adjectives. Des jeunes gens, des jeunes personnes, des petits garçons, and des pauvre gens in note 2.

19. Un potage à la bisque d'écrevisses. — A kind of rich, strained soup, made of crawfish. Those curious in such matters may consult BELEZE, Dictionnaire de la Vie Pratique.

20. Non pas. - No indeed.

21. Chambertin. - One of the finest qualities of Burgundy wine.

22. C'est pour avoir votre avis. We want to have your opinion.

23. Il n'est pas mauvais. - It's really very good. This phrase is a stronger expression of satisfaction than the literal translation of it would seem to warrant, being much stronger than il est assez bon.

24. Croûte rôtie. - The outside crisp; literally, roasted crust. 25. Fait semblant. - Pretends; literally, makes a pretence. the English, makes believe.

26. Il fait glisser sur son assiette. He slips upon his plate. 27. Cuisse. Leg; literally, thigh.

Compare

28. Soigne. Got up in the best style. Soigné is often used in very familiar conversation in the sense of good, excellent; thus, un petit dîne soigné might perhaps be translated a capital little dinner.

XXII.

1. L'oiseau-mouche. — The humming bird; literally, the fly-bird. In such compounds it is the second noun that is used adjectively, not the first, as in English.

2. Pour la forme. As to form.

3. Qu'elle n'a fait que partager aux autres oiseaux. — Which she has simply divided among the other birds.

4. Légèreté, rapidité, prestesse, grâce et riche parure. - Lightness, rapidity, agility, grace, and a rich garb; or light, rapid, brisk, graceful motions, &c. 5. Ses habits. Its plumage.

-

6. On le voit à peine toucher le gazon par instants. It is seen to light upon the turf for scarcely an instant at a time.

7. Que se trouvent toutes les espèces d'oiseaux-mouches. That all the species of humming birds are found.

8. Que rendent les couleurs de ces brillants oiseaux.- Which the colors of these brillant birds emit.

9. Sont au-dessous de la grande mouche asile pour la grandeur, et du bourdon pour la grosseur.· - Are not so long as the large horse-fly, nor so big as the humble-bee. Grandeur refers more particularly to the length and breadth, and grosseur to the circumference.

10. A peine aperçoit-on leurs pieds, tant ils sont courts et menus.· - Scarcely can their feet be seen, so short and small are they. The transposition after à peine is similar to that mentioned in the Grammar, p. 256, § 5. 11. Se laissent emporter dans les airs. Let themselves be borne along through the air.

12. Non seulement immobile, mais tout à fait sans action. This is more easily explained than translated. Immobile implies that the bird did not move from place to place, did not continue his flight, while sans action

refers to motion of any kind. It might perhaps be translated not only stationary, but entirely motionless.

13. Les flattant de ses ailes. — Caressing them with its wings.

14. Les becqueter á coups redoublés. — Peck at them repeatedly. 15. Assouvi. Given vent to.

16 Ils se livrent entre eux de très-vifs combats. They engage in very sharp combats together.

17. Et qu'ils la trouvent fanée. —And find it faded. See Grammar, p. 334, § 13.

18. Ils le font entendre. . . tous prennent l'essor. They utter it in the woods from dawn until, at the first rays of the sun, they all take flight.

XXIII.

1. Le bourgeois gentilhomme. — An infatuated plebeian, rich but uneducated, who wishes to ape the manners of the aristocracy. A bourgeois is a man of the middle class, neither of a noble family nor yet the servant or serf of others. He is distinguished from the peasant by being the citizen of some large town and endowed with certain privileges; and from the soldier or clergy, by being engaged in trade, manufactures, or practical arts and sciences. La bourgeoisie corresponds to the English citizen class. Bourgeois is a title of respect, when used by a beggar, peasant, laborer, servant, apprentice, workman, clerk, or salesman. But uttered by the learned or aristocratic, it is quite the reverse; thus, c'est un bourgeois may mean he is a common man, without manners, taste, or education. The same distinctions apply to this word when used as an adjective: c'est bourgeois, that is vulgar, in bad taste; un air bourgeois, an undignified, commonplace air; des discours bourgeois, conversation which lacks learning, elegance, or deep thought. Une occupation bourgeoise, for a soldier or laborer, is an easy, inactive life. Une maison bourgeoise is a genteel house, with nothing grand, ancient, or lordly about it.

2. Tout ce que je pourrai .

et j'enrage que.-Every thing I can, for I have the greatest possible desire to be learned, and I am furious to think that, or I am much vexed that.

3. Veut dire.-Means.

4. Barbara, Celarent, Darii, Ferio, Baralipton. - These words served in old works on logic to designate the different modes of regular syllogisms. 5. Rebarbatifs.- Repulsive; literally, stern, crabbed..

6. Ne me revient point. - Does not take my fancy, or, simply, does not please me.

7. Je me veux mettre en colère tout mon soûl, quand il m'en prend envie. — I want to get angry to my heart's content, when I have a mind to. A modern author would write je veux me mettre, instead of je me veux mettre. Je veux is very emphatic, often having the full force of a command; as, je le veux, it must be done, I insist upon it. Je voudrais, the conditional, is the polite form for expressing a wish or desire.

8. Qu'est-ce qu'elle chante, cette physique? What sort of stuff does it treat of, that physics? literally, what nonsense does it talk about? This jocular use of chanter, which is very common in French, has already been noticed, XXI., 14.

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

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

12. En philosophe.

hubbub.

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. 19. La belle chose que de..

p. 307, § 3.

Is exactly like.

- What a fine thing it is. 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.
27. Grande qualité. - High rank.
28. Oui. Indeed it will.

I must tell you a secret.

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 gens très comme il faut.

des

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 must always be counted, in poetry, unless it ends a line or precedes a vowel.

8. Voilà bien longtemps de ca.—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. The celebrated cathedral in Paris, commenced in the 12th century.

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. 8. Tenir la campagne. To hold out against the enemy. 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 piantation.

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. colonies.

The name given to small, rounded mountains in the French

10. Aux yeux enfoncés. With sunken eyes. With, when it means hav ing, 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 distance 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. That the best axes make no impression upon it.

17. L'idée lui vint de mettre le feu à.·

fire to.

The idea occurred to him to set

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. · 27. Case..

- Whom nothing disconcerted or frightened 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.

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