On les distribua..., They billeted them among

44. 14. à la chair blonde. The préposition à was formerly much more widely used than today and a great many of the old usages hâve remained in idiomatic or colloquial expressions. Hère it stands for avec: four big boys with blonde skin, as also in café au lait, cofree with milk; elsewhere it stands for pour, e. g. : cruche à cidre, pitcher for cider, or cider-pitcher ; tasse à m thé, tea-cup ; or again for sur, e. g. : aller à pied, to go on foot; à quatre pattes, on ail fours, etc.

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44. 17. bons enfants (idiomatic and familiar), good fellows, or provjng kind hearted.