3 the most eminent, la première. 4 de. 5 parvenu a. 6 and of, et maître de. 7 il se rendit si populaire en défendant les principes libéraux. 8 à une époque. 9 for establishing, en faveur de l'établissement d'. 10 portèrent de si rudes coups. 11 il vit qu'il lui restait. 12 après avoir acquitté toutes ses créances. 9 at length, head of the most eminent 3 bank in 4† Paris *. Possessed of this conspicuous position* (f.), and of great wealth, he speedily (p. d.) became a member of the Chamber of Deputies. His advocacy of liberal principles rendered him so popular that, when Charles X. was driven from the throne, and the great majority of the public men of the day were for establishing a republic, M. Laffitte, by his single voice, could re-create the monarchy, and establish a monarch. "BEHOLD THE BEST OF REPUBLICS!" said Laffitte; and Louis* Philippe* became the citizen-king of the most fickle population* (f.) in † Europe". But the commercial calamities which followed the revolution fell so heavily upon 10 great houses which were indebted to Laffitte, that his house, too, became insolvent. Nearly a million* (m.) and a half of francs* were raised for him by a public subscription* (f.); but when his affairs were finally settled, he was found to have 11 nearly seven millions* millions after paying all demands 12. He died in 1844.-MAUNDERS's Biographical Treasury. De is usually used for "in" after a superlative : Le docteur S. est le plus fameux médecin de Londres. Dr S. is the most renowned physician in London. This observation applies to le premier, le dernier, le principal, le seul, &c. 25. CORNEILLE.-1606-1684. CORNEILLE.-1 is distinguished, se distingue. 2 fécondité (f.) 3 incontestablement. 4 he is. &c., il a plus de pompe et d'éclat que de douceur et de sensibilité. 5 l'abondance. &c., qui sont bien loin d'être d'un mérite égal. 6 very unequal, CORNEILLE, who is properly the father of French tragedy, is distinguished1 (192.) by the majesty and grandeur of his sentiments*, and the fruitfulness of his imagination*. His genius was unquestionably 3 very rich, but seemed more turned towards the epic than the tragic vein; for, in general, he is magnificent and splendid, rather than tender and touching4. He is the most declamatory of all the French tragedians. He united (pres.) the copiousness of Dryden with† the fire of Lucan, and he resembles (672.) them also in their faults, in their extravagance and impetuosity. He has composed a great number of tragedies, very unequal in their merit. His best and most esteemed pieces are the Cid* (m.), Horace*, Polyeucte*, and Cinna*.-Dr BLAIR's Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. 5 There are French verbs which require different prepositions from the one used in English : 1. Je pense à elle (517.) 2. Je vous remercie de tout cela. 3. J'ai emprunté cent francs à Louis. 4. Ils unissaient la prudence à l'intré pidité. 6. Il rit de tout le monde. I am thinking of her. I thank you for all that. I borrowed 100 francs from Louis. They united prudence with intrepidity. He laughs at everybody. 26. POPE SIXTUS THE FIFTH. (See SIXTE-QUINT, in HAVET's "Household French," p. 177.) (SIXTE-QUINT, né en 1521 à Montalte, près d'Ascoli dans les États romains, fut pape de 1585 à 1590.) N.B. The ruling tense in this sketch is the past definite † (passé défini.) SIXTE-QUINT.-(I.) 1 whose name, nommé. mit en service chez. 2 Ne pouvant. 3 le (I.) His father, whose name1 was Peretti, was (imp.) a vinedresser. Not being able to bring up his son, he placed him with 3 a farmer, who employed him in + The past definite or historical tense. 1. Je visitai les États romains en 1836. 1. Je parcourus l'Italie en 1849, 3. Sixte-Quint mourut en 1590. 5. Vous faillites perdre la vie. The PAST DEFINITE represents the action as having taken place at a period of time completely over, which period may be expressed or understood, and is always distinct from that at which the action is recorded: 1. Charles XII parut devant Narva le 1er octobre 1700. 2. Les Camerons et les Frasers vinrent trouver Charles-Édouard.-(VOLTAIRE.) The past definite generally records remarkable events, or relates adventures, travels, &c., and is for that reason called (1) the historical or narrative tense: 1. Guillaume prit la ville de Mantes, William took the town of Mantes, which qu'il réduisit en cendres. he reduced to ashes.-(HUME.) 2. Lorsqu'ils arrivèrent au château, on At their approach, the wicket was ouvrit le guichet, et le pont-levis fut opened, and the drawbridge fell.—(W. baissé. SCOTT.) The French seldom use the past definite in conversation or familiar correspondence. 4 à garder. 5 un endroit peu fréquenté. 6 charmé de. 7 s'en fit accompagner jusqu'à. 8 de l'amour pour l'étude. 9 Après avoir été. 10 se retira des affaires publiques. (II.) 11 prit. 12 courbé. penchée. s'appuyant. comme s'il avait été sur le point de. 16 parti. 17 de. 18 tomberait entre leurs mains. 19 voûte (f.). 20 re-echoed with the sound, en retentit. 4 13 14 15 keeping his swine. A Franciscan friar, having met with him, took him for his guide in an unfrequented place 5, and, pleased with the vivacity of his conversation* (f.), induced him to accompany him to his convent, where he was admitted. He soon manifested a love for learning, and afterwards acquired great reputation by his sermons*. When raised to the Cardinalship, he took the name of Montalto, and retired from public affairs 10, appearing entirely devoted to study. (II.) From that time, Montalto gradually assumed 11 the appearance of a man bending 12 under the weight of years. He walked with his head resting 13 on one shoulder, leaning 14 on a staff, and incessantly coughed, as if about to 15 expire. The parties 16 that divided (imp.) the Roman States thought him the fittest of all men to be Pope, his easy temper giving them hopes (sing.) that he would be Pope only by 17 name, and that all the authority would devolve upon themselves 18. therefore elected in 1585. He was As soon as the tiara was placed upon his head, he threw away his staff, walked erect, and chanted Te Deum with a voice so strong that the roof 19 of the chapel reechoed with the sound 20. He governed with extreme severity, but was, however, the benefactor of his states, by (751.) purifying them 21 from the licence* (f.) and disorder which prevailed 22 before (271.) him.—AIKIN'S Biographical Dictionary. 27. THE CONJURER AND THE TAILOR. 5 should L'ESCAMOTEUR ET LE TAILLEUR.-1 Quel pauvre hère je fais! 2 to take it into one's head to, s'aviser de. 3 grâce au ciel. 4 things are not quite so bad with me, le sort a été moins dur pour moi. fail, vient à manquer. 6 for them, à offrir au public. time, jamais. 8 to beggary, à mendier (i.e. to beg). 7 at any A conjurer and a tailor once happened to converse (imp.) together: "Alas!" cries the tailor, "what an unhappy poor creature am I1! If people take it into their heads to 2 live without clothes, I am undone, I have no other trade to have recourse to!" "Indeed, friend, I pity you sincerely," replies the conjurer; but, thank heaven 3, things are not quite so bad with me; for, if one trick should fail 5, I have a hundred tricks more for them yet. However, if at any time you are reduced to beggary 8, apply † to me, and I will relieve you." With the exception of Y and EN, a reflective verb cannot be preceded by any other indirect object than its reflected pronoun; when the reflective verb governs an indirect personal pronoun, that pronoun appears in the disjunotive form after the verb: 1. Je me suis adressé à toi. 2. Nous nous plaignons de vous. 3. Il s'est rendu à eux. 4. Elle s'est fiée à lui. 5. Adressez-vous à moi, I (have) applied to thee. We complain of you. He surrendered to them. She (has) trusted herself to him. |