par jeter, 'by striking'; for par see E.B

1. 11. combien a été lente. See p. 14, 1. 25. The metaphor is a very natural one in the mouth of a scientific officer. In translating either keep the metaphor, or say 'by what imperceptible degrees my thoughts returned.'

1. 18. la profession barbare. The following is from J. S. Mill's Essay: "The soldier and the poet appear to M. de Vigny alike misplaced, alike ill at ease, in the present condition of human life. In the soldier he sees a human being set apart for a profession doomed to extinction, and doomed, consequently, in the interval, to a continual decrease of dignity and of the sympathies of mankind."

1. 21. portant son arme. The English expression is 'shoulder arms.'

en sous-of/icier, E.B. 160 (2).