New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-08-02
1.-THE cosSAcKS" IN ENGLISH.

EUGENE SCHUYLER REPLIES TO GEORGE KEENAN,
CRITICISMS OF MS TRANSLATION.
To the EdttOr Of The tribune
SIR: am glad TO see that Mr. KEENAN,, whose
Tent Life in Siberia will always keep its place
as one OF the most charming books Of travel. still
remembers his Russian. 1t Is always qualification
TO a translator to find reader-no matter how
severe critic he may be-who is familiar with the
original of the work lac has undertaken to translate
In his letter in THE TRIBUNE of July 81, Mr.. Ken
nan accuses me Of making numerous blunders
in my translation of Count TolstOy's novel.
The Cossacks." AS i have not the
original Russian by me cannot under
take to enter into a dispute with HIM as 10
my accuracy especially as there are so few here
capable Of deciding it.. In one case Mr.. KEENAN, is
certainly right: Oh page 60 silver" should read
"ramrod" remember making the correction on
the margin of the original, but forgot 10 put il in
the manuscript, because, not remembering few
notes of this kind, purposey revised the transla-
ton without looking at the original, in order TO
make It, if possible, less stiff and slavshly literal.
"Whistlingp on page 60 is a misprnt for " whit
tlngD The mistranslaton alleged on page 73 is
entirely owing TO accidental omission Of quota
ton marks or brackets before and after the
phrase Something resOunded in his throat"
-Lukasba's throat, Of course. As to the
error Mr.. KEENAN, desires to point out on
page 90, which exists also on page 80, /
can only say that desired to express slang of
the word sit" making it mean lie in wait"
watch and thought the context enough to ex-
plain the sense. II would perhaps have been better
TO put the word in italics. really cannot see how
Mr.. Remnants translation of the words Of the
corporal on page "a differs materially from
NINE except that he makes one refer TO a hostile
mountaineer, while the context evidently shows it
to refer to q wild boar. Lukasha kills his first
mountaineer afterwards. If salutations" on page
II is a bunder, for silence ii is a mistake of my
shorthand writer who misread his combination of
Sins In turning Tchetchentes into Circassians |
avoided an awkward and seemingly unpro-
nOunceable word, and eonformed to the popular
idea that the CircassIans included all the mountain
GERS in tine Caucasus who fought against the Rus
slams. Mr.. KEENAN, has travelled in the Caucasus
and Of course knows the difference. j regret that
could not have had the assistance of his familiarity
with the COssaek dialect before my translation
In spite Of these and of many similar errors which
Mr.. KEENAN, might point ont, do not think that
the translation gives very unfair idea OF Count
TOlstOy's story. translators lot Is hard one. IL
he render every word and phrase he Is accused OF
being too literal If he do not some one else Will
charge HIM with being too free and with
doing Injustice to the author. In transiat-
ing historical, philosophical scientific works
there is little difficulty; they should be 80 trans
lated as to seem if originally written IN English
But how with novel; Is il 70 be translated into
English as If written in that tongue giving French
German or Russian slang by English slang, and all
the local color left 20 the plot To the surroundings
and 10 the development OF character, or foreign
phrases and turns Of sentences to be retained for
the purpose OF giving foreign color Whichever
method the translator attempts 20 use ne VIII De
liable 70 mistakes. Some OF the original phrases Will
so cling 10 his mind as 10 become untransiatable
The more familiar he is with the language from
which he Is TRANSMITTING the less he VIII notice ocea-
giOnal deyiati0ns from English idiom.
AerporL July 80, 1878. EUGENE SCHUYLER.