qvii avaient dû être : note

j'ai dû le faire sans le savoir, ' I must bave done it without

knowing it.' j'avais dû le faire, ' I had been obliged to do it.' f aurais dû le faire, ' I ought to hâve done it.'

,, II. maintenant (Lat. manu tenente), though strictly referring to the présent time, may be used, as hère, with the imperfect, but with the preterite nozu should be translated by alors.

,, 21. sourdes et pâles : sourd is often used of sound, and even of colour, in the sensé of ' dull,' ' confused.' Note — de sourdes menées, ' underhand practices.' 24ne lanterne sourde, ' a dark lantern. ' faire la sourde oreille, ' to tarn a deaf ear. ' frapper comme un sourd, ' to knock very hard. '

88 Cœurs russes

Page LiNE

2. I. s'achevait . . en une flamme rose : bear in mind that en i;

used in préférence to dans to dénote the shape or costume, a change of state, a division, and cf. —

un champ en triangle.

être métamorphosé en fleur.

un drame en cinq actes.

,, 2. on eût dit d'une salle : this use of de is a curious instance of elliptic construction : on eût dit d un brigand=on eût dit cela d'un brigand, i.e. ' one would hâve thought he was a brigand. '

9. givre: masc. (etym. doubtful), 'rime,' ' hoar-frost ' ; ^/wri», fem. , Lat. viperam, ' wyvern ' (a fîying serpent in heraldry). vu la constance : mention other past participles which can be used as prépositions before a noun or pronoun, and consequently remain invariable.

,, 13. ni crié : notice this use of ni to translate ' or' after sans and sans que, and cf. sans rime ni 7-aison, ' without rime or reason. '

, , 15. forçaient dans la plaine : /e pas or /a marche is understood. Cf. the expressions ybrAv (/c rames, ' to ply the oars,' forcer de voiles, ' to crowd sails,' in which forcer is used intransitively.

,, 19. ouate : one of the fevv words Iseginning with a vosvel or silent h before which no elision takes place : la ouate. Cf. le onze, le yatagan, la yole, etc.

,, 22, 27. nous frappèrent au visage, . . nous prenait atix yeux : notice, besides the well-known construction in speaking of parts of the body, that the noun should generally remain in the singular when each possessor can only possess one of the objects mentioned. Cf. Ils perdirent tous la vie, ' they ail lost their lives. " , , 23. plutôt qu'ils ne tombaient : give in full the rule for this

idiomatic use of ne.

,, 26. à d'immenses portées : note —

à 7na portée, ' within my reach.' à portée de canon, ' within gun-shot.' à portée de louïe, 'within hcaring.' ,, 31. s'orienter, lit. ' to know in what direction the east is,' hence ' to find out one's whereabouts,' ' to seek one's way.'