le haut du pavé, lit. ' wall-side,' fig. ' precedence

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15. 24. Turcaret : the comedy of Turcaret ou le Financier, by Le

Sage (i 668-1 747), the famous author of Gil Blas, is generally looked upon as the work which cornes nearest to Mohère's great créations. Turcaret has remained the type of the upstart without éducation, the unscrupulous financier, insolent and ostentations.

16. I. Blois : chief town of the department of Loir-et-Cher, on the

right bank of the Loire.

2. Saumur, on the left bank of the same river, about thirty miles south-east of Angers, possesses a famous military school founded in 1763.

, , 8. l'escalier du Luxembourg* : the palace of the Luxembourg, one of the finest in Paris, was the place where the House of Peers sat. In 1852 it was given to the Senate.

,, 16. il ne restait plus qu'à tirer l'échelle: cf. après lui il faut tirer l'échelle, ' no one could surpass him,' ' he has left nothing to be done after him.'