44 1 Vous avez tué? ... voyez plutôt: 'killed any? Oh, yes--some--just take a look for yourself.' With pas mal 'not badly' cf. j'ai tué pas mal de bécasses 'I killed quite a number of woodcocks.'
44 7 c'est des tout petits: popular for ce sont, cf. 90 26.
44 11 en resta planté: 'stood rooted (to the spot)', cf. note to 12 31 En = de cela, 'at all this', cf. note to 8 19.
44 15 se faisaient: 'were becoming', cf. note to 5 23.
44 28 Sous ... étoiles: 'in the dim starlight'--leur ombre cf. note to 29 11.
45 8 en 1ui tirant la patte: en tirant la patte au chevreau, cf. lui faisant battre le coeur 53 16.
45 13 que le lion l'entendît: colloquial omission of ne, which is regularly used with verbs of fearing, avoiding, etc, eg j'ai peur qu'il ne vienne 'I fear that he may come.'
45 15 de plus belle: cf. note to 8 18.
45 19 Cela se baissait ... s'arrêtait net: an admirable description
45 21 a n'en pas douter: 'no doubt of it!' cf. note to 2 2.
45 24 En joue! feu!: 'aim! fire!' Mettre (coucher) en joue un fusil = 'to aim a gun' Mettre (coucher) en joue quelque chose = 'to aim at a thing.'
45 29 Il en a! 'he has (caught) it!' 'he's hit!' LIT. 'he has some.'
45 30 en avait ... compte: 'had more than it wanted.'
46 7 venir a bout de: 'come to (the) end of' 'succeed'.
46 8 Il eut beau s'escrimer: on avoir beau cf. note to 11 9. Escrimer = 'to fence,' s'escrimer = 'to exert oneself.'
46 9 ne s'ouvrit pas: cf. note to 5 23.
46 11 De guerre lasse: for de guerre las 'tired of struggling.' Final s was pronounced in Old French, after it was no longer pronounced in most words it still continued to be sounded in las in the expression de guerre las because of the presence of the feminine guerre whence the erroneous spelling lasse.
46 12 dessus: adverb, cf. note to 1 6.
46 19 artichauts: the true or globe artichoke (not to be confounded with the Jerusalem artichoke) resembles a large thistle, and hence is well adapted to give the impression described in 44 26-27.
46 24 bastides, bastidons: Provençal bastido = 'country house,' 'villa', Provençal bastidoun is the diminutive, = 'little villa,' 'cottage.'
47 6 parbleu! euphemistic for pardieu, transl. 'of course!'
47 8 bourriquots: cf. Engl. burro, which is borrowed from the Spanish French bourrique 'she ass' comes from the Provençal bourric 'donkey' (Latin burricus a kind of small horse.)
47 11 tout à la pitié: 'entirely one of pity', cf. 79 30.
47 16 tout ce que ... touchant: 'the most touching thing you could imagine.'
47 18 avait ... vie: 'had two farthings' worth of life left in him', liard, an ancient coin worth a quarter of a sou (i.e. of a cent), is usually translated 'farthing.'
47 23 Noiraud: 'Blacky,' a pet name often given to animals.
47 28 en marmotte: 'with a kerchief tied over her head.' This use of the word marmotte is derived from the fact that Savoyard women who formerly traveled about the country with marmots (cf. note to 74 27) employed this form of head covering.
48 1 réclamant ... Mustapha: 'shouting for her donkey till all the echos of Mustapha rang.' Réclamer à = 'to demand from.'
48 6 tarterfle: corruption of German der Teufel 'the devil.' German was the language generally used by the Alsatian peasants before the war, though their sympathies were French (cf. note to 43 7) See "La Dernière Classe" and some of the other stories in "Contes du lundi."
48 11 Va te promener! lit. 'go take a walk!' transl. 'much good it did him!'--sa vigueur le prouvait bien 'her vigor proved it (that she was deaf) conclusively.' 'To strike like a deaf person,' frapper comme un sourd, is said of one who uses the cudgel energetically and wildly, as if he did not hear the laments of his victim.
48 17 l'on s'entendit: cf. note to 16 29.
48 21 douros: say 'dollars' or 'cash.' A duro is a Spanish coin whose par value is now five francs, before 1871, a trifle more.
48 26 a deux lieues: cf. note to 4 8.
49 1 Ah! ben! merci: 'ah, indeed! no, thank you!' Ben (pronounced like bain) is popular for bien Merci in answer to a question (e.g. "will you have some more meat?") means "no, thank you!" Contrast English 'thank you,' which usually expresses assent--pourquoi faire? cf. note to 38 21.
49 7 banlieue: distinguish banlieue, 'suburbs' in the sense now usual, the district of country surrounding a city and full of dependent villages, from faubourgs, 'suburbs' in the older sense, forming a continuous mass of houses with the main city, and un village (or une ville) de (la) banlieue from un faubourg. Cf. note to 43 2.
49 8 comme on en voit: cf. note to 32 17--rameau: a branch hung out was used formerly and is still used to a certain extent as the sign of a country inn, of the English proverb "good wine needs no bush."
49 11 Au Rendez-vous des lapins: 'The Rabbits' Headquarters.' The original expression à l'enseigne de, 'at the sign of,' became by ellipsis a plus the article, which takes the gender and number of the noun following e.g. à la Belle jardinière, aux Armes de France.
49 12 O Bravida, quel souvenir! cf. 9 7.
49 13 de quoi: cf. note to 10 7.
49 14 ne se laissent pas abattre: cf. note to 7 25.
49 24 il faisait un soleil, une poussière: faire may be used in almost any expression concerning the weather; faire chaud, du soleil, du vent, de la poussière, etc. Here, 'it was so terribly hot, so dusty.'
49 25 d'un lourd: 'frightfully heavy', adjective used as an abstract noun, of such English usages as 'of a decided red.' On the suppression cf. note to 15 21.
50 7 fusils rayés à doubles canons: cf. note to 14 32. To rifle (rayer) a gun is to cut spiral grooves in the barrel.
50 8 complet: French law requires that only a certain number of passengers be carried on omnibuses. When this number is reached the omnibus is said to be complet, 'filled.'
50 14 Abd-el-Kader: the great leader of Algerian resistance to the French conquest. He surrendered in 1847, was carried to France as a prisoner by a breach of faith, was released in 1852 on his oath to make no more trouble, went to Damascus and lived there till his death in 1883, using his influence in favor of the French. (Note that he was alive when "Tartarin" was published.)
50 19 de toute la route: 'during the whole ride,' 'all the way.'
50 21 k'hol: 'kohl,' a powder used in the Orient from ancient times, particularly to darken the eyes, thus making them seem larger and more oblong.
50 32 Que faire? 'what was he to do?'
51 3 aux mains des: 'into the hands of the.'
51 7 s'ouvraient tout grands: 'opened wide', cf. 42 14.
51 10 à l'entrée de: 'at the beginning of.'
51 14 en se levant: 'as she rose.'
51 15 qu'il l'effleura de son haleine: lit. 'that it (le visage) touched him lightly with its breath', transl. 'that he felt her breath sweep lightly over him.'
51 17 prêt à tout: 'ready for anything.'
51 18 buffleteries: 'belts' (of a soldier's outfit), 'strappings.' Buffle, masculine, = 'buffalo' or 'buff leather.'
51 20 de: 'with', jeter de = 'to throw with', cf. 69 10.
51 28 De quelques jours encore: 'for a few days yet.'
52 7 pied de trappeur: transl. 'hunting boot.'
52 8 se parfume: cf. note to 5 23.
52 9 quoi qu'il fasse: 'whatever he does,' i.e. despite all his efforts.
52 10 Maugrabine: 'Maghrebi girl' Maghreb is the Arabic name of the western part of the north coast of Africa.
52 13 il n'y a qu'un Tarasconnais ... capable: lit. 'there is only a Tarasconian capable', transl. 'only a Tarasconian would be capable.'
52 17 se ressemblent: 'look alike', cf. note to 7 2 --ces dames: cf. note to 16 13--ne sortent guère: 'rarely leave their homes', sortir = 'to go out,' 'to leave the house.'
52 18 ville haute: cf. note to 37 27.
52 25 Teurs ... forbans: 'fierce Turks with pirate like heads', cf. note to 1 5.
52 29 cité: 'city.' This term, in English as well as in French, is applied in some cases to the oldest portion of a city, e.g. 'the City' of London, 'the City' of Paris.
53 3 janissaires: 'janizaries,' the standing army of Turkey till 1826; a corps of most turbulent history, full of lawless arrogance toward civilians and Christians. The janizaries of Algiers became independent in 1669, and dominated the pirate commonwealth.
53 5 Huit jours durant: 'for a whole week.' Durant, 'during,' is emphatic when it follows its noun, cf. 61 7.
53 6 faire le pied de grue: 'stand and wait,' lit. to stand like a crane (i.e. on one foot.)
53 7 ces dames: cf. note to 16 13.
53 9 quitter ... bottes: shoes must be taken off (which is easy with Oriental shoes) before one enters a Mohammedan sacred place. Cf. Exodus III, 5.
53 11 s'en revenait: Cf. s'en aller 17 4, s'en retourner 2 8.
53 15 tambours de basque: 'tambourines,' called 'Biscayan drums' because generally seen in the northern (Biscayan, Basque) provinces of Spain.
53 19 poterne: 'postern,' a back door, and then, by extension, any small door.
53 23 Tenons-nous bien: a phrase of warning to be on guard and ready, transl. 'ware Turks!'--Il: cf. note to 4 23.
54 1 Il y avait ... cherchait: 'for two long weeks the luckless Tartarin had been seeking.'
54 4 Voici: 'here is (how it happened).'
54 6 ni plus ni moins que l'Opéra: 'just as the Opera does.' The Opéra is the famous Opera House in Paris, where a great masked ball is given every year.
54 7 de province: 'provincial' All France outside of Paris is disdainfully designated by Parisians as la province. With province do not confuse Provence (cf. note to 13 27)--Peu de monde: 'few people.'
54 8 Bullier ... Casino: Parisian dance-halls--vierges folles: 'frail sisters.' In the French version of the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew xxv, 1-12) the foolish virgins are called vierges folles.
54 9 chicards: 'dandies'--debardeurs: men who unload wood, 'stevedores.' Conventionalized dandy and stevedore costumes were made popular as early as the thirties by the clever cartoonist Gavarni and were seen at all masked balls. The reference here is to frequenters of Parisian masked balls who have found it advisable to leave France (en déroute) and have carried their costumes with them.
54 10 se lancent: 'are launching out,' = 'are getting started,' i.e. in a disreputable life.
54 12 Le vrai coup d'oeil: 'the real spectacle', coup d'oeil = 'glance,' and hence 'view' such as may be taken in all at once.
54 15 tapis verts: the green coverings of the gaming tables--turcos: 'Turcos,' native soldiers of the French army in Algeria.
54 16 prêt: 'pay' of non commissioned officers and soldiers, called prêt (cf. prêter 'to lend') because advanced to them before it is due.
54 18 l'argent d'une charrue: 'the price of a plow.'
54 29 la barbe de Père éternel: le Père éternel is, of course, God. The Middle Ages and the Renaissance did not scruple to represent him in sculpture and painting. Transl. 'with a long white beard.'
55 7 la garde qui monte: 'the guard coming up.' Note that a French relative clause is often to be rendered by a present participle in English e g, je l'entends qui frappe 'I hear him knocking.' Cf. 6 10, 64 18, 68 9.
55 8 ces saturnales: 'this saturnalia' The Roman festival of Saturn was a penod of riotous license--était venu s'égarer: 'had come straying', cf. 93 19.
55 10 s'en allait: for allait, cf. note to 17 4.
55 13 M'sieu: indicates by the spelling the usual pronunciation of Monsieur.
55 15 Après? 'Well, what have you to say?'
55 17 Je ne demande pas mieux: 'I don't ask (anything) better,' 'that's exactly what I should like to know.'
55 25 algarade: a word borrowed from the Spanish, the root being Arabic. It was originally a military expression meaning a raid, but now is used more or less jocularly for a wordy attack. Transl. 'dispute.'
55 26 Me voilà bien avancé: 'I'm much farther along,' 'I'm much the wiser' (sarcastically).
55 28 ça: = cela, 'that,' 'the thing Gregory du Montenegro,' contemptuous when used of persons, cf. 69 32.
55 30 préince: Tartarin's Southern pronunciation of prince.
56 1 Allons! 'well!' cf. note to 36 18--Partagez-vous... question: the officer in disgust bids the prince and Tartarin to divide between them the twenty francs that are missing and let the matter drop.
56 2 qu'il n'en soit plus question: 'let's have no more talk about it', cf. note to 4 23.
56 6 j'en fais mon affaire: 'I'll attend to this.'
56 12 Barbarin: when this work first appeared in serial form Tartarin was called "Barbarin." The name was changed when Daudet discovered that a family named Barbarin was living at Tarascon. See Introduction. The word tartarin means the sacred or Arabian baboon.
56 13 souffla: 'prompted.' Souffler, 'to blow,' 'to breathe,' in theatrical parlance means 'to prompt.' Le souffleur is 'the prompter.'
56 14 Entre ... mort: 'between us now it's a compact for life and death!'
56 17 Vous pensez: cf. note to 4 6.
56 21 terrasses: cf. note to 64 2.
56 22 salade russe: 'Russian salad,' a heavy fish and vegetable salad.
56 25 frisé au petit fer: 'with finely curled hair.' Friser au fer = 'to curl with an iron.'
56 26 rasé à la pierre ponce: 'very closely shaven.' Pumice stone has from ancient times been used by the effeminate for smoothing the skin.
56 27 lui donnait un faux air de: 'made him look like', lit. 'gave him a false air of.'
56 28 Mazarin: Giulio Mazarini (1602-1661), an Italian who became cardinal, and prime minister under Louis XIII and Louis XIV, talked French with an Italian accent. He wore the mustache and slight beard usual at that period.
56 29 les langues latines: pompously for la langue latine--à tout propos: 'apropos of everything,' 'at every opportunity'--Tacite: 'Tacitus' (54-140 A.D.), the famous latin historian.
56 30 Horace (64-8 B.C.) the Latin lyric poet--Commentaires: the histories of the wars of Julius Caesar written by himself, with supplements by his officers, bear the Latin title Commentarii, i.e. 'Notebooks.'
56 31 héréditaire: transl. 'noble.'
56 32 depuis: adverb, 'since then', cf. note to 1 6.
56 33 en Altesse philosophe: 'in the role of philosophizing noble'; cf. note to 5 20.
57 7 bon: 'good natured,' 'kindly,' not 'good.'
57 11 On but sec: 'they drank hard.' Boire sec means to drink pure wine, without the usual admixture of water.
57 12 au Monténégro libre: Montenegrin independence was frequently menaced by Turkey during the nineteenth century. In 1862, as a result of a short but disastrous war, Montenegro had been forced to sign a humiliating treaty of peace in which she virtually acknowledged the suzerainty of Turkey. Daudet was in Africa in 1861-1862, gathering materials out of which "Tartarin" grew. It is possible that he met there the prototype of Gregory brooding over the disgrace of his country, or, at least, pretending to do so. However, the character of the prince and the information given in 56 31 ff lead us to suppose that in Gregory's mind "a free Montenegro" means a Montenegro free from the existing constitutional authorities, rather than free from Turkish domination.
57 14 qu'on secoue: 'being shaken,' cf. note to 55 7.
57 18 Parlez-moi des: 'just trust'--lever ... la caille. 'start the game.' The usual expression is lever le lièvre 'to start the hare,' 'to uncover something hidden.' A loose woman is sometimes called caille ('quail'), caille coiffée, hence the substitution of caille for lièvre.
57 20 aux Platanes: = au restaurant des Platanes, cf. 56 20.
58 4 Bon! 'that's nothing!'--vous n'êtes pas homme: 'you are not the sort of man.'
58 5 on ... à bout de: 'we'll perhaps be able to dispose of', cf. note to 46 7.
58 6 lui achetant: cf. note to 5 27--Allons: 'come now!' cf. notes to 36 18, 56 1.
58 12 Écrire ... simplement: 'just write to the lady.'
58 18 à mesure: 'as you go along', cf. note to 33 25.
58 19 que de bontés: lit. 'how many kindnesses!' transl. 'how good you are!' Cf. note to 10 24.
58 23 Fort heureusement que: cf. note to 41 2.
58 26 Lamartine (Alphonse, 1790 1869) famous French poet, prose writer, and statesman. His "Voyage en Orient" is the record of his travels in 1832-1833.
58 27 Cantique des Cantiques: the 'Song of Songs,' or 'Song of Solomon,' full of the Oriental phraseology of passion.
58 28 qu'il se pût voir: (= pût se voir) 'that could be seen,' 'that ever was seen', cf. notes to 4 23 (il impersonal), 5 23 (se voir, reflexive with passive force).
59 7 Allons: plain imperative, not the exclamation cf. 58 6.
59 15 l'espérer: for this le cf. note to 25 18.
59 16 du reste: 'besides.'
59 29 casse-tête à pointes: 'war club with spikes', cf. note to 2 20.
59 32 le haut de la ville: = la ville haute (37 27).
60 5 cour intérieure: Oriental houses are built in the form of a hollow square, the house surrounding the courtyard on all sides.
60 9 ne fit que traverser: 'did no more than pass through,' 'merely passed through.'
60 13 sous les ramages ... fleurs: 'under the figures of her flowered dress'--laissant deviner: cf. note to 7 23.
60 14 friande à point: 'dainty to the point of perfection.'
60 15 ronde de partout: 'round all over'--narghile: 'nargile,' a Turkish pipe in which the smoke is drawn through water, a hookah.
60 16 toute: 'entirely.'
60 chapter heading Sidi: among the Mohammedans a title of respect, when addressed to a foreigner, about equivalent to Mr--ben: Arabic, 'son of' 'Tartarin son of Tartarin.'
60 24 à la veillée: 'at the gossiping hour' Veillée = a sitting up at night for work or pleasure, especially to tell stories.
60 28 voici ... déjà: 'already several years ago,' 'several years have already passed since then.'
60 29 dame du cru: 'native girl', cf. note to 26 6.
61 2 n'est autre que: 'is no other than.'
61 4 Qu'est-ce que vous voulez: 'what can you expect?' lit. 'what do you wish?' Cf. 75 18.
61 7 durant: cf. note to 53 5.
61 9 Annibal à Capoue: 'Hannibal at Capua.' After the battle of Cannae (216 B.C.) in which the Roman army was overwhelmed, Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, instead of following up his success, retired for the winter into Capua, where his army was demoralized by the enervating influences of the luxury loving city. Livy makes this to have been the cause of Hannibal's failure--a view now generally discredited.
61 15 confitures au musc: 'preserves perfumed with musk.'
61 19 se faisait des mines: 'made grimaces to herself.'
61 23 avait tout le temps de: 'had plenty of time to.'
62 2 la ville européenne: the part of the city inhabited by Europeans, as distinguished from la ville haute 37 27, the Moorish quarter.
62 9 on ne peut plus satisfait: 'perfectly satisfied', lit. 'one cannot (be) more satisfied.'
62 12 il suffisait d'un regard: 'a glance was enough', cf. il suffit d'un képi (77 15) 'a military cap is enough.'
62 14 Circe. 'Circe,' the enchantress, who by means of a potion transformed the companions of Ulysses into swine (Odyssey x).
62 21 se trouvaient être: 'proved to be', cf. note to 13 22.
62 24 tous: pronoun, for pronunciation cf. note to 20 13.
62 26 lui gagnaient son argent: 'won his money from him.'
62 29 le Prophète: Mohammed It is common in European literature to represent Mohammedans as paying to Mohammed the same sort of worship as Catholics pay to the highest saints. Cf. note to 83 8.
62 31 leur ... et: 'their white housetop which', lit. 'their terrace ... which acted as roof to the house and' Terrasse is any artificial level place for spending time outdoors, whether a terrace or a flat roof such as characterizes Oriental architecture, cf. the less familiar meanings of terrace in English.
63 1 en s'échelonnant: 'in tiers', cf. 4 13.
63 4 s'égrenait ... ciel: 'was diffused gently note by note through the sky.' Égrener = 'to strip' grain from the head, grapes from the bunch--minaret: the tower of a mosque. See next note.
63 5 muezzin: an officer of a Mohammedan mosque who calls the faithful to prayer by crying from the top of the minaret. Since the minaret is high and from the top the muezzin has a view of the roofs of the houses where the Mohammedan women spend a great deal of the time, blind men are sought for this office--découpant ... dans: 'his white shadow standing out against.'
63 6 chantant la gloire d'Allah: cf. note to 92 1.
63 12 une sainte Thérèse d'Orient: 'an oriental St Theresa' St-Theresa (1515-1582) was one of Spain's greatest mystic poets.
63 chapter heading On ... Tarascon. 'our Tarascon correspondent writes us.'
63 17 Par: cf. note to 10 22.
63 18 tout seulet: 'in solitary ease' Seulet, fem seulette, diminutive of seul (cf. note to 33 27) The masculine is rarely used.
63 19 en spartene: 'of esparto cloth,' woven from esparto, a Spanish grass much used in the manufacture of mats, baskets, hats, ropes, etc.
63 20 cédrats: 'cedrats,' an especially fragrant citron (not melon).
63 21 balin-balan: Provençal, 'swaying.'
63 22 s'en allait: cf. note to 17 4.
63 27 Hé! monstre de sort: cf. note to 1 12--on dirait monsieur Tartarin: transl. 'if that doesn't look like Mr Tartarin!'
64 2 sur la porte de. = sur la terrasse de transl. 'in front of.' Tables are spread on the sidewalk in front of French restaurants and cafes in fine weather.
64 4 He! adieu: cf. note to 13 7.
64 6 le voilà parti à rire: 'he burst out laughing.'
64 9 Qué: Provençal for quel.
64 11 Marco: a Provençal feminine noun, hence o instead of a Marca.
64 15 D'où sortez-vous donc: 'where under the sun do you come from?' (that you are so credulous)./p>
64 18 qui s'allongeait: cf. note to 55 7.
64 21 voyez-vous: 'see here.'
64 24 sa moue: cf. 3 11-14, 39 10.
64 27 faire dire: cf. note to 7 25--au pays: 'at home' Pays = native) 'country,' 'province,' or 'district.' La France (la Provence, Tarascon) est mon pays. Cf. note to 1 16.
64 28 collègue: = Provençal coulego 'colleague,' 'comrade.'
64 30 quelques pipes: 'a few pipefuls'--vous fera du bien: 'will do you good', contrast ferez bien without du, line 22.
65 4 jurons du cru: 'oaths of his native land', cf. note to 26 6.
65 5 là-has: 'over there' in Provence.
65 11 lui sauta aux yeux: cf. note to 12 25.
65 14 n'a ... depuis: 'has not been heard from for', lit. 'has not given of his news since.'
65 15 Qu'est devenu: 'what has become of?' lit. 'what has become?' Cf. note to 93 7.
65 23 Tombouctou: 'Timbuktu,' the most famous city of central Africa, a French possession since 1893, in Tartarin's time only three Europeans had ever reached it, and one of these was killed two days after he left the city.
65 24 garde: subjunctive.
66 6 Le temps d'inspecter ... et l'intrépide: transl. 'only a moment to inspect ... and the bold.'
66 7 écrire deux mots: = écrire un mot 'to write a line.'
66 10 la route de Blidah: 'the Blidah road.' Blidah is a city about twenty five miles southwest of Algiers. On de cf. note to 1 5.
66 12 babouches: Turkish slippers, made of colored leather, without heels--défroque: 'cast offs', properly, the possessions which a monk leaves behind at his death, then, by extension, what is abandoned disdainfully.
66 13 trèfles: 'trefoils,' an ornamental foliation consisting of three divisions, or foils (architectural term).
67 2 gros bleu: = bleu foncé, 'dark blue.'
67 4 moxas: 'blisters.' The word moxa (originally Japanese) in English or French means a wad of cottony substance laid on any part of the body and set on fire for the purpose of counter irritation, its use is now out of date. In French the word may also mean the burn thus produced on the skin.
67 5 rotonde: properly, 'rotunda,' a round building surmounted by a cupola; then, also, the 'back compartment' of a stage coach.
67 7 dut se contenter de: 'had to content himself with'; cf. 80 14, 88 14. See note to 2 10.
67 10 Il y avait de tout un peu: = il y avait un peu de tout. Il y avait de tout has about the same meaning--trappiste: 'Trappist' (monk). The abbey of La Trappe, from which this austere order takes its name, was founded in 1140 in the department of the Orne (northwestern France).
67 12 Orléansville: a city on the Sheliff, a hundred and thirty miles southwest of Algiers.--si charmante ... que fût la compagnie: 'however charming the company was.' Cf. note to 4 6.
67 13 n'était pas en train de: 'was not in the mood for.' Cf. je ne suis pas en train de travailler 'I don't feel like working,' je suis en train de travailler (cf. 18 4) 'I am (busy) working.'
67 15 brassière: the 'arm-strap' of the carriage; more commonly, the strap by which a knapsack or similar article is held.
68 8 les flancs ... qui se plaignaient: cf. note to 55 1.
68 10 vieille fée: read "Les Fées de France" in "Contes du lundi."
68 18 Joncquières (usually spelled Jonquières), Bellegarde: small towns across the river from Tarascon, on the road to Nîmes.
68 19 remis: more colloquial than reconnu.
68 20 du corps que vous avez pris: 'of the flesh you have taken on.'
68 21 coquin de bon sort: cf. note to 1 12.
68 24 Mais enfin: 'But, tell me.'
68 27 gré: a noun, 'liking,' used almost exclusively in prepositional phrases (de bon gré 'willingly,' à son gré 'to his liking,' and the like; cf. malgré) and in savoir gré à quelqu'un 'to be grateful to a person': je lui sais gré de m'avoir aidé. Latin gratum 'that which is pleasing.'
68 31 réactionnaires: 'reactionary.' This word means little to an American, but France has constantly been talking, more or less seriously, of reactions to previously existing states of affairs, as from republic to monarchy.
68 32 à mener: cf. à lire 10 22--une vie de galère: 'the life of (such as one leads on) a galley,' 'a galley-slave's life', cf. note to 1 5.
68 33 chemins de fer algériens: there were no railroads in Algeria when Daudet visited it in 1861, but between this year and 1872, when "Tartarin" appeared, several hundred miles of tracks had been constructed.
69 2 que je le regrette: 'how I long for it.' Regretter = 'to regret,' 'to regret the loss or the absence of' a thing, hence 'to long for' a thing. For the anticipatory le cf. note to 32 5.
69 4 il fallait me voir: cf. note to 24 3.
69 5 vernissées a neuf: 'varnished so that they shone like new.'
69 8 sur l'air de: 'to the tune of.'--Lagadigadeou (pronounce dèou): the refrain of Desanat's version of Tarascon's most popular song may be translated as follows: Lagadigadeou, la Tarasque--La Tarasque du Château--Un air de lagadeou--Qui résonne (resounds) à tout rompre (cf. note to 2 2) avec son tapage. Notre-Dame du Château is a place of pilgrimage near Tarascon. Lagadigadeou is meanmgless. For the Tarasque cf. note to 3 25. For this song as a Provençal carter's song, see F.Gras, "The Terror," ch xxxiii.
69 9 que: cf. note to 5 1.
69 10 jetant d'un tour de bras: 'throwing with a swing'; of à tour de bras 'with all one's might'; cf. note to 51 20.
69 12 allume: exclamation serving to encourage horses: 'quick, now!'
69 15 détaler: the opposite of étaler (cf. note to 37 22), = 'to bring in goods exposed for sale,' 'to shut up shop,' and figuratively, in familiar discourse, 'to dash away,' 'scurry along'; cf. 94 13.--grande route royale: 'king's highway.'
69 17 bornes kilométriques: 'milestones' or rather 'kilometer-stones.' --ses petits tas ... espacés: 'its little heaps of stones at regular intervals'; broken stone for repairing the road.
69 21 maires: 'mayors,' presiding officers of communes (cf. note to 17 14).
69 22 préfet ... evêque: Nîmes is the chief city of the department (cf. note to 17 14) of the Gard, and therefore the seat of the prefect. It is also the seat of a bishop.
69 23 mazet: Provençal diminutive of mas; = 'little country house.'--collégiens: 'schoolboys.' The French collège (also the lycée) carries students from the beginning of their studies through a course which corresponds roughly to that completed in the second year of the American college.
69 24 tout frais rasés du matin: 'all (adverb, = quite) freshly shaved that morning.'
69 25 vous ... casquettes: transl. 'all of you gentlemen, the caphunters.'
69 27 la vôtre: i.e. votre romance, cf. pages 6-7.
69 30 Bédouins: nomadic Arabs in northern Africa and Arabia.
69 32 tout cela: cf. note to 55 28.
69 33 auquel ... rien: cf. je ne comprends rien à tout cela 'I don't understand any of that.'