ingenious manner, by certain cords,1 as we draw the bucket up a well in Europe. A dish of their meat was a good mouthful, and a barrel of their liquor a reasonable draught. Their mutton yields to ours, but their beef is excellent. I have had a sirloin so large, that I have been forced to make three bites of it, but this is rare. My servants were astonished to see me eat it, bones and all,5 as in our country we do the leg of a lark. Their geese and turkeys I usually ate at a mouthful, and I confess they far exceed ours. Of their smaller fowl, I could take up twenty or thirty at the end of my knife.8_SWIFT. 6 nous croquons la cuisse. The verb croquer (to craunch) is nearly synonymous with manger (to eat). We might also say, as in English, nous faisons la cuiss. The verb faire is used, in French, as 'to do' is in English, to avoid the repetition of a preceding verb. Some grammarians, however, have put a restriction on this usage, and attempted to fetter it by a rule of theirs they say, without giving any good reason for it, and while even quoting no less an all thority than Bossuet against them- plete the case against these gen- "Mais tout fat me déplaît et me blesse les yeux; Je le poursuis partout, comme BOILEAU, Sat. vii. 8 Pour leurs petits oiseaux, j'e prenais aisément une trentaine à la pointe de mon couteau. A TRAVELLING INCIDENT.1 3 THE tendency of mankind when it falls asleep in coaches, is 2 to wake up cross; to find its legs in its way; and its corns an aggravation. Mr. Pecksniff not being exempt from the common lot of humanity, found himself, at the end of his nap, so decidedly the victim of these infirmities, that he had an irresistible inclination 5 to visit them upon his daughters; which he had already begun to do in the shape of divers random kicks, and other unexpected motions of his shoes, when the coach stopped, and, after a short delay, the door was opened." 8 "Now mind," ," 10 said a thin sharp voice 11 in the dark. I and my son go inside,12 because the roof is full,13 but you agree to charge us outside prices.1 It's quite understood that we won't pay more. Is it?" 15 14 "All right,16 Sir," replied the guard. 1 Incident de voyage. 2 Il est ordinaire à nous autres humains, lorsque nous nous sommes endormis en diligence. The adjective autre is often thus used, in the plural, with nous or vous, for the sake of emphasis or contradistinction for a fuller note on this point, see the LA FONTAINE, page 131, note 7. 3 et de nous trouver embarrassés (or, empêchés) de nos jambes et agacés (or, irrités) par nos cors; or, de trouver nos jambes un embarras, et dans nos cors un sujet d'agacement-d'irritation. 4 positivement; and leave out 'the.' 5 envie. such a case as this, would convey a very different meaning; it would express a state, not an act. To Faites bien attention; or, Ak çà, attention! 11 voix grêle et aiguë. 12 moi et mon fils-mon fils et moi-nous allons dans l'intérieur. When we have, in a sentence, two or more personal pronouns, or a noun or nouns and a pronoun, used as subjects (nominatives) of a verb, what grammarians call a resuming pronoun (either nous or vous) is used before the verb, unless the subjects are all in the third person, in which latter case no resuming pronoun is used.. 13 parce qu'il n'y a pas de place sur le dessus; or, parce que le dessus est plein-complet. 14 mais vous vous engagez à ne nous demander (or, prendre faire payer) que le prix de l'impériale. n'est-ce pas ? more;' see page 9, note & 15 16 Très-bien (in this one sense). F "Is there anybody inside now?" inquired the voice. "Three passengers,' "1 returned the guard. "Then I ask the three passengers to witness this bargain, if they will be so good," said the voice. "My boy, I think we may safely get in." 2 In pursuance of which opinion, two people took their seats in the vehicle,5 which was solemnly licensed by Act of Parliament to carry any six persons who could be got in at the door.6 "That was lucky!" "7 whispered the old man, when they moved on again.8 "And a great stroke of policy in you9 to observe it. He, he, he ! 10 We couldn't have side. I should have died 12 of the rheumatism!"\ gone 11 out Whether it occurred 13 to the dutiful son that he had in some degree overreached himself,14 by contributing to the prolongation of his father's days; or whether 15 the cold had affected 16 his temper; is doubtful.17 But he gave 18 his father such a nudge in reply, that that good old gentleman was taken with a cough which lasted for full five 5. and page 1 19 voyageurs; passager is said generally of a traveller on the sea, but is beginning to be also applied to a railway traveller. 2 entrer (or, monter) en toute sûreté. 3 Conformément à cette. 4 deux individus prirent place. sense, 6 qui était solennellement autorisé, par patente, en vertu d'un Acte du Parlement, à porter, dans l'intérieur, toute personne, jusqu'au nombre de six, qu'on y pourrait faire entrer. Observe the following difference, not always heeded by English people: patente, 'a licence; brevet, 'a patent.' 7 Nous avons eu de la chance. 8 quand la voiture se fut remise en route (or, fut repartie). 9 Et c'a été très adroit de ta part de; or, Et c'a été de ta part un grand coup de l'art de (or, more forcibly, que de), 10 Hi, hi, hi! 11 See page 38, note 5, 44, note 3 12 Remember that mourir, as well as some other neuter verbs, in French, is conjugated, in its compound tenses, with the auxiliary verb être, not with avoir. 18 S'il vint (or, Soit qu'il vint.subj.) dans l'idée. 14 qu'il s'était jusqu'à un certain point fait tort à lui-même (or, trahi lui-même). See p. 38, n. 13. 15 ou si (or, soit que,-or, ou que with the subj.). It is optional either to repeat soit, or to use ou, before the second member of the sentence. 16 influé (or, agi) sur. 17 c'est ce qu'il y a de douteux; or, c'est que nous ne savons pas; or, ne saurions le dire; or, again, c'est là ce qui fait question. 18 See page 1, note 6, and various other references on this important point, which can hardly be too much insisted upon. 19 que le bonhomme. In this sense, bonhomme is spelt in one word. minutes,1 without intermission, and goaded Mr. Pecksniff to that pitch of irritation, that he said at last-and very suddenly 2 "There is no room! 3 there is really no room in this coach for any gentleman with a cold in his head! "4 66 Mine,' "5 said the old man, after a moment's pause, "is upon my chest,' Pecksniff." The voice and manner, together, now that he spoke out; the composure of the speaker; 10 the presence of his son; and his knowledge of 11 Mr. Pecksniff; afforded a clue to 12 his identity which 13 it was impossible to mistake. "Hem! I thought," said Mr. Pecksniff, returning to his usual mildness, "that I addressed 14 a stranger. I find that I address a relative. Mr. Anthony Chuzzlewit and his son Mr. Jonas for they, my dear children, are our 15 travelling companions-will excuse me for an apparently harsh remark. It is not my desire to wound the feelings of any person with whom I am connected in family bonds. 16 I may be a Hypocrite," said Mr. Pecksniff, cuttingly,17 "but I am not a Brute." "Pooh, pooh !" "18 said the old man. "What signifies that word, Pecksniff? Hypocrite! why,19 we are all hypo 5 Mon rhume. ce sont eux-mêmes, mes chers (or, chères) enfants, que nous avons pour (no article is to follow). -The substantive enfant is of both genders; yet, in the plural, the feminine is seldom used. No 6 un moment d'intervalle (or, de tice that Mr. P. had only his silence). 7 est un rhume de poitrine. 8 manière de parler; or, ton. 9 tout ensemble, alors qu'il (see page 57, note 2) articulait (or, s'exprimait) distinctement-clairement -net-nettement. 10 le sang-froid de l'interlocu teur. 11 et le fait qu'il connaissait. 12 toutes ces circonstances étaient autant d'indices de. daughters, and no son, with him in the coach; else, of course, the feminine could by no means be used. 16 Je ne voudrais pas, moi, blesser une personne, quelle qu'elle soit, à qui m'unissent des liens de famille for, les liens du sang). 17 d'un ton caustique. 18 Bah, bah! or, Allons done, allons donc ! 19 mais. crites. We were all hypocrites, t'other day. I am sure I felt that to be1 agreed upon among us, or I shouldn't have called you one. We should not have been there at all, if we had not been hypocrites. The only difference between 3 you and the rest was-shall I tell you the difference between you and the rest now, Pecksniff?" 4 "If you please, my good sir; if you please." 5 6 8 "Why, the annoying quality in you, is," said the old man, "that you never have a confederate or partner in your juggling;7 you would deceive everybody, even those who practise the same art; and have a way with you, as if you-he, he, he !-as if you really believed yourself.10 I'd lay a handsome wager 11 now," said the old man, "if I laid wagers, which I don't, and never did, that you keep up appearances by a tacit understanding, even before your own daughters here.13 Now I, when I have a business 12 1 Et en vérité (or, Et je puis le dire en conscience-or, en bonne conscience), je sentais bien; that to be,' see page 7, note 2. 2 appelé ainsi; or, traité d'hypocrite. 3 qu'il y eût entre; see p. 39, n. -'was;' turn, 'it is that.' 6 4 'now,' voyons.-'shall I,' &c., faut-il vous dire (or, voulez-vous que je vous dise, or, simply, vous dirai-je) quelle était la différence entre, &c. 5 Dites, mon cher monsieur, dites. 'If you please,' is, literally, as is well known, s'il vous plaît, in French; but, in a case of this particular kind, it is not the phrase used. 6 Eh bien, ce qu'il y a d'ennuyeux chez vous en particulier,... c'est (see p. 50, n. 8) que; or, Eh bien, vous avez, vous en particulier,. cela d'ennuyeux que. 7 ni compère ni compagnon dans vos jongleries. à vous. 8 vous feriez volontiers prendre (or, vous donneriez volontiers) le change -vous ne vous feriez pas faute de faire prendre (or, de don ner) le change-à n'importe qui (or, à qui que ce soit).-The use of the verb tromper ('to deceive'), even here, would be somewhat too uncivil. et vous (p. 31, n. 1) avez je ne sais-or, un je ne sais quel air. 10 comme si vous preniez dans le sérieux ce que vous dites ou ce que vous faites (or, better, comme si vous vous preniez au sérieux). "Prendre une chose dans le sérieux,” is, to take a thing in earnest, to believe it to be true, although it was said in joke; whilst "prendre une chose au sérieux," is to take offence at a thing, though it was said in a joke, and without any intention of of fending.-Authors often disregard this distinction of grammarians. 11 Je parierais gros. We also say, in a similar way, parier double contre simple; also, by exaggeration, Je parierais ma tête (or, ma tête à couper), and, implying no doubt whatever, Je mettrais ma main au feu. 12 Use garder; or, sauver; or, |