c'est du Plutarque ! Plutarch lived a.d. 46-120. He

was born at Chaeroneia in Boeotia. He received his higher éducation at Athens. He paid more than one visit to Rome, where he enjoyed the friendship of several men of mark. He is the encyclopaedist of antiquity, and is best known through his Parallel Lires.

The allusion (p. 69 1. 28) is perhaps to Plutarch's account of Pyrrhus, who, on being congratulated on his victory over the Romans, said, ' Such another victory and we are undone ! ' For he had lost the chief part of the forces which he brought with him.

,, 10. charcuté: charcuter, ' to eut up,' 'tochopup' (méat); by extension, fig. ' to mangle,' ' eut and slash.' Cf. —

le charcutier, ' pork-butcher. '

la charcuterie, ' pork-butcher's shop.'

de la charcuterie, ' dressed pork, sausages, ham,' etc.

,, 13. rapporta: cf. note, p. 39b 9.

,, 17- il a pris un drapeau à l'ennemi: cf. ôter qc. à qn., emprunter qc. à qn., acheter qc. à qn., ' to take away from,' ' to borrow from,' ' to buy from.'

,, 18. quand je fus : why the past definite?

., 21. qu'on l'avait décoré: the Cross of the Légion of Honour had been bestowed upon him.

,, 27. toujours, 'still.'

,, 31. à deux pas : notice the use of the préposition à to dénote distance.

71. 1. demandait : why not the subjunctive ? Cf. note, p. 6 1. 19.

3. de mon mieux, 'as best I coule!.' Observe the idiomatic use of de in this and similar expressions, e.g. —

io8 Contes Choisis

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il a fait du pis qu'il a pu, ' he has done his worst. '

ils sont partis de très bonne heure, ' they started very early. '

une chambre longue de vingt pieds, ' a room 20 feet long.'

de cette manière, ' in this manner.'

de façon à . . , ' in such a way as to . .'

71. 16. de nombreuses libations : faire des libations, or d'amples

libations, means in popular language ' to tipple,' ' to drink to excess.' , , 30. l'hôpital militaire du Gros-Caillou : a military hospital not far from the École Militaire.

72. 1. Charenton : Charenton-le-Pont is a small town 4 miles south-

east of Paris, on the right bank of the Marne. At the other side of the river is the National Lunatic Asylum hère referred to.

6. il s'est vengé: an allusion to the 'vendetta' of the Corsicans, i.e. the practice of individuals taking private vengeance upon those who shed the blood of their relatives.