NE PAR, “ER RUE
TE ie
Page 3, line 2.—à l’avantager. L’=—la (Cornélie) ; ‘to give her the advantage—the best share—for the sake of her children.”
Page 3, line 4—tout net. Note the adverbial use of the adjective. Cf. “tout bas,” 8, 27 ; ‘‘ murmurés tout bas,” 10, 10 ; II., 92,
Page 3, line 5.—Tel quel. An idiomatic phrase=such as it is (was, will be, etc.) If berceau were feminine, the phrase would change to telle quelle.
| HA ILE 41 f H \t
Page 3, line 10.—mi-partie. ‘Mi’ (L. medius), is in French an indeclinable word — Eng. ‘‘mid.” Cf. ‘de ses yeux mi-clos,” 35, 13 ; mi-chemin, mid-way ; mi-janvier, middle of January ; #ninuit, midnight, etc. The compound mi-parti (in which parti is variable)=partly. Cf. Cette robe est mi-partie de blanc et de rouge, This gown is partly white, partly red.
Page 3, line 13.—prudhommesque. An adjective recently coïned from the noun prud'homme, an archaic word=a man of old time honesty and honor. The adj.—* old-fashioned,” ‘stiff.’ -
Page 3, line 15.—face à face. For the syntax of this adverbial phrase, cf. ‘ brin à brin,” 20, 10 ; ‘‘ côte à côte,” 62, 32 ; nez à nez, téle à tête, seul à seul, etc
Page 3, line 1$.--moins âgé....de six années. ‘ Younger.... by six years.” Note that the amount over in comparison, is introduced by de. Cf. ‘‘rajeuni de dix ans,” 48, 24.
Page 3, line 24.—du vieux Paris. French requires an article before a proper noun preceded by an adjective, which is not needed in the English construction ; cf. ‘du pauvre Kado,” poor Kado, 95, 6 ; ‘‘le vieux Merlin,” 100, 16, old Merlin ; le vieux Londres, olà London.
Page 3, line 24.— vieux Paris, quai de Béthune. Old Paris as distinct from the new.city that has grown up about it. The ‘‘quais ” of Paris are simply streets that uave one side on the Seine. The quai de Béthune is on the south side of the little Ile de St. Louis. Sumicrast quotes from Jules Claretie where he describes it and the lower quai
en &
; the )ara-
cient ‘and
d'Orléans, as smacking of the province. ‘There is something peacefully satisfied about them. By nine o’elock everybody has gone to bed. A perfect retreat for a scholar or a philosopher.”?
Page 3, line 24—tout en haut. ‘‘ High up” (i.e., in the house).
Page 4, line 1. —descendait aux provisions. ‘ He used to go down after supplies.?
Page 4, line 2,—ses yeux bleu-clair. The compound adjectives of color are usually invariable. IL, 72.
Page 4, line 3.—à fleur de="presque au niveau de,’ ‘almost level with.”
Page 4, line 3.--large, Not ‘large ” (—grande) but ‘ broad.”
Page 4, line 10.— pour le magoi. The word magot, which primarily means ‘‘ large tailless monkey,” is used familiarly for ‘a secret hoard of money.”
Page 4, line 14.—de sa fête. :.e., de sa fête de naissance, ‘ birthday.”
Page 4, line 15.—ce qui. When the antecedent of the relative is a clause, the full relative expression ce qui, ce que must be employed.
Page 4, line 17.—à eux deux. ‘Between them....’
Page 4, line 20.—-vivre de leur revenu. French have regularly de after vivre, where English has ‘on’ after ‘live.’
Page 4, line 22.—et l’on se serrait. L'on rather than on after a vowel sound as in eé ( =é) or que or si The use of the article points to the derivation of on (O.F. om, L. homo). The l’on in ‘l’on comptait ” is for harmony with the initial phrase. Note that l’on is not used for on when (e (or la, les, etc.) follows :—‘* comme si on le déliait,”” 8, 26.
l’age 4, line 25.—Scipion, esprit. The noun in opposition omits the indefinite article in Fr. but not in Eng.
Page 4, line 27.—]le parfum nouveau. A good instance of the variation in meaning depending on the place of the adjective, —‘ the fresh perfume ? ; un nouveau parfum, another perfume. IL, 77.
Page 4, line 28.—par quelque matinée. Note the use of par (—on) with an idea of the weather. Cf. ‘ par un temps pareil,” 23, 20, ‘in such weather” ; par un beau jour, on à fine day.
Page 4, line 29.—manger son blé en herbe. A very common roverb = dépenser son revenu d'avance. Lit. ‘To eat one’s corn in the er waste one’s wealth.”
Page 4, line 30.—ils en auraient, des violettes. The student should from the first become familiar with collocations such as this, which are very common in French. Note that their character consists in the pronoun anticipating the noun. It is in French à charming device of style. Render, ‘‘ violets they should have.” Cf. ‘eût poussé | RP dans ce gite morne,” 10, 22 ; ‘‘il ne montera pas, l'agent,” 18, 14 : etc,
