EXERCISE V

(La pipe de Jean Bart, pp. 404-6. )

A. 1. It is not too late for us to change our habits. 2. Reflect on it and you will be convinced. 3. We did not wish to attract attention. 4. They did not turn Jean Bart out of the palace. 5. For he was a rear-admiral. 6. They did not go and tell the king that a man whose name was Jean Bart was smoking in his ante-chamber. 7. We come to ask a favour of the king. 8. The rear-admiral has to take the king's cabinet by surprise. 9. We shall lay aside our famous garments. 10. The king put upon Jean Bart's neck a chain of gold. 11. Captains receive gold chains as a reward for great deeds. 12. He showed the petitioners into the king's presence. 13. Are you a good enough friend of the captain, for there to be no need of that ? 1 4. It will be enough if you tell him that I ask to speak to him. 15. Let us advance towards the door. 1 6. The orders are that no one can enter. 17. He looked at us with astonishment. 18. The officer observed to us that no smoking was allowed. 19. Do not keep us waiting. 20. If you keep me waiting, I shall smoke. 21. We shall be obliged to smoke, if we wait here. 22. We shall put them out, if they smoke. 23. I defy you to put me

out. 24. "We shall not go out, before we speak to the king. 25. You must choose the less of two evils. 26. Let us go and tell him that Jean Bart is here. 27. Let us not take the trouble to look. 28. We shall show him in. 29. Do not let him finish his pipe. 30. We had hardly crossed the threshold, when we stopped. 31. If we salute the king, we shall arrive at our goal. 32. We began by paying compliments. 33. We finished by asking for the pardon of our friend. 34. We shall get many compliments paid us. 35. Many ships were burned at sea. 36. Many members of his family died in the king's service. 37. They were shouting, " Long live the king ! " as loud as they could. 38. We profited by the fact that we had remained more than half an hour with the king. 39. It would afibrd them great pleasure if you told them how you got out of the port. 40. Do not prevent me from getting out. 4L I shall make a way for myself to the door.

B. When Jean Bart was called into the navy by Louis XI Y., he was forty-one years old. The descendant of pirates, he had been a pirate himself, and he loved his pipe, for he was of Dunkirk, which is a damp and cold locality. But it was not from ignorance of the etiquette of Yersailles that he lit his pipe in the king's ante-chamber. He had come to ask of the king a favour which had been twice refused him. And he wished to attract attention to himself. Having put off" his famous garments of cloth of gold, and having put on a plain officer's costume, he presents himself at the ante-chamber of the king, but without his letter of admission. The officer who was charged with introducing petitioners into the king's presence, asked him where his letter was. He replied that he was a good enough friend of the king not to have need of a letter. But the officer would {voulait) not take the liberty of announcing Jean Bart. The latter leaned against the wainscot, and drawing a pipe from the crown of his hat, he lit it. The courtiers observed to him that people did not smoke in the king's ante-chamber. But Jean Bart replied that he always smoked when he was waiting. The officer said he would be obliged to put him out. But it was not easy to put Jean Bart out of doors, so the officer chose the less of two evils, and told the king that there was an officer in the antechamber who was smoking and who dared the courtiers to put

him out. The king told the officer to let Jean Bart finish his pipe and then to show him in. But Jean Bart did not wait. Throwing his pipe away, he rushed into the king's cabinet. He conducted the conversation with much skill. He got many compliments paid to him regarding his exit from the port of Dunkirk and his burning of the enemy's ships. Then kneeling on one knee he asked pardon for one of his sailors who had killed his opponent in a duel. The king hesitated, but finally granted him what he asked for. When Jean Bart came out, he was surrounded by the courtiers. One of the latter asked him how he got out of the port of Dunkirk, when he was blockaded by the English fleet. They all said it would be a great pleasure to them to know (it). "Well," said he, "you shall see. You are the English fleet which is blockading me." And he gave kicks and blows to those who were in front of him, and opened a passage for himself. When he arrived at the door, he told them that that was how he got out of the port of Dunkirk.