuminate the delicate balance between
maintaining the historical and cultural authenticity of the original text and
ensuring its accessibility and understandability to a modern audience.
Furthermore, the notes offer a reflection on the theoretical concepts
discussed in Chapter I, demonstrating how these principles are applied in a
practical setting. This chapter touches on the translator's approach to translation
strategies such as domestication, foreignization and the aim of equivalence
among other considerations. By explaining the issues encountered in the
translation process, this section aims to deepen the reader’s understanding of the
intricacies of literary translation.

32
 1. NOTES

This section contains notes that are structured in a way that provides quick access
to problems and challenges encountered during the process of translation.
Aforementioned notes not only demonstrate the thought process used to resolve
linguistic issues connected with translation of the text, but also contain a
description of techniques used to solve them. By providing insight into the
process of translation, those notes aim to illustrate how to solve difficult
nuisances of literary translation.

1. “Growler” is a colloquial word used in the nineteenth century to describe a

four-wheeled cab with a closed roof. Rosen (2008) depicted the etymology
of the word as “(...) a four-wheeled vehicle, the Clarence or the ‘growler’
which acquired its nickname as a result of the noise it made when driven
over the cobblestoned streets.” In this case the word “growler” which is a
word that is not commonly used anymore was changed to Polish “drynda”,
which is an old word meaning a cab. This practice allows the translator to
achieve equivalence in the meaning of the word, while preserving its old
style.
2. This original sentence was long and too complicated, therefore it was
separated into two shorter sentences in the process of translation. The aim
of this procedure was to make output text more comprehensible to the
target audience.
3. The phrase “we agreed” was translated as “jednomyślnie stwierdziliśmy”,
which is not a direct translation, however in Polish language a direct
translation is not commonly used in that context. Instead, to preserve the
fluency of the Polish version it was replaced with a phrase that implies
that everyone involved agreed to the idea.
4. Order of words in that sentence was changed in order to craft a more
fluent Polish translation. The phrase “in all the dignity of a four-wheeler”
was problematic to translate for the reason that it required the knowledge

33
 of historic background regarding transport in nineteenth century London.
According to Rosen (2008) four-wheeled “growler” cab was more
comfortable and high-profile than more common “hansom” cab. Polish
translation of this phrase as “pozwoliliśmy sobie na podróż” implies that it
was more expensive than usual fares, thus embracing the “dignity”
associated with price and comfort.
5. The Polish reader is likely to not know what “Hammersmith” is, therefore
there was a need to supplement this word with “dzielnica” meaning a
district in the city.
6. “Alexandra Palace” is a proper name regarding a building in London.
Despite the building being a palace, it was not translated to Polish as
“pałac” due to it being a proper name. It may be also easy to understand
by the Polish due to the similarity of those words.
7. The phrase “What with the wife and(...)” can be problematic, due to it
being an absolute construction, which is uncommon in contemporary
writing, with a similar meaning to “because of”.
8. “I didn't adopt the plan of John Gilpin” refers to a figure from a comic
ballad known in London of a man who lost control over a horse he
mounted. It is highly unlikely for Polish readers to know this story,
therefore needed context was added to in form of a sentence “Nie
pognałem na koniu, jakby to zrobił John Gilpin w podobnej sytuacji”.
This sentence informs the reader of John Gilpin’s backstory. This is an
example of foreignization, leaving more of optional context about John
Gilpin for the reader to research, while providing him with minimal
needed context.
9. The term “knowing-looking” is a compound adjective that describes a
person who appears to be knowledgeable or experienced. Direct
translation of this term to Polish language is impossible, thus “wyglądał
jakby wiele w życiu przeszedł” is a descriptive phrase that not only
informs the reader about the driver’s experience, but also implies the old
age presented in the original.

34
10. “Weather-beaten face” is also a term which can not be directly translated
to Polish language. Descriptive Polish equivalent used in this sentence
was “twarz miał zahartowaną pogodą” which also describes damage the
weather has done to the driver's face.
11. "I tried to draw him out a bit" is an idiomatic expression signaling that the
subject is trying to encourage someone to talk more. In the process of
domestication it was translated using the Polish idiomatic expression
“ciągnąć za język” which is very similar in meaning.
12. A “hansom” is a word to describe a two-wheeled cab drawn by a single
horse, usually accommodating up to three people including the driver at
the front. “Hansom” cabs unlike “growlers” were usually open at the front
providing less protection from the environment. The Polish equivalent of
“hansom” cab is “kabriolet” due to both being a type of open cabs.

13. The word “Splashing” is an adjective used to describe the design of

“hansom” cabs, due to the fact that passengers’ legs are exposed to
splashing mud, rain or other things thrown back by the horses. Since the
meaning in English is not instantly obvious as well, it was translated
directly as “chlapiący”.
14. In this sentence idiomatic expression “takes the steam out” was
problematic to translate, since there is no equivalent idiomatic expression
in Polish. It was translated to “wypala” implying long term deprivation of
energy and motivation.
15. This sentence is problematic, because no faithful translation will be
understandable or natural in Polish, therefore the translator needs to come
up with an idiomatic translation to convey the message, that the driver is
an experienced man, who has seen a lot during his life. It is crucial for the
Polish equivalent of the word “world” to appear in translation, because it
is mentioned in the reply to that sentence.
16. “Why, bless your soul, sir” - the problem with this expression is that there
is nothing similar in Polish that would read natural for a Polish reader. It

35
 was translated to “Gdybym tak, nie daj Boże” using the religious context,
and common Polish expression.
17. “Strand” is a street in London, however Polish readers are unlikely to
know that, therefore further context is added in the form of the word
“ulica”.
18. “Oxford Road” was not translated due to it being a proper name, with no
common Polish equivalent present.
19. “St. John's Wood” - the word “dzielnica” was added to add more context
for Polish readers.
20. The direct translation of the word “beast” as “bestia” in Polish has a
negative connotation used to describe feral or predatory animals, whereas
in English it can be used to describe a domestic or farm animal. The word
was therefore translated as “zwierzę” which is a neutral word for an
animal, while not specific to horses, staying close with the original.
21. This sentence was problematic due to direct translation having too general
meaning in Polish language. Expression “He seemed beyond taking care
of himself altogether” could be translated as “Sprawiał wrażenie, jakby
nie był w stanie o siebie zadbać”, therefore not directly specifying that the
man was unable to move by himself. It was translated as “Sprawiał
wrażenie, jakby nie był w stanie się samemu poruszać” which clearly
portrays his unconsciousness.
22. Expression “painful business” does not apply to literal pain in this
particular case, therefore it was translated as “trudna sytuacja”, which is
the Polish equivalent implying the difficulty of the situation present.
23. Original sentence was a very long one, therefore it was split in order to
provide a more comprehensible translation.
24. “a rum” is a dialectal (chiefly Cockney) word used by the British to
describe something strange or peculiar.
25. Use of the expression “bundled him” is rather not standard in relation to a
man, more often used with objects. It is used in colloquial context
meaning to hastily push or put someone into a cab, in a rough or clumsy

36
 way. Therefore it was translated as “zapakowały go” which is a Polish
expression which is also colloquial and used mostly for objects.
26. A word “sovereign” is used to describe a British coin with a nominal
value of one pound sterling. Although it could be translated as a pound, in
order to preserve the climate of the text it was translated as “suweren”
using foreignization.
27. In the original text an expression “a man, he was” was added to specify
the sex of the servant. Polish being an inflectional language, where sex of
the subject is known from noun and adjective endings, does not need this
addition, hence it was removed in translation.
28. Expression “lying all in a heap” refers to lying inertly, so it was translated
as “leżał w bezruchu”.
29. The word “Hear!” is difficult to translate, because it is referring to the
previous question "Did you never hear any more of it?" therefore forcing
the translation of both words “hear” to be similar. To overcome this issue
the Polish word “usłyszeć” was used in both instances.
30. In this instance the hard to translate expression “bless you” is translated as
“na miłość boską”, again with commonly used Polish expression referring
to religion.
31. The word “puzzled” translated directly as the word “zdziwiona” or its
synonyms does not portray the fact that the Police did not know what to
do with the case. To better express the context it was translated as
“bezradna”.
32. Expression “My friend the driver” was problematic to translate, because
the British tend to use the word “friend” in a wider context than the
Polish, therefore translation “Mój przyjaciel woźnica” would imply
stronger connection between characters. More appropriate translation for
the word “friend” is “towarzysz” meaning someone’s companion.
33. “Middlesex” refers to a county in which parts of London are located. To
widen the context for Polish readers the word “hrabstwo” was added.
34. The word “job” refers to a fare that the man was taking. This word

37
 translated directly to Polish as “praca” is too general for the given context,
therefore it was replaced with expression “zlecanie (...) trasy” which
indicates clearly what the “job” is about.
35. Expression “the little man” is commonly used by the British, but has many
different meanings depending on the context. In this particular context the
word “little” does not apply to the height of the person, but rather
describes an elderly man, hence it was translated as “starego”. The Polish
adjective “stary” can be seen as condescending or derogatory, but so is the
original one.
36. “I (...) swallowed the story” is an informal expression, which has a
counterpart in the Polish language - “łyknąć gadkę”.
37. “I was driving tap” is an archaic and probably informal expression, which
makes it problematic to translate due to the lack of sources in which it was
used. From the given context and consultation with native speakers one
can deduce it was referring to a type of a steady horse gait, as if the cab
driver was gently tapping the reins on the horse's back to keep it going at
the proper, steady pace. To translate this expression Polish word “stęp”
was used meaning the slowest gait of the horse, in addition with the
adjective “powoli” giving further context to readers.
38. Idiomatic expression “as cool as a turnip” does not have a direct Polish
equivalent, therefore it was replaced in translation as “ze stoickim
spokojem” which is a commonly used expression.
39. The word “van” was problematic to translate, because it changed its
meaning over the time since it was used in that work. The word van might
refer to a box-shaped road vehicle of medium size, therefore it was
translated as “karawan” which is the Polish equivalent of this type of
vehicle used during the nineteenth century.
40. An “off-wheel” does not have a widely recognized or standardized
meaning, therefore it was probably an informal way to describe an
element of the cab. The term "off" in carriage driving typically refers to
the right-hand side, as opposed to the "near" or left-hand side. The

38
 "off-wheel" would likely be the wheel on the vehicle’s right-hand side.
41. “I'd had a little bit of a glass slit let in” appears to be an old-fashioned or
colloquial way of saying that a small window or viewing panel made of
glass has been installed, so it was translated as “małe okienko” because
there is no Polish equivalent.
42. The term “Bemerhaven” is probably a typological error. It is most likely a
misspelling of “Bremerhaven”, a city in Germany. Bremerhaven is a port
city located at the mouth of the River Weser on Germany's North Sea
coast and is known for its maritime industries and historical connections;
it is highly likely that was the city the author was referring to. In the
Polish translation the term was corrected to “Bremerhaven”.

39
 CONCLUSION

This thesis provided insight into the theory of translation and presented Arthur
Conan Doyle's short story titled "The Cabman's Story" as a case study. The
theory included in the first chapter contained general translation theory, types of
translation, and key concepts such as domestication, foreignization, and
equivalence. It laid the groundwork for understanding the complexities inherent
to the translation process.
The practical application of these theories was demonstrated in the second
chapter in translation of Arthur Conan Doyle's “The Cabman's Story”. It showed
how the translator must preserve the original text's stylistic and cultural nuances
while simultaneously making the work accessible and engaging to the target
audience.
The third chapter's translator's notes served as a crucial element in
illustrating the decision-making process used during translation. It shows that
each choice is a balance between various factors, often including fidelity to the
source, readability in the target language, and the maintenance of cultural and
stylistic elements.
This thesis, through its theoretical exploration and practical application,
has aimed to enhance the understanding of the art and science of literary
translation. It has showcased how translation is not a simple, literal act, but a
deeply complex, intellectual and emotional task.

40
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

● Arthur Conan Doyle, 1884, “The Cabman's Story”

● Arkadiusz Belczyk, 2007, Poradnik tłumacza z angielskiego na nasze,
Kraków: IDEA
● Krzysztof Hejwowski, 2006, Kognitywno-komunikacyjna teoria
przekładu, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN
● Halina Dzierżanowska, 1988, Przekład tekstów nieliterackich, Łódź:
Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe
● Bruce Rosen, 2008, “Victorian History: The Case of the ‘Growler’ and the
Handsome Hansom”;
http://vichist.blogspot.com/2008/06/case-of-growler-and-handsome
-hansom.html (18.05.2023)
● John Cunnison Catford, 1965, “A Linguistic Theory of Translation”,
Oxford: Oxford University Press
● Mark Shuttleworth, & Moira Cowie, 1997, Dictionary of Translation
Studies, London and New York: Routledge
● Krzysztof Lipiński, 2000, Vademecum tłumacza, Kraków: IDEA
● Mona Baker, & Gabriela Saldanha, 1998, Routledge Encyclopedia of
Translation Studies, Abingdon and New York: Routledge

41