emporté, carried the day.

provoquer, i.e., to a duel such as became almost epidemic in France in the years that followed Waterloo (1815).

J'aime autant, I'd just as lief. Contrast this timidity with the assumed boldness of the close.

en voulais, were angry with. Cp. p.22; p.26; p.57.

flacon, vinaigrette, bottle of smelling-salts.

évanouie. This fainting combined with feminine tact the advantages of consciousness and unconsciousness.

inquiétude, because she sees already a prospective rival in her love.

avec abandon, yielding to her emotion.

quinze jours, fortnight. Cp. huit jours, "week."

m'en voulez, are displeased with me, "lay it up against me." Cp. p.20, note 64.

toi. Except when used of deity tu, te and toi imply endearment or condescension, as, e.g., to servants, children, animals, etc. The change from toi to vous would therefore imply a coolness between the aunt and niece.

Va-t'en, Leave me, Let me be alone.

A la bonne heure, Well, expressing surprise and relief that the countess has dismissed her with a kiss.

servons-nous-en, I'll put it to the proof. Since the French have no first person singular imperative, they are forced to use either the plural, as here, or the subjunctive.

mon dieu, heavens! He is frightened at his own courage. When dieu contains no thought of deity, I consider it more reverent to use d. French usage varies. Cp. p.5, note 17.

avec joie at the thought that she is still beautiful enough to be loved by a young man, and so possibly by Henri. De Grignon naturally misinterprets it.

dussiez-vous, even though you should. The imperfect subjunctive, being avoided (See p.3, note 12), has, when used, a peculiar emphasis.

Bal champêtre, Rural dancing party, or festival, at which the masters may mingle with their servants and retainers.

nous jugera, i.e., judge between us.

Et moi donc, equivalent to, And think how I must feel.

maréchal des logis de dragons, sergeant of dragoons.

préfet, prefect, governor of a department, appointed by the central authority. There are now in France 87 departments, divided into 362 arrondissements and some 36,000 communes.

parfaite, very courteous or kind.

bien en cour, a favorite at court.

fermes, homesteads, tenantries.

demi-lieue. As now used the lieue is colloquially 4 kilometres, or 2-1/2 miles. The old lieue was of 4,444 metres, or not quite 3 miles, and there is also a lieue marine of 5,555 metres, or 3 nautical miles. Say: hardly a mile and a half.

Si, Of course, or Certainly, here.

quel bonheur, how fortunate, i.e., for me.

brigadier, sergeant.—exprès, messenger.

tiens à, desire to.

n'assistiez seulement pas, were not even present.

duo, duet. Italian.

brava, good. Feminine of the Italian bravo. This grammatical accuracy shows good breeding.

cadette, younger. Properly of sisters, but see dictionary.

original, curious, queer, "peculiar." Distinguish from originel, "original."

cantabile (sound the e-final), piece of vocal music. Italian.

incultes, uncultivated in musical matters.

gauche, embarrassed, rather than "awkward."

tenait de, had a sort of.

arbre fortuné, i.e., the orange-tree.

ses yeux ... à lui, his eyes—you know whom I mean.

effacées, drawn back and down so as to set off the corsage.

Que trop, Only too charming.

dépare. Note the play on parer, and compare the English saying: Beauty when unadorned is most adorned.

rester court, stop short from embarrassment.

J'y suis, I have it, i.e., know what I will do.

traversent, cross over. A figure in the quadrille.

à en être, have a part in it.

Toujours du roman, You are always a little romantic in your ideas.

m'en défendre, help it.

Qu' ... belle, How beautiful. Though this use of que is very common, it often puzzles beginners.

vienne la sentence, let the sentence come. Optative.

madrigaux, pretty speeches; properly "madrigals," or love-songs, in the artificial pastoral manner. Originally a form of musical composition.

désintéressement, unselfish devotion. This speech is a good example of what the French call blague,—a sort of light-hearted mockery of moral ideals. See my note to "Le Gendre de monsieur Poirier," p. 5, note 7.

original, queer, "a strange coincidence." Not "original" (originel), Cp. p. 34, note 95.

Que de, How many.—à, i.e., I ought to.—me valoir, gain for me.

de plus longue date, for longer, since a longer time.

à titre d', because you were an, here.

The countess says that she will place him under such obligations as to make any adequate return difficult, but she means to convey to the audience the malicious implication that she will make it hard (difficile) for him to feel any gratitude to her at all.

Sa Majesté, i.e., Louis XVIII. Note the gender.

c'en est fait, it's all over with that.

Horace, Horatius, the hero of Corneille's tragedy Horace, one of three brothers who fought for Rome against the Alban brothers Curiatii, who were their relatives by marriage. In speaking to his brother-in-law of the approaching fight Horace uses the words (Act II., Scene 3):

a verse which is here parodied. For the story of the Horatii, see any classical dictionary.

un peu long because its former half has, when pronounced according to the rules of French prosody, seven syllables, while an alexandrine hemistich should have but six, as this will have if bonapartiste is spoken without the final e.

Corneille (1606-1684) was the first of the great French classical dramatists, and in the opinion of many the greatest French tragic poet.

Ah! çà, By the way. Cp. p. 16, note 56.

inqualifiable, unspeakable.—sanglante, outrageous. Both adjectives are too strong to accord with the rest of the scene.

Attend to your duties and go.

The year indicated is 1799, when the Vendéeans had been excited by English emissaries to a revolt from their temporary submission to General Hoche in 1795. But this does not agree with the statement of p. 47.

procureur, prosecuting officer, who combined the functions of the modern procureur and the juge d'instruction,—functions that have nothing corresponding to them in English justice or in American procedure.

à ma barbe, "under my nose," "before my very eyes."

Moreau (1763-1813), "the greatest general of the French republic after Napoleon and Hoche," after winning the great victory of Hohenlinden, December, 1800, intrigued against Napoleon, and was forced to leave France in 1804. He continued his scheming while in exile, and in 1813, while serving in the Russian army, he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Dresden. But before leaving France he, or more probably his ambitious wife, had gathered all the elements of discontent with the self-seeking of Napoleon into a cabal called the club Moreau, of which these fugitive compagnons may be supposed to be members, for the club was relentlessly suppressed by Napoleon.

98 (quatre-vingt-dix-huit). 1804 (mil huit cent quatre). These are not the dates indicated, p. 46, or p. 47. 1804 is not douze ans après (p. 47) either 1798 or 1799. Then, too, '98 was a comparatively quiet year in Vendée. On the other hand the countess would have been, as she says (p. 46), then fourteen if she was thirty-three (p. 7) in 1817.

mansarde, attic or garret. Properly a sort of gambrel-roof introduced into France by the architect Mansard (d. 1666).

défiance, mistrust.

Prenez des forces, recruit your strength.

Où veut-il en venir, What is he "driving at?"

surcroît de gages, in addition to your wages.

Le voici, He's caught, i.e., he has yielded to the temptation of Montrichard's bribe.

de l'argent gagné. There is a double entente here. Montrichard understands "money as good as earned," because Henri feels sure of success. Henri means that the audience shall understand him to say "money already earned," because he has already shown the outlaw to Montrichard.

Et d'un, There's one.

personnage muet, man who doesn't count. Technically one who appears on the stage but does not speak.

cour prévôtale, provost court, or "court martial," "a criminal tribunal temporarily established, and judging without appeal" (Littré).

bord, party, side, or way of thinking. See also dictionary.

notre classe. This is a delightful touch. Montrichard, having been republican and bonapartist, now chooses to regard himself as one of the original aristocracy.

signalement, description issued by the police for the identification of fugitives from justice.

avait le temps. This bears out the regret of Léonie, p. 2.

romanesque, romantic. Note that while at the date of this play, 1851, romanticism was no longer the fashion for men in Paris, it was still thought attractive in young girls, especially among the landed aristocracy. See my edition of "Le Gendre de monsieur Poirier," p. 46, note 3.

pour acquit de conscience, to ease my conscience.

placards, cupboards with a suggestion of hiding-chambers, such as were built in the thick walls and enormous chimneys (cheminées) of many ancient houses both on the Continent and in England.

garçons de ferme, farm-hands.—hommes de peine, laborers, here perhaps the stable-boys and grooms.

That is, friends whose lives depend on his life.

The humor is the same here as p. 50.

une malheureuse ... courage, a poor, faithless coward.

brigadier, sergeant, commanding from four to six gendarmes or mounted police. See p.31, note 89.

trop, quite, here.