Part 26 (1/2)

2. sans quoi tu ne t'en tireras jamais, 'or else you will never get over your troubles.'

7. j'ai pa.s.se par la, 'I have been through it all.' Cf.- _il faut bien que j'en pa.s.se par la_, 'I must put up with it.'

9. monsieur l'abbe: simply 'sir.'

19. le plus souvent, 'more often than not.'

23. pattes de mouche, 'scrawl.'

30. seulement, 'even,' 'so much as.' A quite common and cla.s.sical use of this word.

Page 57.

5. il etait temps; je n'y pouvais plus tenir, 'it was high time, I could stand it no longer.'

10. au fond, 'at the far end.' Cf. note, p. 7 l. 28.

20. en serre-file, 'bringing up the rear.'

21. le professeur de seconde, 'the second-form master. He would correspond to a fifth-form master in an English school.

Cf. note, p. 21 l. 23.

30. la tete: note (1) the number, (2) the use of the definite article.

31. foulards ponceau, 'flame-coloured silk handkerchiefs.'

Nouns serving as adjectives of colour are generally invariable.

Page 58.

6. ne les laissait pas chomer, 'did not allow them any rest': _chomer_='to be out of work,' _chomage_, 'want of work.'

'Unemployment' would be the best word were it English.

10. tohu-bohu: an onomatopoeia.

14. par ici! 'this way!' 'along here!' Cf. _par la! par ou?_

16. faisaient froufrou, 'rustled.'

22. au pa.s.sage, 'as they went along.'

23. a l'annee prochaine! 'good-bye till next year!' Cf. _a demain!

a ce soir! a bientot! au revoir!_

Page 59.

1. clic! clac! another onomatopoeia.

8. riant a belles dents, 'laughing merrily'; lit. 'showing their pretty teeth as they laughed.'