Il . . . aisance : he is in easy circum s tances

3. Une . . . trouve : one of thèse women who willingly wreck their happiness.

Page 15. — 1. Un pince-sans-rire : a sullen wag.

2. Il . . . Gascon. Renan's mother was from Brittany, his father from Gascogne. To thèse two origins Renan owed his qualities and his faults which, at first, seemed so contradictory. The ^Bretons are a race of dreamers, prone to melancholy and mysticism, and having a deep religious stamp. They are obstinate in their opinions, very earnest, and of a sober and thoughtful mind. The Gascons, on the other hand, are a lively race, overflowing with animal spirits, witty, mischievous, and very prone to exaggeration, to boasting and bragging. Thèse différent éléments were very striking in Renan's tempérament, and caused him to be judged harshly and unjustly by purblind cri tics, who did not take the trouble to study his complex nature, and trace it back to its origin.

3. Sous . . . incroyables : with a show of connection^ he jumps from one idea to another.

4. Galimatias : gibberish t a discourse without sensé or connection. Page 16. — 1 . Le petit Armoricain : the little boy from Brittany,

Armorica was the ancient name of this French province (ar, mor: Celtic, on the sea). It is situated in the northwestern part of France. It remained independent for many years, but was finally united to the kingdom in 1532.

2. Le grand chorège: choragus^ chorus-leader. Name given in Greece to the magistrate who presided over the spectacles, and also to him who lead the chorus.

3. Il . . . féerie : he is one of the most original \ one of the smartest actors in the eternal pantomime, the fairy-like play which life on this earth appears to be. Compère properly means the godfather of a child, whose godmother would be called, by opposition, commère. In a wider sensé it is applied to a person who sits with the spectators in a play, but takes part in it at the same time, often giving a reply from his place, and being altogether in connivance with the actors. (Hatzfeld and Darmsteter.)

Second Article, " Contre une Légende."

Page 17. — i. Une . . . vivant: a kind of jolly fellow and good joker* 2. Ce banal Béranger : this commonplace Béranger. Béranger, a famous Bong-writer, was born in Paris in 1780. His songs, political, satirical, patriotic, and familiar, won him great réputation. '

Page 18. — 1. Paul Bourget, the famous French novelist and psychologist, recently elected member of the Académie Française, the author of Essais de Psychologie, Pastels, and of many novels, such as Cruelle Enigme, Un Cœur de Femme, Le Disciple, Mensonges, Cosmopolis* etc., Outre-Mer. A book of sélections from his works has recently been présentée to the American public by Professor Alphonse N. van Daell, and published by Ginn & Co.

2. M. Taine. Critic, historian, philosopher. His best-known critical works are La Fontaine et ses Fables, Les Philosophes français du 19* siècle, Histoire de la Littérature anglaise, Essais (3 vols.) ; among his historical works we shall name Origines de la France contemporaine.