Part 6

18 7. =que je vous donne telle quelle=: _which I'll tell you just as it is_.

18 10. =moblot=: _soldier of the mobile_. The _mobile_ is the reserve force of the French army, called under arms in case of war, and then only to replace on garrison duty the regular soldiers who have gone to the front. The _moblots_ go to battle only as a last extremity, when regular troops no longer exist.

18 16. =vieux jeu=: _of the old school_.

19 7. =cela me serrait le coeur=: _the thought of that made my heart ache_.

19 11. =pension=: _boarding school_; the word also signifies _a boarding house_.

19 20. =jouaient aux billes=: _were playing (at) marbles_.

19 24. =un échappé des contes d'Hoffmann=: _as if he had escaped from one of Hoffmann's stories_. Hoffmann, a German writer of fantastic stories, was born Jan. 24, 1776; died June 25, 1822.

19 27. =gaillard ayant fait campagne=: _robust, independent-looking fellow, who had been through the war_.

20 19-20. =me les sciait à mi-cuisse=: _sawed into the middle of my thighs_.

21 6. =je l'ai pas mal oublié=: _I have forgotten most of it_.

LA CHARGE DES MORTS.

22 4. =tourné=: _flanked_.

26 1. =s'ébranla=: _got under way_.

26 15. =emballés=: _running away, on a mad gallop_.

26 29. =débâcle=: _rout, confusion_.

27 8. =tintant le glas=: _sounding the death knell_.

LE PETIT HOMME ROUGE.

29 8. =torrent=: _flood, swarm_; both the living and the dead are here meant.

29 17. =Tuileries=: in ancient times the site of brick yards or a tile manufactory; later the very center of Paris and occupied by the magnificent palace, home of the French monarchy, which was burned during the Commune directly after the war of 1870-71. The ground is now laid out as a park.

30 13. =Suisse=: the Swiss yeomen were, on account of their sturdy character and reliability, entrusted with royal guard duty from early monarchical times; hence the word _Suisse_ has come to mean _royal guards_.

30 14. =maréchaux=: the royal title of _maréchal_, now extinct in the French army, was the highest office in the gift of the king.

30 19. =en culs de bouteilles=: _rounded like bottle ends_.

32 6. =escaliers en vis=: _winding stairway_.

32 7-8. =et qui s'arrêtaient devant des baies d'anciennes portes murées=: _and which stopped before the walled-up opening of old doors_.

32 24-25. =des chausses à trousses=: _balloon breeches_.

32 25. =casaque tailladée=: _slashed loose coat_.

32 25-26. =coiffé d'un chaperon à oreillère et à queue pendante=: _his head covered with a hood and earlaps, with a tassel hanging from it_.

33 19. =je suis étrangère=: Marie Antoinette, consort of Louis XVI, was of Austrian blood.

LA BATAILLE DE FROESCHWILLER.

35 2. =qui vient de fournir une longue traite=: _who has just ridden a long distance_.

35 14. =il piqua des deux=: i.e. _des deux éperons_; _he dug both spurs into his horse_.

35 14. =à fond de train=: _at the top of his speed_.

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.