madame de Rohan : the House of Rohan was one of the

oldest and most illustrious famiUes in France, and descended in a direct line from the ancient kings of Brittany. Its proud motto was J?ûi ne puis, Duc ne daigne, Rohan stiis, ' King I cannot be, Duke I spurn to be, Rohan I am. '

, , de Montmorency : also one of the most ancient and celebrated families in France, tracing its pedigree as far back as 950. Many members of that House held the highest positions in their country, being grand-constables, marshals of France, admirais, cardinals, grand-officers of the Crown and of several religions orders.

,, 14. mettre de pair, ' to put you on the same footing with . .' Cf.—

au pair, ' at par,' also ' board and lodging without salary.' de pair à compagnon, ' hail-fellow well met.' pair ou impair ? ' even or odd ? '

90. 7. champ - clos, lit. ' the ground {clos, ' surrounded with

barriers ' ) where tournaments used to take place.' Translate ' matrimonial field. '

9. pour endosser le Saint -Gorgon par -dessus le Guibout, hère ' in adding to the name of Guibout the name of St. Gorgon ' ; lit. endosser, ' to put on ' (a coat).

,, 15. liséré amarante, ' with an araaranth edging ' ; amarante is a colour inclining to purple.

, , 16. dans un coupé magnifique dont le cabriolet d'arrièretrain, ' in a splendid coach {coupé), the hind part of which . .'

.. 19. d'azur, à trois têtes de g'orgones d'argent, arrachées de gueules : heraldic ternis — (i) azur (azuré) dénotes 'the tincture of the field ' or the colour of the ground of the shield, which, in describing a coat of arms, is always mentioned first ; (2) argent (argent) may refer to either métal or colour

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in heraldry ; [■^) gueules (gules), 'blood-red' ; (4) arrachées, ' erased. ' Erased is applied to the head or limb of any créature ' violently dragged from the body, ' as opposée! to its being clean eut off {coiiped). Translate ' azuré, three Gorgon heads argent, erased (jagged edgings) gules.'

90. 19. gorgones : the three niythological sisters whose aspect was

so horrible that any one looking at them was turned into stone. Perseus, with the help of a mirror, slew one of them, and Athene placed the head upon lier shield.

, , 22. le prétendu, ' the suitor. '

91. 5. vous y être pris : s'y prendre bien, s'y prendre mal, ' to go

the right, the wrong way to work. ' Cf. — il se prit à pleurer, ' he began to cry. ' s'en prendre à, ' to lay the blâme on . . ' se prendre d'dLxm'ixé pour quelqu'un, ' to conceive a friend-

ship for some one.' il se prit de vin, ' he got tipsy. ' ils se prirent aux cheveu.x, ' they came to blows.'

,, 19. Robert -Macaire, the chief character in Antier's drama L Auberge des Adrets, has remained as the type of the bluff, free-living, unblushing libertine, and Bertrand, his accomplice, as the type of the simpleton and the villain (E. Co'oham Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable).

,, 21. son individu, 'his own person.'