écu mal pensant : the sentence properly means itn écu

(donné par un hùmme) mal pensant, on account of its coming from Guibout, the décoré fnis à Findex, who is not a Legitimist or partisan of the Bourbons. Translate freely : ' coming from the wrong side. '

iio L'Anneau d'Argent

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32. S- à mine patibulaire (Lat. patibulum): translate ' with the

look of a gallovvs-bird.' Patibiilaire, which is hère an adjective, has been also used as a noun with the meaning of the 'gallows' itself, e.g. —

Le scélérat (i.e. /c renard), réduit en un péril extrême, Et presque mis à bout par ces chiens au bon nez, Passa près d'un patibulaire.

La Fontaine, Le Renard anglais.

,, II. commissaire-priseur, ' auctioneer. '

,, 13. grasseyante: grasseyer means to give undue emphasis to the letter r in speaking. Cf. the English expression ' to speak with a burr.'

33. 4. tout officier de la garde qu'il avait été, ' officer in

the g^ard though he had been. ' The adjective tout is often used as an adverb with the meaning of 'quite,' or, as hère, of ' however,' ' although ' (corresponding to quoique, bic7t que, -malgré que). So in English : ail weary as he was, etc. In thèse sensés tout agrées in gender before a féminine adjective beginning with a consonant or an aspirated //, e.g. \.o\x\s. jeune (\\ielle est, toute haineuse quelle était.

,, 12. couvrir: i.e. 'tooutbid.'

,, 24. et ne dit mot : notice the use of ne alone, without pas : e.g. qui ne dit mot conseiit, ' silence gives consent. ' Similarly, ne alone is used, instead of 71e pas, after cesser, oser, pouvoir, savoir (especially with the conditional saurais), avoir garde : e.g. il ne cesse de parler ; je n'ose vous répondre ; nous tie pouvons continuer ; je ne sais, je ?te saurais que dire ; je n'ai garde de refuser, ' I will take care not to refuse. '

34. r. le collier du Saint-Esprit, ' the collar of the " Order of Le

Saint-Esprit." ' The Order of the ' Saint-Esprit' was instituted by Henry 111. of France in 1578, and suppressed in 1789. At the restoration of the Bourbons (1814-15) this order was re-established, but finally suppressed in 1830.

, , , , le grand cordon de la Légion d'honneur : also called la grajid' croix. This French order was instituted by Bonaparte, then first consul, in May 1802, to reward military and civil services.

,, 10. allumettes: here'spills. '