ménage, family

19. Par ici, ma mie, this way, my dear. It is only in the fourteenth century that mon^ ton^ son were substituted for ma^ ta^ sa before féminine nouns beginning with a vowel or a silent h, The form in old French was m*amie, m^âme^ etc. The ancient manner of speech ceasing to be understood gave rise to ma mie, i.e. mon amie.

24. La nuit ... tous les oiseaux sont gris. The saying is: La nuit tous les chats sont gris, i.e. at niglit ail cats are black.

23. — 7. ils se frottaient si lourdement l'un à l'autre, the y flattered each other so outrageously. That expression is used to characterize fulsome flattery : *' A sinus asinum fricat\ V âne frotte Pane.

24. — 19. mangé plus de raisin qu'il n'est raisonnable de le faire. Thrushes are very fond of grapes and are supposed to get tipsy in vineyards.