la vraie vérité, * the real truth

30. qu'il... toupet, 'that he has plenty of brass,' ///. 'a very fine tuft,' avoir du toupet means *to hâve plenty of impudence.'

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6. vrai dératé, 'real coursing dog.' The proverbial expression courir comme un dératé, *to run like a greyhound,' is specially appropriate where a dog is concerned ; you would really think him a coursing dog, un vrai dératé. For the meaning of dératé, see the Vocabulary.

11. connu... blanc, 'is the talk of the town at S. Louis,' lit. ' is as well known as the white wolf,' a proverbial phrase expressing great notoriety.

1 8. mylord, * sir.' There is a notion prévalent among the French populace that every Englishman is a lord. que je lui ai dit, *so I said to him.'

22. sans leur... chapardeurs, 'it may be said without slandering them, are a bit given to looting.'

29. parbleu bien, 'well enough,' lit. *well, cgad,' but the word parbleu has almost an adverbial force, and emphasises the verb bien connaître.

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14. revenir sur le lest, ' to corne home in ballast,' that is, to make up the necessar}' load to steady the ship by heavy articles used merely as weight, instead of a profitable cargo.

17. Caen. Caen, the capital of the Department of Calvados, is on the river Orne and a canal Connecting it with its port of Ouistrehem.

18. la maison, ' my home,' which, as has been said, was at Grandcamp. See p. 58, 1. 10.