Tout du premier coup. — Off-hand

32. Je n'y manquerai pas. — I will not fail. Y hère means to do so, to comply with your request. The verb being manquer à, this construction is used.

1. Veille. — Literally, watch, vigil; hère popularly used for evening. Veillée is also employed in this sensé.

2. Bien, dit-on, qu'il nous ait nui. — Although they say he lias injured us. For the use of the subjunctive after bien que, see Grammar, p. 333. In the next line encor is spelt without the final e, as it often is in poetry, to

avoid the additional syllable, en-co-re. The syllable formed by e mute must always be counted, in poetry, unless it ends a Une or précèdes a vowel.

3. Voilà bien longtemps de ça. — It is now a long while since then.

4. Je venais d'entrer en ménage. — It was just after my marriage ; literally, I bad just gone to housekeeping. For this idioraatic past, see Grammar, p. 203.

5. Près de lui je me troublai. — In his présence I became confused.

6. Notre-Dame. — The celebrated cathedral in Paris, commenced in the 12th century.

7. Champagne. — One of the former provinces of France. It now forms the departments of Marne, Haute Marne, Aube, Ardennes, and parts of other departments. It was called Champagne on account of its vast plains (campi). Notice that the name of the province is féminine; but' the name of the wine is masculine, the word vin being understood.