Chapter 21
Edition: Flammarion, 13 vols. (illustrated); Charpentier, Dentu, Hetzel and Lemerre have each published portions of his work.
LE CURÉ DE CUCUGNAN
This story is an almost literal translation of _Lou Curat de Cucugnan_, a Provençal story by Roumanille, published by him under the pseudonym of Lou Cascarelet in the _Armana prouvençau_ (Provençal Almanac) in 1867 (Daudet was in Provence during this year). This Almanac was first published in the year 1855, a little after the foundation of the _Félibrige_ (May 21, 1854). _The Félibrige_ was a brotherhood of modern Provençal poets, its purpose was to revive Provençal as a literary language; the word _Félibrige_ is of unknown origin, it comes from an obscure word found by Mistral in a Provençal text; the members of the brotherhood, which later became a great literary society, were called _félibres_; the brotherhood was originated by Roumanille, who was followed by a more celebrated poet, Mistral, and five other poets, Aubanel, Brunet, Camille Raybaud, Mathieu and Félix Gras. In regard to the _Armana prouvençau_, the following quotation from an article by Mistral in _Les Annales politiques et littéraires_, May 13, 1906, will give an idea of the type of this Almanac: «Et sans parler ici des innombrables poésies qui s'y sont publiées, sans parler de ses Chroniques, où est continue, peut-on dire, l'histoire du Félibrige, la quantité de contes, de légendes, de sornettes, de facéties et de gaudrioles, tous recueillis dans le terroir, qui s'y sont ramassés, font de cette entreprise une collection unique. Toute la tradition, toute la raillerie, tout l'esprit de notre race se trouvent serrés là-dedans.» The dialects of France fall into two great classes: the _Langue d'oïl_, in the north, and the _Langue d'oc_, in the south (_oïl_ is the old> northern form for _oui, oc_ the southern form). The difference really dates from Roman colonization, which occurred on the Mediterranean some seventy-five years before Caesar conquered northern Gaul (59--5l B.C.). Provençal is one of the principal dialects of the southern group; during the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries (prior to the Albigensian crusade) it was, at least in lyric poetry, the most important literary language of France. Because of political and literary superiority, the language of Paris, or of the Île-de-France, became the general literary language of France. The dialects, however, still live on, and Provençal has, as described above, been somewhat revived as a literary language by the efforts of Mistral and the other poets of the _Félibrige_. Many scholars regard the characteristics of the territory embraced by the modern departments of Loire, Rhône, Isère, Ain, Savoie, the old province of Franche-Comté and a part of Switzerland as sufficient to form a third group of dialects known as _Franco-Provençal_. The dividing line between the _Langue d'oc_ and the _Langue d'oïl_ passes approximately from the mouth of the Gironde to the Alps by way of Limoges, Clermont-Ferrand and Grenoble.
111.--1. à la Chandeleur. The article in such constructions is usually explained as equal to _la fête de_; it should be noticed, however, that in Old French a substantive frequently occurred in the oblique without a preceding _de_, the construction being equal to the Latin genitive, no preposition having been used (the phrase is thus literally: "oldquo;on that of Candlemas").
2. en Avignon. _En_ is not now used with cities except in ironical imitation of Provençal style (see Brunot, _Précis de grammaire historique de la langue française_, sec. 496, 2) or as a poetic and archaic survival of the usage of the seventeenth century,--un joyeux petit livre. The _Armana prouvençau_.
112.--3. quel bon vent. The verb is to be supplied (_quel bon vent vous amène?_).
4. le grand livre et la clef. Cf. Matthew xvi, 19 and Revelation xx, 12.
11. disons-nous. Here = _vous dites_.
27. faites que je puisse. _Faire_ in the imperative is followed by the subjunctive, elsewhere by the indicative (_c'est ce qui fait que cela va mal_), but notice that _faites attention_ takes the indicative (_faites attention qu'il est là_).
114.--19. je n'ai pas entendu chanter le coq. See Matthew xvi, 34 ff.
116.--9. en l'air. _En_ is never used before _les_; it is rarely used before the singular definite article, when it is so used the article is usually elided. In those cases where _en_ is not used, _dans_ takes its place; _en_ was more frequently used in former times, it is now largely limited to fixed phrases. The following distinctions should also be observed: _je ferai cet ouvrage en deux jours_ (two days will be required), _je ferai cet ouvrage dans deux jours_ (after two days have elapsed).
117.--7. rang par rang... quand on danse. As in the dance called the _farandole_, where a number of people join bands and dance in a long line.
16. le meunier. The French have always ridiculed the millers; cf. the proverb: _il n'y a rien de plus hardi que la chemise d'un meunier, parce qu'elle prend, tous les matins, un fripon au collier_; also, _il s'est fait d'évêque meunier_, said when one has fallen from a good position to a poorer one.
118.--4. le. This pronoun does not refer to _histoire_, but to all that has been told. This paragraph has not been added by Daudet, but occurs in the Provençal version.
LE SOUS-PRÉFET AUX CHAMPS
121.--26. de plus belle. See note to p. 4, l. 7.
LE PAPE EST MORT
123.--1. une grande ville de province. Daudet was born at Nîmes, his father was a wealthy manufacturer of silk handkerchiefs, the father lost his money and moved to Lyons when Alphonse was nine years old, it was here that the boy went to school and it is this city that is described in the story.
2. très-encombrée. The hyphen is now omitted after _très_.
125.--32. j'avais beau revenir. Littré explains this idiom as follows: «_Avoir beau_, c'est toujours avoir beau champ, beau temps, belle occasion; _avoir beau faire_, c'est proprement avoir tout favorable pour faire. Voilà le sens ancien et naturel. Par une ironie facile à comprendre, _avoir beau_ a pris le sens d'avoir le champ libre, de pouvoir faire ce qu'on voudra, et, par suite, de se perdre en vains efforts.»
127.--13. Pie VII. Pius VII was imprisoned by Napoleon (l'empereur, l. 16) at Fontainebleau from 1812 to 1814; the words _comediante... tragediante_ were used by Napoleon to the Pope and by the Pope to Napoleon.
UN RÉVEILLON DANS LE MARAIS
130.--23. vieux, vieux. The .repetition of an adjective for emphasis is much more common in Italian than in French.
132.--3. une Diane... avec un croissant au front. A conventional manner of representing the goddess.
4. triolets. In versification this name (_triolet_) is given to a poem of eight lines, of which the first is repeated after the third, and both the first and second after the sixth, it is a development of the Old French _rondeau_; in music, as it is here used, the name is given to a group of three notes which, in a measure of 3/4 time, produces the effect of 6/8 time.
LA VISION DU JUGE DE COLMAR
134.--1. l'empereur Guillaume. William I, King of Prussia in 1861 and Emperor of Germany from 1871 to 1888; it was during his reign that the Franco-Prussian War occurred.
17. restez assis. In France the judges hold office for life (_magistrature assise_), while prosecuting attorneys, etc., may be removed from office by the Minister of Justice (_magistrature debout_); there is thus a double meaning in _restez assis_ "rldquo;remain seated" or "rldquo;remain a judge (for life)"; on condition, of course, that Dollinger renounce his allegiance to France and take the oath of allegiance to Germany.
26. le même grand christ. Used in administering oaths, the person who took the oath raised his right hand toward the crucifix.
136.--4. aussi n'avancent-ils. Notice that _aussi_ here means "tldquo;therefore" and that it causes inversion (this occurs also with _à peine, encore, peut-être, ici, là_, etc.).
137.--5. des robes noires, des robes rouges. The former are worn by the judges in the lower courts, the latter by the judges in the courts of appeal.
6. président. The French Department of Justice is now constituted as follows. The Department has at its head a Cabinet Minister (_Ministre de la Justice_) and it comprises a civil and a criminal jurisdiction. In each canton is a justice of the peace, in each department a civil court, and in sixteen important cities a court of appeal. Criminals are tried in each department in a court of assize, before a jury of citizens and judges of whom the presiding judge is termed the _président_ and the assistant judges _conseillers assesseurs_. Above all courts is the Court of Appeal (_Cour de Cassation_, in the _Palais de Justice_ at Paris); this court is charged with looking after the strict observance of the Laws.
138.--24. monsieur le comte. Bismarck was given the higher title of Prince in 1871.
ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN
Émile Erckmann, Phalsbourg, 1822--Lunéville, 1899. Alexandre Chatrian, Soldatenthal, 1826--Villemombles, 1890
Most of the literary work of these two men was done jointly, hence their hyphenated signature. Erckmann did most of the writing, Chatrian most of the editing and adapting for the stage. Their work consisted of short stories, novels and plays, particularly with scenes laid along the Franco-German (Alsatian) frontier, where they were both born. Their stories usually deal with incidents of the French Revolution, the Empire of Napoleon l and the Franco-Prussian War; they attacked war, and their stories are generally of a fantastic or idyllic type.
Important works: _Madame Thérèse_ (1863), _Histoire d'un Conscrit de 1813_ (1864), _L'Ami Fritz_ (1864, their best known novel), _Le Juif Polonais_ (1869, their best known play, known in English as _The Bells_), _Les Rantzau_ (1882, a play), and several collections of _Contes_. The _Montre du Doyen_ is from the _Contes Fantastiques_ (1860).
Edition: Most of their work has been published by Hetzel.
LA MONTRE DU DOYEN
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.
FRANÇOIS COPPÉE
Paris, 1842--Paris, 1908
Coppée is known as a poet and writer of short stories. His work usually deals with the pathetic side of humble life. He has been accused of sentimentality and superficiality; he is, however one of the most popular and accomplished of the modern French poets, a dramatist of some merit and the author of a number of _Contes_ relating to the life of the _peuple_, particularly in and about Paris.
Important works: _Poésies_ (several collections, 1864-1890), _Théâtre_ (best plays: _Le Passant_, 1869; _Le Luthier de Crémone_, 1876; _Les Jacobites_, 1885; _Pour la Couronne_, 1895), and several volumes of _Contes_ (the two stories given in this collection are from his _Longues et Brèves_, published in 1893).
Edition: Lemerre.
LE LOUIS D'OR
169.--12. abat-jour. This compound noun is invariable in the plural because the plural idea does not really belong to the second element, which is the only part capable of inflection.
17. Zaatcha. This oasis was captured in 1849, during what may be termed the second period of the French occupation of Algeria; the first period extends from the landing of French troops in 1830 until the capture of Constantine in 1837, the second period, from 1837 to 1849, was a period of resistance, the third period extending to 1901 was one of partial insurrections; Algeria is now the most important French colony. France now possesses the colonies of St. Pierre and Miquelon, near Newfoundland; Guadaloupe, Martinique and French Guiana in the West Indies and South America; New Caledonia, New Hebrides and about 116 other islands in Oceania; Indo-China (comprising Cochin-China, Annam and Tonkin, with about 18,000,000 inhabitants); Madagascar, Reunion and other near-by islands; Djibouti, an African port on the Gulf of Aden; French Congo, French Soudan, French Guinea, French Senegal, on the western coast of Africa; Tunis, Algeria and Morocco (the latter since 1912) on the Mediterranean, with strong influence in the country lying between this territory and the Soudan. In addition the French language is spoken by the descendants of French colonists in Canada, New Orleans, the Mexican mountains, etc.
170.--3. mettant... ses souliers dans la cheminée. The French children have this custom instead of hanging up their stockings.
171.--28. quelque espoir. The final vowel of _quelque_ is elided only in _quelqu'un_ and _quelqu'une_.
172.--5. le dix-sept n'est pas sorti. The game of roulette is played on a rectangular table with a revolving wheel in the center. A ball is placed on the wheel which sends it into compartments; these compartments (of which there are two series, one on each side of the table) are numbered consecutively up to thirty-six and are arranged in three parallel lines or columns. The players or punters stake their money in various ways: on a single number or numéro, which means that if the ball rests on that number the player receives thirty-five times the amount risked; on a colonne or row of numbers, in that case if the ball remains on any number of the column the player receives three times the amount risked; on a couleur (the numbers are half red, half black), in this case he receives, if he is successful, the amount he has risked; on the douzaine, that is, on the first, second or third series of twelve numbers, in case he wins the player then receives three times the amount he has risked; other combinations may also be used and there are two compartments, and 00, which enable the bank to maintain a constant advantage.
L'ENFANT PERDU
176.--11. sous le nom de Louis XIV. Louis XIV was also known as le _Roi-Soleil_.
15. Conseil général de l'Eure. The old French provinces were abolished during the Revolution, and the territory was redivided into _départements_, of which there are at present 86 (if the territory around Belfort be not counted); each department is governed by a _préfet_, or prefect. These departments are subdivided into 362 arrondissements, with a sous-préfet at the head of each; these into 2899 _cantons_, governed by a council; and these in turn into 36,170 _communes_, governed by mayors. The chief magistrate of the modern Republic (declared in 1870) is the President, elected for seven years by the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. These latter legislative bodies are composed respectively of 300 members elected for nine years (one third every three years), and of 597 members elected for four years. The President appoints a cabinet of ten ministers to aid him in his executive duties. When a cabinet receives only a minority of votes of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies, it resigns in a body and a new cabinet is formed. The executive power is represented throughout France by the préfets, sous-préfets and mayors. Each commune, canton and arrondissement possesses a council which cannot treat of political questions. There is also a conseil général which considers departmental affairs. A deliberative body and a representative of the executive are thus found side by side throughout the strongly centralized Republic.
20. nous sommes donc autorisé. The author is speaking for himself alone, hence the participle is in the singular.
178.--7. zéro. The French use the Centigrade thermometer with zero at 32° Fahrenheit; 1 4/5° F. = 1° C.
179.--28. un air de famille avec les Auvergnats. An allusion to the custom in Auvergne of wearing the beard in this fashion.
180.--32. chaussons de lisière et de la brosserie. List-shoes and brushes are manufactured in French prisons.
181.--13. qui s'en faisait deux fois autant par la vertu de l'anse du panier. Compare the phrase, faire danser l'anse du panier, said of a cook who makes a profit on the supplies of the Household.
24. son Allemande. Gouvernante is to be understood.
182.--7. joueur comme les cartes. Compare the phrase in another of Coppée's stories (les Vices du Capitaine), joueur comme feu Bésigue, where the game (bezique) is spoken of as though it were a person.
11. trop heureux de devenir. Notice the difference between this phrase and _trop heureux pour devenir_.
31. Dauphin. When the province of Dauphiné was added to French territory, the last ruler of Dauphiné, Humbert III, ceded the province on condition that the title of Dauphin be given to the eldest son of the French king; the province became a part of French territory in 1349.
183.--10. le trois pour cent. The reference is to government bonds.
16. quatre bureaux de tabac. Tobacco is a government monopoly in France, hence the management of the shops is sometimes turned over to friends of politicians.
18. Deux Décembre. The date (December 2, 1851) on which Louis Napoleon executed his _coup d'état_, by which he was elected President for ten years. There was a Parisian uprising against this act, but he put this down and in the following year he became Emperor with the title of Napoleon III (1808-1873).
19. P'pa, et le p'tit Noël... y mettra-ti' tet' chose. For _Papa, etc. ...y mettra-t-il quelque chose_. See also note to p. 77, l. 32.
184.--1. blond albinos. Modified adjectives of color are usually invariable.
185.--20. conquêtes de 89. The French Revolution began in 1789.
27. l'air d'un marié du samedi. The working people are often married on Saturday.
29. République parlementaire. A Republic has been proclaimed three times in France: the first lasted from 1792 until Napoleon I became Emperor in 1804; the second extended from the fall of King Louis Philippe in 1848 until the _coup d'état_ of 1851; the third and present Republic was proclaimed on September 4, 1870 (the allusion in the text is to the last).
186.--14. au château. That is, _au château du Louvre_, the former residence of the French kings.
23. Port' siou p'ait. (_Ouvrez la_) _porte s'il vous plaît_.
187.--12. sur les fortifications. The reference is to the walls around Paris, formerly used as fortifications; the type of the quarter is described in the text.
191.--19. ayez pas peur. The popular omission of _ne_ has already been noted (note to p. 64, l. 19), as well as the other popular phrases which follow.
192.--14. j'ai été faire. The use of _être_ for _aller_ when followed by an infinitive is inelegant, though the construction is sometimes used by good writers.
195.--24. médaille. The reference is to the military medal, conferred for meritorious military service (instituted in 1852).
THÉOPHILE GAUTIER Tarbes, 1811--Paris, 1872
Born in Gascony, Gautier was educated, partly in his native town, partly at the Lycée Charlemagne in Paris. Here he became a friend of Gérard de Nerval, who was of such influence on the later decadent school. He was a friend of the Romanticist, Victor Hugo, and the typical red waistcoat which he wore at the first presentation of Hernani has become almost historic. In 1830 he published a volume of verse, and two years later _Albertus_ in the extreme Romantic style. A novelist and poet, he traveled extensively and embodied his experiences and impressions in many works on travel and art criticism. His work is characterized by a remarkable esthetic appreciation, an almost flawless, ornate style, and a strong tendency toward the fantastic. Faguet says of him: "Hldquo;He knew all the resources of the French language and style." He stands above all for form (cf. his poem, _L'Art_).
Important works: _Poésies_ (1830), _Albertus_ (1832), _Mademoiselle de Maupin_ (1835), _Fortunio_ (1838), _Les Grotesques_ (1844), _Avatar and Jettatura_ (1857), _Émaux et Camées_ (1858), _Le Roman de la Momie_ (1858), _Le Capitaine Fracasse_ (1863), besides descriptions of his travels.
Edition: Charpentier, in 34 vols.
LA MILLE ET DEUXIÈME NUIT
The title is borrowed from the _Mille et Une Nuits_, translated into French by Galland (1704).
201.--1. favorite. This peculiar feminine form is due to analogy with _petite_ (in the masculine _petit_ and _favori_ end with the same sound, hence by analogy they have the same sound in the feminine).
13. ne sachant que faire. _Pas_ may be omitted: (1) in certain fixed phrases (_n'importe_, etc.); (2) after _qui_ or _que_ expressing a regret or a desire (_qui de nous n'a ses défauts?_); (3) before the interrogative pronouns _que, quel, quoi_ (_je n'ai que faire de vos dons, ne sachant que faire_, etc.); (4) with _ni_ (_il ne boit ni ne mange_); (5) with _ne... que_, meaning "oldquo;only," or when another negative follows (_point, rien_, etc.); (6) with certain verbs followed by an infinitive (_pouvoir, savoir_, etc.); (7) with _si_ when expressing a reservation in the sense of _à moins que_; (8) in certain subordinate clauses (_je n'y vais jamais qu'il ne m'arrive quelque accident; c'est vrai qu'il ne s'est jamais marié, mais ce n'est pas qu'il ne l'ait voulu_, etc.). This list does not embrace the pleonastic uses of _ne_. Notice further in regard to this phrase (ne sachant que faire) that, although the indirect question usually becomes in French a relative clause (_il ne sait pas ce qu'il fait_), with the infinitive the old Latin construction is preserved (with _avoir, pouvoir_ and _savoir_, when negative). _Ne_ (alone) to express negation is a survival of the usage in Old French where _ne_ (without pas) could be used generally.