Après ce temps, une femme vint à la porte timidement, et fit signe que le chirurgien était là; je sortis sur la pointe du pied pour lui parler, et, comme j'entrais avec lui dans le petit jardin, m'étant arrêté auprès d'un puits pour l'interroger, nous entendîmes un grand cri. Nous courûmes et nous vîmes 5 un drap sur la tête de cet honnête homme, qui n'était plus.

Écrit à Paris,

20 août 1835.

NOTES.

PAGE 1.

1. 8. du 27 juillet 1830. During the reign of Charles X. In consequence of some unpopular decrees-amongst others the suspension of the freedom of the press and the dissolution of the Parliament—a Revolution took place in Paris, July 27-29. On the 30th, Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, to whom the throne had been offered, began his reign, and a few days afterwards Charles X. crossed over to England. This Revolution was called Les Trois Jours.

See

Note (1) le vingt-sept juillet—a small j, and not de juillet. (2) 1830 = mil huit cent trente or dix-huit cent trente. Why not cents? the rule, and cf. p. 14, 1. 11.

1. 10. tableaux que la destinée m'a jetés. jetés is acc. masc. pl. agreeing with que, which is masc. pl. to agree with its antecedent tableaux. Note carefully these general rules for the PAST PARTI

CIPLE.

A. The past participle must agree in gender, number, and case with the SUBJECT when conjugated with être, except in reflexive verbs, as:

La ville sera prise.

The town will be taken.

Ils sont arrivés.
They have arrived.

B. The past participle must agree in gender, number, and case with the OBJECT when conjugated with avoir [or in reflexive verbs with être, which is then used for avoir] IF THE OBJECT IS BOTH DIRECT (that is in the accusative) AND COMES BEFORE THE VERB, as:

Les lettres que j'ai écrites.

The letters which I have written.

Que de peine vous vous êtes donnée!

How much trouble you have given yourselves!

C. Under all other circumstances the past participle remains unin

flected, as:

Elle a écrit ces lettres.

She has written these letters.

Ils se sont donné trop de peine (the direct object being trop de peine, se the indirect).

They have taken too much trouble.

Elle s'est plu (not plue, because plaire governs a dative).

She has pleased herself.

The above instance is therefore an example of Rule B.

1. 12. ouragan, 'hurricane'. Both words come from the Spanish 'huracan', which was originally a sea-term and was brought from the West Indies.

n'a pas plus...que n'en avait. The usual rule is that ne must be inserted after an affirmative comparative, as:

Il est plus sage que je NE l'ai cru.

But not if the comparative is negative, as:

Il n'est pas plus sage que je l'ai cru.

Here however the phrase may be regarded as in reality affirmative and so ne is inserted. It is=Le calme de Paris avait autant de majesté qu'en avait celui de la mer. So too vous n'écrivez pas mieux que vous NE parlez, because it=vous écrivez aussi mal que vous parlez. Compare P. 37, 1. 2.

This is an idiomatic use of en, where it is not to be translated. Cf. p. 6, 1. 12.

1. 13.

1. 17.

boulevards. Cf. note on p. 5, 1. 7.

éteintes. See note on 1. 10.

1. 20. glissait,' whispered'.

Example of Rule A.

à voix basse, 'in a low tone'. So à haute voix, 'aloud'.

1. 22. des petites portes. Not de petites portes. The rule is, when the adjective precedes the noun, de is used for du, de la, or des; but here petite porte is regarded as being one word. So il a DU bon sens ; DES bons mots; DES jeunes gens, etc.

PAGE 2.

1. 4. de distance en distance. So de temps en temps; de ville en ville, &c.

1. 5. l'on. The l' is for le, the definite article. "It is generally used,

in preference to on, (1) after words ending in any other vowel than e mute; (2) after the words et, si, où, qui, quoi” (Eve and Baudiss).

1. 11. injure, 'insult'.

1. 14. j'approchais de l'un. Notice the gen. with words of nearness, approaching, &c., because though the English idiom is to say A is near TO B (placing ourselves at A), the French idiom is A est près DE B, placing themselves at B.

1. 16. me demanda: me is the dative. The French say, demander une chose à quelqu'un. Je le lui demandais, 'I asked him (for) it'.

1. 17. éclairer. Notice the infinitive used with verbs of seeing and hearing as a verbal substantive, where in English we use the present participle.

1. 20. que faisaient. Notice the order. Que though it precedes the verb must be the object. The subject is des marchands.

1. 32. ils doivent placer, 'they are (intended) to...', not 'they ought to...', which would be ils devraient.

PAGE 3.

1. 5. lui tenait au cœur,' was dear to his heart'.

1. 7. grenadiers. Originally the picked men of a regiment; they carried hand-grenades; hence their name.

1. 16. la Canne-de-Fonc. A similar habit is related of General Gordon in China.

1. 20. se prendre corps à corps, 'fight hand to hand'.

1. 24. se l'expliquer. Se is of course the dat. 'to oneself'.

1. 29.

ne faisait que porter, 'only carried', lit. 'did nothing but carry'. So je ne fis que le lui dire, 'I only told him so'. But je ne fis que DE le lui dire, 'I had just told him so'. Comp. venir de, note on p. 6, k 14.

1. 31. à la fois, 'at one and the same time', 'at once'.

1. 32. je n'estime pas, 'I do not think it of consequence that...' beaucoup. This use of beaucoup as a substantive is comparatively Cf. however p. 46, 1. 30.

rare.

PAGE 4.

1. 10. les travaillaient sourdement, harassed them secretly'.

1. 13. voyait...cherchant. Cf. note on p. 2, 1. 17. The participle is used here because the thought is rather of seeing the person than of noticing the action.