les corbeaux, lit. ‘ravens,' refers here to the

dark forms of doubtful character thät appear at nig

ht on the battlefield.

t exactiy bpolite Way of

Speaking of a third Person, e.g. Où est l'autre? Xegardez

106 Contes Choisis Page Line

cet autre! Here it is elliptical for Ze nom qui appartient à l'autre,

64 6. il n'avait pas volé son surnom, ‘he had not stolen his nickname,’ ie, he bore this nicknamc not without a reason.

» 7. Sifflent douze petits verres: siffler, lit. ‘ whistle,’ in popular language ‘ to drink," ‘ pour down" ; un petit verre, ‘ a liqueur glass," ‘a glass of brandy.'

9. à la quatrième du second, ‘in the fourth company of the 2nd battalion.'

» 11. Chapardeur : ‘oldiers' slang for maraudeur, * marauder.' aimant les batteries, : being fond of fighting.’

‘+ 15. que le particulier n'était pas commode, ‘that he was not an easy customer to deal with.’

» 17. dépôt : the place where the recruits are drilled ; say ‘barracks.'

» 18. toucha la prime et tira une bordée de trois jours, ‘received his earnest and went on the booze for three days. La prime de rengagement was the money paid to a French soldier on re-enlisting which made the contract complete.

» 24. des tringlos: military slang for artillerymen ; say ‘ gunners.”

» 26. On lui flanqua quinze jours de bloc: flanquer, ‘to flank,' fam. ‘to give," ‘ shy”"; &/0c, in soldiers' slang ‘ guardroom."

» 27. et on lui retira ses galons, ‘and degraded him.’ 65. 4. faire le coup de feu, ‘to take up the musket,' ‘to fight." en Kabylie : a mountainous district to the east of Algiers.

7. 80rti de l'école : one who had been educated as an officer,

a former gentleman cadet, as contrasted with one who has risen from the ranks.

» 10. huit jours... de police : confinement to the barracks for a week.

» 13. la fantasia: Arab military sports, in which horsemen career aboct discharging their muskets.

», 28. déclare la guerre aux Autrichiens : cf. note, p. 60 L 4 66. 9. flingot: popular for ‘ gun.’ 67. 5. les habits blancs. the Austrians.

» 28. laisser choir, ‘to drop'; choir is almost obsolete, it has given Way to omber.

68. 8. à la baïonnette! elliptical for charger à la baionnette, ‘charge with the bayonets ! °

Tr,

er

Notes 107

Page LiNr

68. 16, le terrassement, ‘earthwork,' embankment on which the Austrian battery was raised

69. 2. en l'air: en does not, as a rule, admit of the article after it, except before /', e, &. en l'état, en l'absence, en d'horrible situation, en ! ‘air, en ! ‘honneur, However, in a few cases it is usual to have en before la: en la chambre du conseil, en la présence de . *» Se confier en la Providence.

‘7. les zouaves: it is usual to employ the Possessive adjective to bring out a Vocative in French, ER. l'enes, mes enfants / but in everyday language it is not uncommon to use the definite article for this purpose, e. S: la vieille, où peut-on se cacher ici ? (Balzac),

70. 5. c'est du Plutarque! Plutarch lived A.p. 46-120. He Was born at Chaeroneia in Boeotia, He received his higher education 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 Lives.

The allusion (p. 69 1. 28) :5 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 cut up," ‘to chop up’ (meat) ; by extension, fig, ‘to mangle," ‘ cut and slash.’ Cf. le Charcutier, pork-butcher.’ la charcuterie, pork-butcher's shop.’ de la charcuterie, dressed pork, Sausages, ham' etc. ” 13: rapport à: cf. note, P. 39 L. o.

» 17. Ïl a pris un drapeau à l'ennerai : Cf. Ôter gc. à gn., Emprunter ge. à qn., acheter 9C. à gn., ‘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 Legion of Honour ‘

had been bestowed upon him ‘ 27. toujours, still’

‘» 31. à deux pas: notice the use of the Preposition ä to denote distance,

EE demandait : why not the subjunctive? Cf. note, p. 61 19.

r 3. de mon Mieux, ‘as best I could.” Obseérve the idiomatic use of de in this and similar Expressions, e,g, —

(ei. LP

TARN Me Darerannee:]

per

et EE PRE TS LI

LR |Lrarimgnte

Entré.

108 Contes Choisis Page Line

il a fait du pis qu'il a 22, ‘he has done his worst.’

êls sont partis de très bonne heure, ‘ they started very early." une chambre longue de vingt Dieds, ‘a room 20 fect long.’ de cet!e manière, ‘in this manner.'

de /açon à . ., ‘in such a Way asto , ,'

71. 16. de nombreuses Hbations : 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 southcast of Paris, on the right bank of the Marne. At the other side of the river is the National Lunatic Asylum here referred to,

» 6. il s'est vengé: an allusion to the ‘vendetta’ of the Corsicans, ie, the practice of individuals taking private Yengcance upon those who shed the blood of their relatives.