L'emportant sur. — Getting the better of

16. De lui trouver. — To find in lier. De is the préposition preceding the infinitive trouver, of which lui, referring to la vieille, is the indirect object.

17. Chtchi. — Russian soup made of sour cabbage and salted méat. Kvasse, in the same sentence, is a kind of small béer made of rye mcal. — Author's note.

18. iVe sachant trop. — Scarcely knowing. Trop is hère used in a sensé akin to its ancient, its primitive signification of very, much ; as in the phrase, pas trop mal, not very badly.

19. Fait quelques verstes. — Gone a few rods. Verste is, literally, a verst. This use oîjaire bas already been explained, XXV., 12.

1. Le fendeur a la bonne hache. — The woodman with the good axe. Fendeur is, literally, a cleaver, a splitter. For this use of à, see XXV., 10. A few lines below, h is used in the same way : un chien bâtard à poil frise', a mongrel dog with curly hair.

2. Si ce n'est au museau qu'il avait couleur de feu. — Except on the muzzle, which was flame color.

3. Que les pauvres gens eurent si grand' peine a vivre. — When it was so hard for poor people to keep alive. For the apostrophe in grand'peine, see XXXV., 7.

4. Tant que . . . venu. — Until the grand master of the wolf-hounds is corne. Louvetier is a wolf-hunter, the head of a wolf-hunting train, or a person who keeps such a train.

5. Ils ont assez de quoi marcher. — They hâve space enough. De quoi; fbllowed by an infinitive, signifies what is capable of, or, as hère, what is necessary for, the action expressed by the verb : une telle imposture a de quoi me surprendre, such an imposture is surprising to me (capable of surprising me); nous avons de quoi vivre, we hâve enough (what is necessary) to live upon ; donnez-moi de quoi écrire, give me writing materials. Il a de quoi is a popular expression for he has means, he is well off, in easy circumstances. De quoi is also used substantively ; as, j'ai consommé mon petit de quoi, I hâve used up my scanty means.

6. Qui ne demande qu'à trotte?-. — Who likes nothing better than to run about.

7. Mon Dieu, qu'il est attardé! — Dear me, how late he is ! See XXIV.,

8. Va jusque devers la butte pour savoir si. — Go as far as the hill and see whether. Devers is hère used instead of vers in the sensé of towards, in the direction of. Littré says, although this word is antiquated, it is so well authorized that it may still be freely employed.

9. Mordienne, pardienne. — Thèse are countriôed forms of the oaths mordieu and pardieu, but are used as mère interjections by those who hâve not the least idea of their meaning.

10. Tu as pris par un autre chemin. — You took or came by another road.

11. Il avait beau crier. — In vain he cried. See X XVIII., 7.