chapter vi

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2. à mon intention: see note, p. 43 l. 14.

8. métayers: a _métayer_ is a farmer who gives the owner of the land a certain part of the produce of his _métairie_ or ‘farm,’ keeping the rest for himself.

14. Pion: a term of contempt given by schoolboys to a _maître d’étude_ or ‘usher.’

25. ah! mon Dieu! see note, p. 8 l. 14.

Page 52.

9. donnait sur: cf.— _la salle à manger donne sur le jardin_, ‘the dining-room looks out on to the garden.’

14. aux enfants trouvés, ‘at the Foundling Hospital.’

20. l’abbé Germane: see note, p. 4 l. 23.

25. d’une voix brève et cassante, ‘in a curt, gruff voice.’

Page 53.

2. un Mirabeau en soutane, ‘a regular Mirabeau in a cassock.’ Mirabeau (1749-1791) was the greatest orator of the French Revolution, a man of fearless temperament and a bold, impetuous disposition. He would have enjoyed no small share of manly beauty had he not, when a little child, been sorely disfigured for life by the smallpox.

28. Condillac: a celebrated French philosopher, born at Grenoble, 1715. He died in 1780.

30. bibliothèque, ‘library’; _librairie_, ‘bookseller’s shop _or_ trade.’ So _bibliothécaire_, ‘librarian’; _libraire_, ‘bookseller.’

Page 54.

1. tenir, ‘to keep in stock.’

5. diable d’homme, ‘terrible man.’ Note—

_un bon diable_, ‘a good fellow.’ _c’est là le diable_, ‘that’s the trouble.’ _cela ne vaut pas le diable_, ‘that is not worth anything.’

10. voix de Titan, ‘Titanic voice.’ The Titans in ancient mythology were gigantic beings, representing the primitive powers of Nature.

17. brûle-gueule, ‘cutty.’

21. le tranchant de sa voix, ‘his peremptory voice.’

22. tapissée de, ‘lined with.’

25. tant bien que mal, ‘as well as I could.’

Page 55.

2. les Condillac: the plural would be preferable. See note, p. 23 l. 28.

4. tu ne veux pas? . . à ton aise, ‘you don’t care about smoking?… well! just as you like.’ Note—

_être à son aise_, ‘to be in easy circumstances.’ _ne pas se sentir à son aise_, ‘to feel uncomfortable.’

6. surtout ne le gâte pas, ‘but be very careful and don’t spoil it.’

10. tu t’occupes donc de philosophie? ‘so you are busy reading philosophy, are you?’

12. par hasard, ‘I wonder.’ A sarcastic colloquialism.

des histoires, mon cher, de pures histoires! ‘fables, my dear boy, nothing but fables!’

14. je vous demande un peu! ‘just think of it!’

16. pendant qu’ils y étaient, ‘whilst they were at it.’

18. ah! misère de moi! ‘ah me!’

31. à propos, ‘by the bye.’ Note—

_il est venu fort à propos_, ‘he came very opportunely.’ _à propos de_, ‘with regard to.’ _de propos délibéré_, ‘on purpose.’

Page 56.

1. le bon Dieu: do not translate _le bon_. Cf. the German _der_ liebe _Gott_.

2. sans quoi tu ne t’en tireras jamais, ‘or else you will never get over your troubles.’

7. j’ai passé par là, ‘I have been through it all.’ Cf.— _il faut bien que j’en passe par là_, ‘I must put up with it.’

9. monsieur l’abbé: simply ‘sir.’

19. le plus souvent, ‘more often than not.’

23. pattes de mouche, ‘scrawl.’

30. seulement, ‘even,’ ‘so much as.’ A quite common and classical use of this word.

Page 57.

5. il était temps; je n’y pouvais plus tenir, ‘it was high time, I could stand it no longer.’

10. au fond, ‘at the far end.’ Cf. note, p. 7 l. 28.

20. en serre-file, ‘bringing up the rear.’

21. le professeur de seconde, ‘the second-form master. He would correspond to a fifth-form master in an English school. Cf. note, p. 21 l. 23.

30. la tête: note (1) the number, (2) the use of the definite article.

31. foulards ponceau, ‘flame-coloured silk handkerchiefs.’ Nouns serving as adjectives of colour are generally invariable.

Page 58.

6. ne les laissait pas chômer, ‘did not allow them any rest’: _chômer_=‘to be out of work,’ _chômage_, ‘want of work.’ ‘Unemployment’ would be the best word were it English.

10. tohu-bohu: an onomatopoeia.

14. par ici! ‘this way!’ ‘along here!’ Cf. _par là! par où?_

16. faisaient froufrou, ‘rustled.’

22. au passage, ‘as they went along.’

23. à l’année prochaine! ‘good-bye till next year!’ Cf. _à demain! à ce soir! à bientôt! au revoir!_

Page 59.

1. clic! clac! another onomatopoeia.

8. riant à belles dents, ‘laughing merrily’; lit. ‘showing their pretty teeth as they laughed.’

12. chasser à la pipée, ‘to go bird-catching with a bird-call.’

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