négligée, 'careless

88-9. de manière . . . italienne, ' so as neither to yield nor yet take precedence, an Italian ruse.' Le pas, lit. *the step,' i,e, the first step, and is the object of céder as well as to prendre ; italienne^ because Italians had always a réputation of craft and cunning. N.B. italienne without a capital /, adjectives in French never taking a capitaL