13. a.s.sister a l"agonie: note _a.s.sister a qc._, "to be present at something"; _a.s.sister qn._, to help some one."
The original meaning of _a.s.sister_="to stand by," "to be present"; then "to stand by a person," i.e. "to a.s.sist him."
_Les a.s.sistants,_ "those present," or "the bystanders."
16. a ma guise, "to my heart"s content."
22. par exemple, "however." The meaning of this expression varies according to the context. It can mean "however,"
"indeed," "well now," "to be sure," "bless me," etc.
24-29. c"etait dans l"habitude . . a tout ce qui l"entourait, "his was usually a fiery, violent, immoderate nature, given to shouting, breaking and storming. In reality, he was an excellent man; quick, however, with his hands, loud in his speech, and prompted by an imperious desire to make all those around him tremble."
31. a qui s"en prendre, "on whom to lay the blame."
Note the expletive use of _en_ and cf.- _en vouloir a qn._, "to have a grudge against some one."
_en venir aux mains_, "to come to blows."
_il en est de meme de . ._, "it is the same with . ."
Page 4.
1. mistral: a dry cutting NW. wind which blows across the south coast of France. It is especially prevalent in the Rhone valley.
6. n"etaient pas en odeur de saintete, "were not looked upon with much favour."
19. a voix ba.s.se, "in a whisper"; but _a haute voix_, "in a loud voice."
23. mon grand frere l"abbe, "my big brother the clergyman," i.e. Henri Daudet, professor at the College of the a.s.sumption at Nimes.
He died at the early age of twenty-four. The term _abbe_ originally meant the Superior of an abbey, then was extended to any ecclesiastic.
31. un singulier enfant que mon frere Jacques: i.e. _mon frere Jacques etait un singulier enfant._ Note the _que_ of emphatic inversion. It is a very common type of construction.
Cf. p. 73 l. 3, _la jolie ville que ce Paris!_ p. 100 l. 22, _un singulier type d"homme que cet oncle Baptiste!_
Page 5.
2. les yeux rouges et la joue ruisselante: note the absence of a preposition corresponding to the English "with."
It is a very characteristic French idiom.
12. que veux-tu, mon ami? "how can we help it, my dear?"
lit. "what would you have (him do)?"
16. qu"avait cet etrange garcon: inversion frequently occurs in relative clauses, especially when the subject is longer than the verb.
18. desolation, "distress"; desole, "grieved," "disconsolate,"
_not_ "desolate."
19. c"est pour le coup . . a son aise, "this was a grand opportunity for him to sob to his heart"s content."
31. une douzaine d"annees: the suffix _-aine_ added to numerals generally implies an approximate number; _une quinzaine_, "about fifteen."
Page 6.
5. mon fidele Vendredi: Robinson Crusoe"s servant and companion.
12. je le jouais, "I acted it."
21. tenait son emploi, "played his part."
24. toujours est-il que, "anyhow." Cf. note, p. 1 l. 13.
28. j"en avais quelquefois le cur bouleverse, "my courage was sometimes shaken."
Page 7.
1. gros mots d"enfants de la rue, "coa.r.s.e expressions of the street arabs."
3. en pleine table, "before the whole table." Cf.- p. 25 l. 11, _en pleine montagne_, "right on the hill side, "in the heart of the mountains."
p. 64 l. 20, _en pleine revolte_, "in open mutiny."
p. 65 l. 30, _en pleine etude_, "before the whole cla.s.s."
So also- _en plein air_, "in the open air."
_en pleine rue_, "in the middle of the street."
_en plein hiver_, "in the depths of winter."
11. ukase: a Russian term for an "edict" or imperial order.
13. loge, "porter"s lodge."
du cote de, "somewhere about," "in the direction of."
Note this use of _de_ of motion "towards," and cf. _de mon cote_ (p. 8. l. 12), _du cote de sa chere fabrique_ (p. 10 l. 6), etc. Don"t confuse with _a cote de_; see note, p. 11 l. 3.
26. se degouta de, "became tired of."
28. au fond de, "in the remotest parts of." Note _il sait l"anglais a fond_, "he knows English thoroughly."
Page 8.
10. de bonne heure, "early"; _a la bonne heure_, "all right,"
"well done," "capital!" Like _par exemple_ (see note, p. 3 l. 22), the latter derives its meaning from the context or tone in which it is said. Note _sur l"heure_ (p. 78 l. 8), "immediately," "at once"; _tout a l"heure_, "a moment ago," "presently."
14. juste Dieu! "good gracious!" "gracious me!" So also _grand Dieu_ (l. 29). These and similar exclamations, e.g. _mon Dieu!-ah!
mon Dieu!-mon Dieu, oui!_ must _not_ be translated literally.
There is no idea of profanity attached to them.
16. a plat ventre, "flat on my face."
19. c"est egal, "all the same."
30. il n"en fut rien, "nothing of the kind happened."
Page 9.
1. des qu"ils furent partis, je courus: after _apres que, aussitot que, des que, a peine, quand, lorsque_, the _Past Anterior_, not the _Pluperfect_, must be used when the princ.i.p.al verb is in the preterite. In other words, the auxiliary of the compound verb must be in the same tense as the verb in the princ.i.p.al sentence.