voilà, ' that's so

30. sobre, ' steady-going.' instruit, 'educated.' This pièce of irony prépares the audience for later developments.

4. 5. creuse. There is a jeu de mots here which can hardly be

reproduced in English, In line 5 the word signifies to 'ponder,' 'think deeply,' ' rack one's brains,' while in line 7 it signifies to 'dig.'

7. A pan coupé is a surface which cuts off a corner. At the rear of the stage, in each corner, there is a door in the pans coupés by which the actors enter and retire. For a fuller understanding of the term, see the following expressions : — le pan d\ine robe, un pan de mur, une tour à huit pans, un salon à pans coupés, une cloison en pan de bois.

11. On reconnaît. The point of grammar referred to here is generally considered by Frenchmen as one of the most difficult in their language. It is illustrated in the wellknown example : la personne que f ai entendue chanter.

14. j'en ai mal à la tête, * it makes my head ache.' Literally *I have headache on account of it.' Poor Caboussat, his situation is very entertaining to the spectator.

19. Je vous dérange ? ' Do I disturb y ou ? ' Compare ne vous dérangez pas ! ' don't disturb yourself ! '

23. est-ce drôle ? ' is it not odd ? ' In exclamatory expressions like this one the French often prefer the positive, while the English prefer the négative. Compare est-ce

Notes.

Page. Line.

assez bête ? * isn't it awf uUy stupid ? ' ; y en a-t-il ? * aren't there heaps of them ? ' and many other phrases,

1. ça avale du verre, *they eat glass.' Ça (contraction of cela), in familiar discourse, is offcen used in a plural sensé as here, in speaking of animais and even of men. Note how the comedy is pushed to the very verge of absurdity.