3

date;1 and the severe justice of the republic 2 would punish your crime and revenge my death." The legion still persisting in clamorous sedition, the emperor pronounced with a loud voice the decisive sentence, "Citizens ! lay down your arms, and depart in peace to your respective habitations." The tempest was instantly appeased; the soldiers, filled with grief and shame, silently confessed the justice of their punishment, and the power of discipline; yielded up their arms and military ensigns, and retired in confusion, not to their camp, but to the several5 inns of the city. Alexander enjoyed during thirty days the edifying spectacle of their repentance; nor did he restore them to their former rank in the army till he had punished those tribunes whose connivance had occasioned the mutiny.-GIBBON. (History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.)

6

SCHOOL-DAY ANECDOTES.9

I.

OUR class contained some very excellent scholars. 10 The first Duxll was James Buchan, who retained his honoured place,12 almost without a day's interval,13 all the while we

1 Vous pouvez m'ôter la vie (page 11, note 1): vous ne sauriez (or, n'espérez pas) m'intimider. Put a full stop, here, after 'intimidate,' as well as after 'battle,' higher up (see page 24, note 3).— ne sauriez, &c. ('cannot'). The conditional of savoir (to know') is often used, in French, with ne only, instead of the indicative of pouvoir ('to be able') conjugated negatively. Thus, je ne saurais, for je ne puis (or peux) pas, or, simply, je ne puis (or peux) see page 48, note 12-I cannot.' See the LA FONTAINE, page 21, note 9. 2 et le glaive de la justice.

Les cris redoublarent, lorsque.

were at the High School.1 He was afterwards at the head of the medical staff in Egypt,2 and in exposing himself to the plague infection,3 by attending the hospitals there,1 displayed the same well-regulated and gentle, yet determined perseverance, which placed him most worthily at the head of his school-fellows, while many lads of livelier parts and dispositions 7 held an inferior station. The next best scholars (sed longo intervallo) were my friend David Douglas, the heir and élève 10 of the celebrated Adam Smith, and James Hope, now a Writer to the Signet,11 both since well known and distinguished in their

1 tout le temps que nous fames (p. 18, n. 12, and p. 1, n. 6)—or, que nous fimes nos études-or, que nous fumes sur les bancs-uu High School (or, à la Grande Ecole-or, d l'Ecole publique d'Edimbourg).

2 du corps des médecins (or, officiers de santé) de l'armée d'Egypte; or, at the head,' &c., médecin en chef de l'armée, &c.

à la contagion de la peste. 4 dans la visite des hôpitaux pendant la guerre. 5 See p. 23, n. 6. 6 qui l'avait porté à si juste titre (or, à si bon droit) à la tête de ses condisciples.

7 tandis que plus d'un garçon qui montrait une plus grande vivacité dans l'intelligence (or, les moyens) et les dispositions (see page 49, note 8). Plus d'un ('more than one,' 'many a') requires the following verb to be in the singular; unless this verb expresses an idea of reciprocity, e. g., plus d'un fripon se dupent l'un l'autre (MARMONTEL), because there is then absolute plurality in the idea. 8 The imperfect of the indicative, not the preterite definite, must be used here. The imperfect of the indicative, in French, does not solely imply wont, or habit, in the doer or doers of an action, or a certain continuity in an action or a state, as mentioned at page 1, note 6; it is also used to indicate a fast which was taking

place when another, also mentioned, happened. This latter difference will be more easily understood than the other, perhaps, by an English student, as the English use, in many instances, at least, a form of conjugation corresponding, in a like case to that just pointed out, to the French mperfect. Ex.-J'écrivais ('I was writing'-imperfect) quand vous êtes entré; j'écrivis (I wrote preterite) quand vous êtes entré. The sense, in each of these cases, is very different.

9 Immédiatement après cet élève venaient; or, better, here, not to clash with the idea of 'a long interval,' Les meilleurs élèves après celui-ci. étaient.

10 The French do not generally use any article in such a case as this (see page 27, note 2): but here, the use of the definite article will point more to a particular and well-known person; which is, I believe, the object of the author. And if the article is to be used here, before the first noun, it must, of course, be repeated before the second.

11 aujourd'hui avoué (attorney). Writer,' in Scotland, is a term of nearly the same meaning as 'attorney' in England. 'Writer to the Signet' (abbreviated W. S.), is the designation of the members of the most numerous and import

departments of the law. As for myself,2 I glanced like a meteor from one end of the class to the other, and commonly disgusted3 my kind master as much by negligence and frivolity, as I occasionally pleased him by flashes of intellect and talent. Among my companions, my goodnature, and a flow of ready imagination, rendered me very popular. Boys 7 are uncommonly just in their feelings, and at least equally generous. My lameness, and the efforts which I made to supply that disadvantage, by making up in address what I wanted in activity,10 engaged the latter principle in my favour;11 and in the winter play

6

ant class of attorneys in Scotland. The business of an attorney is transacted, in France, partly by an avoué and partly by a notaire, who also corresponds to 'notary,' and conveyancer.'

6

1 qui tous deux (or, tous les deux) se sont acquis depuis une réputation méritée, chacun dans la partie du droit qu'il a embrassée (see page 32, note 12, and page 19, note 2-Some grammarians have, on their own' authority, established a difference between tous deux and tous les deux, which, I think, is not worth notice, being as little observed by good authors as it is absurd in itself.

2 myself;' simply moi, here. 3 See page 32, note 1. This case is not quite the same as that here referred to; 'to glance' is neuter, and 'to disgust active: but the rule applies to both this and the other case.

..; see

4 par ma négligence et... page 8, note 1, and page 49, note 8.

5 par des saillies et des traits qui annonçaient de l'intelligence et du

talent.

9

8

9 Le défaut que j'avais de boiter, joint aux efforts que je faisais pour y suppléer. The pronouny ('to it,' and also 'to them') is the dative, and applies to things (lui, 'to him,' and to her,' and leur, 'to them,' apply to persons). We make a distinction, in French, between suppléer une chose (objective case) and suppléer à une chose (dative). Suppléer une chose, is, to furnish it so as to complete a whole, to add to a thing what is wanting to make it entire. Ex.:-Ce sac doit être de mille francs, et ce qu'il y a de moins je le suppléerai. Suppléer à une chose, is, to put in its place a thing which is intended to do instead of it. Ex.:-Son mérite supplée au défaut de sa naissance; and, Dans les arts, le travail ne peut suppléer au génie.

en compensant avec de l'adresse ce qui me manquait en fait d'activité.

11 concilia (preterite, here-see page 1, note 6-as it only did so once for all) en ma faveur la dernière de ces deux dispositions na tives. See page 22, note 1.

hours,1 when2 hard exercise was 3 impossible, my tales used to assemble an admiring audience round Lucky Brown's fireside,5 and happy was he that could sit next to the inexhaustible narrator. I was also, though often negligent of my own task, always ready to assist my friends, and hence I had a little party of staunch partisans and adherents, stout of hand and heart, though somewhat dull of head-the very. tools for raising a hero to eminence. 10 So, on the whole,11 I made a brighter figure in the yards than in the class.

II.

THERE was a boy in the class, who 12 stood always at the top,13 nor could I with all my efforts supplant him.14 Day

1 et durant les.... en hiver. 2 alors que; which is more pointed than quand, or lorsque. It corresponds more particularly o 'when,' used pointedly in the sense of at a time when.' Some grammarians and lexicographers have condemned this term in prose. The best prose writers, however, and academicians in the number, have used it repeatedly. I can only say that it is a very elegant and expressive term. See, among other works, Picciola, by M. SAINTINE, Messrs. Bell and Daldy's Edition, with notes by Dr. Dubuc, page 26, note 1, and other places.

9 parti qui m'était (page 41, note 8) très attaché (or, très dévoué), composé de gaillards aux bras vigoureux et au cœur intrépide, bien qu'à la tête quelque peu (or, tant soit peu) dure;-bien que is synonymous with quoique, and is often used to prevent a dissonance : quelque following close, the hard sound of the 9, four times in this way, would be disagreeable. ways take great care of euphony, when you write French: the French are very particular about it, and even frequently sacrifice grammar to it.

Al

10 précisément les instruments (or, les instruments mêmes) propres à

3 les exercices violents étaient élever un héros. devenus.

4 Use simply here the imperfect of the indicative. See page 1, note 6, and page 55, note 8.

5 'admiring; émerveillé. Change the construction, here, to avoid ambiguity (page 22, note 1).

6 et heureux celui qui; or, simply, and more elliptically still, et heureux qui.

7 quoique je négligeasse.—often ;' see page 19, note 5.

8 Put a full stop here (see page 24, note 3).- hence,' Par là.

11 après tout; or, tout considéré en somme à tout prendre en (or, au) résumé.

12 See page 10, note 3.

13 était toujours le premier (or, à la tête).

14 et dont je ne pouvais (page 1. note, and page 55, note8), malgré tous venir à bout de prendre la place (see page 15, note2, and page 35. latter end of note 20); or, et auquel, malgré tous je ne pouvais venir à bout de damer le pion. This figurative expression

3

came after day,1 and still he kept his place, do what I would;2 till at length I observed that, when a question was asked him, he always fumbled with his fingers at a particular button in the lower part of his waistcoat.5 Το remove it, therefore, became expedient in my eyes; and in an evil moment it was removed with a knife. Great was my anxiety to know the success of my measure; and it succeeded too well. When the boy was again questioned, his fingers sought again for the button, but it was not to be found. In his distress he looked down for it; it was to be seen no more than be felt. He stood confounded, and I took possession of his place; nor did he ever recover it, or ever, ,10 I believe, suspect who was the author of his wrong. Often, in after-life, has the sight of him smote me as I passed by him ;12 and often have I resolved to make him some reparation; but it ended in good resolutions.13 Though I never renewed my 14 acquaintance with

is derived from the game of
draughts (dames): damer un pion
means, properly, to crown
man. We might also translate
here by et que·
de débus
quer; but it would be somewhat
familiar.

1 Les jours se succédaient.

2 quoi que je fisse. Put a full stop here (see page 24, note 3),

and do not translate till.'

3 We say faire une question à quelqu'un, to ask one a question ;' accordingly, to translate here correctly, see page 21, note 6, and page 8, note 15; when,' here, toutes les fois que.

...

4 il portait aussitôt les doigts d'un air distrait (or, doigts machinalement) à; or, il jouait aussitôt avec.

5 gilet, not veste. Formerly, 'waistcoat' was called veste, in French; this word, veste, now corresponds to jacket' only. It is to be regretted that the greater part of even modern dictionaries re of no use on these points, as every new edition of them is at best but the old ones reprinted,

with all their blunders, antiquated words, &c. &c.

;

6 A la première question qui fut faite à notre écolier. Here, the passive does not so much matter it may even be better, to avoid the repetition of on at so short an interval (see above, note 3).

7 mais ils ne le trouvèrent plus; or, si pregarda son gilet pour simply, mais en vain. tâcher de l'apercevoir.

9 Efforts inutiles! il ne put pas plus le voir que le sentir. Put a full stop before the word Efforts, (page 24, note 3).

10 Jamais il.... ; et jamais. 11 de ce tort; or, de cette injustice de cette injure, in the widest acceptation of this word.

12

de

j'ai éprouvé à sa vue un vif regret repentir-serrement cœur lorsque je passais près de ui; or, je me le suis reproché en voyant passer près de moi mon ancien camarade.

13 mais cela s'est borné à; 'good resolutions:' see page 16, note 8, and page 47, note 12

14 Use, in French, the preterite