comme dit la chanson, ' as the saying goes
23. 12. statistique, 'statistics' ; hère used in a restricted sensé for
the description of a countfy with regard to its population, extent, natural resources, etc. Gottfried Achenwall (1719-72), a German scholar, Professor of Philosophy and of Law at the University of Gottingen, is usually regarded as the founder of the science of statistics and the inventor of the name.
,, 13. canton: in France the départements are divided into arrondissements, the arrondissements into cantons, and the cantons into commîmes.
,, 16. gothique : 'Gothic' is a term applied to a particular kind of architecture. The term is a misnomer, as the style in no wise dérives from the Goths, but it was originally bestowed by Italian Renaissance architects in scorn upon ail forms of architecture following on the decay of the Roman styles, and was used as synonymous with ' barbarous. ' The name is now commonly applied to the European art of the Middle Ages, and more particularly to the various types of Pointed
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architecture prévalent from the middle of the tvvelfth century to the revival of classical models in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The pointed arch and vault are merely détails of the style, wrych in its great fiexibility and adaptability to ail necessary purposes is worthy of as high a rank in its kind as the best Greek work.
23. 16. flamboyant: the na.me flamboyant, as applied to architecture,
rneans characterised by wavy, fiame-like tracery in Windows and openwork, as in the highly-florid style of French mediaeval architecture which was contemporary with the English Perpendicular.
,, 17. Chemin de Croix, or de la Croix: in Roman Catholic countries the Chemin de la Croix is the name given to a séries of pictures representing the différent stages of the Passion of Jésus, and placed at intervais along the inside walls of a church, or in the open air. The worshippers pass along and say an appropriate prayer before each.
Saint-Sulpice is the richest church south of the Seine. It stands in a square of the same name, situated a little to the north-west of the Luxembourg Palace. Makers of common images in plaster, etc. , abound in this quarter.
24. 2. berlingot: la berline isabevlin, or large four-wheeled carriage
with a suspended body, two seats inside, and a hood that can be raised or lowered. This kind of vehicle was first made in Berlin in the seventeenth century, hence the name. Le berlingot is a berline coupée, or single-seated berlin.
, , 4. délices : this word is masculine in the singular and féminine in the plural, like amour and orgue.
, , 24. que is hère used as a corrélative of ce for the sake of emphasis, and serves to introducè the real subject.
25. x. Algérie : the conques t of Algeria by France was begun in
1830, but the country was not organised as a colonial possession until 1834. Various insurrections hâve occurred since that time.
,, 4. Lamoricière was born in 1806 and died in 1865. He was a noted French gênerai, who served with distinction in Algeria against Abd-el-Kader, and was made military governor of Paris and minister of war in 1848. He opposed Louis Napoléon, and was arrested and afterwards banished in 1852.
duc de Nemours, Prince Louis Charles Philippe Raphaël d'Orléans, was born in 18 14. He was the second son of Louis-Philippe, and served as a gênerai in the French army, taking part in the Algerian expéditions in 1836-37. He lived in England from 1848 to 1870, and in France from
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1870 to 1886, when lie was expelled from the army and went to live in Belgiuin. Nemours is a town in the department of Seine-et-Marne, 45 miles south-east of Paris. 25. 7. Bugeaud de la Piconnorie, Thomas Robert, was born in 1784 and died in 1849. In 1836 he was sent to Algiers, where he concluded a treaty with Abd-el-Kader. Four years later he was made Governor-General of Algeria, and in 1843 Marshal of France. He defeated the Emperor of Marocco at Isly in 1844, for which exploit he was created ' Duc d'Isly.' He did much to organise the Zouaves as regular troops.
8. Abd-el-Kader was born in 1807 and died in 1883. He was an Arab chief, Emir and Bey of Mascara, celebrated for his protracted résistance to the French armies in Algeria from 1832 to 1847. In the latter year he yielded himself prisoner to General Lamoricière. In 1852 Napoléon granted him his freedom on condition that he should not conspire against the French in Africa.
,, 12. baïonnette, 'bayonet,' so called from the town of Bayonne, where it was invented. Bayonets are of various forms ; a comnion kind is the sword-bayonet, a short sword made to fasten by a spring-catch to the barrel of a rifle or carbine, and carried in a scabbard when not so fixed. Baïonnettes often stands for soldiers carrying bayonets.
,, 16. franc, 'franc' In 1360 King John of France had a coin struck representing himself on horseback, and with the device Francorum rex, hence the name ' franc. ' The franc has been the monetary unit of the décimal system in France since 1795, and is formed of silver and copper alloy. A franc is worth about 9§d English money. Livre is still synonymous with franc, but is now only used as money of account. Deux mille francs is about ^80, and deux cent cinquante francs is about ^10. Cf. note, p. 60 1. 20.
,, 18. croix: the Cross of the Légion of Honour, an order of distinction and reward for civil and military services, originally instituted in 1802 by Napoléon when consul, but since modified in some respects. The order holds considérable property, the proceeds of which are devoted to the payment of pensions, chiefiy to wounded and disabled members.
,, 20. faste, ' pomp ' ; fastes, ' annals,' 'records.'
,, 23. le passage des Portes de Fer : in 1839 the Duc d'Orléans marched with a powerful army into the interior of Algeria, and received the submission of several chiefs. This was followed by an expédition, in the course of which the army passed through a famous défile called the Biban or Iron Gates, through which the Turks in the height of their power
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had never passed without paying tribute to the Arabs, on whom this event accordingly created a profound impression, as indeed it had been intended to do.
25. 30. oisifs : distinguish between oisif and oiseux. Oisif means
one who happens to be doing nothing, perhaps quite by chance, whilst oiseux dénotes one who is in the habit of doing nothing. When speaking of things, oisif means ' that is not used,' oiseux ' that is of no use.' Un talent oisif, i.e. 'one that lies dormant, that is not exercised. ' Des détails oiseux, i. e. ' useless particulars. ' d'alentour, ' surrounding,' ' neighbouring. ' Alentour is an adverb and cannot therefore be followed by an object. Alentours, used as a noun in the plural, means ' neighbourhood.'
26. 9. que tapissait : transi. ' papered with,' or ' hung with.'
,, 12. Poniatowski, Prince Jozef Anton, the nephew of King Stanislaus, was born in 1762. He served against the Russians in 1792 and 1794, but retired to Vienna on Kosciusko's defeat. In 1806 he was persuaded by Napoléon to become the leader of a Polish contingent, which rendered signal service to the French during the campaign of 1807 against the Russians. In 1809 he invaded Galicia, and in 1812 again joined the French in their Russian campaign and entered Moscow with Napoléon. In 18 13 Napoléon gave him the command of a mixed corps of French and Pôles and made him a marshal of France just before the battle of Leipzig, where the Prussians, Russians, Austrians and Swedes defeated the French. A few days after, while protecting the retreat of the French, he was wounded and finally drowned in the river Elster. A poem has been written on this subject by Béranger (1831).
Elster : there are two ri vers of this narae, called respectively the Black and the White Elster. The one hère meant is the White Elster, in Central Germany, about 120 miles long, which joins the Saale, a tributary of the Elbe, near Halle. Leipzig is situated at the junction of the Elster with the Pleisse and Parthe.
,, 15. confortable is an Anglicism from the English comfortable, which again is from the French confort. The termination able usually bears a passive meaning, as aimable, i.e. 'worthy to be loved' ; it is, however, sometimes'used actively, as in favorable, secourable, and as hère in confortable. However, one cannot translate 'I am comfortable,' 'are you comfortable ? ' etc. , literally.
,, 22. rhum, 'rum,' a strong spirit distilled from the juice of the sugar-cane in any form, usually from the refuse juice left after sugar-making, but also from molasses.
