Le Petit Chose Part 30

13. a bien parle, bien pleure, bien degonfle son pauvre cur malade, 'has sobbed and told all and unburdened his poor aching heart.'

19. un grand bonheur, 'a great stroke of luck.'

20. sans attendre tes huit jours, 'without waiting till your week's notice is up.'

Page 93.

4. au fond d'un bon lit, 'ensconced in a comfortable bed.'

30. J'ai fait ton compte, 'I have portioned it out for you.'

Page 94.

2. de cote: see note. p. 11 l. 3.

3. faire un remplacant, 'to provide a subst.i.tute.' Formerly recruits were taken by lot from the conscription-list, and anyone who drew a losing number could pay another, who was called a _remplacant_, to take his place. Under the present law, however, every able-bodied Frenchman must serve as a soldier.

ne tire au sort que dans six ans, 'has not to draw lots for six years.'

4. d'ici la, 'before that time.'

8. l'air de cette Bastille ne te vaut rien, 'the air of this prison is not good for you.' The Bastille, the famous State prison in Paris, was stormed on July 14, 1789, by the Revolutionists and razed to the ground.

Page 95.

9. ma place a retenir, 'my seat to book.'

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23. a grandes enjambees: cf. _a grands pas_. What does the suffix _-ee_ denote?

Page 96.

13. de ce pas, 'immediately,' 'at once.'

19. a pleines mains: cf. note, p. 49 l. 22.

22. un coup de theatre: an event which is quite unforeseen by the audience and alters the whole course of a play.

See note, p. 2 l. 17.

Page 97.

2. j'etais ferre a glace sur . ., 'I was quite an expert in . .': _ferre a glace_, lit. 'rough-shod.' Cf.- _il est ferre sur la geographie_, 'he is well up in geography.

11. bureau des messageries, 'coach-office.'

16. etaient au complet, 'were all present.'

23. sur l'oreille, 'on one side.'

Page 98.

1. net: see note, p. 17 l. 16.

6. flambant, 'overbearing.'

11. va! 'I tell you!' 'Va!' like '_allez!_' is often used emphatically, with the meaning of 'I can tell you!' 'indeed!' 'take my word for it!' 'depend on it!'

Page 99.

4. delices: this word is masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural. Cf. _amour_ and _orgue_.

12. d'une haleine: lit. 'in one breath,' i.e. 'without stopping to take breath.' Cf.-

_j'ai couru a perte d'haleine_, 'I ran until I was out of breath.'

Page 100.

15. fais feu de tes quatre roues, 'rattle along.'

18. et qu'ensuite il mette le cap sur Paris, 'and then steer for Paris.'

A naval expression.

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22. que: emphatic. See note, p. 4 l. 31.

24. a un grand gendarme de femme, 'to a big masterful woman.'

Page 101.

25. convaincu, 'confident.'

Page 102.

3. ne devait pas etre, 'was not likely to be,' 'could not be.'

7. avait l'air genee, 'seemed very uneasy.' With the expression _avoir l'air_ the adjective may agree indifferently with the subject or with _air_ when it refers to either; but if it cannot refer to one of them it must agree with the other, e.g. _cette pomme a l'air mure_, not _mur_, because the air cannot be ripe.

14. joli, le diner! 'a fine dinner it was, too!'

Page 103.

3. vieilles gens: attributive adjectives are generally _feminine_ when preceding and _masculine_ when following _gens_.

7. lui coupe l'appet.i.t, 'has taken away her appet.i.te.'

13. de quoi payer: cf. note, p. 81 l. 12.