FA LA
Page 46, line 11.—coup d' Htat. ‘A bold stroke of statesmanship.” Its serious use, with which the author here plays, denotes ‘a bold, extraordinary measure to which a government has recourse when it believes the Scate in danger.”
Page #7, line 3. — mots à effet. À effet is a phrase—(estiné à produire de l'effet, intended to produce an effect. | Page 47, line 4.—points d'orgue. The point d'orgue, literally organ point, 18 that passage of an air which the singer is free to execute as he pleases—ad lib'itum, and during which the musical accompauiment ceases. Render, ‘ ad libitum passages.’
PRES 48, line 11. —se laisser aller à. Cf. note to 35, 26, ‘permit
LR RE LI es RG mr sg
Der
Page 48, line 20. —quelque peu paysanne. Quelque peu=un peu ; ‘somewhat rustic” or * countrifieil.”
Page 48, line 28.—mais encore vert. Vert, green, is used figuratively of an advanced age that preserves its youthful vigor, —‘vigorous.”
Page 48, line 23.—officier à la retraite. ‘Officer on halfpay,’ ‘retired officer.’
Page 48, line 21.—du boulevard. The term boulevard (Germ. Bollwerk, bulwark, fortiticatiou) meant at first only the earth-work of a fortification, such as surrounded old Paris (cf. note to 3, 24) When the old fortifications of Paris were razed, wide streets lined with trees occupied their place; hence boulevard=a wide street planted with trees. Un tailleur du boulevard almost=" a fashionable tailor.? :
Page 49, line 20.—les adieux de Lucie. The allusion is to the opera of Lucia di Lammermoor, one of the greatest works of the celebrated Italian musician, Donizetti (1798-1848). The story of the opera is founded on that of Scott’s novel, T'he Bride of Lammermoor. The “adieux ” alluded to are sung when Lucia separates from Edgardo.
Page 49, line 21.—]le grand air de Marguerite. This alludes to the opera of Faust by the French composer, Charles François Gounod, born 1818. Faust follows in story the first part of Goethe’s Faust, and the music, especially in the part of Marguerite, which is of great beauty, is the ‘most musical expression of Goethe’s thought.” The ‘great air” is sung when Marguerite imprisoned for murdering her child is visited by Faust.
Page 49, line 27.—journée. Journée is used here in its strict sense, ‘ l’espace de temps entre le lever (rise) et le coucher (setting) du soleil,” especially with reference to what takes place during that time ; while jour may mean the time of day-light and the day of twenty-four hours as well,
Page 49, line 29.—Rachel. Elisa Felix, called Rachel, the celebrated tragic actress, was born in Switzerland, 1821, of French parents. Beginning life in public as a street singer in Lyons, she found patr. ns who secured for her a musical education, and, when her voice failed, an education for the stage Her tragic genius, aided by the best instruction, gained her admittance to the Théâtre Français, where success crowned her appearance in the plays of Corneille and Racine. ‘‘ Elle n’est pas jolie,” they cried, ‘‘mais quel talent, mais quelle intelligence supérieure et quelle espérance !” Her success in France was followed by successes in England and America, in which last country she contracted the illness that at the early age of thirty-seven ended her life,
Page 49, line 30.—ne le fut. The negative after the comparative in French must not be rendered in English. After a negative sentence it is unusual to find ne expressed. Cf, ‘‘ Elle n’est pas tant ma fille que l’on pense,” Regnard. ‘‘Le”” stands for the adj. ‘‘admirée,” and is therefore invariable. IT. 155. It need not be translated.
l'age 49, line 51.—si on l'entendait. ‘If people could only hear hex,’
t=Un
figurrous.”
half-
(jerm.
kofa When , trees trees.
to the e celeopera The
Où,
lludes ounod, st, and | great ? The ig her
sense, soleil,” while hours
b celerents.
batr. ns led, an hstruc- UCCESS e n’est igence llowed e coner life.
rative ntence Ile que and is
y hear
Page 50, line 2.—imagina .. de se faire faire la lecture. ‘Took the whim of having herself read to by Hannibal,’ or, ‘of having Hannibal read to her.”
Page 50, line 9.—en l'air. Note (1) the use of en, though the article is expressed ; this is not rare when the noun is singular and begins with a vowel or silent À ; cf. en l'honneur, en l'absence. Note (2) the difference between en l'air and à l'air (51,11), the former denoting ‘ up in the air,’ the latter, ‘exposed to the air.” ‘This latter construction with à should be compared with the phrases à l'ombre, au soleil, ete., in the note to 22, 21.
Page 50, line 13.—scandant trop le rythme. ‘Bringing out the metre too strongly.?
Page 50, line 15. —Leconte de Lisle. Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle, was born in Réunion Isle. 1818. After tgavelling in India, he settled in Paris, where he published Poèmes Antiques (1855), Poèmes et Poésies (1865), which, with many translations from the Greek, have given him a place among the leading poets of the day. The ‘ Sommeil de Leïlah ” is in his Poèmes Barbares.
Page 50, line 22.—Leïlah. Leilah is the Oriental type of female loveliness, charity, and.impassioned affection. Her love for Mejnôun in Mohammedan romance is held in much the same light as that of the bride for the bridegroom in Solomon'’s Song, or Cupid and Psyche among the Greeks. Brewer.
Page 50, line 24.—pour avoir jeté. Pour with the present or
perfect infinitive sometimes, as here, —à cause que, because. Cf. ‘‘une inquiétude troublait la conscience des frères Colombe pour avoir osé faire un rêve, 62, 20.
Page 51, line 2.—roula par terre. Note this use of terre for parquet (floor) or tapis (carpet). In 5%, 13 we have rouler à terre, which shows that there is no difference between par terre and à terre, as used here. The only general distinction possible is that par terre is preferable when an idea of fracture or dispersion is intended to be expressed,— La carafe s’est cassée en tombant par terre, The decanter was broken in falling to the ground.
Page 51, line 10,—-qui étaient clos. See note to 1, 2.
Page 53, line 7.—à partir de = à dater de, en commençant à, ‘ from that .... on.’
Page 54, line 6.—les bois de Chaville, Chaville (3,230), near Sèvres, Meudon and Versailles, has à beautiful park that adjoins the woods of Meudon (cf. 1. 30 below). See note to 35, 30.
Page 54, line 7.—le soir même, ‘that very evening,” but / même soir, ‘the same evening.’
Page 54, line 11.—aller à deux. Cf. aller deux à deux,to go two by two: faire une chose à deux fois, to do a thing twice. The construction in the text shares the peculiarities of boih the preceding. Render, ‘for both to go.’
Page 54, line 20.-—-que....que. ‘Whether....or, with the subunctive in French.
Page 54, line 24. —autant valait=i valait autani. ‘it was just as well,
Page 54, line 28.—ils avaient l'air... funèbres. Here avoir l'air= paraître. Cf, ‘‘ils avaient un air si bêtement bons..un air..
- paysan,” 27, 26 f.; ‘vous avez l’air d’une cascade,” 106, 7. The ad-
jective that follows avoir l'air is capable of two agreements, with a
difference in meaning. When the relation between the adjective and
the subject of the sentence is close, the adjective agrees with the sub-
ject ; here, ‘they looked funereal,” hence, ‘‘ funèbres.” But when
avoir l'air is used with its literal force, the adjective agrees with air ;
hence, Ces dames ont l'air trop doux, Vhese ladies have too sweet a look.
nn 54, line 30.—c'eût été pitié. ‘It would have been pitiful. C’est une pitié de l'entendre parler, It is pitiful to hear him speak.
95, line 1.---le grand air, ‘the open air.” One says as well, en plein air, for ‘in the open air.’ À
Page 55, line 11.—sursauta. This verb is not in the Acad. Dict. It is a recent coinage from sursaut, a start from surprise, etc. Z{ s’éveilla en sursaut, He woke up with a st: art.
Page 55, line 17.—mur de retour. In architecture retour is the angle formed by one part of a building jutting out beyond another part ; hence ‘‘ mur de retour ” is a wall at right angles to another.
Page 55, line 20. —l’un des battants. The window was a casement with two leaves or folds opening outwards.
. Page 57, line 30.—voilà bien des jours=iy a beaucoup de jours
Page 57, line 30.—-que je ne vous ai vue. The negative pas in sentences depending on purases of time is not expressed when the verb is in the perfect tense. Cf. Z! y a longtemps que je ne vous ai vu, it is long since I saw you (literally, it is long that I have not seen you).
Page 58, line 4—qui me permette. The relative clause of hypothetical description requires the subjunctive. IL, 231, b.
Page 60, line 5. —aurait long à dire. Zong in this construction is [ed treated as an adverb, Cf. Z7 nous en a dit long, He told us a great many things about it. {en sait long, He knows à great deal about it— is very clever in that matter.
Page 61, line 6.—-qui a deux siècles. Cf. this phrase as used of persons, un garçon qui a deux ans—a boy who is two years old.
Page 61, line 9, —-bouteilles coiffées d'argent, ie, of champagne,
two tion ‘for
subst a8
avoir air...
e adth a » and subwhen dir ; look.
tiful.
well,
Dict.
éveilla
is the part ;
caseup de bas in verb it is se of
action great
it— sed of
ham-
Page 61, line 23.—en grand tenue is primarily a military term, ‘in parade uniform.” Here ‘ in evening dress.”
Page 62, 7.—Haydn. Francis Joseph Hadyn, born at Kohran, Austria, in 1732, of poor parents, was in turn chorister in Vienna, first violinist in a church-choir, music-master, chapel-master to Count Esterhazy. In the calm of an assured position, he composed many works, which gradually made him known throughout the world. In 1791 and 1793 he gave concerts in London that met with an enthusiastic reception. The oratorio of the Creation is his best known work, but an immense number of other compositions, among which are forty-four sonatas for the piano, attest his industry and his genius. He died in 1809.
Page 62, line 8.— Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart was born at Salzburg, 1756, son of a sub-director of the Salzburg chapel, As a child of six he played before Francis L., and the following year began a musical tour of Europe. In 1779 he went to Vienna, where he composed Don Giovanni (1787), Die Zauberflüte and La Clemenzu di Tito (1791), and on his death-bed, in 1792, his splendid Requiem Mass. Besides these, his works include a great number of symphonies, quartets, sonatas, and other musical compositions.
Page 63, line 2. -dizaine de francs. The force and frequency of the -aine termination with numerals should be noted. The English ‘ dozen ? and ‘score,’ as compared with ‘twelve” and ‘twenty,’ represent the idea the termination conveys—a number about the amount represented by the root. So dixaine, about ten, quinzaine, some fifteen, ete. IlI., 95.
Page 64, line 17.—leur enlevait jusqu’à la possibilité. Verbs of depriving usually take the preposition à with the person, (hence eur) but Eng. requires ‘from.’ Understand à direct object of the thing—{out and render, —‘ deprived them of everything even to the possibility,’ or more simply, ‘even of the possibility.”
Page 65, line 4.—si ce n’est =excepté, does not take pas. IL., 264,
Page 66, line 8.—il nel’êut pas....mis. ‘“Eût....mis” isthe 2nd form of the Imperf. Fut. (Conditional)=aurait mis.
Page 66, line 17.—bien d’autres = beaucoup d'autres.
Page 67, line 20.—de çà de là =de côté et d'autre. This ça (= Lat. ecce-hac) is an adv. =ici, as in errer çà et là, to wander here and therc ; qui çà, qui là, some one way, some another. It must not be confounded with the pron. ça=cela. KRender, ‘ Here and there, ‘one way and another,’ ‘ this way and that.”
Page 67, line 31.—pas de chance. Chance=‘luck.” But Eng. ‘ chance ” in such sentences as ‘‘I had not the chance to see him,” is in Fr. occasion, —Je n'ai pas eu l’occasion de le voir.
Page 68, line 3—puis qu'elle....a fourni. Puisque means ‘since,’ referring to reason, cause ; but «depuis que is ‘ since, referring to time,
This comedy was published for the first time in the Æevue des deux Mondes, 1864, vol, 6, p. 876 ff. It was first represented on the stage of the Vaudeville Theatre, Paris, on the 26th of August, 1856, with the cast of characters as given on page 72.
The present edition follows the text of the new edition published by Calman Lévy, Paris, 1885, but careful collation of the eurlier and later editions has made it possible to correct the errors and misprints of ‘he edition of 1885.
Page "72, line 15. -Bretagne. The most westerly of the ancient provinces of France, ‘The Romans of the time of Cæsar included it in the larger district called Armorica. When the Angles and Saxons conquered England, fugitive Britons emigrated into Armorica, and especially into the peuinsular part of it, which consequently by the seventh century was called Bretagne, Brittany. The superstition of the Breton, says M. de Saint Martin, is not less proverbial than his ignorance ; he is accused of believing in fairics, dwarfs, and sorcerers, Certain it is that marvellous stories are told in every village. Here it is the wind, the dust, the smoke from the hearth, the direction of which towards such à point of the heavens announces a fortunate event or its contrary ; it is the death’s chariot in its rapid course which dries up the fresh verdure of the meadows ; there it is a spirit hidden in the depths of the wood that maliciously repeats words uttered near him ; moreover there are springs and fountains whose beneficent waters heal chronic diseases.
Page 72, line 16.—]la forêt de Brocelyande. A forest in Brite tany famous in the stories of Arthur and the Table Round as the dwelling place of Merlin.
‘* And touching Breton sands, they disembark’d, And then she followed Merlin all the way, Even to the wild woods of Broceliande.” Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien.
Page 72, line 18.-—-Merlin. A Welsh poet of the sixth century of whom legend has made à prophet and enchanter, In company with Vivien, he entered into the stories of Arthur and the Table Round, According to one tradition, he was born in Cambria. Vortigern, the king of the country, endeavored to slay him, but tho bard overcame the counsels of the priests of the king. His fame as an enchanter soon filled England. He joined King Arthur, and delivered the Pritons froiu the tyranny of Vortigern. Overcome by the beauty the
chantress Vivien, (see Tennyson’s Herlin and Vivien) h A to the forest and dwelt there as a savage. The legends of : vere carrie into Brittany by fugitive Britons from England, alt . according native traditions Merlin was cradled in the Isle de Se low “and-bar
in the stormy Baie des Trespassés. There is even an earl, nr trical life of the enchanter based on Armoric materials,
Page 73, line 4.— à droite = à la main droite, and is therefore in the feminlue,
1854, Paris,
Lévy, ssible
cient itin conpecienth eton, 3; be it is wind, vards rary ; \ ver'jf the there Bases.
Brite s the
Page 73, line 5. —-porte en pan coupé. The meaning of pan will be clear from these phrases (1) wne tour à sic pans, a tower with six faces ; un pan d'huhit, the skirt of a coat ; un pan de mur, à pannel of a wall. ‘The pin coupé is defined as surface qui remplace l'angle à la rencontre de deuc pans de mur. In Eng. the verb ‘cant” means to
make such a surface ; hence a ‘‘ porte en pan coupé”’—=‘a door placed cant-wise.”
Page 73, line 5.—au premier plan. In perspective, the word plan 1s used to indicate the relative position of the figures in à picture on the stage, cte. So we say: Le premier plan, le second plan, le troisième plan, etc . to indicate the relative degrees of distance from the the foreground back.
Page 73, line 7. —lampe carcel. The name of the French inventor is taken to describe his lump. Bertrand-Guillaume Carcel (1750-1812) was a poor Wwatchmaker of Paris, who by dint of skill and patience accomplished his design of inventing an improved lamp. By ‘lampe carcel ” is meant à lamp in which the oil is pumped up to the wick by clockwork. It was introduced into Englaud about 1845, and goes under the name of French or mechanical lamp, or more frequently ‘‘ carcel lamp ” Cf. ‘‘In the bright, white light of the carcel lamps,”” Miss Braddon, Asphodel, v. 60. (Murray's New English Dictionary.) Lamps of this kind are pronounced, on account of their intricacy and expense, objectionable for domestic purposes, but are valuable for light-houses. See Knight’s Dict. of Mechanics, Art. * Mechanical Lamp.”
Page 73, line 16.—chaise ou x. An æ or an ice, as name of a piece of furniture is à small stool, the crossed legs of which have the shape of the letter x,
Page 73, line 27.—le comte.* The foot notes show the position of the actors relative to one another,
Page ‘74, line 7.—palais du Tuileries. A palace with magnificent gardens in the middle of Paris on the right bank of the Seine. It derives its name from the first location of the villa of Pierre des Essart:, near tile-works (£ur/erivs). Catherine dei Medici chose it as the site for a palace begun in 1566. Successive rulers, Henry IV., Louis XIII, Louis XIV., and Napoleon I. and ITT,, greatly enlarged and embellished the original structure, so that it is now one of the chief edifices of the French capital.
Page 74, line 9.—je n'ai pas prétendu vous offenser. Pré. tendre + bare infinitive—avoir l'intention.
Page 74, line 21.—‘ aurais désiré.” This is a euphemistic Future Imperf. (Condit.). It softens politely the expression of desire, ‘I had desired.?
Page 74, line 22. —à la nuit tombante. ‘ At night-fall.”
Page ‘79, line 31.— vienne la Noël. No’! is masculine, and is here only apparently feminine, since {« Noël is only à contraction of {a fête de Noël. ‘The use of the subjunctive vienne may be compared with
em
te D be ER ET ne
the word in tha corresponding ling. colloquial phrase, ‘come Clistmas.” In each case the subjunctive represents à supposition—‘ provided ... .?
Page ‘76, line 9. -psu m’ importe==i/ m' importe peu.
Page 76, line 17.—que l’on sache. ‘This peculiir employment of the subjunctive savoir in this construction should be noted. It renresents well the vague force of the mood. Cf. Z{ n°4 pus (à, que je such, He is not there as far as T know.
F'ags 77, line 10. ïeter sa défroque. Défroque is connected with défroquer, to deprive a monk of his frock, but its signilication is en larged. It is used in two senses : (1) Z{ donne toute sa défroque à ses domestiques, He gives ali his cast-aff clothes to his servants ; (2) 74 n'a laissé en mourant toute sa défroque, He left me when dying all his wearingapparel and chattels Render, ‘put an end to it all.’ |
Ë ni LE
Page 77, line 16. -avoir été en butte. Être en butte=être exposé. Page ‘78, line 9.—-que révèle les traits. See note to 2, 28.
Page 78, line 18.—jai beau me rappeler. Avoir beau here= faire inutilement, —hence render, ‘in vain do I recall.?
Page 78, line 2S. -veuillez me croire. Vouloir has two imperatives, one of which we have seen in 31, 33 Veuillez is used in the sense of ‘be so kind as to.’
Page 78, line 28.-sur parole=sur la garantie de ma bonne foi, The distinctions between parole and mot are as follows : parole =(1) word, in the sense of siguilicant discourse, —{4 parole de Dieu, the word of God; (2) power of speech,--/iex a donné la parole aux hommes, God gave speech to man; (3) promise, —7? & gardé sa parole, He has kept his word. Mot=(1) word, independently considered, les deux mots suivants, —the two following words ; (2) notable remarks, -un bon mot, witticism ; (3) answer to a riddle, ete. —‘le mot d’une énigme,” 115, 4.
Page 79, line 4.—je m'en prendrai. Se prendre à quelqu'un (de quelque chose) =le quereller à cause de, le rendre responsable, lui imputer le tort
Page 79, line 6. —envers vous. Distinguish the use of vers and envers. Vers denotes (1, direction in space—vers la rivière, towards the river; (2) about—of time—vers deux heures, about two o’cloek ; (3) (sanctioned by good authors but condeinned by the Academy) (—envers), with respect to. {7 s'est montré perfide vers (better envers) son ami, Envers means as regards, towards, referring to persons. Z{ s’est montré compatissant envers les pauvres, he showed himself compassionate to the poor.
Page 79, line 11.-—-contrition d’ à présent. The adverbial phrase à présent, now, is here used as à noun. For this construction, cf, les enœurs d'aujourd'hui, the morals of the day. Render, ‘your contrition in the present moment,”
istpro-
b of n\re-
&he,
cted s en à ses
na
ring-
posé.
re —=
pera- \ the
mots mob,
à (de er le
and ards ok ; my) vers) s’est nate
| bial
ion,
our
Page 79, line 13. de grand cœur, ‘The idea of willingly, ‘with pleasure,” may be expressed by the fo lowing equivalent expressions, de grandi cœur, de bon cœur, de tout mon (ton, son, ete.,) cœur.
Page 79, 15,! injure. /njure means (1) injury, wrong, as in /{ faut pardonner les injures, We must forgive injuries ; (2) insulting remarks, insult, as in Z{ vous «a dit des injures, He insulted you. The latter meaning is the meanir g of the text.
Page 79, line 2 __ grand’ peur. With certain nouns grand does not take the e Fa minine. In O.F, adjectives derived from Lat. adjectives in--is had but one form for the two genders. Hence Lat, grandis (m.), grandis (f.), grande (n.) became in O.F, grand (m. and f.) Under the influence of adjectives derived from lat. adjectives in us, which had two forms in O.K,, (e.g., bonus, bona, bonum, gave bon m., bon(nje, f.), the one-form adjectives began to conform with the two-form. Nevertheless certain relics of the O.F, single form adjectives survive, which the early grammarians had the folly to mark with an apostrophe ,asifane. Some of these are grand'peur, grand'chère, grand'chose, grand’faim, grand'soif, grand’mère, grand'tante, grand’messe, grand'peine, grand pitié, grand'rue.
Page 79, line 28.—à moins que....ne soient. À moins que, ‘lest,’ requires the subjunctive with ne without negative meaning. II, 264, 3, b.
Page 80, line 21.-avec ça. ‘ In addition,’ ‘into the bargain.'
Page 81, line 5.—à la guerre comme à la guerre. A French proverb, which signifies that in certain affairs we must be prepared to accept privations, etc., because they are inevitabiy associated with them.
Page 81, line 11.—-en plein hiver-—au plus fort de l'hiver, ‘ in the depth of winter.’
Page 85, line 6—quitte à choquer. &@wilte has its primary meaning in such phrases as Je l'ai payé, me voilà quitte, Y'have paid him, nov We are quits ; nous sommes quiltes, we are quits. It has a se condary meaning, Vous étes quitte de votre parole, You are released from your promise, {l'en est quitte à bon marché, He comes of cheaply. The phrase in the text varies most from the primary meaning; à similar phrase is Vous le ferez, quitte à être puni, You will do it, even if you are punished afterwards.
Page 85, line 10. —-agréer mes services. Not ‘ agree,” which is convenir de, but ‘accept, #xvillir farorablement, So in ending a leit er we commonly write (127) “ex le apr sston de ma sincère amitié, etc. As a neuter verb «agréer = plaire : La vie est un mets qui n'agrée que par ta sauce, Life is a difh that only the sauce makes agreeable,
Page 85, line 17.--il ne me sert pas. This pun on the two meanings of the verb-—servir, to be uselul, and servir, to serve— can be brought out by rendering ‘‘sert””in 1. 15, ‘is of service,’ and in 1. 17, ‘serves.?
Page 8'7, line .—une pointe d’appétit. ‘A touch of appetite.”
PE dé
ST Er
Page 87, line 17.-Thébaide. The ancient Thebais constituted much of what is now Upper and Middle Egypt. It was the first inhabited and civilized portion of Egypt, with ivs capital at Thebes. In Thebais lived the first Christian hermits and anchorites,
Page 88, line 3.—mardi, jour d'Italiens. {aliens here refers to the Théâtre-Italien or Théâtre-Ventadour of Paris. Similary we find ‘‘ Aux Italiens,” as a title to Owen Meridith’s poem. Cf. the common phrase, On a joué aujourd’hui Don Juan, aux Italiens, ‘Don Juan” was played to-day at the Italian Theatre. ‘The Théâtre-Italien is the most fashionable opera-house in Paris, made ïllustrious by Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, and by the singers Rubini, Mario, T'amburini, Lablanche, Grisi, Persiani, and Malibran. Performances are on ‘l'uesday, Thursday, Saturday,
Page 88, line 11.—il m’ en coûte. Æn generally accompanies coûte used impersonally. Uf. /{ m'en coûte bon=cela m'a été très pénible.
Page 89, line 1—trappiste. The Trappist monks are a community of the order of St. Bernard, founded in 1140, and occupy many monasteries throughout Europe. Cne is maintained on this continent, in Kentucky. Perpetual silence, abstinence from meat are some of the rules of the Trappists, whose austere life is proverbial.
Page 89, 25. —Auvergne. Auvergne is one of the ancient provinces of France, and forms to-day the departments of Puy-de-dôme, Cantal, and à part of Haute-Loire. It lies in the centre of southern France, and is mountainous but fertile.
Page 89, line 33. —que n’alliez-vous. Que=pourquoi, and therefore the negative pas 1s not expressed. IL., 264, 1, e.
Page 91, line 12.—n’y fut pour rien, ‘had nothing to do with it.” See note to 95, 11.
Page 92. line 9.— j'en suis là. Æn étre refers to the point that one has attained in a matter, ‘[ have got as far as this.” Uf. ‘‘ vous n’en êtes....qu’ à,” 112, 23.
Page 92, line 18.— dès le lendemain. Note the emphatic force of dès, —‘ on the very next day.” So dés ce soir, this very evening.
Page 95, line 5.—de la part du pauvre Kado. De la part is used of persons from whom anything comes, or on whose behalf anything is done, Æüuites-lui des félicitations de ma part, congratulate him for me, De quelle part viennent ces présents ? For whom do these presents come” Render, ‘on behalf of.” Cf, ‘j'étais de votre part l’objet d’une indiscrète raillerie.” 109, 2.
Page 95. line 11.—]a tête n’y est plus. The force of y étre may be seen from such sentences as Je n'y suis pour rien, L had nothing to do with the matter ; Vous n'y êtes pas, You pay no attention, Render, ‘He is no longer sensible.’
Page 95, line 14. —je vais couper. The accès is one of fever ; couper la fièvre=empécher le retour des accès, ‘to check,’ etc,
ted in- In
8 60 find mon an ”
the sin, rini, ues-
oûte
nity AS é, in the
pro- Ôme, hern
erehit.’
that vous
ce of
rt is anyn for ents l’une
may to do ider,
ver 3
Page 95, line 27.--comme qui dirait. This phrase has a counter part an Elizabethan English, though not in Modern Eng. Cf.
“There are 4 sort vf men whose visages
Do cream and mantle like the standing pool
À.11 do a wilful stillness entertain,
Wich purpose to be dressed in an opinion
OZ wisdom, gravity, profound conceit,
As who should say, ‘Tam Sir Oracle,
And when I ope my lips let no dog bark.”
Merchant of Venice, 1, 1.
This colloquial phrase comme qui dirait=en quelque sorte, une sorte «de. Rendering the text somewhat literally, ‘You might call it a....3; or freely, ‘Itis a sort...’
Page 96. line 19.—vous y tenez. Z'enir in this sense = avoir pour but, désirer, and may be rendered by ‘ you (really) mean it.
Page 96, line 30.—pas de fée sans bûcheron. A jest on the frequency with which the woodcutter appears in fairy stories.
Page 97, line 4. —je ressemble à Diogène. :Allusion to the well-known story of Diogenes passing through Athens, lantern in hand at high noon, looking for an honest man. See De Fivas’ French Reader, p. 19.
Page 98, line 29.—illustre et bouïllant homonyme. Allusion to Hector, son of Priam, King of Troy. When that city was besieged by the Greeks Hector, performed prodigies of valor, holding off the fall of Troy for ten years, fighting with Ajax and Diomedes, burning the Grecian fleet and slaying many of his enemies. When at last he killed Patroclus, Achilles was incited against him and by the aïd of the gods slew the brave Trojan. Strictly, however, the allusion is to the character of Hector as found in the dramas of the middle ages, where he w:: represented as a turbulent, insolent, blustering soldier. (Hence the meaning of ‘to hector,” etc.)
Page 99 line 20.—n'en serez pas le bon marchand. The phrases étre mauvais marchand, se trouver mauvais marchand, n'être pas bon marchand (d’une chose), are all used with similar meaning—se trouver mal (d’une chose), to have to suffer for.
Page 99, line 21.—ferr. à glace. Être ferré or être ferré à glace, is colloq. and fig. for étre : .n habile.
Page 99, line 25.—à quoi ..mordre. Mordre à quelque chose = y prendre goût, y faire des progrès, ‘have a liking for, to get along with.’
age 100, line 2.-—tenez. The interjectional use of the verb; cf. note to 9, 34. Render, ‘there now.” Cf, Tenez, Veillez à cela,” 108,
Page 100, line 6. —je te vais jeter, or je vais te jeter. The position of te is optional. Cf. IL. 158.
A 2 pm D om mr
PRET RETERES
Page 109, line 8.--un ami à moi. À common use of à to denote possession, ‘à friend of mine.” The speaker might have said ‘un de mes amis.”
Page 100, line 12.—sur ces entrefaites, or dans ces entrefaites— en ce moment-là. The word is used orly in these constructions.
Page 100, line 16.—que je meure. This is a subjunctive with optative force—* may I die, if it was.” To explain the construction, nnderstand some such verb as je consens.
Pagv 101, line 19. -qu'il vous sache gré. Subjunctive after the question in ‘‘ pensez-vous.” Gré=reconnaissance, gratitude, when used with savoir:—savoir gré or savoir bon gré—=être satisfait or content ; savoir mauvais gré—être mal satisfait, mécontent.
Page 101, line 21.—crois....aux fées. The verb croire has three constructions with its object : —!1) croire quelqu'nn=to believe, to have full faith in any one. Je vous ‘rois, I believe you. (2) Croire à denotes a weaker belief, to have confideuce in, and often=to be of the opinion of. Il croit à la magie, He believes in magic. (3) Croire en, to believe in and have full reliance on. /! croit en Dien, He believes in God.
Page 101, line 22. —tables tournantes. This is one of the favorite performances of spiritualists.
Page 103, line 29. mon âme va y passer. *Y passer is used with the meaning of mourir, se perdre. Hence render, ‘I shall lose my
soul.”
Page 104, line 10.—voilà le paquet. This phase is no doubt derived from the somewhat common expression donner la paquet—donner congé (à un domestique). Yvonnet, expecting to be transported into the next world, exclaims ‘voilà le paquet,” almost — voilà la dernier coup, this is the finishing stroke. ‘It's all up with me”
Page 105, line 5.—vous en tenez. Æn tenir=to have received blows, ete., and figuratively, to have experienced something disagreeable.
Page 106, line 7.—comme vous voilà fait. ‘ What a state you are in !”
Page 106, line 11.—-en train. The force of en train may be illustrated by the following sentences : {est en train de se perdre, He is in : way to ruin himself; Mous sommes en train de jouer, We arein a moo:l for—ready to—play ; Z{ a mis cette affaire en train, He has setthe matter going. Render, ‘ disposed,’ ‘ ready.’
Page 106, line 18. soyez sages. Sage applied to children means “good.”
Page 107, line 16.—temps que la reine Berthe filait. A proverbial expression to denote the legendary past, with manners very different from our own. People say also du temps du roi Guillemot. Berthe (died 7S3), sarnamed au grand pied, was the wife of Pepin the Short and mother of Charlemagne. The poets have celebrated the life of this queen, relating how she was carried off the day of her marriage,
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and à serving-woman, who resembled her, put in her place ; how the true queen escaped from her captors and dwelt as a servant spinning with the distaff in the home of a game-keeper ; how her mother visiting Pepin discovered the deception put upon the king, and finally restored Bertha to her royal spouse.
Page 108, line 5.—touchez du piano. Toucher, with certain instruments played by the tonch—jouer de, (cf. note to 36, 2) ; —Ælle touche bien l'orgue, She plays the organ well. T'oucher de is used with
the same meaning ;—Æ{le touche bien du piano, She plays the piano well.
noue 109, line 9.—]e mot même de l'existence. See note to , 29.
Page 110, line 18.— Roger Beaumanoir. ‘There is a peculiar appropriateness in the name, which is that of one of the historical families of Brittany. The mortuary chapel of the Beaumanoirs in the Benedictine Priory of Lehon, near Dinan.
‘ Beaumanoir ! à ce nom de glorieux prodiges Des siècles écoulés réveillent les prestiges : La pierre des tombeaux a paru se mouvoir Et des trente Bretons les clameurs belliqueuses Semblent répondre, sous ces voûtes fameuses, ce grand nom de Beaumanoir.” — Aubry.
See Brittany and its Byways, by Mrs. Bury Palliser.
Page 110, line 31.— je vous jure. J/urer in converation is scarcely as strong as ‘swear” ; it rather—" assure.’
Page 111, line 4—laissez-vous faire. Se laisser followed by a infinitive, means to permit, ete. Z{ se laisse tomber, He lets himself fall, The active infinitive in Fr. after /uisser corresponds to the passive in Eng. Hence render, ‘ Let it be done (happen, come)’ i.e., do not resist the inclination to sleep.
Page 111, line 15.—-chien danois. The czien danois is a huntingdog, having short hair generally white with black spots. The breed originated in Denmark. It corresponds closely to the beagle or harrier.
Page 112, line 14. — cela se peut. Pouvoir is used reflectively only in this sense—éfre possiile, —"that may be.
Page 112, line 20.—il a suf....de l'amour. This de is not the sign of the partitive, but is the regular construction with the general nouu, when suffire is used impersonaily. Of, Z° nous suffit de l'honneur, Honor suflices us.
Page 112, line 28.—qu’ à cela ne tienne. Used impersonally as here, tenir refers to the obstacles hi tue way of à thing being done, Render, ‘let that not stand in the way.’
Page 112, lire 28. —-aussi bier. Aussi bien, as a conjunction—dans le fait, ‘in fact.’
Page 112, line 32, jamais femme ne m'inspirera. Une is almost always omittea beïvre the subject of a sentence introduced by jamais. il
if Da:
Page 113, line 2 —soirée. The difference between soir and soirée is the same as has been pointed out in other nouns in —ée ; cf. note to 5, 9. Soirée represents the evening with relation to what it contains—the business or pleasure that is carried on in it.
Page 113, line 15.— les paroles sacramentelles. Les mots sacramentaux or les paroles sacramentales, are the important words necessary for the conclusion of a treaty or other matter; ‘the decisive words,”
Page 114, line 10.—au fait—(1) in fact, indeed ; (2) tout bien considéré, after all ; (3) au fait, monsieur, to the point, sir ; (4) Z{ est au fait de cette affaire, He knows all about that business. Render, ‘in fact.’
Page 114, line 11.—ce prétendu rajeunissement. Prétendu is one of the few past participles that may stand before the noun they qualify. II. 79, à.
Page 115, line 23.—de par le ciel. De-par—de la part de, on behalf of. !cisin O.F. construction. in which the possessive case with proper nouns was usually not expressed. /Cf. Hôtel. Dieu Htel-de- Dieu.) The construction is preserved in such expressions as de par le roi, in the king’s name. Render, ‘in the nam of heaven.’
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Les mots it words decisive
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS REQUIRING
