Ce . . . siècle : what he apparently owes to his time

5. Et . . . Classique : and why we look upon him as a classic writer. s

6. Le pion : usher in a school, a slang expression of récent date. " Pion est le latin pedo, celui qui va à pied, fantassin, considéré comme inférieur par rapport au chevalier, — d'où pion aux échecs. — Je ne sais pas quand on a imaginé d'appeler les maîtres d'études pions en France." (Paul Meyer.)

7. L'institution Moronval. Allusion to a boy's school in Jack, one of Daudet 's novels.

8. Henriette d'Angleterre. The daughter of Charles I., king of England, and of Henriette de France, daughter of the French king Henri IV. She married Philippe d'Orléans, brother of Louis XIV., and died suddenly when still very young. Bossuet pronounced her Oraison Funèbre, which is one of his best and certainly the most touching. He startled his auditors by exclaiming suddenly : " O nuit désastreuse 1 . . . ô nuit terrible ... où l'on entendit retentir ces mots comme des coups de foudre : Madame se meurt ! . . . Madame est morte ! " . . .