36 6. =qui relevaient de son commandement=: _who were under him_.
36 11. =fichées=: _placées, mises_.
37 5-6. =contreforts=: _spurs of a mountain range_.
38 13-14. =au fur et à mesure=: _according as_.
39 26. =hoquets d'agonie=: _dying gasps_.
39 28. =nom de nom=: an abbreviated and softened form of an oath.
39 30. =navrant=: _painful_.
40 13. =du jarret=: _muscle_. The _jarret_ is the sinew connecting the
thigh and the calf of the leg.
40 23. =turcos=: a corps of the army.
43 31. =échangent une accolade=: _embrace each other_.
45 15. =Dame!= _Well!_ The derivation of _dame_ is the Latin vocative
_Domine_, _O Lord_; quite remote from an English expression of similar
consonance. It is a choice exclamation, essentially Parisian, and used
by all people of education; ladies use the term as the Englishwoman uses
"Gracious!"
45 15. =soit=: the subjunctive here well expresses the doubt in the
trooper's mind. The idea of doubt or possibility is the basis of all
subjunctive.
LE MAUVAIS ZOUAVE.
46 8-9. =bonhomme=: _the fellow; un homme bon_ is _a good man_.
46 16. =trois petits blondins couleur d'épis brûlés=: _three little
tow-headed children_.
46 21. =A qui en as-tu?= _With whom are you vexed?_ The same construction
in his answer: "_j'en ai à cinq ou six drôles_," _I can't stand five or
six rascals_.
47 1. After the war of 1870-71, the inhabitants of the conquered
provinces had the privilege of _opter_, or choosing between the French
and German as their future nationality; this "choice" was made under
certain vexatious restrictions, and those who chose to remain French, as
the blacksmith in this story, had a disagreeable lot.
47 3. =Qu'est-ce qu'on leur a donc fait boire?= _What on earth have they
made them drink?_
47 13-14. =vous rapetissez tout à la taille de vos marmots=: _you narrow
down everything to the size of your children_.
47 20-21. =latte de chasseur=: _his regimental sword_.
47 29. =descendu=: _brought down_, i.e. _killed_.
47 32. =chopes=: _large glasses_, "schooners."
49 6. =la chechia=: _the cap_.
49 28. =chevet=: _the head of the bed_.
50 10-11. =l'étui de fer-blanc où tient la feuille de route=: _the tin
case which contains his military papers_.
UN MARIAGE.
51 5-6. =au beau milieu d'une affluence=: _right in the midst of a crowd_,
etc.
51 22. =s'il en fut=: _as could be_; the bridal procession was of the
utmost simplicity.
52 8. =caraco de mérinos noir=: _a black wool jacket_.
52 30. =contre-maître=: _overseer_.
52 33. =faut croire=: _I suppose_.
53 4. =on se passera bien de moi=: _they will get along all right without
me_.
53 8. ="boraine de Nimy,"... "vaclette"=: _boraine de Nimy_, a kind of
pipe; _vaclette_ is explained by the words which follow.
53 11. =cogna le sien contre le mien=: _clinked glasses with me_.
53 11. =le lampa tout d'une haleine=: _drank it all in one gulp_.
53 20. =du fin matin au brun soir=: _from early morning till late at
night_.
53 21-22. =marteaux-pilons=: _trip hammers_; the immense hammers of the
iron works.
54 1. =luron=: _a good fellow_.
54 6. =Pauvre fieu=: (_pauvre fils_) _poor fellow_.
54 8-9. =Une paille de fer rouge venait de lui crever l'oeil droit=: _a
spark of red-hot iron had just put out his right eye_.
54 9. =Le fourgon de l'hôpital=: _the hospital ambulance_.
54 17. =quinquets=: _lamps_; here slang for _eyes_; "our two blinkers."
54 19. =Que l'un s'en aille=: _que_ here means _if,--if you lose one of
them_.
54 31. =viveur et joueur=: _a high liver and gambler_.
54 33-34. =marchait cahin-caha, à la comme-je-te-pousse=: _got on any
which way, just as luck would have it_.
55 8. =passif=: a mercantile term,--_liabilities_. The assets of a concern
are its _actif_.
55 12. =sur le pavé=: _on the street, without work_.
55 13. =à tout jamais=: _forever_.
55 17-18. =qu'il n'attentât à ses jours=: _lest he might commit suicide_.
56 4. =fils d'acier et de laiton=: _steel and brass wire_. _Fil_ is _wire,
thread_; _le fils_ is _the son_.
56 22. =un tronc=: _a charity box_.
56 25. =pancartes=: _notices, inscriptions_.
56 34. =dentellière de son état=: _a lace worker by trade_.
57 3. =au cliquetis de ses fuseaux=: _by the clicking of her embroidery
needles_.
57 24. =demoiselle de comptoir=: _cashier_.
POUR LE RUBAN.
60. =Pour le ruban=: the ribbon worn in the buttonhole, which shows its
wearer to be a member of the Legion of Honor.
60 8. =émarger=: _to receive money from the government_.
60 16. =instrus=: (_intrus_) _an intruder_.
62 23. =moellon=: _a rough stone_.
62 29. =d'antan=: (_d'autre fois_) _in former times_.
63 4. =périgourdin=: _of Périgord_, the old name of a locality in France,
near Bordeaux.
63 14-15. =Ponson du Terrail=: a cheap author of penny dreadfuls and
serial stories, many of which deal with antiquity and use the antiquated
language of the following lines.
64 5. =hobereaux=: _country squires_.
64 6. =valetaille=: _the serving people_.
64 10. =Bayard=: the _chevalier sans peur et sans reproche_, as he is
universally known in history. One of the most sympathetic figures of
French history, the type of the nobleman and hero, who was equally
adroit at keeping an entire hostile army at bay, alone, stationed at the
entrance of the bridge, and at honoring beauty and wit. He died in 1524.
64 23. =rallié=: this word is perhaps equivalent to the term "Mug-wump."
64 25-26. =qui ne semblait pas disposer de la Grande-Chancellerie=: _who
did not claim to boss the whole chancery_.
65 2. =de relevée=: _afternoon_.
PAROLE D'HONNEUR.
66 3. =fédérés=: the _communards_, that is, the revolutionary section
which fought against the established government, fired the _Tuileries_
and the _Cour des Comptes_ (the Chamber of Deputies) directly after the
end of the Franco-Prussian war; the _fédérés_ sought to create political
disturbances immediately after the withdrawal of the Prussian troops
from Paris.
66 4. =armée de Versailles=: Paris was in the hands of the Prussians;
therefore the French government withdrew to Versailles and from thence
directed public affairs; hence the name "Versailles army," equivalent to
the government troops.
66 7. =arrondissement=: _ward_. Paris is divided into wards, each with its
_maire_, its _mairie_ (city hall), and _député_ (congressman); all the
_arrondissements_ are, however, united for civil government under the
prefect of the department. The departments (like the counties of an
American state) have likewise their _arrondissements_. There are
eighty-six departments in France.
66 9. =surseoir= = _remettre: to delay, to put off_.
66 18. =les longues stations à la porte des bouchers=. During the siege of
Paris the people bought _bons_, or checks, from the government, upon
presentation of which their limited rations were supplied; long lines
were formed in front of the dealers in food products; as the winter
weather was extremely severe, this caused great physical suffering and
sickness to many, especially to those of the poorer class, as the mother
in the story.
67 2. =armée de la Commune=: _the armée des fédérés_; see note on p. 66,
l. 3.
67 27. =Il en était là de ses funèbres réflexions=: _he was at that point
with his doleful thoughts_.
68 4. =N'empêche que si=: _all the same, if,_ etc.
68 5-6. =Prends tes jambes à ton cou=: _hurry up, pick up your heels_.
68 6. =fiche-moi le camp=: _get out of here_.
68 13. =Oui da!= _Come now!_
68 17. =accroire=: _believe, swallow that_.
68 31. =en tourmentant sa moustache=: _twirling his moustache_.
70 7-8. =ne peut plus que sangloter=: _could do nothing but sob, broke
down completely_. The French often uses the present of the verb in vivid
narration where the English uses the past.
70 19-20. =que le temps finira par nous faire oublier=: _which time will
make us gradually forget_.
70 26. =s'efforçait... à se ressaisir=: _tried to regain his composure_.
72 15. =communard=: see note on p. 66, l. 3; a soldier in the army of the
commune.
ENGLISH PARAPHRASES.
FOR RETRANSLATION INTO FRENCH.
L'AVENTURE DE WALTER SCHNAFFS.
The hero of this story was with the German army during the last war
between Germany and France. He hated guns and cannon and he missed very
much his pretty wife and his children. He preferred to get up late and
go to bed early and, above all, to eat lots of good things and drink
beer. But now that he was [a] soldier, he was forced to pass the night
on the ground, well wrapped up in his military cloak; and he wept often,
thinking of the debts which he had contracted. If he was killed there
would be no one to bring up his little ones. At the beginning he was
afraid of the bullets which whistled close to his head, and he passed
his entire time in an extreme terror.
When he was in the north of France, he was sent with a few companies to
see if there were any French soldiers in the neighborhood. Everything
was calm and he was walking along without thinking of the danger, when
suddenly a band of guerrillas came out of the woods and fired at the
Germans.
Walter Schnaffs knew that he could not run as fast as the Frenchmen,
because he was so fat, and, looking around for a way to retreat, he
perceived a ditch almost covered with dry brush-wood. He jumped in and
fell to the bottom of what was really a deep hole. Soon all the noise of
the struggle stopped, and night came on.
The poor fellow did not know what to do. He was horribly frightened, and
he began to be very hungry. He still wore his uniform, and he thought to
himself: "If I were only a prisoner of war, then, at least, I should not
be hungry, and I could pass my time until the end of the war without
any apprehension of bullets and sabres."
But new fears came to him: if he should meet any country people, he was
sure that they would kill him with their scythes and pickaxes and their
shovels; and the guerrillas would shoot him just to have a good time and
see him leaning against the wall.
In the midst of these terrible reflections he fell asleep, and when he
awoke he saw the sun shining almost above his head. He was so hungry
that his stomach pained him, and the thought of the good sausage which
he used to eat as a soldier made his mouth water. The idea came to him
to attack a rustic who was alone, take away his shovel from him, and dig
the ditch still deeper in order to hide himself better; then he felt
that he was going mad, and finally he resolved to start for the château
in the distance rather than suffer longer.
In the lower windows, which were open, he saw lights, and he smelt the
pleasant odor of cooked meat, and without a moment's reflection he
opened the window and entered the room. All the servants were dining
around the large table, and seeing the German soldier they uttered
horrible cries and rushed toward the door at the end of the hall. The
chairs were overturned, and in three seconds the room was empty.
Walter did not know what to think; but hunger spoke louder than his
other emotions, and he sat down at the table and began to eat and drink.
He emptied all the plates and all the bottles, and he could scarcely
breathe; slowly his eyes closed in spite of him, his head dropped on the
table, and he fell asleep.
Some hours afterwards a great noise was heard; the windows were broken
in and fifty men, armed to the teeth, rushed in, seized the German, and
bound him hand and foot. He was scarcely awake, but he was glad to be a
prisoner, smiled, and kept on saying, "Ja, ja." The colonel took a
notebook from his pocket and wrote: "After a terrible combat the
Prussians beat a retreat, leaving many wounded and prisoners in our
hands."
They ordered Walter to go with them to the prison in the town, some
miles from the château, and the colonel was decorated with the Cross of
the Legion of Honor for his bravery.
L'ONCLE SAMBUQ.
The truth of all this story is that a bad fellow, the black sheep of his
family, had embarked as cabin boy on an American schooner, had gone to
New York, and there died, poor and unknown. But in the country around
Marseilles they thought that he was rich and that his nephew would get
his property.
One day a sailor who was returning from the United States met Tréfume,
and told him that he had seen Uncle Sambuq on the docks at New York, and
that he had lost in a shipwreck the presents which had been entrusted to
him. At first people said that Uncle Sambuq was rich; then that he had
slaves and gold mines and everything else. Everybody envied Tréfume, and
the latter was happy, believing himself rich.
One day they received a letter from the French ambassador in the United
States, saying that Uncle Sambuq was dead; that was all; not a word
about his property. They cried a little, then the wife asked: "Why does
he not speak about the money?" "That would not be proper," answered
Tréfume. "He will soon write another letter." The days passed and
nothing arrived; at last Tréfume took it into his head (had the idea) to
embark at Le Havre and to go to America. The immense ship, with its
splendid cabins and its passengers, caused in him a religious awe, and
he did not speak for a week; then, toward the end of his voyage, he
remembered the object of his journey, and he asked the purser, who was
very busy on the eve of landing, where he should go. "Those gentlemen
will give you better information than I," said he, "for they are
Americans, and are well acquainted with New York." The purser said this
to get rid of Tréfume. These gentlemen were always alone and spoke to no
one, and did not take kindly to the attempts of Tréfume to speak with
them. Every time he approached them they turned him their backs. But
they, too, made curious by the appearance of the strange man, asked the
purser who he was, and the latter, a practical joker, answered: "You
know that he is a detective disguised as a Marseilles fisherman, to get
on the track of some robbers."
Thereupon the two Americans shut themselves up in their cabin, and did
not even come out to admire the harbor of New York when everybody was on
deck. Tréfume sought the French embassy everywhere at New York, but as
he did not speak English he could get no information. Suddenly he caught
sight of one of the two Americans whom he had seen on the ship. He ran
after him, and at last the man took refuge in a saloon. "Good morning,
sir," said Tréfume. "Hush," answered the other, who was really a robber,
and who thought that Tréfume wanted to arrest him, "hush, here is fifty
thousand francs, and if you leave New York by the _Bretagne_ this
evening an unknown man will give you fifty thousand more." Tréfume did
not understand a word of all this, but he was tired of New York, and he
accepted the bargain. When he returned to Marseilles, he said that
really the Americans do business very quickly, and that they are the
foremost of the nations of the earth.
L'HISTOIRE LA PLUS DROLE.
I am at loss to tell the funniest story of my whole life; but going back
over the current of my recollections I find one, which, perhaps, is of
no great value.
I had taken part in the siege of Paris when I was scarcely twenty-three
years old and I was a strong and well-built fellow; I was very proud of
my light beard, but I was humiliated at the learning of our enemies. We
Frenchmen spoke scarcely a word of German, while they spoke our language
very well, in spite of their German accent. When the war was finished,
my first thought was to learn German.
I had studied English more or less at the high school, and I spoke it
fairly well, but I have no need to tell you that the language of Goethe
was a dead letter to me. Nevertheless I began to study the best method
that I could find, and I took lessons from a famous teacher, and after
four months I commenced to feel the need of going to Germany. A friend
of mine gave me the address of a boys' boarding school at Hanover,
where the purest German is spoken. They assured me that the table was
good and that the teacher was the best possible. Therefore I started,
and arrived at the school on a fine May morning. Through the open door I
saw several small boys in the yard, who were spinning tops and playing
marbles and all sorts of children's games. The oldest of them was not
more than thirteen years of age, and the youngest was about seven.
When I told Dr. Davisson my name he looked me all over, made a gesture
of surprise, and finally said: "What! Mr. X recommended you to come to
my school? Don't you see that this is a boarding school for small boys?
Your friend, when he wrote me about you, neglected to tell me your age."
I did not know what to say, but remembering that I was all alone in that
city, I thought I might learn German with the doctor. I said, holding
out my hand to him: "My baggage is in the carriage, and if I promised
you to behave well would you take me all the same?" "We can at least
try," answered he.
The desks were too low for me, the bed in the dormitory was too short,
but I was bound not to set a bad example, so I remained four months with
the doctor. I was in the highest class, and I made lots of progress;
therefore I was rewarded for my trouble, and when I left the school I
spoke German very well.
LA CHARGE DES MORTS.
The battle had lasted all day, and at night it was still undecided; it
was necessary to make a charge on two thousand Turks with a battery of
artillery, otherwise the Russians could not continue their forward march
on Plevna. It was a difficult affair, for the Turks were afraid of
nothing; but the Russian general, who knew well all this, decided to
send against them his last and best regiment. To their commander he
said: "Occupy the enemy's position over there with your men. They are
four to one of you, and many of you will find a sure death there. If you
are successful, ring the church bell, and I shall thus know that the
Russian army is saved." The commander, in spite of his gentle air, was a
good soldier; he answered: "I shall take the city."
The horses of the Russians reared as the bullets rained about them; it
was frightful to hear the noise of the horses galloping at the top of
their speed in order to cross the ravine; the soldiers did not utter a
single cry, in accordance with the orders of the commander; on all sides
the men fell, and the shock was awful. The Turks retreated a little and
finally took a better station a mile from the city, in order to use
their artillery. Almost all the Russians had been killed, and,
reassembling his men, the commander found that he had but eighty left;
the fate of the entire Russian army depended upon him, and nevertheless
the Turks were not beaten. The horses that had lost their riders were
well trained; they grouped themselves together, and it was easy to
collect them. Then a thought entered the commander's head; he ordered
the dead riders to be tied to their horses; this was a terrible task for
the few soldiers who remained; they asked each other if their commander
had become mad. Then Serge put himself once more at the head of his
squadron, composed of a few living soldiers and of many dead ones. He
gave the command to charge. The Turks, who thought that their enemy had
been conquered, were greatly troubled by this new attack; but when, at
last, they saw that the Russian cavalry was an army of ghosts, as it
seemed, they turned and fled. The day was won; but only a few horsemen
remained. The bell of the village church was rung. The commanding
general of the Russian army arrived; by the devotion of that regiment
the victory was assured to the Russians.
LE PETIT HOMME ROUGE.
The queen, Marie Antoinette, had left the palace of Versailles on a
dark, rainy day, and had come to the Tuileries with the king and the
dauphin. There they saw that awful figure which he who knows the history
of France cannot mistake. The legend relates that when the monarchy is
in danger, a little man, clothed in red, wanders around the halls of the
palace; and it is a fact, for many people have seen him. On arriving,
the royal family found that the apartments had not been warmed, and that
everything was in disorder. Accustomed to the luxury of Versailles, the
dauphin was frightened by the confusion, and he murmured: "These rooms
are very ugly, mamma." The servants had hastily prepared the beds, and
the dauphin went to bed and soon fell asleep. The great king Louis XIV
had slept in those rooms, and the queen said rightly that one ought not
to be more fastidious than he. Marie Antoinette feared that an assassin
might be lurking in the dark apartments, so she called one of her maids
of honor and together they went through the rooms. The queen gave a
candlestick to her friend, and took one herself. In the direction of the
marshals' hall there was nothing to fear, for the Swiss guards were
encamped there; it was a magnificent moonlight night, but the queen's
fingers trembled a little. She was not afraid, but during her short
stays in Paris she had never been so far in the palace. She gave a
glance at the great trees and at the Seine, which was visible through
the windows. They opened the door which leads into the Louvre, and a
shudder seized both the women as they thought of the forbidding legend
of the ghosts which stalked through the palace. The key did not turn
easily in the lock, but when the door was opened a gust of wind almost
extinguished the candles. The darkness was terrifying, and the queen
said: "If they had placed a guard here he could tell us to what point
this corridor can take us. But there are no guards, so let us see; it is
not necessary to call the guards." They wandered about some time in the
old Gothic halls; finally they stopped, and the queen said: "This is the
old palace." The maid heard a slight noise, and on turning around she
saw a strange form, clad in the manner of a man of the fifteenth
century; he was dressed in red. The ladies could not restrain a cry, and
hearing this the form disappeared all of a sudden. They remained
motionless for several minutes. Then the queen said: "Heaven wanted to
warn me of the danger which threatens the monarchy. Let us go back. For
myself, I am not afraid, but the king--they will kill him." And they
returned to the room where the child was sleeping. The little red man
has not been seen since.
LA BATAILLE DE FROESCHWILLER.
The general had set up his headquarters in a little house which
resembled a thatched-roof-hut. He was extremely tired, and he threw
himself on the bed without undressing and fell asleep. Suddenly in the
distance we heard the galloping of a horse; soon an aide of the
commanding general appeared, crying out: "Please awaken the general; I
have orders for him."
Our general soon got up and read the dispatches by the light of a
lantern which a soldier held, motionless, at a few steps from his
officer. It was impossible to know the meaning of the orders from the
general's expression as he read them. Soon, however, he turned to us and
said: "My troops will give battle to the enemy to-morrow morning, if I
am not mistaken. The news which I have received will force us to move
forward immediately."
He called his officers and gave his orders, some verbal, others written;
the map of the country was under his eyes, and he spoke in a low voice
with several officers. Then the drums beat, and in less than an hour our
division had folded its tents, eaten its morning soup, and had arrived
at the place where it was to go. This time the general was not mistaken;
we were going to be present at our first battle. Five minutes afterwards
there was a lively cannonade, and the battle had commenced. I cannot
give you the details of that memorable day; I relate a few incidents as
I remember them. We received the order to advance; the noise of the guns
deafened our ears; the air was saturated with the odor of powder; it was
like a burning furnace when we charged over the plain; we passed the
fire of the enemy's batteries in the midst of all this noise. I heard
some one cry "Captain!" At the foot of an oak tree one of my comrades
was wounded and dying. His terrible suffering hindered him from
speaking; his only question was, "Is the battle lost or won?"
The bullets were whistling about our ears; we were going to charge with
fixed bayonets. It was a hand-to-hand struggle, and men were falling on
all sides, but we were forced to beat a retreat.
* * * * *