A OZ VA
in, ml 2 = Ld Poa mË
i l’attenue.
aient sur rs de la la route sur leur r que des verse du sions par rsqu’une int:
ile, et de 8. Tout e sortait.
courus à Aden et Il faisait iclataient nais nous ure nous 1 village, n criant:
ens chantait alors
ns ÂAden, aillon qui l'épaule, in, sur le s’avançait ute; l’un un coup des voix
MADAME THÉRÈSE- 195 glapissantes, des éclats de rire, car les Français sont ainsi, quand ils marchent en troupe, il ieur faut toujours des histoires et de joyeux propos pour entretenir leur bonne humeur.
* Moi, dans cette foule je ne cherchais des yeux que l'oncle Jacob et madame Thérèse; il me fallut quelque
*temps pour les découvrir à la queue du bataillon, En-
fin je vis l’oncle, il était derrière, à cheval sur Rappel. J’eus d’abord de la peine à le reconnaître, car il avait un grand chapeau républicain, un habit à revers rouges et un grand sabre à fourreau de fer; cela le changeait d’une façon incroyable, il paraissait beaucoup plus grand; mais je le reconnus tout de même, ainsi que madame Thérèse sur sa charrette couverte de toile, avec son même chapeau et sa même cravate; elle avait les joues roses et les yeux brillants; l’oncle chevauchait près d’elle, ils causaient ensemble.
Je reconnus aussi le petit Jean, que je n’avais vu qu’une fois; il marchait, un large baudrier orné de baguettes en travers de la poitrine, les bras couverts de galons, et son sabre ballottant derrière les jambes. Et le commandant, et le sergent Laflèche, et le capitaine que j'avais conduit dans notre grenier, et tous les soldats, oui, presque tous je les reconnaissais, il me semblait être dans une grande famille; et le drapeau couvert de toile cirée me faisait aussi plaisir à voir.
Je courais à travers tout le monde, Hans Aden et Frantz Sépel avaient déjà trouvé des camarades, moi je marchais toujours, j’étais à trente pas de la charrette et j'allais appeler: ‘ Oncle! oncle !” quand madame Thérèse, se penchant par hasard, s’écria d’une voix joyeuse:
‘€ Voici Scipio !”
Dans le même instant, Scipio, que j'avais oublié
chez nous, tout effaré, tout crotté, sautait dans la voi. ture.
Aussitôt petit Jean s’écria:
‘€ Scipio.”
Et le brave caniche, après avoir passé deux ou trois fois ses grosses moustaches sur les joues de madame Thérèse, bondit à terre et se mit à danser autour de petit Jeaa, aboyant, poussant des cris et se démenant comme un bienheureux.
Tout le bataillon l’appelait:
“€ Seipio, ici L... Scipio !... Scipio !...”
L’oncle vLaait de m’apercevoir et me tendait les bras du haut de son cheval. Je m’accrochai à sa jambe, il me leva et im’embrassa; je sentis qu’il pleurait et cela m'attendrit. Il me tendit ensuite À madame Thérèse, qui m’attira dans sa charrette en me disant:
‘€ Bonjour, Fritzel.”
Elle paraissait bien heureuse et m’embrassait les larmes AUX yeux.
Presque aussitôt le maunser et Koffel arrivèrent, donnant des poignées de main à l’oncle; puis les autres gens du village, pêle-mêle avec les soldats, qui remettaient aux hommes leurs sacs et leurs fusils pour les porter en triomphe, et qui criaient aux femmes:
‘Hé! la grosse mère !... La jolie fille !... par ici !. par ici !
C'était une véritable confusion, tout le monde fraternisait, et au milieu de tout cela, c’était encore petit Jean et moi qui paraissions les plus heureux.
‘ Embrasse petit Jean,” me criait l’oncle.
— Embrasse Fritzel,” disait madame Thérèse à son frère.
Et nous nous embrassions, nous nous regardions émerveillés,
18 la voi.
ou trois me T'héde petit t comme
les bras jambe, il it et cela Thérèse,
les larnt, donres gens 1ettaient orter en ir ici |...
nde frare petit
e à son
ns émer-
I] me plaît, cria petit Jean, il a l’air bon enfant.
— Toi, tu me plais aussi,” lui dis-je, tout fier de parler en français.
Et nous marchions bras dessus bras dessous, tandis que loncle et madame Thérèse se souriaient l’un à l'autre.
Le commandant me tendit aussi la main en disant:
«Hé! docteur Wagner, voici votre défenseur.—Tu vas toujours bien, mca brave ?
— Oui, commandant.
— A la bonne heure !”
C’est ainsi que nous arrivâmes aux premières maisons
du village. Alors on s'arrêta quelques instants pour se
mettre en ordre, petit Jean accrocha son tambour sur sa cuisse, et le commandant ayant crié: ‘ En avant, marche !” les tambours retentirent.
Nous dcscendîimes la grande rue, marchant tous au pas et nous réjouissant d’üne entrée si magnifique. Tous les vieux et les vieilles qui n’avaient pu sortir étaient aux fenêtres et se montraient l’oncle Jacob, qui s’avançait d’un air digne derrière le commandant entre ses deux aides. Je remarquai surtout le père Schmitt, debout à la porte de sa baraque; il redressait sa haute taille voûtée et nous regardait défiler avec un éclair dans l’œil.
Sur la place de la fontaine le commandant cria: é Halte l” On mit les fusils en faisceaux, et tout le monde se dispersa, les uns à droite, les autres à gauche; chaque bourgeois voulait avoir un soldat, tous voulaient se réjouir du triomphe de la République une et indivigible; mais ces Français, avec leurs mines joyeuses, suivaient de préférence les joïies filles.
Le commandant vint avec nous. La vieille Lisbeth
ann denses :
. 7e A SRE DER D mm
était déjà Sur la porte, ses longues mains levées au ciel, et criait:
‘Ah! madame Thérèse... ah! monsieur le docteur !..
Ce furent de nouveaux cris de joie, de nouvelles embrassades. Puis nous entrimes, et le festin de jambon, d’ardouilles et de grillades arrosées de vin blanc et de vieux bourgogne commença: Koffel, le mauser, le commandant, l’oncle, madame Thérèse, petit Jean et moi, je vous laisse à penser quelle table, quel appétit, quelle satisfaction !
Tout ce jour-là, le 1° bataillon resta chez nous; puis il lui fallut poursuivre sa route, car ses quartiers d’hiver étaient à Hacmatt, à deux petites lieues d’Anstatt. L’oncle resta au village, il déposa son grand sabre et son grand chapeau; mais depuis ce moment jusqu’au printemps, il ne se passa pas de jour qu’il ne fût en route pour Hacmatt: il ne pensait plus qu’à Hacmatt.
De temps en temps madame Thérèse venait aussi nous voir avec petit Jean; nous riions, nous étions heureux, nous nous aimions !
Que vous dirai-je encore ? Au printemps, quand commence à chanter l’alouette, un jour on apprit que le 1% bataï!lon allait partir pour la Vendée. Alors l’oncle tout pâle, courut à l’écurie et monta sur son Rappel ; il partit ventre à terre, la tête nue, ayant oublié de mettre son bonnet.
Que se passa-t-il à Hacmatt! Je n’en sais rien; mais ce qu’il y a de sûr, c’est que le lendemain, l’oncle fier comme un roi, revint avec madame Thérèse et petit Jean, qu’il y eut grande noce chez nous, embrassades et réjouissances. Huit jours après, le commandant Duchêne arriva avec tous les capitaines du bataillon. Ce jour-la, les réjouissances furent encore plus grandes.
au ciel, le doc-
les emjambon, e et de le comet moi, , quelle
18; puis d'hiver \nstatt.
sabre et usqu’au fût en matt.
s8i nous eureux,
quand t que le l’oncle ppel ; il mettre
n; Mais cle fier t petit ades et nt Du- 1. Ce randes.
Madame Thérèse et l’oncle se rendirent à la mairie, suivis d’une longue file de joyeux convives. Le mauser, qu’on avait nommé bourgmestre à l’élection populaire, nous attendait, son écharpe tricolore autour des reins. 1 | F | Ï |
Il inscrivit l’oncle et madame Thérèse sur un gros re- 1j
{ gistre, à la satisfaction universelle; et dès lors petit | Jean eut un père, et moi j’eus une bonne mère, dont jy à
je ne puis me rappeler le souvenir sans répandre des larmes, \ {
J’auruis encore bien des choses à vous dire... mais | c’est assez pour une fois. Si le Seigneur Dieu le permet, un jour nous reprendrons cette histoire qui finit, (hs comme toutes les autres, —par des cheveux blancs et les 15 derniers adieux de ceux qu’on aime le plus au monde.
rer er mon nn
em
LA pr 4 nd at et UE | ui © R
In general, no note will be given when all the information gecessary to understand the text can be found in Gasc’s Dictionary of the French and English Languages. A few exceptions may be made, especially in the earlier chapters, for words that will frequently recur, and that may be misleading from their similarity in form to English words to which they do not correspond, such as place, allée, large, trouble. There are also several slightly provincial or inelegant uses of words which it would be pedantic to notice in every case as the book is written in a very familiar, colloquial style. Historical and geographical notes might have easily been multiplied. They have been sparingly given, and only in cases where the allusion was obscure or where there might be some difficulty in finding the names in the common books of reference, Thus there is no note to Palatinat, Wilhelm de Prusse, or l'empereur Joseph (p. 8), but one was thought necessary to Les trois électeurs in the same sentence. The German words introduced by the authors in their text are often intentionally misspelt. Sometimes this may have been done to make them easier to be read by French readers. When it was judged necessary to make a note, the correct spelling has also ‘been given. It was thought unnecessary to make many notes to the last half of the volume as the difficulties in this part had almost all occurred in the first half.
ES" The Roman numerals refer to the chapters, the Arabic to the pages.
LR
1. Vosges allemandes.—The scene of the story ‘Madame Thérèse” is laid in the region of the Palatinate nearest to France, in what was in the last century the Dukedom of Zweybrücken, now Rhenish Bsyaria. The expression Vosges allemandes is rather loosely us :, for the northeastern portion of the chain of mountains which, beyond the Lauter, receive the name of Hardt. The localities mentioned may be found on minute maps of Germany. Kaiserslautern, the nearest town, is a place of some historical importance. The events take place in the years 1793 and 1794, and are, as far as the military movements are concerned, mainly true to history.
Bonnet de coton.—A peculiar cap of woven cotton, soft, without a brim, having about the shape of a liberty-cap, generally ending in a cotton tassel.
En rentrant de ses courses.—On coming back from his rounds, that is, his visits as a physician.
L'Histoire naturelle de M. de Buffon.—Be careful to read the M. fully, as monsieur. As a rule, in French, initials or ab breviations are not read as letters, as they often are in English. Thus J. J. Rousseau must be read Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The Histoire naturelle of Buffon, of which the first part was published in 1749, was regarded as a model of French style. The author was looked upon as rather pompous and grandiloquent by those who wished, in scientific writing, only clearness and precision. Voltaire said when the Histoire naturelle was mentioned in his presence, ‘‘ Pas si naturelle l”
Allée—Passageway (outside of the house).
2, La place—The square.
Un homme sentimental—A man of feeling, a kind-hearted man. The word sentimental is here used rather in the sense it had at the end of the last century, than in the sense it has now.
Large.—Notice that large means wide or broad. For convenience, though very rarely, it may be translated large, but it has in ordinary modern French always the idea of width or breadth. Primitively it meant simply large, and it is found used in this sense in the seventeenth century, and even in modern authors, in poetry or stately prose.
Fourneau.—Poëéle, used on the previous page, is the proper word for stove, but in Lorraine fourneau (really furnace) is often used instead of poële. Hence the frequent interchange of the two words in the stories of Erckmann-Chatrian.
3. Troutble.—This word more frequently means disturbance (as here) or tumult, agitation, confusion or uneasiness, than trouble. The English word trouble is variously translated in French—in many cases by peine, as, To take the trouble— prendre or se donner la peine.
Du lard aux choux—Pork and cabbage.
Des noudels et des knæpfels.—Noudels is for Nudel, a kind of German macaroni. Ænœpfel, are a sort of dough-balls about as large as a very small potato.
Mauser.—A German word meaning mouser, mouse-hunter. Throughout this book it is used in the sense of mole-catcher— taupier.
4, Dénicher.—This word generally means to take out of the nest (nid), to dislodge. Here it simply means to take out.
5, Il rafistolait la vaisselle félée avec du fil de fer—He put together cracked crockery with wire. Rafistoler is very familiar, and means to patch up, to mend.
Tiroir à Rabots—Cabbage-slicer or cabbage-cutter. This
nm, Soft, ap, gen-
rom bis
to read ls or ab English.
ousseau.
part was h style.
d granly clearraturelle
-hearted he sense se it has
For conrge, but width or is found even in
le proper rnace) is erchange 1, turbance ess, than slated in rouble—
1, a kind ugh-balls
e-hunter.
atcher—
ut of the e out.
—He put ry famil-
er. This
instrument is made of a series of superposed blades somewhat like the cutting part of a plane (rubot).
Pas de choux ?—Any cabbages? Pas is here elliptically used for n'avez-vous pas ?
6. Oignons—Spelt also ognons, generally means onions: here it means bunions, or rather it is loosely used for corns in general.
Si le cœur vous en dit—If you would like some, or, at your service. In this very colloquial expression cœur is used eu-
huistically for estomac. En dire is used in various senses; ere it means to have a desire for. It sometimes means to be favorable as in the line of Molière from /’Étourdi :
Si le sort nous en dit, tout sera bien réglé. (If fate favors us, all will be well.—(Act. V., sc. 2).)
Elles formaient barbe—They were settling. I have ventured on this translation, but I have not been able to find the expression former barbe in any dictionary.
7. Salm-Salm.—Salm is the name of several very ancient noble families of Germany. Salm-Salm is one of the collateral branches.
8, C'hasses à courre—Hunts with hounds. Cowrre is an old verb which has remained as a special hunting term, to run, to hunt. Courir has taken its place, in the general sense of to run.
Les trois électeurs.—This seems to refer to the three ecclesiastical electors of Mayence, Treves, and Cologne.
9. Dormir en paix sur les deux vreilles— Dormir sur les deux oreilles means to sleep soundly, without fear, to feel perfectly safe.
Noblesse de robe—The magistracy, or the clergy.
10. Noblesse d'épée—The nobility of the sword, or simply the nobility.
A plate couture—Soundly. Battre à plate couture literally means to beat until the seams (coutures) are flattened out; that is, to beat soundly.
Faisait-il—Said he ; a not infrequent use of faire in the sense of düre. Notice the use of the imperfect in this case as well as in the previous paragraphs. Æüisait-il would therefore more exactly be translated, He used to say; Fit-il, He said. 11. Frelon.—This word properly means hornet. It is also used, as here, for drone, which is properly faux bourdon.
Remplumer.—To new-feather, to retrieve the losses. Remplumer means to feather again. It is scarcely ever used except figuratively as a reflexive verb, se remplumer, to mend one’s affairs, to feather ones nest, to pick up again (aîter an illness).
Jacobin.—Originally jacobin meant only a monk of the order ff Saint Dominic, so called from the church of Saint-J acques
(Jacobus) in Paris, which was given to them, and near which they built their convent. After 1789 it was used to designate the members of the political society which met in this convent. They were ardent upholders of Aemocracy and equality. The name, since then, has often &een used abusively as radical sometimes is.
12. Yeri-Péter.—This seems to be a nickname of some German personage, but I have not been able to find out who is meant.
On verrait trop facilement que leurs pensées, leurs inventions et leurs désirs se rapportent à de pauvres génies.—This sentence is not a model of precision. The word invention is very loosely used. Se rapporter means to refer or relate to, but it is misapplied here. The whole with a little good-will may be translated : It would be too easily seen that their
thoughts, their contrivances, and their desires proceed from .
(or indicate) weak minds.
Rien que de grands gaillards, coiffés d'immenses chapeaux à cornes—Nothing but tall fellows, with immense cocked hats on their he1ds. The chapeau à cornes was primitively chapeau à trois cornes, of which one of the points (cornes) was afterwards flattened out. It was also called éricoÿne, as on p. 40. As to coiffer, it is impossible to translate it byoneword. It is derived from coiffe, a head-dress or cap. It may be rendered by, to put on the head, to cover, to place in the hair, to dress the hair, or in various other ways according to the context, The same is the case with chausser, which refers to the feet as coiffer does to the head.
15, Tignasse—Shock of hair. Tignasse seems to have meant primitively a badly kept wig ; it is also spelt éeignasse, from teigne, scurf. It is a favorite word with Erckmann-Chatrian, It is very familiar.
En train de brasser la pâte—Mixing the dough. Brasser is properly to brew, hence, to stir up or mix together. Itis connected with an old French word which means malt, and is not derived from bras, arm, as its present spelling would seem to indicate. To knead is pétrir, as in the second line of this chapter, p. 13. Æn train de, which was left untranslated, means, in the act of, busy.
16, Déchiquetait— Was cutting away at.
Coquille—Hilt, basket-hilt.
L'arme au bras— With musket at a support.
Pour en revenir à nos moutons—To return to our subject. The expression revenir à ses moutons owes its origin to a scene in an old French farce, L’Avocat Pathelin, in which a draper
Guillaume is accusing his shepherd Agnelet of killing and
bot tm LL on PP banni = PP
pi
Or
ar which designate convent.
ty. The s radical
ome Gerit who is
rs invenes.—This ention is relate to, good-will hat their
eed from .
hapeaux ked hats chapeau as afteron p. 40, rd. Itis rendered to dress context, 1e feet as
ve meant sse, from JDhatrian,
rasser is It is connd is not | seem to e of this anslated,
subject.
0 a scene a draper
ling and
stealing his sheep. The draper has also been robbed of some cloth by Pathelin, the counsel of Agnelet. Recognizing the lawyer in court he ridiculously mixes up the cloth and the sheep in his statement, whereupon the judge cries out to him, ‘“Sus, revenons à ces moutons: qu’en fut-il ?”—‘* Come now, let's return to those sheep : how was it about them ?” The farce of Pathelin or Patelin having become very popular, the admonition of the judge became, with various changes, a common proverbial expression.
Sur les quatre chemins—On the road. Par le chemin is also used in the same sense. Quatre is often familiarly used to express a small indeterminate number, as trente-six is for a larger one.
17. Les habits blancs—The white coats, that is, the Austrians.
18. Nous autres.— Autres is added merely to emphasize the ne The sentence might be rendered : We don't hang, we
on’t.
Ce n’est pas trop béle—That’s pretty shrewd. By a figure of speech much more common in French than in English, a negative expression is often used to convey a positive idea : thus, pas mal generally means pretty well ; pas mauvais, pretty
good.
19. À la bonne heure—Very well, all right. This expression merely expresses satisfaction. In the next line, je ne demande pas mieux que means, All I want is to.
Réparation d'honneur.—This expression in the mouth of the officer is equivalent to ‘I beg your pardon.” Füuire réparation d'honneur means to cease to impute something, to confess that one has blamed wrongly.
Les fêtes de la Concorde. —Allusion to the Jétes on the Champ-de-Mars on the 14th of July, the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille.
20. Droits de l’homme.—Allusion to the preamble of the revolutionary constitutions, headed ‘Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen.”
Avale-moi ça—Swallow that, will you? This idiomatic use of moi is analogous to what some Latin grammarians have called dativus commodi et incommodi. It is not uncommon in older English. There are many examples in Shakespeare, as in Othello, I., 1. 49, ‘ Whip me such honest knaves.”
21, Des vitres sautèrent—Panes of glass were shattered.
Obtempérer.—This is specially a law term, meaning to comply with. The speech of the sergeant is made purposely pompous.
Pain d'épice—Gingerbread.
22. En sautoir sur l'épaule—Slung over the shoulder. Sauloir meant primitively that part of the harness, corresponding to the stirrup, by means of which the knight could leap (sauter) on his horse, From the shar -£ this, somewhat like an
X closed at the bottom, it came to mean Saint Andrew's cross, then, crosswise and simply, slung from the shoulder.
23, La branche de sapin—An inn or drinking place is often indicated in the country simply by a green twig or bush.
Kaiserlick—For Kaïiserlich, that is, Imperialist.
Assignats—The paper currency of the Revolution.
24, Tout chacun—EÆEvery me. The tout is redundant, though tt is found in French of an earlier period. This speech of the drum-major is made purposely pompous. Civique and civisme were words much used and abused during the revolutionary period : civism meant devotion to the established government; the serment civique was the required oath of acceptance of the new order of things.
Il venait d'en échapper d'une belle—He had just had a narrow escape of it. Theexpression in common use is l'échapper belle ; this, as well as many other phrases in which belle is used idiomatically, is taken from the game of tennis, the word balle being understood.
25, Frappant de la semelle—Stamping, or striking their feet together.
26, Brouette—Hand-cart ; this word now generally means wheelbarrow.
