141.--2. bourgmestre. This title is not applied to French
mayors, but to those of Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, etc.
142.--13. plus d'une demi-lieue. The use of _de_ instead
of _que_, "tldquo;than," occurs before numerals and is a survival of the Old
French construction, which employed _de_ (than) generally after a
comparative (cf. the more general use of _di_ in this sense in Italian).
27. grand concerto. Incorrect in Italian, where grande is usually
written _gran_ before a word beginning with a consonant (except _s_
followed by another consonant); before a vowel _grand'_ is used
(_grand'impero_, great empire).
29. théologiens... philosophes. A playful reference to the
students of Heidelberg University.
145.--10. jusque passé minuit. Note that _jusque_ and not
_jusqu'à_ is here used; besides a following preposition (_jusque
sur_, etc.), certain following adverbs may have the same construction
(_jusqu'ici, jusque-là, jusqu'aujourd'hui_, etc.).
20. ce disant. A survival of the Old French construction where
_ce_ could be used as object without a noun. In modern French _ce_ is
usually either an adjective pronoun or it is the impersonal subject of
a verb or it is the antecedent of a relative; the other uses have been
taken over by _ceci_ and _cela_. Another similar construction is _sur
ce_, used by sovereigns in closing letters.
148.--8. que. To avoid repetition of _comme_.
149.--14. soit. The tendency, although usage varies, is to
pronounce the _t_ in this exclamation.
23. comme tu voudras. Note the tense, a polite future, where in
English the present would be used; notice also, the tense on p. 148, l.
18.
153.--15. et toute la salle de rire. An example of the
historical infinitive, which expresses the sudden result of a preceding
action and is accompanied by a new subject.
28. plus qu'un. Notice the difference between this phrase and
_plus d'une_ (p. 142, l. 13).
161.--29. pas un d'entre eux. Note the insertion of
_entre_; when spoken, _un d'eux_ would not be clear; note also that
_entre_ suffers no elision (see note to p. 77, l. 11).
164.--14. après boire. An example of the present
infinitive used after _après_ (cf. _il est parti après avoir bu un verre
d'eau_).
167.--6. à peine eus-je allumé. Note that _à peine_ causes
inversion and that it is used with the past anterior (see notes to p.
136, l. 4 and p. 3, l. 25).
168.--29. et que mon histoire vous ait intéressé. When que
is used to avoid the repetition of _si_, the subjunctive is employed.