Chapter 8

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 révolte_, ‘in open mutiny.’ p. 65 l. 30, _en pleine étude_, ‘before the whole class.’ 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 côté de, ‘somewhere about,’ ‘in the direction of.’ Note this use of _de_ of motion ‘towards,’ and cf. _de mon côté_ (p. 8. l. 12), _du côté de sa chère fabrique_ (p. 10 l. 6), etc. Don’t confuse with _à côté de_; see note, p. 11 l. 3.

26. se dégoûta 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’; _à 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 à 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. à plat ventre, ‘flat on my face.’

19. c’est égal, ‘all the same.’

30. il n’en fut rien, ‘nothing of the kind happened.’

Page 9.

1. dès qu’ils furent partis, je courus: after _après que, aussitôt que, dès que, à peine, quand, lorsque_, the _Past Anterior_, not the _Pluperfect_, must be used when the principal 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 principal sentence.

22. il avait pris les devants, ‘he had gone on in front.’

26. Beaucaire: a fine town on the right bank of the Rhone. It is connected with Tarascon by a splendid suspension-bridge, and is famous for its fair held annually in July, and frequented by many thousands of people. Daudet gives a graphic account of it in _Numa Roumestan_.

Page 10.

2. Un parapluie: note the gender; nouns ending in _e_ mute preceded by a vowel are usually feminine. Other exceptions are _génie, incendie, lycée, musée_.

3. tout de même, ‘all the same.’

Page 11. (chapter ii. full=ii)

3. à côté de, ‘by the side of,’ ‘beside.’ Cf. note, p. 7 l. 13. Distinguish also _à côté_ and _de côté_; e.g. _il demeure à côté_, ‘he lives close by’; _la maison d’à côté_ ‘the next house’; _le tableau est de côté_ ‘the picture is on one side’; _un regard de côté_, ‘a side glance.’

7. large, ‘broad,’ _never_ ‘large.’

8. le ciel riait, ‘the sky was radiant.’

9. descendaient au fil de l’eau, ‘were going down stream.’

19. ma foi! ‘upon my word!’ ‘faith!’ _not_ ‘my faith!’ Never translate this expression literally.

Page 12.

3. serrés les uns contre les autres, ‘closely packed.’

9. à tâtons, ‘groping his way along.’

qui vive? ‘who goes there?’ The challenge of a French sentinel.

14. et en route, ‘and moved off.’

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

23. me serra plus fort, ‘grasped my hand more firmly.’

29. s’il parlait, je crois bien: on l’entendait d’une lieue, ‘I should rather think it was talking, you could hear it a mile off.’ The sentence is elliptical, _vous demandez_ being understood before _s’il_. Note the idiomatic use of _bien_, and cf. _je le veux bien_, ‘I am _perfectly_ willing’; _voulez-vous bien vous en aller_, ‘_won’t_ you go away!’ _je donnerais bien un franc_, ‘I shouldn’t mind giving a franc.’

30. trouble, ‘agitation,’ ‘confusion,’ _not_ ‘trouble,’ the French for which is _peine, chagrin, douleur. Les troubles_=‘rebellion,’ ‘rising,’ e.g. _des troubles éclatèrent en France_.

Page 13.

9. plus de Vendredi! plus de perroquet…plus possible: _plus_ is often used negatively without _ne_ when the verb is understood. Trans. ‘without a Friday, or a parrot, a Robinson would not be possible any longer.’

10. le moyen: elliptical for _dites-moi le moyen_. Trans. ‘how was it possible to…’ or ‘how could one…’

11. d’ailleurs, ‘besides’; _ailleurs_=‘elsewhere.’

13. rue Lanterne: note omission of preposition and article.

28. le lendemain soir: note this is the correct way of expressing in French ‘next evening’; cf. _le lendemain matin_.

Page 14.

17. s’y maria, ‘got married there.’ Note _marier_, ‘to give in marriage,’ or ‘to perform the marriage ceremony’; e.g. _le curé les a mariés; se marier avec_, ‘to be married to,’ e.g. _elle s’est mariée avec Monsieur B_., or _elle a épousé Monsieur B_.

20. gros ouvrage, ‘rough work.’

26. par exemple: see note, p. 3 l. 22.

27. lui non plus, ‘either,’ added for emphasis at the end of the sentence.

29. avait fini par le prendre en grippe, ‘had at length taken a dislike to him.’

l’abreuvait de taloches, ‘rapped his head at every turn.’

31. le fait est: a favourite expression of Daudet. It does not correspond to the English ‘the fact is,’ which generally denotes a contradiction, but rather strengthens what has been said. Trans. ‘indeed.’

Page 15.

2. perdait tous ses moyens, ‘completely lost his wits.’

9. le voilà qui prend: the use of _le voilà_ is very emphatic; _voi_ is the imperative of _voir_, and _le voilà=vois-le là_.

18. tu as beau lui dire, ‘it is no use your telling him.’ _Avoir beau_ + infinitive is ironical, and elliptical for _avoir beau temps pour_, i.e. to have a fine opportunity, but to no purpose; cf. the English ‘it is all very _fine_ for you to tell him.’

19. tout de même: see note, p. 10 l. 3.

30. pourvu qu’il ne lui soit rien arrivé, ‘I hope nothing has happened to him.’

31. parbleu: a euphemism for _pardieu_. Trans. ‘why, of course not.’

Page 16.

15. recteur: as far as education is concerned, France is divided into seventeen _académies_, each under a _recteur_, who represents the _Ministre de l’instruction publique_.

24. de bonne foi, ‘honestly’; cf. _de bon cœur_, ‘gladly’ (p. 35 l. 28); _de meilleur cœur_, ‘more cheerfully,’ ‘more willingly’ (p. 49 l. 27).

28. non plus: see note, p. 14 l. 27.

Page 17.

1. gones: provincial slang, ‘street arabs.’

2. blouse à carreaux: note the French _à_ of description where we say ‘with’; cf.—

p. 33 l. 14, _un personnage à favoris rouges_. p. 35 l. 20, _la fée aux lunettes_. p. 35 l. 24, _l’ homme aux moustaches_. p. 42 l. 20, _l’ homme aux clefs_. p. 52 l. 28, _ses souliers à boucles_.

5. Tiens! expresses surprise and may be rendered, according to the context, by ‘here!’ ‘look here!’ ‘I say!’ ‘halloa!’ ‘well, I never!’ etc.

6. me prit en aversion, ‘took a violent dislike to me’; cf. note, p. 14 l. 29.

7. du bout des lèvres, ‘in a most casual manner’; cf. _rire du tout des lèvres_.

16. sentaient bon, ‘smelt very nice.’ For other adjectives used as adverbs cf. _parlant haut_ (p. 40 l. 27); _il s’arrêta court_ (p. 43 l. 26); _ne pas manger tranquille_ (p 51 l. 23); _prier ferme_ (p. 56 l. 2); _il s’arrêta net_ (p. 98 l. 1).

20. moisis, fanés, sentant le rance, ‘mouldy, musty and frowsy.’ _Sentir le rance_, ‘to smell rancid,’ lit. ‘to smell of rancidity’ (cf. _sentir le vin, le tabac_, etc.). The term ‘rancid’ could not be applied here. In English it is only used of _oil_ and similar substances.

22. faisait bien de son mieux, ‘did indeed his very best.’

Page 18.

4. boursier, ‘foundation scholar’; cf. the Scotch ‘bursar.’

6. ma foi! see note, p. 11 l. 19.

10. le givre fouettait les vitres, ‘the frozen rain was beating against the window-panes.’

13. j’ai reçu votre honorée du 8 courant, ‘I have received your favour of the 8th instant.

Page 19. (chapter iii. full=iv)

6. fermer à double tour, ‘double-lock.’

16. pour toute réponse, ‘by way of answer.’

17. veste, ‘jacket’ _gilet_=‘vest,’ ‘waistcoat.’

Page 20.

7. songez donc! ‘just think!’

10. qu’il n’y avait encore de fait que les quatre premiers vers, ‘that the first four lines only were done so far.’

17. jamais il n’en put venir a bout, ‘he could never get through.’ _En_ is used here as the object, _ce reste_, to which it refers, precedes the verb for the sake of emphasis. Note _n’en put_, somewhat archaic for _ne put en…_

18. que voulez-vous? ‘there is no help for it!’ See note, p. 5 l. 12.

21. le poète eut beau faire: see note, p. 15 l. 18.

Page 21.

1. parbleu! ‘of course!’ See note, p. 15 l. 31.

3. si le lecteur le veut bien, ‘if the reader has an objection.’ Note _lecteur, lectrice_, ‘reader’; _lecture_, ‘reading’; _conférence_, ‘lecture’; _conférencier_, ‘lecturer.’

4. est en train de: cf. _être en train de travailler_, ‘to be busy working.’

5. enjambée: the suffix _-ée_ denotes _quantity_; e.g. p. 36 l. 5, _poignée_, ‘handful’; p. 47 l. 2, _nuée_, ‘thick cloud,’ ‘swarm.’

12. la même chanson, ‘the same old tune.’

13. misère, ‘poverty,’ ‘want,’ _not_ misery’; _les misères_, ‘hardships’; une misère, ‘a trifle.’

les affaires qui ne vont pas, ‘business not prospering.’

en retard, ‘in arrears,’ ‘to be paid up.’

15. l’argenterie au mont-de-piété, ‘the pawning of the family plate.’ Monts-de-piété, ‘pawnshops,’ were founded out of piety to enable people in straitened circumstances to escape the exorbitant usury of the Jews, and borrow money at a reasonable rate of interest. The most ancient of these was established at Perugia, 1477, and situated on a _mountain_; hence its name. The name and system were introduced into France, where these institutions were put under Government control. Had such benevolent establishments only been introduced into England under the same conditions thousands of people might have been saved from utter ruin.

19. huissier, ‘bailiff,’ lit, one who keeps the _huis_ or ‘door.’

23. achevait sa philosophie, ‘was finishing his course of philosophy,’ i.e. was completing his school education. The order of the forms in a French school, beginning with the lowest, is _neuvième, huitième, septième, sixième, cinquième, quatrième, troisième, seconde, première, philosophie_.

29. Eyssette père, ‘Eyssette senior’ so _Eyssette fils_ (p. 24 l. 21), ‘Eyssette junior.’

Page 22.

20. un parti à prendre, ‘one decision to come to.’ Note _prendre son parti_, ‘to make up one’s mind’; _épouser un bon parti_, ‘to make a good match’; _tirer parti de_, ‘to turn to account.’ Distinguish carefully from _la part_, ‘share,’ and _la partie_, ‘part,’ ‘portion,’ ‘game,’ etc.

22. de notre côté, ‘for ourselves.’ Cf. note, p. 7 l. 13.

28. jusqu’à nouvel ordre, ‘until matters improve.’

31. comme commis-voyageur à la société vinicole, ‘as a commercial traveller for the wine-growers’ society.’

Page 23.

3. justement je reçois, ‘it just happens that I have received.’

4. maître d’étude, ‘usher.’

10. c’est bien, ‘very well.’

19. qu’on s’occupe de sa malle, ‘let some one see to his trunk being packed.’

23. fait au . ., ‘accustomed to . .’

28. Eyesette: names of persons or families are _invariable_ in the plural, e.g. _les Corneille et les Racine_, except certain well-known historical names, chiefly of dynasties, e.g. _les Césars, les Tudors, les Bourbons_. But when used as common nouns to denote ‘persons like’ or ‘works by’ those named, they are variable. In the latter case, however, they only take the mark of the plural, according to some grammarians, when speaking of different editions, not of several copies of the same edition.

Page 24.

17. Académie: see note, p. 16 l. 15.

20. n’ayant rien qui sentît le pédant, ‘having nothing about him which savoured of the pedant.’ Cf. note, p. 17 l. 20. Why is _sentît_ subjunctive?

23. brave: note _un brave homme_, ‘a good, honest man’; _un homme brave_, ‘a brave, courageous man.’

25. ah! mon Dieu! ‘why!’ Cf. note, p. 8 l. 14.

27. mauviette, ‘delicate’; _une mauviette_, lit. ‘a lark.’

Page 25.

6. mais enfin, ‘however.’

9. baraque: slang for ‘school.’

10. collège communal, ‘communal’ or ‘municipal school.’ Distinguish carefully between a lycée and a collège. The former is kept up entirely by the State; the latter partly by the State, partly by the town. Both provide ‘secondary’ education.

11. Sarlande: a fictitious name. Alais was the place where Daudet really went.

en pleine montagne: see note, p. 7 l. 3. Alais is near the Cévennes mountains.

16. la lettre terminée: this construction of a noun or pronoun with a participle, standing independently of any other word in the sentence, and representing a subordinate clause, is very common in French. It is the exact equivalent of the ablative absolute in Latin.

20. quatre à quatre, ‘four steps at a time,’ lit. ‘four by four.’ Cf. peu à peu (p. 40 l. 25); goutte à goutte (p. 83 l. 1).

21. séculaire, ‘ancient,’ lit. ‘centuries old.’ ‘Secular’ in French is séculier.

28. cabaret: a small public-house where food and drink only are supplied, not lodging, as in an auberge (p. 36 l. 9).

Page 26.

1. au compagnon du tour de France, ‘the Oddfellows’ Arms.’ A _compagnon_ was a workman affiliated to a ‘Trade Union’ (_compagnonnage_). As an emblem of their association the _compagnons_ carried long canes with ribbons tied to them. Note that in French, as in German, the dative is used in the signs of inns, shops, etc.; e.g. _à la Toison d’or, au Cerf-Volant, à la ville de Marseille; zum goldenen Löwen_.

2. voici mon affaire, ‘this is just what I want.’

13. un vieux coureur de tavernes, ‘an habitué of public-houses.’

19. miséricorde! ‘gracious me!’

22. eh! mon Dieu, oui, ‘yes indeed.’

23. anciennement, ‘formerly.’ Cf. note, p. 28 l. 31.

Page 27.

12. justice divine! see note, p. 8 l. 14.

17. mouillettes: long narrow pieces of bread to dip into wine or boiled eggs.

19. Un vieux Château-Neuf-des-Papes: a famous wine, so called from the name of a vineyard near Avignon.

25. va trinquer, ‘is going to have a friendly glass with us.’ _Trinquer_, ‘to touch glasses,’ a continental fashion when drinking some one’s health. Cf. German _trinken_, and English to ‘clink’ glasses.

29. à quoi encore? ‘and what next?’

Page 28.

9. enfin, ‘still,’ ‘however.’

21. que voulez-vous? see notes, p. 5 l. 12 and p. 20 l. 18.

31. ancien, ‘former.’ Cf. _quelques anciens_ (p. 63 l. 14), ‘a few old boys (of the school).’ So _un nouveau_ (p. 30 l. 21), ‘a new boy.’

Page 29.

1. à toutes jambes, ‘as fast as he could.’

7. bout: trans. ‘vestige.’ Note—

_un bout d’homme_, ‘a little bit of a man.’ _un bout de conversation_, ‘a short chat.’ _un bout de papier_, ‘a scrap of paper.’ _un bout de lettre_, ‘a line.’

8. qui dépasse, ‘overhanging.’

plus . . plus: see note, p. 13 l. 9.

(chapter iv. full=v)

17. que la montagne enserre de partout, ‘which is closed in on all sides by the mountains.’

21. tramontane, ‘north wind. A term used along the French Mediterranean. It comes from the Italian _tramontana_, ‘on the other side the Alps.’

25. place d’armes, ‘parade-ground.’

Page 30.

3. impériale, ‘seat behind the driver.’ The stage-coach of olden times in France was divided into four compartments—(1) _le coupé_ ‘the seat facing the horses,’ and hence the most expensive; (2) _l’intérieur_, the seat inside’; (3) _la rotonde_, ‘the back seat’; (4) _l’impériale_, a word now used for the top of an omnibus or tramway.

29. pour le quart d’heure, ‘at present,’ just now.’

M. le principal. ‘the headmaster.’ In French it is usual to prefix _monsieur, madame, mademoiselle_, etc., when speaking of a person to whom respect is due. Thus _Monsieur votre père, Madame votre mère_, but of course you would not say _Monsieur mon père_.

Page 31.

9. Monsieur, ‘the young gentleman.’

11. le fait est que: see note, p. 14 l. 31.

14. Veillon l’aîné, ‘Veillon major.’

30. avant 89: i.e. before the French Revolution of 1789.

Page 32.

6. matelassée, ‘padded.’

10. tout au fond, ‘right at the end.’

22. pâlotte et sèche, ‘rather pale and wizen.’

27. pour le coup: see note, p. 5 l. 19.

Page 33.

2. finit par: see note, p. 14 l. 29.

16. surveillant général: the duty of this official is not to teach but to supervise, i.e. to go round the school and see that masters and boys are doing their respective duties.

21. grinçaient, ‘jingled.’ Lit. _grincer_=‘to grind,’ ‘gnash.’ frinc! ‘clink!’

26. s’agitèrent, ‘rattled.’

28. allons donc! ‘nonsense!’

Page 34.

3. veut bien, ‘will be kind enough.’ Cf. note, p. 12 l. 29.

4. tutelle, ‘protection.’ _Tuteur, tutrice_=‘guardian’; ‘tutor’=_précepteur_.

8. sa bienveillance m’était acquise, ‘I could certainly rely upon his kindness.’

11. il fallait les entendre, ‘you should have heard them.’

avec frénésie, ‘frantically.’

15. couchiez: note _coucher_, ‘to spend the night’; _se coucher_, ‘to go to bed.’

21. le règlement de la maison, ‘a copy of the school rules.’

28. un peu de lune, ‘a moonbeam.’

29. s’orienter, ‘to find one’s bearings’; lit. to find out where you are in relation to the ‘orient’ or ‘east’ and the other cardinal points.

Page 35.

1. à mes côtés, ‘beside me.’ See note, p. 11 l. 3.

3. si rapide qu’elle eût été: note this use of _si . . que_ instead of _quelque . . que_, ‘however.’ In all such concessive sentences the subjunctive is necessary.

7. lunettes, ‘spectacles’; _la lunette_=telescope.’

23. mince affaire, ‘easy matter.’

26. disposition, ‘disposal,’ _not_ ‘disposition,’ which in French is generally rendered by _le caractère_ or _le naturel_.

29. avait l’air très bon enfant, ‘looked a very good fellow.’ Distinguish—

_il a l’air bon_, ‘he looks kind.’ _il a bon air_, ‘he looks gentlemanly.’

30. chemin faisant, ‘on the way.’

Page 36.

2. chasseurs d’Afrique, ‘African light cavalry.’ Cf. note, p. 85 l. 18.

acheva de: trans. by an adverb, ‘completely.’

5. force poignées de main, ‘a good deal of hand-shaking.’ What part of speech is _force_?

16. plus de toit . . plus do foyer: see note, p. 13 l. 9. _Foyer_=‘hearth,’ and in some phrases is used for ‘home.’

18. misère: _not_ ‘misery.’

20. à lui tout seul, ‘all by himself.’

24. se mettre au courant de, ‘to post himself up in.’

26. de la propre main de M. Viot, ‘in M. Viot’s own hand-writing.’

Page 37.

5. appointements, ‘salaries.’ _Traitement_ is generally used for the salary of civil servants and professional men.

17. ou bien, ‘or else.’

Page 38.

3. un original, ‘an eccentric fellow.’

21. parbleu! c’est bien le cas de dire . . ‘by Jove! one may indeed say . .’

25. en rit: _rire_ and _sourire_ with _à_ imply greeting, with _de_ derision.

28. pour avoir seulement quelques pouces de plus, ‘to have been so much as a few inches taller.’

30. ça ne fait rien, ‘never mind,’ ‘no matter.’

31. pour passer sous la même toise, ‘to be measured by the same standard.’ _Toise_, ‘fathom,’ an old length measure about 6 ft. 5 in., used for measuring the height of conscripts.

Page 39.

3. Je paye un punch d’adieu, ‘I’ll pay for a farewell glass of punch.’ _Punch_, from an Indian word meaning ‘five,’ so called from its five ingredients, viz. spirit, water, lemon, sugar and spice. It is also called ‘contradiction,’ because it is composed of spirit to make it strong, water to make it weak, lemon juice to make it sour, and sugar to make it sweet.

4. je veux que vous en soyez: cf. _êtes-vous des nôtres?_ ‘are you one of our party?’ or ‘won’t you join us?’

14. le ban et l’arrière-ban des habitués, ‘the whole body of the frequenters.’ The _ban_ in the Middle Ages=the immediate vassals of the king, i.e. those under his _banner_; the _arrière-ban_=the reserve force, composed of older citizens, who did not take up arms except in moments of peril.

17. à dire vrai, ‘to tell the truth.’ Cf. _à tout prendre_, ‘upon the whole’; _à bien regarder_, ‘on close consideration.’

28. en somme, vous êtes bien tombé, ‘on the whole you have fallen on your feet.’

29. absinthe: a plant having a somewhat strong smell and bitter taste. It is used for medicinal purposes, and also for the preparation of the liqueur known as ‘absinthe.’

30. à la boîte: cf. _baraque_, p. 25 l. 9.

31. vous ne serez pas trop mal, ‘you will not be too badly off.’

Page 40.

2. l’étude des petits, ‘the junior school.’ So _l’étude des moyens_ (p. 51 l. 5), ‘the middle school.’

3. qu’on mène à la baguette, ‘that you can rule with a rod of iron.’

4. méchant. Note—

_un méchant homme_, ‘a bad _or_ wicked man.’ _un homme méchant_, ‘a mischievous _or_ spiteful man.’ Cf. note, p. 24 l. 23.

6. père Viot, ‘old Viot.’

11. les fonctions d’économe, ‘the duties of a bursar.’

15. fée, ‘old hag’ or ‘old witch.’

24. confidences, ‘secrets.’

27. parlant haut: see note, p. 17 l. 16.

Page 41.

6. ce que c’est que de nous, pourtant! ‘and yet, what weak creatures we are!’

7. un file de famille en rupture de ban, ‘a youth of good family, who had gone the pace a bit’; lit. ‘escaped from banishment.’

11. d’un meilleur œil, ‘more favourably.’

Page 42.

13. troublé, ‘disturbed in mind.’ Cf. note, p. 12 l. 30.

15. entre deux grands coups secs frappés, ‘between two loud sharp raps.’

(chapter v. full=vi)

23. ils ne sentaient pas encore le collège, ‘they were as yet untouched by the moral atmosphere of the school. Cf. note, p. 17 l. 20.

25. pépialent, ‘chirped,’ i.e. ‘chattered.’

Page 43.

3. je vous demande! ‘just think of it!’

7. bon . . sages, ‘kind . . good.’

11. encriers, règles, porte plumes: note the frequent omission of the article in enumerations.

13. grands yeux: cf. _les fenêtres sont grandes ouvertes_, ‘the windows are wide open.’

14. à leur intention, ‘especially for them.’ Cf. _à mon intention_, p. 51 l. 2.

18. n’entendait pas, ‘did not want.’

de la sorte, ‘in this way.’

Page 44.

9. à la récréation de quatre heures, ‘at the 4 o’clock interval.’

16. Jean Lapin leur manquait, ‘they missed Jean Lapin.’ Note carefully—

_vous me manquez_, ‘I miss you.’ _je vous manque_, ‘you miss me.’ _j’ai manqué le train_, ‘I have missed the train, _il manque d’esprit_, ‘he is wanting in brains.’ _j’ai manqué de tomber_, ‘I nearly fell.’

18. quartiers, ‘departments.’

les grands, les moyens, les petits, ‘the senior school, the middle school, the junior school.’

23. avait beau me sourire, ‘might smile at me as much as he liked.’ See note, p. 15 l. 18.

28. le regardaient du haut de leur toque, ‘eyed him up and down.’ _Toque_=‘college cap.’

Page 45.

3. m’en vouloir: see note, p. 3 l. 31.

8. sous les combles, ‘under the roof,’ ‘at the top of the house.’

c’est là que . ., ‘that was where . .’

14. criblé de taches d’encre et d’inscriptions au canif, ‘covered with ink-spots and names carved with a penknife.’

17. pour le quart d’heure: see note, p. 30 l. 29.