le pi t chou, patois for le petit, le petiot

,, 17. c'est que, ' the fact is,' 'ah ! but . .' ; emphatic colloq. ,, i8. âpre et dur, ' rough and acrid.'

qui vous mettait du cœur à l'estomac, lit. ' which gave your stoniach courage,' say ' which gave you an appetite.' ,, 19. rude, 'coarse. '

sentant bon le pétrin, ' redolent of the kneading-trough.' ,, 24. que se donnent les paysans riches, 'which well-to-do peasants allow themselves, take pride in.'

15. 2, à pointe d'aube, for à la pointe de l'aube, i.e, quand l'aube

commençait à poindre, ' at dawn,' ' break of day ' ; similarly, au point du jour.

,. S- le coup de main, i.e. ' the stroke of the hand,' ' the acquired expcrtness,' ' the knack.'

., 6. ses grestes manques, i.e. that failed to carry out what they intended, ' his awkward movements. '

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16. 9. bourgeois, i.e. 'lax,' like those of the bourgeois, unused

to hard work.

,, 10. appétits de grandeur, 'yearnings after greatness,* ' am-

bitious aspirations.' ,, 16. appuyées à la claie de bois blanc, ' fenced in with hurdles

of whitc wood. ' By bois blancs is understood tlie wood of such

trces as the pinc, the lime, the ash, the poplar, the clicstnut ;

by blancs bois the wood of trees that are of light texture and

not very firni, but which grovv quickly, such as that of the

willow, the aider, the aspcn, the birch. ,, 18. coiffage: ail that which constitutes the head-gear or head-

drcss.

oreille, ' corner. ' ,, 19. galantiser (old and famihar), ' to bandy idle words.' ,, 23. coquetait, 'flirted.' Cf. ILugl. coquette.

plus abandonnée avec lui, ' more free with him' (than

the others were).

,, 25. ils en tenaient un peu l'un pour l'autre, ' they were

somewhat smitten with each other ' ; c/i tenir pour, ' to bc in

love with' ; lit. ' to hâve some of it (i.e. love) for.'

16. I. à charge de revanche (lit. 'on condition of a return,' i.e.

' that the same thing should be done for them ' ), 'on reciprocal terms. ' ,, 3. abouche que veux-tu, i.e. ' had only to ask for a thing to hâve it,' ' ate and drank their fill. '

7. avait eu des idées sur, ' had been sweet on ' ; lit. ' had

entertained ideas (of marriage) about. ' ,. 17. oh, mienne ! . . mien ! ' my darling ! ' ; lit. ' mine own. ' ,, 21. la Ségole, ' the woman Ségol,' ' Ségol's wife.'

leur porta son antienne, ' brought before them his request. '

L'antienne, ' the anthem ' ; fam. 'song.' ,, 29. l'ancien, 'theelder,' 'theoldman,' 'thefather. '

17. 5. pastoure, ' a shepherd-girl. ' The masculine lorm, pastour,

is no longer used ; cf. pasteur, pastourelle. tiens-le-toi pour dit, ' let it be said once for ail.' fiUot, ' sonny.' Diminutive oîfils, and a term of endearment. ,, 7. rétabli, lit. 'restored,' viz. to health; say ' sound and haie again. '