l'œil éteint, les lèvres serrées : cf. p

,, 17. Schamyl-Pacha : a Turkish gênerai of no particular repute.

,, 18. Loris -Mélikof, born in 1826 at Tiflis, died in 1888. He was only se<*enteen when he entered the army, and already distinguished himself in 1847 in the Caucasus. Appointed commander of the arniy in Armenia in 1877, he was made a count at the end of the war as a reward for his brilliant services. After showing great energ)', as Governor-General of Charkow, in the suppression of Nihilistic plots, he became Minister of the Interior in 1880, and persuaded the Czar to adopt a programme of libéral reforms ; but Alexander II. having been murdered in Mardi 1881, he gave in his résignation.

,, 20. Kars, on the Russo-Turkish frontier in Asia, was annexed by the Russians in 1878, and is now tlie capital of a Russian province.

,, 31. ces tristes nouvelles : note —

un triste homme, ' a despicable man.' un homme triste, ' a sad man.'

41. I. créance: cf. lettre de créance, ' credentials ' ; also ' Icttcr of

crédit. ' , , 3. laissa tomber la lettre : notice the place of the infinitive, directly after laisser, and remember the same construction holds \\\\h faire, voir, entendre, écouter.

,, S- je vivrais cent ans que je n'oublierais pas . . : this construction is often used instead of quand or quand mime with the conditional —

il me le dirait que je ne le croirais pas, \ ' even if he told

quand il me le dirait, je ne le croirais \ me so, 1 should

pas, J not believe it.'

Notes 109

Page i.iNE

41. 10. la tête basse : account for this construction, alre.idy ex-

plaiiied in tlie notes.

,, 12. chacun luttait à part soi : cf. je dis à part moi, ' I said to niyseif, ' and e.vplain why soi is used and not /ui.

,, 17. qtii vînt : account for the mood.

,, 23. en écharpe, 'inasling'; also 'obliquely, ' 'sideways.'

,, 31. tout droit : note —

e//e niajxhait droit, ' she was vvalking straight along. ' elle marchait droite, ' she was walking upright. '

42. 3. à la barbe du Turc : cf. Je le lui dirai à sa barbe, ' I '11 tell

hini to his face.' ,, 6. notre hymne national : in a religious sensé hymne is féminine.

Dieu sauve le tsar ! for this so-called indépendant use of the subjunctive cf. —

Dieu soit loué ! A Dieii 71e plaise !

Vive la liberté ! Périsse sa mémoire !

Advienne qtie pourra. Coûte que coûte.

8. vous savez si . . : note (i) the terse use of si instead of comme after savoir; (2) the emphatic construction.