rentré". See note to p

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2. pensant bien. Render by ' thinking no doubt.' Cf. vous devez bien penser, p. 54, 1. 8. Cf. also c'est bien ça, p. 53, 1. 10, ' exactly go ' ; stronger than c'est ça, ' just so/

5. les yeux brillants de joie. Since brillants takes the mark of the plural, it is a verbal adjective and not the présent participle. The verbal adjective expresses continuity, a permanent state, 'his eyes were shilling.' The preseut participle would merely state the

occurrence of the action, *his eyes shone.' The construction is, of course, absolute, * the eyes being,' etc.

18. ne se tenant plus de joie. The préposition de hère dénotes cause, like German vor, English * for.' See note to p. 44, 1. 2.

22. ou fumait une bonne soupe à la crème. For où, see note to p. 21, 1. 30. For à la crème, see note to p. 9, 1. 17, and cf. above, omelette au lard, a French refînement of eggs and bacon. There is no dinner even in the poorest Frenchman's house withont soup, • the stock of which is chiefly vegetable ; e.g. soupe à Voignon, à la farine, aux choux. Soupe à la crème is a vegetable stock prepared with cream, a sort of Palestine soup. But the soup forms the thrifty Frenchman's whole dinner. He gets little beef and mutton, but eats in the country his farm produce — eggs, pork, vegetables, and, on Sundays, a chicken. On a menuy soup is called potage, for soupe is thought vulgar.

24. petit vin blanc d'Alsace. The expensive varies of good vineyards in good districts (see note to p. 13, 1. 20) are called grands; the ordinary country wines, grown for home consumption, not bottled but kept on draugbt, are petits. In wine-producing countries, béer is thought an expensive luxury.

28. de croire. For the infinitive with de as subject, see note to p. 21, 1. 18.

31. aux nues. Nues means clonds when you think of their height only. Cf. se perdre dans les nues, tomber des nues. Nuée marks an extended mass of cloud, a storm-cloud. Nuage is the term for 'cloud ' : (1) in its common meaning, e.g. le soleil dissipe les nuages ; (2) in ordinary metaphors, e.g. un nuage de poussière.

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