私は停車場の壁へ紙片を宛てがつて、其上から鉛筆で母と兄あてゞ手紙を書いた。手紙はごく簡單なものであつたが、斷らないで走るよりまだ増しだらうと思つて、それを急いで宅へ屆けるやうに車夫に頼んだ。さうして思ひ切つた勢で東京行の汽車に飛び乘つてしまつた。私はごうごう鳴る三等列車の中で、又袂から先生の手紙を出して、漸く始から仕舞迄眼を通した。
translation
I attached a piece of paper to the wall of the station and wrote a letter to my mother and brother in pencil on it. The letter was very brief, but I thought it would be more than running without stopping, so I asked the rickshaw driver to bring it to my house quickly. With all my might, I jumped on the train bound for Tokyo. On the roaring third-class train, I took out Sensei's letter from the other side and finally read it from beginning to end.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 停車場: stopping place (incl. stations, rail yards, junctions, etc.) (ていしゃじょう), stopping place (incl. stations, rail yards, junctions, etc.) (ていしゃば), (railway) station, (railway) station | 壁: wall (かべ), wall (へき), partition, partition, barrier | 紙片: piece (scrap, bit, strip) of paper (しへん) |
| 鉛筆: pencil (えんぴつ), pencil (エンピツ) | 母: mother (あも), mother (いろは), mother (おも), mother (かか), mother (はは) | 兄: older brother (あに), elder brother, you (けい), Mr, Mister | 手紙: letter (てがみ), missive, note, mail |
| 走: run (そう), race | 増: increase (ぞう) | 急: sudden (きゅう), abrupt, unexpected, urgent, pressing | 宅: house (たく), home, one’s house, one’s home, one’s husband |
| 切: eager (せつ), earnest, ardent, kind, keen | 勢: energy (せい), military strength, force (いきおい), force (いきよい), vigor | 東京: Tokyo (とうきょう), Tokyo (とうけい) | 行: line (of text) (ぎょう), row, verse, carya (austerities), samskara (formations) |
| 飛: rook (ひ), fly ball | 三等: third class (さんとう) | 列車: train (れっしゃ), railway train | 列車: train (れっしゃ), railway train |
| 先生: teacher (せんせい), instructor, master, sensei, title or form of address for a teacher, master, doctor, lawyer, etc. | 出: coming out (で), going out, outflow, efflux, rising (of the Sun or the Moon) | 漸: a little (やや), partially, somewhat, slightly, semi- | 仕舞: end (しまい), close, finish, termination, noh dance in plain clothes |