Then Herr Slossenn Boschen got up, and went on awful (тут господин Слоссен Бошен поднялся и разразился /бранью/; to go on — продолжать; набрасываться, бранить; awful — страшный, ужасный). He swore at us in German (which I should judge to be a singularly effective language for that purpose) (он ругал нас по-немецки, который, мне кажется, особенно подходящий язык для этой цели; to swear), and he danced, and shook his fists, and called us all the English he knew (и он приплясывал, и потрясал кулаками, и обзывал нас всеми английскими словами, /какие/ знал; to shake). He said he had never been so insulted in all his life (он сказал, что его никогда за всю жизнь так не оскорбляли).

It appeared that the song was not a comic song at all (оказалось, что песня вообще не была комической). It was about a young girl who lived in the Hartz Mountains (она была о молодой девушке, которая жила в горах Гарц), and who had given up her life to save her lover's soul (и которая отказалась от своей жизни = пожертвовала жизнью, чтобы спасти душу своего возлюбленного; to give up); and he died, and met her spirit in the air (и он умер, и встретил ее дух/душу в воздухе); and then, in the last verse, he jilted her spirit (а потом, в последнем куплете, он бросил ее дух), and went on with another spirit (и улетел с другим духом) — I'm not quite sure of the details, but it was something very sad, I know (не совсем уверен в деталях, но, знаю, это было что-то очень печальное). Herr Boschen said he had sung it once before the German Emperor (спел однажды эту песню германскому императору), and he (the German Emperor) had sobbed like a little child (и он /император/ рыдал, как дитя). He (Herr Boschen) said it was generally acknowledged to be one of the most tragic and pathetic songs in the German language (он /господин Слоссен Бошен/ сказал, что эта песня считается одной из самых трагических и душераздирающих песен в немецком языке; generally acknowledged — общепризнанный).

mountain ['mauntn] language ['laew]

Then Herr Slossenn Boschen got up, and went on awful. He swore at us in German (which I should judge to be a singularly effective language for that purpose), and he danced, and shook his fists, and called us all the English he knew. He said he had never been so insulted in all his life.

It appeared that the song was not a comic song at all. It was about a young girl who lived in the Hartz Mountains, and who had given up her life to save her lover's soul; and he died, and met her spirit in the air; and then, in the last verse, he jilted her spirit, and went on with another spirit — I'm not quite sure of the details, but it was something very sad, I know. Herr Boschen said he had sung it once before the German Emperor, and he (the German Emperor) had sobbed like a little child. He (Herr Boschen) said it was generally acknowledged to be one of the most tragic and pathetic songs in the German language.

It was a trying situation for us — very trying (это было трудное положение для нас = мы находились в очень тяжелом положении). There seemed to be no answer (казалось, /у нас/ не было ответа). We looked around for the two young men who had done this thing (мы оглянулись на двоих молодых людей, которые сделали эту вещь = сыграли с нами злую шутку), but they had left the house in an unostentatious manner immediately after the end of the song (но они ушли из дома незаметно сразу же после окончания песни; unostentatious — ненавязчивый, не бросающийся в глаза).