On ne se met pas en route. — People do not set out

7. La jeune fille avait beau protesta* que c'était la tout son avoir. — In vain the young girl protested that this was ail she ha cl ; literally, ail lier having. Littré in his "Dict. de la Langue Française" thus explains the locution avoir beau, to do uselessly. "Avoir beau means avoir beau champ, beau temps, belle occasion ; avoir beau faire is properly to hâve every thing favorable for doing a thing. That is its ancient and natural sensé. But by an irony easy to understand avoir beau lias assumed the sensé of avoir le champ libre (to hâve the field or stage clear), to be allowed to do whatever you please and yet to accomplish nothing. Vous avez beau dire is, primitively, it is well for you to say ; then you can say, you are at liberty to say, but that will do no good." In a similar way we may explain the use of fine and prettij in such English expressions as: it is fine for you to talk so ; that is a pretty thing for you to say.

8. De s'aller coucher. — The natural position of se would be before coucher; but when an infinitive is governed by another verb, the pronoun referring to this infinitive may be placed before either verb. It is, however, more conformable to gênerai custom to place it before the verb that governs it.

9. Avant de monter sur le poêle ou elle devait passer la nuit. — Before climbing upon the stove where she was to pass the night. For this idiomatic future see Grammar, p. 203. The Kussian stoves, made of earthen ware, are very large ; and the peasants in that country, having no bed, sleep dressed, either upon the benches which are ranged ail round the inside of their cottage, or upon the stove, which is the most spacious, and at the saine time the warmest place. — Author's note.

10. Assignation. — Generally, assignment, an order to pay from a certain fund the sum assigned; but its- use hère is différent. The author tells us in a note that " gold and siiver coin heing very rare in Russia, people generally use only copper coin (kopecks) and assignation, which are bills of 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 roubles."