Scene VII.
21. =Allons, j’ai beau faire=: ‘Come, it is useless for me to try.’
SCÈNE V
=58=, 8. “=Mes brigues=,” etc.: _Bajazet_, Act III, Scene VII.
14. =Rien qu’en traversant... on sent=: ‘One needs but to pass thru to feel.’
=59=, 2. =ou peu s’en faut=: ‘or nearly so.’
5. =clerc de procureur=: ‘attorney’s clerk.’
8. =s’y connaissent aussi bien=: ‘are as good judges.’
17. =une façon de gentilhomme=: ‘a kind of nobleman.’
18. =On ne passe pas=: ‘No admittance.’
=60=, 12. =s’il n’avait tenu qu’à moi=: ‘if it had depended only on me.’
=61=, 1. =les chemins qui s’élèvent=: ‘the uphill roads.’
10. =je vis au milieu des héros de tous les pays.= She refers to the heroes of the drama.
12. =je ne sais quoi qui sent son Rodrigue et son Nicomède=: ‘something which resembles Rodrigue and Nicomède.’ Rodrigue, the hero of the _Cid_, by Corneille. Nicomède, the hero of the play of the same name, also by Corneille.
13. =aussi, vous arriverez=: ‘accordingly you will make your mark.’
=62=, 14. =rire aux larmes=: ‘laugh till I cried.’
15. =une orthographe d’une invention!= ‘such original spelling!’
17. =être de l’Académie=: ‘be a member of the French Academy.’ See note to p. 8, l. 24.
21. =mon Sarmate=: ‘my Sarmatian’ (an old name for Polander).
=63=, 8. =à telles enseignes=: ‘so much so.’
15. =la fable des Deux pigeons=: Livre IX, Fable II, by La Fontaine.
=64=, 19. =après?= ‘what next?’
21. =Avec finesse=: ‘Archly.’
=65=, 8. “=Tenez-vous lieu de tout=”: ‘be all in all to each other.’
=66=, 5. =Aux premières=: ‘In the first row of boxes.’
SCÈNE VI
19. =humeur=: ‘ill humor.’
20. =Que trop=: ‘Only too true!’
SCÈNE VII
=67=, 25. =notre pari de tantôt=: ‘our recent wager.’
=68=, 6. =Preuve de plus!= ‘One more proof!’
18. =il ne te reste plus... qu’à t’exécuter=: ‘you have only to pay the bet.’
=69=, 4. =le plus rigoureux tête-à-tête=: ‘the strictest privacy.’
13. =ne fait rien à la chose=: ‘is of no consequence.’
=70=, 4. =éclat=: ‘exposure.’
18. =toujours=: ‘in any case.’
24. =Prévenez-la=: ‘Get the start of her.’
=71=, 4. =Raison de plus=: ‘All the more reason.’
14. =coup de théâtre=: ‘theatrical effect.’
17. =Mars et Vénus=: a reference to an incident related in Homer’s _Odyssey_, Book VIII.
19. =Surpris par... (S’interrompant.)=: The abbé interrupts himself because he recollects that it was the lame Vulcan who surprised the lovers and he does not wish to compare the prince with him.
23. =Toi, du tien=: ‘You on your side.’
24. =un succès d’enthousiasme=: ‘an enthusiastic success.’
=72=, 3. =ne sait déjà plus où elle en est=: ‘already doesn’t know what she is about.’
SCÈNE VIII
24. =C’est bien heureux=: ‘It was high time.’
=73=, 10. =la lettre de Zatime=: _Bajazet_, Act IV. Zatime is the slave of the sultana.
14. =cela ne se remet point par la petite poste=: ‘that must be sent by a special messenger.’
SCÈNE IX
21. =maudit soit le duché de Courlande.= He says this because his political schemes interfere with his love for Adrienne.
=74=, 16. =Encore un=: ‘One more’ (who is interested).
=75=, 4. =Acomat=: the grand vizir in _Bajazet_.
4. =mon bon=: ‘my good fellow.’
8. =Je vous trouve plaisant=: ‘You are ridiculous.’
23. =Tu as beau faire=: ‘It doesn’t make any difference what you do.’
=76=, 1. =palsambleu=: (par le sang de Dieu) ‘by Jove!’
6. =Bajazet=: brother of the sultan.
10. “=Écoutez, Bajazet=,” etc.: _Bajazet_, Act II, Scene I.
23. =qui est fort bien=: ‘who is very good looking.’
25. =votre entrée=: ‘your cue.’
=77=, 14. =Dieu! quel effet! elle a tressailli.= The real effect of the words of Maurice, denying her the interview that evening, are taken by Michonnet and the audience as merely a part of her acting.
SCÈNE X
=78=, 21. =Vous êtes des nôtres=: ‘You are coming to our party.’
=80=, 3. =cavalier=: ‘escort.’
12. =Ma voisine.= Mlle Lecouvreur lived on the rue des Marais, next to the home of Mlle Du Clos. The house of the former is now No. 21 rue Visconti. It had been the home of Racine, who died there in 1699. Mlle Du Clos soon moved to the rue Mazarine.
=81=, 16. =pour me donner la main=: ‘as my escort.’
=82=, 16. =on ne s’y reconnaît plus=: ‘one doesn’t know what he is about.’
17. =À votre réplique=: ‘Your cue.’
21. “=Qu’à ces nobles seigneurs=,” etc.: adaptation from _Bajazet_.
ACTE III
=83=, 3. =en pan coupé=: ‘crosswise of the corner.’
5. =sur le premier plan=: ‘on the first wing.’
SCÈNE I
10. “=J’ai failli attendre=”: ‘I came near waiting.’ A famous saying attributed to Louis XIV and indicative of his punctilious and exacting nature.
SCÈNE II
=86=, 15. =Ils se feront tuer=: ‘They will get killed.’
21. =vous faire appréhender au corps=: ‘have you arrested.’
=87=, 19. =en gage=: ‘a hostage.’
=88=, 20. =la Moscovie=: ‘Russia.’
=89=, 4. =n’auront pas beau jeu=: ‘will not have an easy time.’
11. =je vais toujours=: ‘I shall continue in spite of it.’
21. =Permettez=: ‘Pardon me,’ or, ‘I beg to differ.’
27. =C’est bien le moins que vous y restiez=: ‘The least you can do is to remain here.’
=91=, 25. =dussé-je vous perdre=: ‘even if I must ruin you.’
=92=, 9. =ne s’en aviserait pas=: ‘would not think of such a thing.’
=93=, 8. =C’est fait de moi!= ‘I am lost!’, ‘done for!’ or, ‘it is all over with me!’