Pornic, a bourgeois seaside resort near Nantes

4. mon dieu, Goodness! or Dear me ! In thèse cases it seems more révèrent to write dieu, reserving Dieu for cases where the idea of deity is présent to the speaker.

5. trancher dans le vif, eut to the quick, go to the root of the matter.

Page 7. — 1. lyriques, i. e. "loving," because amorous poetry is usually in lyric f orm.

2. saisir un joint, get a good chance. Properly " take advantage of a joint or exposed place in one's armor."

3. serait. The conditional in such cases is best rendered by " can " or by the indicative with " perhaps."

Page 8. — 1. Le Premier Soupir, The First Sighr This romance

(ballad) would naturally suggest the accompaniment of regards lyriques ; page 7, line 5. It is now not usual to capitalize French titles in this way, but, as may be seen in the Introduction, to capitalize the first word not an article, and only such others as would be capitalized in prose. Usage varies in regard to the initial article. Some would write "le Premier soupir," others " Le Premier soupir."

2. faisait fureur, was very popular, " ail the rage." ColloquiaL

3. long. This naïve confession of Emmeline that she is quite ready to drop from the parent stem has more point in France, where young ladies are supposed to be more reserved, than it would have with us. It is a favorite humorous device of Labiche. See, for instance, " Le Voyage de monsieur Perrichon,,' Act IV, Scène 7, end. Compare also Scribe, " Bataille de dames," Act I, Scène II.

Page 9. — I. pendule. French clocks are often set in mantel ornaments, usually of bronze, such as may be seen in any large clock-store. In French literature thèse clock-bronzes are constantly made the symbol of vulgar or poor taste, partly because of their lack of careful finish, partly because of the more or less sentimental character of the groups. It is this that makes the allusion seem appropriate here, while it also reveals to the reader the tastes and social position of the speaker.