9. Les feux volants. — Ignes fatui, will-o'-the-wisps, commonly called feux follets.

10. Les éclairs, le tonnerre, la foudre. - Lightning, thunder, thunder-bolts. 11. Tintamarre . brouillamini. - Bustle. hubbub.

...

12. En philosophe. — As or like a philosopher, philosophically. 13. J'ai à vous dire. I must tell you. See XII., note 6.

14 Ne font que marquer.·

Only show, or do nothing but mark.

...

15 La mâchoire d'en bus... celle d'en haut. - The lower jaw . . . the apper one.

16. En rapprochant encore davantage les mâchoires l'une de l'autre.-By bringing the jaws still nearer together.

17. Il n'y a rien de plus juste.—Nothing could be truer.
18. Fait justement comme..
- Is exactly like.

19. La belle chose que de.. What a fine thing it is.

p. 307, § 3.

See Grammar,

20. Vous ne sauriez lui dire que U.-You need only say U to him. 21. Se prononce en donnant du bout de la langue au-dessus. Is pronounced by striking the tip of the tongue against. La Fontaine's line, du sac et du serpent il donna contre le mur, he dashed the sack and the serpent against the wall; and such phrases as, le navire donna contre un écueil, the vessel struck upon a reef; une balle se réfléchit quand elle donne contre la muraille, a ball rebounds when it strikes the wall; and, le vent donne dans les voiles, the wind swells the sails, are examples of this use of donner.

22. Appuyant. Resting or pressing.

23. Que je vous veux de mal!· How angry I am with you! The modern form would be, que je vous en veux. See XXX., 5.

24. Jusqu'au haut du palais. - To the very top of the palate.

25. A fond. - Thoroughly.

26. Il faut que je vous fasse une confidence. — I must tell you a secret. 27. Grande qualité. - High rank.

28. Oui. Indeed it will.

29. Sans que j'en susse rien. - Without being in the least aware of it. Susse is the imperfect subjunctive of savoir.

30. Bien arrangées comme il faut. - Very properly arranged; literally, as it ought (to be). The expression comme il faut is very frequently used in the sense of suitable, proper, and also in many cases where it is difficult to render it in English; as, un homme comme il faut, a gentleman; ce sont des gens très comme il faut.

31. Tout du premier coup.-Off-hand.

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

XXIV.

1. Veille.-Literally, watch, vigil; here popularly used for evening. Veillée is also employed in this sense.

2. Bien, dit-on, qu'il nous ait nui.— Although they say he has 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 Imust always be counted, in poetry, unless it ends a line or precedes 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 had just gone to housekeeping. For this idiomatic past, see Grammar, p. 203.

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

6. Notre-Dame.

12th century.

The celebrated cathedral in Paris, commenced in the

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 feminine; but the name of the wine is masculine, the word vin being understood. To hold out against the enemy.

8. Tenir la campagne.

9. J'entends frapper à la porte. - I hear some one knock, or, I hear a knock, at the door. William Young, in his translation of Béranger, thus renders this and the preceding line: One night—as might be now — I heard a knock

10. Bon Dieu! - Dieu! mon Dieu! bon Dieu! and other similar exclamations, are constantly recurring in French conversation. They have by no means the force they would seem to have if literally translated into English. Heavens! Goodness! Good gracious! Oh dear! Dear me! or any such exclamation, may be used to render them.

11. S'asseoit.-Present of s'asseoir, p. 192, § 66. This was the old spelling of the verb; at present it is more common to use the form s'assied.

12. Je cours de tous ses malheurs sous Paris, venger la France. — Sous Paris is, literally, under (the walls of) Paris; that is, before Paris. Young's version reads:

'Neath Paris' walls to strike for France
One last avenging blow.

13. Par mer il est accouru.— He has hastened to us by sea. 14. L'étranger. - Foreign nations, or simply the foe.

XXV.

1. Pamplemousses. —Literally, shaddocks.

2. Une négresse marronne. —. A fugitive slave. Marron is also spelt maron Scheler gives the following: "Marron anc. simarron, de l'esp. cimarron, pr sauvage; se dit aussi des animaux domestiques qui reprennent le chemin des bois."

3. Un lambeau de serpiliaire. — A strip of sarplier, or packing cloth. 4. Il y a un mois que j'erre. For a month I have been wandering. For this use of the present tense, see Grammar, p. 313, § 4.

5. Un riche habitant. - A rich planter. Habitant and habitation are used in the French colonies for planter and plantation.

6. Sachant. Present part. of savoir, p. 191, § 62.

7. J'ai envie. I want, or I would like. See Grammar, p. 51

8. Qu'ils passèrent à gué. - Which they forded.

9. Morne.-The name given to small, rounded mountains in the French colonies.

10. Aux yeux enfoncés. With sunken eyes. With, when it means having, provided, or furnished with, is rendered by à and the article. See Grammar, p. 233, § 7.

11. Ne fit pas grand compte.—Did not pay much attention, take much

notice.

12. Ils avaient fait à jeun plus de cinq lieues. They had walked without food more than five leagues. A jeun is, literally, fasting. Faire une dis tance is to go or travel, over a distance: as, faire une promenade, to take a walk; faire un voyage, to perform a journey; faire une lieue à cheval, to ride a league. This use of faire is analogous to the English expression, to make four miles an hour. For the use of de instead of que, see Grammar, p. 230, § 8.

13. Il exauce la voix. He hearkens to the voice. Exaucer, generally used in connection with prayer, means to hear favorably, to listen to. 14. Comme ils regardaient de côté et d'autre s'ils ne trouveraient pas. As they were looking around in every direction (on all sides) to see if they could not find.

15. Aubier.

- Blea, or sap-wood; the whitish part which is between the bark and the body of a tree.

16. Qu'il fait rebrousser les meilleurs haches.

no impression upon it.

- That the best axes make

17. L'idée lui vint de mettre le feu à.· The idea occurred to him to set fire to.

18. La nécessité donne de l'industrie. - Necessity is the mother of inven tion; literally, necessity gives skill, ingenuity. The usual form of the proverb in French, la nécessité est la mère de l'industrie.

19. Misérables.- Destitute, needy.

20. Qu'il assujettit sous ses pieds.- Which he held firm under his feet. 21. Moulinet. - A little stick used for stirring chocolate.

22. Où ils se doutaient bien. - Into which they could not help suspecting; literally, strongly suspected. The adverb bien is often used merely to emphasize the verb to which it is joined. It is then frequently impossible to give an exact equivalent for it in English. It may sometimes be rendered by indeed, surely, it is true, really, I must confess, &c.

23. Virginie revenait souvent sur cet objet.- Virginia often recurred to this subject.

24. Qu'ils ne tarderaient pas à tranquilliser. — That before long they would calm. Tarder is, literally, to delay, to defer: as, ne tardez pas à m'envoyer de l'argent, do not delay sending me some money; il tarde à venir, he is a long time coming; le printemps ne tardera pas à venir, spring will soon be

here.

25. Ils se trouvèrent bien embarrassés. — They were very much embarrassed. A common use of se trouver.

26. Qui ne s'étonnait de rien. — Whom nothing disconcerted or frightened 27. Case. Here means a small, wretched house; as, les cases des nègres aux colonies, the negro cabins in the colonies. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is called in French, La Case de l'Oncle Tom.

28. 11 se flattait de monter ainsi la montagne. He fancied he could thu climb the mountain.

29. Le jour baisse. - Daylight is fading, or it is growing dark.

30. Ajoupa. A kind of hut supported upon stakes hastily and roughly covered with branches, leaves, straw, or rushes.

31. Avaient mis en sang. Had made bleed.

32. Se chausser.

To put on shoes, or shoes and stockings. Se chausser is a general word, which means to clothe the feet and legs with boots, shoes, socks, or stockings.

33. Et se mit en marche. And started, or set off. Se mettre en marche is nearly synonymous with se mettre en route, which occurs towards the end of this piece.

34. Doucement. - Slowly.

35. Le sentier frayé. — The beaten path. Frayé is, literally, rubbed,

worn.

36. Paul fit asseoir Virginie, et . . . hors de lui.— Paul found a seat for Virginia, and began running hither and thither, quite beside himself. Se mettre à is to put one's self to, to set to work, to begin. Se prendre à is used in a similar way, and may also be translated to begin. Thus we have on the next page, et elle se prit à verser des larmes; literally, and she betook herself to shedding tears.

37. Mais les seuls échos. - But the echoes only. For the unusual position of seul, see Grammar, p. 83, § 6.

38. A plusieurs reprises.

Again and again, or over and over; literally, at several resumptions; that is, several times separated by distinctly marked intervals.

39. Qu'éprouvent maintenant nos mères.

40. Elle se prit à.·

36 of this piece.

Which our mothers now endure. She began. For this use of se prendre à, see note

41. Qui vient le soir tuer des cerfs à l'affût. — Who comes in the evening to kill deer, by lying in ambush for them. The preposition is omitted before le soir. See Grammar, p. 304, § 3.

42. Serions-nous si près d'arriver?· home? See XIX., note 20.

Can it be possible we are so near

43. Revenir de. Recover from, get over. In the expression, je n'en reviens pas, the en must stand for some such words as de mon étonnement, de ma surprise, de mon émotion, de mon effroi. It may sometimes be translated, is it possible? how can that be?

44. Domingue. - Domingo; the slave of Virginia's mother. Domingo is a Spanish name, meaning Sunday.

45. Repris ses sens. — - Recovered his composure.

46. Que vos mères ont d'inquiétude! comme elles ont été étonnées! - How uneasy your mothers are! how astonished they were!

47. N'a su nous dire. - Could not tell us. Savoir is often used instead of pouvoir before an infinitive. See Grammar, p. 191, § 62, Rem. For the omission of pas, see p. 291, § 6.

48. J'allais, je venais autour de l'habitation.—I went back and forth about the plantation.

49. A quêter sur vos pas. To search for you by following in your track. 50. Calebasse. Calabash, a dried and hollow gourd used to contain

liquids.

51. Où est le temps. This construction is common in expressions of

regret, and may perhaps in this case be rendered by some such exclama tion as, Oh for the time!

52. Se fit voir.- Showed itself, or appeared.

53. Aux cris. Amid the cries.

54. Au-devant d'eux. - To meet them.

XXVI.

1. Qui se plaît.-Who loves to dwell or to be.

2. De l'escabeau ... s'empare. There the poor takes possession of the empty stool by the hearth.

3. C'est là qu'un jour je vins m'asseoir. — It is there that one day I seated myself. Here we might possibly translate the word vins, I came and sat down, though it would be rather awkward. But venir is often used in French where the verb to come would seem redundant in English, as in note 4 of XXXVII., le plomb tous deux vint les atteindre, the shot struck them both.

5. A dû finir.- Had to end.

6. Mais qu'en avril . . . la dédommage. But may the nightingale in April sing and make amends to her. La refers to fermière. The idea is, to make amends to her for the poorness of this little song.

XXVII.

1. Les pourboires sur le Rhin.. The pourboires upon the Rhine. Pourboire, literally "to drink," is used to designate the gratuity commonly given to servants, &c., in addition to the regular charge. In English this is sometimes called drink-money, but in translating the French word may be used. Pourboire corresponds to the German Trinkgeld, and to the Italian buonamano.

2. Naturels.- Natives.

3. Charabia. A popular term, meaning the patois of the inhabitants of Auvergne, and, by extension, any other speech which is not understood. 4. On débâche; un grand drôle prend sur la voiture.—The tilt is turned back; a tall rascal takes from on the carriage, &c.

5. L'hôte surgit et entame. — -The keeper or host suddenly appears and begins. Surgir is to spring up, to start up, to arise. Entamer, literally, to make the first cut into (a loaf, &c.), also means, when speaking of a negotiation, an affair, a discourse, a story, a conversation, &c., to enter upon, to begin.

6. Vous tournez alentour. —You stroll around it. 7. Toujours remorqué par.· - Still in the wake of, still towed along by. 8. La grille du choeur.. The screen of the choir. Chour here means choir in the sense that word has in architecture; viz., that part of a church separated from the nave by a railing or screen, and appropriated for the use of the clergy.

9. Splendidement harnaché. — Gorgeously tricked out, or rigged up. Har nacher, literally to harness a horse, means, when used familiarly and figu ratively, to dress in a ridiculous manner, in colors which do nct harmonize