je m'égosillais à chanter, I was singing myself hoarse
25. n'y pouvant plus tenir, not being able to stand it any longer.
17* — 17. le sens opposé an mien, the opposite direction from me. Dans tous les sens^ in every direction,
18. — 9. Est-ce que vous n'êtes pas des nôtres 1, aren't you one of us? Notice a like construction in the reply.
13. Il fànt qne ce soit une gagenre qu'on ait faite, there must be a wager up about it.
15. votre plumage vous sied trop bien pour que je méconnaisse un eonfrére, your plumage ûts you too well for me to fail to recognize a coUeague. Sied^ from seoir (Lat. sederé)^ defective verb used only in the third person. Aller is more frequently employed to express the above idea.
20. oatacois, properly cacatois^ of which kakatoès is the old spelling, a cockatoo, bird of the parrot family. The speaker's name, Kacatogan, given in line 27 is evidently of the same origin.
22. Mais ne laissez pas de faire, but act nevertheless. Ne pas laisser is of ten thus used. Cela ne laisse pas de m* étonner.
28. Ce n'est pas d'hier que je rime, I am not inexperienced in verse-making. On dirait quHl est né d^hier, he is inexperienced.
19. — 4. J'ai lanoé dans le monde des distiques piquants, I hâve launched clever distichs into the world. Distique (Gr. diSf two, stichos^ verse), two lines of verse making complète sensé.
6. dithyrambe, dithyrambus, a form of lyric poetry originally in honor of Bacchus.
8. vaudeville, light comedy containing more or less singing. Notice the witty use of the adjectives chevelus (longhaired), crépus (curly), poudrés (powdered), chauves (baldheaded), in connection with the nouns modified.
10. festons galants, graceful garlands. Galant varies in meaning according to position: un galant homme ^ an honest man; un homme galant ^ a gallant man, i.e. attentive to ladies.
13. vertement, vigorously. The adjective vert is also used in the sensé of * vigorous ' when placed before the noun. Ex. une verte semonce^ a vigorous scolding.
17. si je puis vous être bon à quelque chose, if I can do anything for you.
24. un gosier qui me démange, a throat that tickles, i.e. he desires to sing.
20. — 2. Jean de NWelle, the eldest son of the second Jean de^ontmorency, who lived in the fifteenth century and on one occasion refused to march against the Duke of Burgundy and then took to flight when his father summoned him to appear before him. This event gave rise to the popular saying:
// ressemble au chien de Jean de Nivelle ^ Qui se sauve quand on V appelle»
8. le Nestor, Nestor, king of Pylos, the oldest of the princes présent at the siège of Troy.
12. à cause qu'on, because. This form is obsolète; the usual form now is à cause de,
