ne m'ait faites : see note on p

, , 26. est-ce à dire que . . ? 'do you mean to say that . . ? '

64. 3. s'il n'assistait pas . . : assister à, ' to be présent at,' ' to

witness.'

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64. 7. sans avoir l'air d'y toucher, ' looking as if butter would

not melt in her mouth. ' ,, 10. loyauté, ' uprightness ' ; ^//^V^, attachement, 'loyalty.' ,, 12. de la sorte : the only expression in which the definite article has preserved its etymological meaning of 'that' (Lat. illam). ,, s'il m'est échappé : see note on p. 15, 1. 2. 13. qui ait blessé : why the subjunctive ? , , 15. à la bonne heure ! ' that is right ' ; de bonne heure, * early.' 16. à qui en as-tu ? ' whom are you vexed with ? ' ' what's the matter with you ? ' ,, 17. quelle mouche te pique ? ' what ails you?' ,, 26. sous le velours: cf. faire patte de velours (lit. of a cat drawing in its claws), ' to be ail smirks and smiles.'

65. 7. ne le rappelât : what are the rules for the idiomatic use of

ne in clauses depending (i) on verbs of doubting, {2) on verbs of fearing?

31. et j'étais baron: for this very neat use of the imperfect instead of the past conditional cf. s il n avait accouru à mon aide, je périssais. Cf. English 'were' for 'would be, ' had been ' for 'would have been,' in poetry. This idiom is ' vivid ' in its effect ; it shows how near a thing was to happening.

66. 7. tu le harcèles : mention other verbs in -eler which take a

grave accent before a mute syllable instead of doubhng the /.

,, II. de quelle façon : bear in mind that with the words * way,' ' fashion,' ' manner,' in is generally translated by de, and cf. la façon dont il parle, ' the way in which he speaks. '

,, 18. de guerre lasse, ' from sheer weariness. ' ' Cette locution , ' says Littré, ' représente une figure hardie où la lassitude est transportée de la personne à la guerre : de guerre lasse, la guerre étant lasse, c'est-à-dire les gens qui font la guerre étant las de la faire. ' 19. que la Bretagne eût à lui offrir : account for the mood.

,, 20. on n'eût pas éveillé . . : for this construction see note on p. 59, 1. 19.

, , , , défiance, ' distrust ' ; défi, ' défiance. '

23. était des plus charmants : notice this élégant use of the superlative in the plural.

67. 5. du faubourg" Saint- Germain : the aristocratie quarter of

Paris.

,, 8. quand bien même, quand même, and not infrequently quand alone, with the conditional = * even if.

Notes

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67. II. rompre en visière à, ' to fall right out with,' lit. ' to break

one's lance in the visor of.' 15. ne l'avait entendu que de reste, ' had understood it only too well. '

, , 25. à lui mettre la puce à l'oreille : a very homely expression ; say, ' in making him uneasy. '

68. 3. bon g'ré mal gré : here mal is an adjective, as in the ex-

pression bon an, mal an, ' one year with another.' ,, 17. comme Marlborough : an allusion to a well-known nursery rhyme, in which the Duchess of Marlborough is anxiously waiting for her husband's return from the war, but —

Malbrook ne revint pas.

21. à Varus : after Augustus was informed of the defeat of Varus by the Germans, in which three légions perished, he was so overwhelmed with grief that he was often heard to exclaim, ' Varus, give me back my légions ! '

69. 7. ne battait plus que d'une aile : ne battre plus que dune

aile means ' to be much fallen off,' ' to be on one's last legs.' 19. pour faire bouillir la marmite, ' to supply his table.' Cf. la marmite est bonne dans cette maison, ' they keep a good table in that house ' ; marmite, ' pot. '

25. n'eût fait des siennes, 'had not played some tricks ' ; cf.

il en a fait de belles, ' he has done fine things indeed.' 30. comme Caleb : Caleb Williams, in Godwin's novel, pub-

lished in 1794.

70. 16. pour veiller au grain, ' to look after his own interests.' A

naval expression, in which grain literally means 'squall,' ' gust of wind. '

,, 22. livres : the French 'liyre, ' worth about lod. , has been superseded by the ' franc,' but the term is still used occasionally — il a dix mille livres de rente, ' he has £\oo income. '

,, 31. M. de Talleyrand (1754-1838), the most famous diplomatist of his time, a man of great skill and infinité wit, but without scruples, who successively served every government.