Dans mes cordes, i, e,, in my power. The expres

sion institutes a comparison between Marius and a stringed instrument. ''I am hardly the kind of instrument possessing the necessary strings for producing the desired notes" (since certain musical effects, or potential results, may be obtained from one instrument but not from another). Cf. Eng. slang, **I ain't built that way," to express the idea of Marins.