ily a de cela quinze ans, J should say fifteen years ago
12. Sortant du collége. A collége is a combination of an elementary and a secondary school. Pupils may enter it at the age of five, or may attend elementary schools (écoles primaires) and enter the secondary part of the collége at the age of twelve. A collége differs from a lycée in that the latter is maintained by the central government, while a collége is either a municipal or a private foundation (frequently religious). The secondary course takes seven years, after which the pupil receives the degree of bachelier and may enter the University or a higher professional school. The bachelier has thus about completed the work of an American junior college.
14. sciences occultes. About 1820, when he was 17, Mérimée read a number of works on magic, and he was always interested in such subjects.
27. toutes les femmes...que j’aie jamais rencontrées. The subjunctive is used here because the sentence means: Elle était la plus jolie femme de sa race que j’aie jamais rencontrée. See Outline, II, B, 2.
29. il faut qu’elle réunisse, subjunctive after expressions of necessity (II, A, 4, a).
30. trente si. Si, so, here has, as occasionally in the sixteenth century, the meaning of ‘ condition, quality.’
Page 19.— 18. (il de bohémien, cil de loup. Mérimée imitates French proverbs in omitting, in Old French fashion, articles before the nouns. He also omits a verb because proverbs frequently do so. — Notice how often Mérimée speaks of Carmen’s eyes.
Page 20. — 8. vaste. See Vocabulary for difference in meaning between vaste and English ‘ vast,’
29. le seul mot que je comprisse. Seul, like premier, dernier, and unique, is equivalent to a superlative and is consequently sometimes followed by the subjunctive (II, B, 2, a).
Page 21. — 11., jaune. See note to page 16, line 13.
23. j’avais quelques soupcons que cette gorge ne fit la mienne. Avoir des soupcons, like soupgonner, is sometimes, as here, an ironical expression meaning ‘ to fear,’ and therefore takes ne with the subjunctive.
Page 22.— 1. toujours tout droit, right straight on.
7. pour qu’il voulit bien la faire chercher, fo be good enough to have it sought for. Subjunctive of purpose, regular after afin que, pour que or que meaning ‘ in order that’ (II, C, 1).
16. capitale of the Omeyyad caliphs (756-1031), who made Cordova one of the richest cities in Europe and the center of Mohammedan culture.
23. des Pater et des Ave. The Latin Pater and Ave belong to a small group of foreign words which are generally not modified in the plural.
25. car pour volé nous savons que vous I|’étes, we already knew you were robbed; literally, ‘ for, so far as being robbed is concerned, we know you were.’
29. Eh bien! Well! Distinguish carefully between this expression and bien! very well! all right!
Page 23. — 6. la-bas, when you are back in France.
13. C’est un hidalgo que votre voleur, Your robber is a gentleman.
14. garrotté. Mérimée adds the note: ‘“ En 1830, la noblesse jouissait encore de ce privilége. Aujourd’hui, sous le régime constitutionnel, les vilains ont conquis le droit au garroite.”
