ACT II

Page 34 — io-ii. B importait . . .considérable. At the date of the play (1901), there was only one subway in Paris, and automobiles were as yet rare. Boulogne- sur- Seine adjoins Paris on the southwest. Paul Hervieu was there as a schoolbov, in 1870.

Page 37. — 1-2. Je enfant. This speech of Marie- Jeanne

anticipâtes her attitude later in the play; when Didier is in trouble, the childless wife protects her husband with the sa me tierce maternai instinct that Sabine does her daughter,

15. ciels. The plural ciels is unusual, except in the technical language of painting. It occurs in Loti, Pêcheur d'Islande, III e Partie, eh. I.

Page 41. -14-18. Depuis ... seul. Note the contrast between Didier's boyish enthusiasm on page 7, lines 1— 11, and his bitter undeception after four years' expérience in business. Hervieu haa depicted the sordid side of both business and society in his pitiless L'armature.

Page 12. — 20-21. Banque de France; the leading financial institution of France, founded in 1800, with branches in many cities. While not strictly a government institution, it enjoys intimate relations with the state, and has a monopoly of the right to issue bank notes.

Page 46. — 25. vingt mille francs. This would indicate that Mme Fontenais' capital was bringing in only slightly over 3 per cent — a good example of the conservatism of the French middle class in gênerai and of the old lady in particular. In the following lines, it is interesting to note how much could be done at that time in France on an income of $4,000.

Page 51. — 21-22. Vous . . . beaucoup. In this scène and the rest of the play, Marie-Jeanne, bent only on saving her husband, casts aside ail delicacy and filial respect.

Page 62. — 17. Louisiane. Stangy is represented as an American, but fro m Louisiana — originallya French colonyand still largely populated by French-speaking people of French descent. He is also said to hâve studied in France as a schoolboy (page 20, lines 10-11). Thus the author combines in him the traditional traits of the typical American of French literature ■ — will-power, quickness of décision, ability to make money — with a natural interest in France. As summarized for the stage, Stangy's character sccms to us rather northern than southern; but a European audience would be no more likely to différent! a. te between a native of Vermont and one of Louisiana than an American audience would between a Norman and a Gascon.

27. sel, argent. Louisiana produces sait, but there do not seem ever to hâve been any silver mines there. However, accuracy of détail in subsidiary matters is not essential in the drama; to a French audience, silver would seem a natural product of America in gênerai.