701On me plaint:'they begrudge me.'
705brancards:a stage-coach has no shafts.Brancardsis used also for the two pieces of wood which connect the fore and after carriages of a vehicle, transl. 'body.' Daudet may mean simply 'pole.'
706tenez!lit. 'hold!' An exclamation whose force varies greatly; transl. here 'just see that!'
708gouvernement:'seat of government', cf. note to421.
709plus rien:cf. note to131.
7010lentisques:'mastic trees,' small trees growing in the Mediterranean countries, producing a resin which is used in the manufacture of paints.
7014champoreau:a warm drink, coffee with a copious admixture of brandy, popular among the Europeans in Africa.
7021une cour de caravansérail:cf. note to15. A caravansary is a building for the lodging of caravans. See "Le Caravansérail" in "Contes du lundi."
7029kousskouss:(couscous): meat cooked with flour, the national dish of the Arabs according to Daudet, "Paysages gastronomiques" in "Contes du lundi."
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712une place de jolie sous-préfecture:'the square of a pretty little city,' 'the square of a pretty city about the size of a subprefecture'; cf. note to1714. For the construction cf. note to15.
714de petits soldats de plomb:'little lead soldiers', cf. note to15. The men drilling looked like lead soldiers when seen through thevitres dépolies par la buée, on account of their stiffness and the dimness of their outline in the early morning light.
717ne sentait pas encore le lion:'did not savor of lions yet', cf.cela sent le camphre'that smells of camphor.'
718Plus au sud:not negative; cf. note to131.
7113grosse comme le poing:'as big as your fist.'
7114haute de cinq doigts:cf. notes to265 and4223. --serviette:a kind of 'portfolio' widely used in France by public officials, professors, and others, for carrying papers and books.
7115notaire:the position of the French notaire is more dignified than that of our 'notary', he performs some of the functions of the American lawyer.
7120regardait toujours Tartarin:cf. note to1112.
7121prit la mouche:transl. 'took offense.'Prendre la mouche= 'to seize the fly,' 'to seize a slight occasion for becoming angry,' 'to become vexed easily.'
7126leur gaine:cf. note to2911.
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7217Et toute la diligence de rire:'and the whole stage coach laughed', cf. the Latin historical infinitive, used in place of the perfect. In French this infinitive is always preceded bydeand the clause is almost always introduced byet, là dessus, or a similar word.--trois cheveux de Cadet-Roussel:the popular song calledCadet-Roussel, 'Young Roussel,' was composed on the basis of a local song by a soldier in the Northern Army of the revolutionary forces about 1792. Cadet Roussel has three houses, three coats, three hats, three hairs (two for his face, one for his wig, and when he goes to see his lady he gathers the three into a braid), three dogs, and so on.
7221Terrible profession que la vôtre:understand (c'est une)terrible profession que la vôtre(est); cf. note to2119.
7223Bombonnel(d. 1890): undertook to free North Africa of panthers.
7227Té! ... connais:'what! know him? I should say so!' Fortécf. note to137.Pardiis a euphemism (really a dialectal form) forpardieu; cf.parbleu,476.
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733Tout juste!'exactly!' cf. note to835.
7315ce qu'il en est:'how matters stand.' Onencf. note to819.
7320Chassaing(Jacques, 1821-1871): hunter of lions and panthers.
7324qu'est-ce que c'est donc que ... ?'what, pray, is ... ?' disdainful; cf.5528.
7327Milianah:a city in the Zakkar mountains, about seventy-five miles southwest of Algiers. A comparison of the story of Tartarin's adventures at Milianah with the pages on that city in "Lettres de mon moulin" will show how many details have been borrowed from the notes Daudet took down during his stay in Algeria.
7330à regarder ... s'il:'looking (to see) if', cf. note to1022.
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744loyal:'honest.'
7411A quoi bon ... ?'what (was) the good of ... ?' Latincui bono?
7416train de derrière:'hind quarters,'train de devant= 'fore quarters,' of an animal; properly applied only to an animal harnessed to a vehicle.
7417Qu'est-ce ... plus?colloquial construction; transl. 'what under the sun (donc) did they mean by telling me there were none left?'
7426promenaient:note the active use of this verb, cf.monter4128.
Savoyard ... marmotte:the 'marmot' is a rodent inhabiting the Alps, related to the American woodchuck and prairie dog. Savoyards traveling through France with marmots remind one of our Italian organ-grinders with their monkeys. Cf. note to18.
7428Le sang ... tour:'the Tarasconian's blood boiled', lit. 'made only one turn.'
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752Au zouge de paix:'(take him) to the justice of the peace' (juge de paix).
753nuit:he was blind.
7512Sitôt votre lettre reçue:'as soon as I received your letter,' =aussitôt que votre lettre fut reçue.
7514ventre à terre:'at full speed'; so fast that the horses' bodies (almost) touched the ground.
7516donc:render by emphasis on auxiliary: 'what have you done?'
7518Que voulez-vous?cf. note to614.--De voir:cf. note to3120.
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763Ce qui me va:'what suits (pleases) me', cf.ça vous va-t-il?(913) 'does that suit you?'--en matière de conclusion=en manière de conclusion'to bring the affair to a conclusion,' 'by way of conclusion.'
764n'en déplaise à mons Bombonnel:'may it not displease Mr.Bombonnel,' 'with Mr Bombonnel's leave.'Mons(theois nasalized and thesis pronounced) is used contemptuously forMonsieur.
767battre la plaine:'beat the plain' (to rouse game); cf. note to105--Chéliff:most important river in Algeria, over 370 miles long.
768Auriez-vous:cf. note to15chapter heading.
7624tuyas:any trees closely related to the arbor-vitae or American white cedar, here 'sandarac trees.'--caroubiers:cf. note to3319.
7627Liban:'Lebanon,' in Syria, formerly famous for its cedar forests with their far-reaching odors and its many streams, see the Song of Solomon, iv, 8, 11, 15.
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771brodées au fil d'argent:'embroidered with silver thread.'
772un faux air de:cf. note to5627.
7712tout son monde:'all its servants'; cf. note to547.
7714pas n'est besoin:foril n'est pas besoin'there is no need.'
7715Il suffit d'un képi:cf. note to6212.
7717la toque de Gessler:'Gessler's cap.' Gessler is the Austrian governor of Swltzerland who figures in the story of William Tell. The Swiss were forced to salute his cap, which was placed on a pole.
7718allait son train:'went on its way.'Train= 'gait.'
7723bureau arabe:'Arab office,' the French bureau for the Administration of affairs concerning the natives.--au bon frais:strengthened form ofau frais'in the fresh air.'
7725crut à un coup de main:'thought it was an uprising'; cf.9427.Coup de main= 'surprise,' 'sudden attack.'--fit baisser:cf. note to725.
7726mit ... en état de siège:'proclaimed martial law in the city.'
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782se sauva ... jambes:'ran away into the Zakkar as fast as he could.' For the Zakkar (a part of the Little Atlas) see note to7327.
784ombre trouée:'broken shade'; the light found its way in places through the foliage of the tree.
788précisément:'quite opportunely', cf. note to835.
7815Comment voulez-vous ... ?'how do you suppose ... ?'
7818Si maigre ... paraisse:cf. note to46.
7821Demandez plutôt:cf.441.
7823mouci:formonsieur.
7831coup d'oeil:'looks'; cf. note to5412.--ne feraient pas très bien:'would not do very well.'
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791Tant que vous en voudrez:'as many as you like', note the future.
793à quelques kilomètres:cf. note to1825.
7911pendus à:'hanging from.'
7915une mesure à blé:'a wheat measure',une mesure de blé'a measure (full) of wheat.' Cf.26.--des Kabyles qui s'éventrent autour:'Kabyles slashing each other with knives (lit. cutting each other open) around it'; cf. notes to557 (qui),72 (se),16 (autour).
7916une joie:=une joie!...; cf.un Teur!...324, and note to1521.
7917se noyer:'get drowned,' not 'drown himself.'
7920Par exemple:'as luck would have it'; cf. note to1124.
7923tête de bédouin:'Bedouin-like head'; cf. note to15. This is a good example of Daudet's skill in finding striking simularities: the Bédouin (cf. note to6930) has a long, narrow head.
7927Toujours la folie orientale!'his craze about things oriental was still with him!'
7930tout en haut=tout à fait en haut, cf. note to4711.
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801jambes à noeuds:'knotty legs.'
808étoupe:aptly characterizes the hair of a camel's hump.
8010Va te promener!cf. note to4811.
8013six cent mille dents:each Arab had 150 teeth! Which goes to show that Daudet himself was born not far from Tarascon. But it is to be remembered thatsix cent milleis sometimes used merely to indicate a very large number, like English "thousands of."
8014dut:cf. note to677.
8019devant:devantforavant, auparavant,is obsolete except in certain locutions such ascomme devant.
8025douar:'douar,' an Arab village, composed of tents arranged with more or less regularity.--plaine du Cheliff:the broad part of the Sheliff basin is in the half desert plateau between the Great Atlas and the Little Atlas. The picture which follows is interesting, it is overdrawn, however, since Algeria never was, and certainly is not today, as bad as Daudet paints it.
8027se compliquent d':'are complicated by (the addition of).'
8028Zouzou:military slang forzouave.
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811le sergent La Ramée, le brigadier Pitou:popular names for the French soldier, the English "Tommy Atkins."
813su:'known how,' 'been able.'
815bachagas:'bashagas' (Turkish for 'head agas' or 'heads of agas,' cf. note to825), native chiefs of districts.--se mouchent ... Légion d'honneur:'gravely use their insignia of the Legion of Honor as handkerchiefs.' Like much in "Tartarin de Tarascon," this detail was extracted from the memorandum books which Daudet carried during his Algerian travels, again in "Un Décoré du 15 août" ("Contes du lundi") he declares that he repeatedly saw thegrand cordonused for the purpose here mentioned. The Legion of Honor was established by Napoleon (then first consul) in 1802. The insignia are a wide red ribbon from which is suspended a five-pointed cross.
817font bâtonner:cf. note to725.
818cadis:'cadis,' judges under Mohammedan law.
819tartufes du Coran et de la loi:'hypocritical respecters of Religion and Law.'Tartufeis the hypocrite in Moliere's play of that name, the word is now used as a common noun to designate a person who pretends to be devout. The Coran (Koran) is the Holy Book of the Mohammedans, containing the revelations of Mohammed.--quinze août:'August 15,' Napoleon's birthday, now superseded by July 14, the national holiday. as the day on which the decorations of the Legion of Honor are distributed. Read "Un Décoré du quinze août," referred to in note to815
8112kousskouss au sucre: 'sweetened couscous'--caïds'caids,' Mohammedan military chiefs.
8113un général Yusuf quelconque. 'some General Yusuf or other' Joseph Vantini (1810-1866), of Italian birth, was a French officer who played an active part in the conquest of AlgeriaYusuf(in French spelling,Yousouf) is the Arabic form of the name Joseph.
8119maquis: ordinarily used only of the Corsican 'maquis', extensive areas overgrown with an almost impenetrable tangle of brushwood--le grenier de la France: the words of the enthusiastic promoters of Algerian colonization Algeria's famous grain producing region does not extend farther inland than one hundred miles, and does not include the part which Tartarin was now traversing.
8125sauterelles enragéescf. note to2423.--mangent jusqu'aux rideaux'eat the very curtains', cf.8517.
8126en train de boire'drinking', cf. note to184.
8130tout entier à'engrossed in'.
8131allait droit devant lui'went straight ahead'.
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821Smyrne: 'Smyrna,' important seaport in Asiatic Turkey, on the Aegean Sea, famous for its rugs and silks--lampes-modérateurmore preciselylampes à modérateur, 'moderator lamps' A moderator is an instrument for governing the movement of machines, here, "a mechanical contrivance by which the passage of the oil from the reservoir to the burner is regulated or moderated to a uniform flow " (Oxford Dict).
823dans les tribus: 'in the (camps of the) tribes'.
825agas: 'agas' Theagawas formerly a great military chief in Turkey, now the title is merely one of respect given to village magnates.
826narghilés etci.e. articles of the Orient and of the Occident.
828sequins: 'sequins,' an old gold coin of variable value, usually worth about $2 25, formerly issued by the Venetian republic (zecchino) and largely used in the Levant.
829pendules à sujets, style Louis-Philippe'clocks adorned with figures in the Louis Philippe style' Louis Philippe was king of France from 1830 to 1848.
8210diffas: 'diffas,' among the Arabs of Africa receptions and feasts offered to men of rank The fantasia is an Arab equestrian Exhibition.
8211goums'goums,' armed contingents supplied by Algerian tribes for the French army, and commanded by French officers.
8215Pont-Neuf:this 'New Bridge' is the oldest of the many which span the Seine in Paris. It was completed in 1604 by Henry IV, and figures in many legends of old Paris.C'est vieux comme le Pont-Neufhas become a proverb.
8220faisant frrt!'saying sst! (scat!).'
8223vers les six heures:=vers six heures.Cf. note to2316.
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833Plus de doute:cf. note to131.
835tout juste:=précisément788, cf.733.
838ex-voto:(sing. and pl. alike), 'ex-votos,' 'votive offerings'; an offering made in fulfillment of a vow. Latinex voto; cf. Horace,Odes,I, v. The worship of saints in Mohammedan countries (where it ranks as a superstition rather than as orthodox religion) is mainly confined to the saint's tomb, or reputed tomb.
8312s'y refusa:=se refusa à cela(cf. note to229); 'refused to consent.'--tenait à:'insisted upon.'Tenir à faire quelque chose= 'to desire strongly to do a thing,' 'to be determined to do a thing';tenir à quelque chose= 'to care greatly for a thing.'
8316Ceci fait:'this done.'
8331pas de velours:'velvet steps,' 'soft steps.'
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841qu'on égorge:'having their throats cut.'
843Tartarin l'était:'Tartarin was' (it, that is,ému); cf. note tochose= 'to2518.
847en train:cf. note to6713.
849encore:cf. note to1831.
8410tint bon:'held his ground'; cf. note to2716.
8414se replie ... marabout:'retreats as fast as he can to the marabout.' Forà toutes jambescf.782.
8417hydres:the Hydra of classical mythology was a water serpent with many heads, each of which, when cut off, was replaced immediately by two new ones.
8418A moi:'help!'
8423filer:here, 'scamper off.'Filer= 'to spin' (yarn), 'to uncoil,' and colloquially 'to take to one's heels,' 'to race'; cf.8827,949.
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852au petit jour:'at early dawn';au grand jour'in full daylight.'--qu'il:cf. note to51.
856chameau à bosse simple:'one-humped camel,'dromadaire936.
859le Christ:pronounced [krist]; always with the article (the Anointed).
8510Gethsémani:in the wordsdouta, pleurer, Daudet refers to Christ's moral and physical recoil at Gethsemane. A Frenchman is not offended as we are by the flippancy of this reference to one of the supreme moments of Christ's life. Cf. De Vigny's "Le Mont des Oliviers."
8513d'en face:'in front of him'; cf.9020.
8517jusqu'aux pantoufles:made 'even the slippers' shake; of8125.
8519Seul:while all trembled, Tartarin 'alone' did not.
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861Mahom:the most usual form of the name 'Mohammed' during the Middle Ages; retained, for effect, in the oathpar Mahom.--l'échappa belle:'had a narrow escape'; cf. note to818.
863si ... n'avait envoyé:note the omission ofpasafter the conjunctionsi; cf. note to3616.
867l'homme à la plaque:'the man with the badge,' the rural policeman.
8614 processive: (ofprocès,'lawsuit'), 'litigious.'--avocassière:'pettifogging';avocat= 'lawyer,'avocasser= 'to practice law' (always in a depreciatory sense, cf.bonasse313).
8615la judiciaire ... se tripote:'the dubious (lit. 'squinting') judicial system which is cooked up', cf. note to523.
8616la bohème des gens de loi:'the legal Bohemia.' Gypsies were supposed to have come from Bohemia; consequently any persons who lead an irregular life are called Bohemians. Thus, for example, the Latin Quarter of Paris, inhabited largely by artists and students, is called the "Bohemian Quarter."
8618sauterelles:cf. note to2423.
8619papier timbré:'stamped paper.' A government revenue stamp, either printed on the paper (papier timbré) or affixed, must accompany French legal and commercial documents.Timbre-poste, masculine, = 'postage stamp.'
8620tiges de ses bottes:the locusts,sauterelles(118), eat a Plant jusqu'à la tige; Daudet is punning here on the two meanings oftige,'stalk' of a plant, 'leg' of a boot.--déchiqueté ... maïs:'stripped like a stalk of corn,' of whose foliage the locusts leave nothing but midribs and hanging fibers.
8627silo:a pit for storing grain. Since Goffart's work on the ensilage of green crops, published in 1877, the word has become familiar in America, our silo for green crops being usually above ground. As a punishment in the French army in Algeria, men (sometimes more of them than could lie down on the bottom of the pit) were put into a pit and kept there while filth accumulated around them.
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872sans(compter)les frais:'plus the costs.'
873piastres:'dollars,' the Spanish coin also calleddouro(note to4821); Frenchmen in America sometimes call the American dollar apiastre,piastrealso means the Turkish piaster (4.4 American cents).
875judiciaires:'judiciary'; i.e., offered to the judges.
877au détail:'piecemeal'; cf.vendre en(au)détail'to sell at retail';en gros'wholesale.'
8710y passèrent:'went by the same road'; i.e., were sold.
8712cochinchinoises:'from Cochin China,' a part of Indo-China, at the south of the Siam peninsula, a French colony since its conquest in 1859-1867.
8716ce qu'il advint de:'what became of.'Adveniris used only impersonally.
8719payer la diligence:'pay for (his place in) the stage coach.'
8720encore:'after all.'
8721d'un placement difficile:'hard to dispose of.'
8725sur:the definitive edition also printssurhere;souswould seem to be the correct reading, cf.6613. It is possible that the reference here is to figures worked into the pavement.
8728par(oftener à)petites journées:'by short stages.'Journée= a day's march,' the original meaning of Engl.journey.
8730s'était ... inexplicable:'had conceived an inexplicable fancy for his master.'Se prendre d'amitié pour quelqu'un= 'to take a liking; to a person.'
8732ne ... semelle:'never more than a foot behind him,' lit. 'not leaving him by (the length of) the sole of a shoe.' Fordecf. note to4225.
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882à toute épreuve=à l'épreuve de tout'proof against anything.'
883d'autant que(ford'autant plus que): 'so much the more that,' 'especially because.'--rien:'nothing '; cf. note to131.Il ne se nourrissait avec rienwould mean 'he did not nourish himself with anything,' the introduction ofnebringing the negation to bear upon the verb.
887il lui en voulut de:cf. note to3610.
888oie bridée:'bridled goose' and figuratively 'ninny.' A feather is sometimes passed through the nostrils of a goose or a gosling (oison bridé) to prevent it from escaping through hedges. The ridiculous appearance which the fowl presents gives use to the figurative meaning.Cf. Rabelais's judgeBridoieand Beaumarchais'sBrid'oison.--le prit en grippe:'took a dislike to him';grippeformerly meant 'whim,' 'fancy.'
8816huit grands jours:'a whole week.'Huit jours= 'a week,'quinze jours= 'a fortnight.'
8820biskris:'Biskran porters.' Biskra is a city in Algeria, at the edge of the Sahara. Many Biskrans settle in the coast cities, especially Algiers, where they obtain employment as porters; hence,biskri= 'porter.' The Arabic suffix-icorresponds to the English-anor-ite.
8822la patience lui échappa:'he lost all patience'; cf. note to424.
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892Le jour tombait:we say 'night was falling'; cf.la nuit tombait4416, andà la tombée de la nuit5311.
894des bruits de verres:'clinking of glasses.'
896qui chantait:'singing'; cf. note to557.
899Tron de Diou:=tonnerre de Dieu(cf. note to3831), a strong oath; 'by the thunder of heaven!'
8913tambourins:'drums.' The Provençal and Algerian tambourin is a drum higher than it is wide.Tambour901 =tambourin.Cf. note to5315.
8929Digo-li ... moun bon!=dis-lui qu'il vienne, mon bon;'just tell him to come on, old fellow'; a Provençal challenge.
8930du premier(scil.étage): 'of the second floor.' The first floor of a French house is called therez-de-chaussée.
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902marseillais:'dialect of Marseilles.' Not only did she know French, but even Tartarin's own dialect. The Provençal language comprises many dialects; that of Tarascon does not differ greatly from that of Marseilles.
903Quand je vous disais:'what did I tell you about ...?'
909s'est ... sac:'let himself be caught red-handed'; cf. note to725.
9011à l'ombre:'in prison' (lit. 'in the shade'), slang.--maison centrale:prison to which prisoners who have been condemned to more than one year of detention are sent; transl. 'jail.'
9012tenez!'hold!' 'let me see!' Cf. note to706.
9014C'est donc ça:colloquial forc'est donc pour ça,'that's why.'--ne ... ville:cf.571-6.
9017sans quoi:'otherwise,' lit. 'without which.'
9018votre histoire avec le muezzin:cf. the passage beginning633.
9020d'en face:'over there,' 'across the way'; cf. note to8513.
9023faisait des declarations(scil.d'amour): 'made love.'
9026c'est:cf. note to447.
9028eut ... philosophe:'made the gesture of a philosopher' (cf. note to15); shrugged his shoulders.
9029si vous m'en croyez:'if you'll take my advice.'Enis redundant, cf. note to819.
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911Qu'à cela ne tienne!'that makes no difference!'
913ça vous va-t-il:cf. note to763.
915croustade:a sort of 'pie' with a very crisp crust--sans Rancunelit. 'without rancor', transl. 'forget your ill will.'
9110fort avant dans:'far on into.'
9111trois heures du matin:the regular hours for the muezzin's call are daylight hours, but two calls in the night are also made for the benefit of such pious persons as may be awake.
9112accompagner:i.e. to his lodging.
9114vengeance:Tartarin's vengeance is a delightful bit of humor.
9116monta encore:'ascended still higher.'
9121Mostaganem:a city on the Mediterranean, west of Algiers.
9125curé:it is amusing to hear Tartarin apply the title of the respected French parish priest to the rascally muezzin. At home Tartarin would address the priest asmonsieur le curé.
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921La Allah il Allah:French transliteration of the Arabic words with which the Mohammedan confession of faith, 'There is no god but God, and Mohammed is God's messenger,' begins. Both parts of this confession of faith, especially the first part, are repeated more than once in the muezzin's regular call. The first part is misquoted in various forms, as here, by Europeans who have been confused by the series of sounds. Note that Tartarin not only echoes the sound of this part, but parodies its sense in lines 3-4--farceur:'fraud.'
923viédaze:a Provençal word, used of persons, = 'a good for nothing,' of things, = 'a trifle.' Here 'isn't worth a straw.'
924carotteurs:'pikers'Jouer la carotte= to stake little (e.g. a carrot) in a game.Tirer la carotte à quelqu'un= to get a small sum out of a person by making him believe some hoax. Note the play on words inTeurs, carotteurs.
929derniers:believers are few even in the upper part of the city (cf. note to3727).
9215La culasse:we should use the plural in English. Note this peculiarity of French style, cf.la face des soldats était couverte de sueur'the soldiers' faces were covered with sweat.' Cf. note to2911, and9212.
9216canons turcs:cf. note to4017. These old cannon are set in the pavement of the quay as posts for the mooring of ships and for/similar uses.
9224A peine vient-il de sauter ... qu':'scarcely has he leaped when.'A peinereenforcesvient de. For the inversion cf. note to532.
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935en carton peint:'of painted pasteboard,' i.e. counterfeit.
936dromadaire:the word is here used correctly according to the Academy's dictionary, which makesdromadairea name of the one humped species of camel. According to more exact usage a dromedary is a high bred camel for special speed, usually of the one humped species but not necessarily so, in this sense Tartarin's beast can hardly claim the name.
937que devenir:lit. 'what to become', transl. 'what to do with myself' Cf.6515.
938Ne nous quittons plus:'let us part no more' Cf. note to72.
9315s'élançant a corps perdu:'hurling himself headlong,' desperately.
9316de conserve:'in consort' (with the captain's row boat).Conservein the sense of 'the action of preserving' survives only in this nautical expression,naviguer de conserve.--'to sail in consort' (used of ships which sail together so as to help one another).
9318col:=cou, used in this sense only in certain fixed expressions, ordinarily = 'collar.'--en éperon de trirème:'like (cf. note to520) the beak of a trireme.'Eperonordinarily means 'spur.' The ancient trireme was a galley with three banks of oars.
9319viennent ensemble se ranger:'come to draw up together,' 'draw up together', cf.558.--aux flancs du:'alongside.' Note the pluralflancs, cf.à ses côtés3726.
9321A la fin:'I tell you.'
9322à mon bord:'aboard.'A bord d'un vaisseau= 'on board a ship.'
9323j'en ... zoologique:'I will present him to the Zoological Garden.'
9329fût:subjunctive withnon pas que.
9333afficher:'make a show of', lit. 'to post'(affiches'placards')
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941mettait le nez:'stuck his nose,' looked out.
949un wagon de troisième classe:'a third-class car.' In French trains there are cars of first, second, and third classes, the third being the cheapest. The cars were until recently divided into compartments from each of which a door (portière) opened upon the station platform. These doors were provided with windows--filant bon train sur:'making rapidly for', cf. note to8423.
9411aux portières:'at the door Windows', cf. note to949.
9413détalait:cf. note to6915.
9414eu pleine Crau:'in the heart of (cf.22) the Crau.' The Crau is a vast, arid plain extending from the lower Rhone eastward. The stones which cover this plain are fabled to have been showered down by Jupiter to aid Hercules in his battle with the giant Albion.--lui tenant pied:'keeping up with it.'
9415rencoigna:an old spelling ofrencogna.The word is etymologically connected withcoin; cf. English (Shakespearean) 'coign.'
9419Pas le sou:'penniless';je n'ai pas le sou= ' I haven't a cent.'
9421Tarascon!for the electrifying sonorousness of this call cf. note to11.
9427il croyait à:'he thought it was'; cf. note to7725.
9429sympathique:'friendly'; contains also the ideas of 'sympathetic,' 'congenial,' 'responsive.'
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954s'étaient monté la tête:se monter la tête= 'to become greatly excited'; transl. 'had gone wild.'
956dix ... une marmelade de lions:'ten lions, twenty lions, a mass of lions.'Mettre en marmelade= 'to smash to a jelly'; cf.123.
958de deux heures:cf. note to4225.
9512descendre à cloche-pied:'hobble down.'Clocherandmarcher à cloche-pied= 'to hop.'
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