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

sion institutes a comparison between Marins and a stringed instrument. ''I am hardly the kind of instrument possessing the necessary strings for producing the desired notes" (sinoe certain musical efifects, 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.