Touch es. — Stops

33. Devant le corps de garde de la mairie. — Before the guard-house of the town-hall.

35. Que diable. — What the deuce; the French expression has not quite the force of the English, it is even quite redundant sometimes.

Depuis quinze ans que nous les menons tambour battant. — As we Lave been beating theni out and out for tifteen years. Mener quelqu'un tambour battant has the force of, carrying it with a high hand over a person. In the same sentence, cette petite fiche de consolation means, this little bit of consolation.

36. En auraient va des dures. — Would hâve had a hard time of it. Cadres. — Lists, ranks.

37. Le braque. — Literally, the brach or setter; the word braque is often applied to a giddy thoughtless person, as c'est un vrai braque, he is as mad as a March hare.

38. Sambre-ei-Meuse. — One of the departments of France under the Republic and the Empire, formed in 1795, now a part of Belgium. The army known as that of Sambre-et-Meuse, 80,000 raen strong, commanded by Jourdan, won the battle of Fleurus in 1794, which was followed by a séries of victories that placed thèse régions at the mercy of France.

39. Qu'ils ne connaissent ni d'Eve ni d'Adam. — Whom they never heard of. Ne connaître ni d'Eve ni d'Adam means, not to hâve the slightest acquaintance with.

41. On pensait bien qu'il allait falloir. — See note, page 7.