本日も前回の用法の続きです。
・By the rule of the coach a man could leave his seat to whom he wished, but on the other hand there were so many accidents by which it might at any time be wholly lost. For all that they were so easy, the seats were very insecure, and at every sudden jolt of the coach persons were slipping out of them and falling to the ground, where they were instantly compelled to take hold of the rope and help to drag the coach on which they had before ridden so pleasantly. It was naturally regarded as a terrible misfortune to lose one's seat, and the apprehension that this might happen to them or their friends was a constant cloud upon the happiness of those who rode. (馬車のルールでは、誰でも自分の席を好きな人に譲ることができたが、その一方で、いつその席が完全に失われてしまうかわからないアクシデントもたくさんあった。座席はとても簡単だったにもかかわらず、非常に不安定で、馬車の突然の揺れのたびに、座席から滑り落ちて地面に落下し、そこで即座にロープにつかまって、それまで気持ちよく乗っていた馬車を引きずるのを手伝わなければならなかった。座席を失うことは、当然ながら大変な不幸とみなされ、自分や友人に起こるかもしれないという不安は、乗っている人々の幸福を常に曇らせていた。)
【研究】take hold of the rope で「ロープをつかむ」を意味します。
次回も本用法を扱います。
