END OF THE TEXT
NOTES
NOTES
The notes refer to the page and line number in the following format:Page#Line#
Dedication:Gonzague-Privat(Louis de): painter, art critic and novelist, born at Montpellier in 1843. Daudet wrote a preface for his "Joie perdue" (1893).
11Tarascon: a very old city (population 9,000) on the east bank of the Rhone, opposite Beaucaire (cf. note to1328), about fifty miles northwest of Marseilles. To Daudet the choice of proper names was always a matter for careful consideration. Tarascon was not the home of the original Tartarin (see Introduction, p xxvi), but, as Daudet explains in "Trente Ans de Paris," p 142, "a pseudonym picked up on the road from Paris to Marseilles because when rounded out by the southern accent it vibrated sonorously and triumphed at the conductor's call of stations like the war-cry of an Apache Indian." On theTarasquecf. note to325.
12il y a ... de cela:'that was ... ago,' lit. 'there are ... from that.'
13je m'en souviens:'I remember it.'Se souvenir de quelque chose,hences'en souvenir (enreplacingde+ a pronoun); cf.changer de chanson, en changer75,revenir de là-bas, en revenir1612.
14habitait:'was living in.' Be careful to give the imperfect its progressive force wherever possible.
15le chemin d'Avignon:'the Avignon road.' Note that an English noun used adjectively is usually replaced in French byde+ noun, the student should be careful to translateune robe de soie'a silk dress' and not 'a dress of silk'; cf.de petits soldats de plomb(714) 'little lead soldiers,'l'eau de mer(9326) 'the sea water',5225,7923. Forune voix de femme(895) we cannot say 'a woman voice,' but must say 'the voice of a woman,' 'woman' not being a possible noun-adjective here; stillvoix de femmeis a noun-phrase modified byune;cf.une cour de caravansérail(7021) 'the court of a caravansary,'un coin de méchante route(7028) 'the corner of a wretched road'--Avignon:city on the Rhone, above Tarascon; famous as the residence of the Popes from 1309 to 1377.
16:devant: adverb, 'in front'; cf.derrièrein this sentence,dessus241,4612,depuis5632,autour7915.
1_ 8:Savoyards: boys and men from Savoy, southeastern France, are seen throughout the country exercising such trades as those of bootblacks, chimney-sweeps, charcoal-venders; cf. note to7427.--Savoyards ... tête ... leurs boîtes: cf. note to2911.
110:Du dehors ... rien: 'seen from the outside the house seemed nothing at all,' 'was in no way remarkable'.
112:coquin de sort: a characteristic Southern oath, lit. 'rascal of (a) fate' translate 'heavens and earth!' cf.monstre de sort6327,coquin de bon sort6821. For the construction cf.coquin de lièvre424,diable d'homme93. The genitive (de+ noun) in these expressions replaces a noun in apposition. Cf. Engl. "rascal of a man," Latinscelus viri; "the city New York," "the city of New York."
116:du pays. i.e. 'native' to that part of Europe; cf.au pays6427,du cru266.
117:rien que: 'nothing but'; i.e.il n'y avait rien que. Cf.3710, and notes to131,423.--plantes exotiques: a few lines farther on, our author explains that these exotic plants were, of course, not of full natural size. The baobab in its native African home is only 40-70 feet in height, but its trunk is sometimes 30 feet in diameter. In1720-21 we are given to understand that Tartarin's baobab, the most admired of his botanical rarities, is perhaps after all nothing but a turnip, and we are led to suspect that some of the others are not what they pretend to be. If we are gifted with even a small portion of the imagination possessed by Tartarin and his fellow-townsmen, we can understand how a turnip may after a while come really to be a baobab; if we have not sufficient imagination to admit this possibility, we shall not be able to appreciate the story of the life and adventures of Tartarin de Tarascon.
Return to page 1
22:à se croire ... Afrique: '(enough) to (make one) believe himself in the very heart of (cf.57) Africa.'à=assez pour; cf.c'est à mourir de rire, 'it's enough to make you die with laughter'; also614,2116.
23:bien entendu: 'of course'; lit. 'well (heard) understood.'
25:arbos gigantea: Latin, =arbre géant'giant tree.'--tenait à l'aise dans: 'easily found room in.'
26:pot de réséda: 'mignonette pot.'Pot de fleurs= 'flower pot' Logically we should expect, and in a dealer's catalogue we find,pot à fleurs, cf.une tasse à café'a coffee cup,'une tasse de café'a cup of coffee.' Daudet in speaking of this same mignonette pot usespot à résédain "Tartarin sur les Alpes," p. 358.--c'est égal: 'all the same'.
27:déjà: lit. 'already'; 'anyhow,' 'nevertheless'.
28:s'en retournaient: cf.s'en aller174,s'en revenir5311.
210:je dus éprouver: 'I must have experienced.'Devoiris difficult to translate because the corresponding English auxiliaries (must, ought) are defective. The following are the most usual translations:je dois allerI must go, I ought to go, I should go, I have to go, I am to go.je devais allerI had to go, I was to go (cf.182) I should have gone, I must have gone (cf.1626).je dus allerI had to go (cf.677), I must have gone (cf.404).je devrai allerI shall have to goje devrais allerI should go, I ought to go, I should have to go.j'ai dû allerI had to go, I have had to go, I must have gone Cf. notes to4320, 29.
211:mirifique: a mock-heroic synonym formerveilleux.--bien autre:bienin its common intensive use, 'quite.'Bienfrequently adds to a passage a shade of meaning which can be rendered in English only by a complete remodeling of the sentence, e.g.je veux bien'I have no objection,' 'I consent.' Whenautreis preceded bybienortout, it usually carries the idea of superiority.
214:ouvrant de plain-pied sur le baobab: 'opening on a level with the baobab'; there was no step.Plain='flat.'
218:carabines: 'rifles.'carabineis the French word for "rifle",fusilis the general term (gun) and is applied particularly to the shotgun The English word "rifle" is sometimes used in French for a rifle having a long barrel. Withcarabinecf. English "carbine," a short-barreled rifle. Translate here 'carbines, rifles.'
219:catalans: Catalonia is in northeastern Spain. --couteaux-revolvers: 'pistol dirks,' pistols with dirks set in their butts, ordaggers with pistols in their hilts.--couteaux-poignards: 'dagger-knives' an ancient form of one-edged dagger, having a long and heavy blade.--krish(criss, kriss) malais: 'Malay creeses,' daggers with sinuous edges, famous for deadliness.
220:flèches caraïbes: 'Carib arrows.' The Caribs are the most war-like tribe of northern South America, the home of the famous curare poison and other arrow-poisons.--casse-tête: any kind of war-club that can be wielded by one hand; transl. 'war-clubs' (cf.5929); indeclinable.
221:est-ce que je sais!lit. 'do I know!' transl. 'and what not.'
223:glaives: 'swords.'Glaive(cf. Engl. "glaive"), from Latingladius, is a poetic word forépée.
224vous donner la chair de poule:'make your flesh creep' With the Frenchchair de poule'hen flesh' cf. Engl "goose flesh".
226yataganerie.theyatagan,'yataghan,' is the saber of the Turks and the Arabs, from this word Daudet coinedyataganerieon the analogy ofépicerie, papeterie,etc, transl. 'paraphernalia of war'.
228bonhommea noun used adjectively, transl. 'kindly'.
229n'y touchez pasToucher à quelque chose,hencey toucher,'to touch it,'y,' replacingà+ a pronoun, cf.à Shang Haiandy1610, and notes to614,76,97,247.
Return to page 2
33Cook:Captain James Cook (1728-1779), famous English scientific explorer, killed by savages in Hawaii.--CooperJames Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851), the famous American writer of Indian and sea stories Leatherstocking (Bas de cuir) is as well known in France as in America--Gustave Aimard(1818 1883) spent several years in America and wrote many tales in the style of Cooper.
34chasse à l'ours: 'bear hunting,' butchasse au faucon'hunting with the falcon,' 'hawking.'
310tout en lisant: 'while reading'Enwith the present participle is reinforced bytout.
312brave:cf.un brave homme'a good, kindly man,'un homme brave'a brave man'.
313bonasse:bon+ the pejorative suffix _asse,'guileless'.
319midi: midday,' 'noon,' 'South', Latinmedia dies.
322Vous saurez:'you must know'.
325Tarasque:a monster which, according to the legend, devastated the country about Tarascon until it was slain by Saint Martha, sister of Lazarus, who, in company with the three Marys, had come to Provence after the death of Christ At irregular intervals there is a festival in Tarascon to celebrate the destruction of the Tarasque. Martha is the patron saint of Tarascon See "Port-Tarascon," I, iv (pp 73 ff)--faisait les cent coups.'was playing the hundred tricks,' 'raged.'
327Il y a beau jour: '(that was) a long time ago'.
Return to page 3
41tous les dimanches matin:'every Sunday morning ', cf.tous les jours'every day' andle matin'in the morning'--prend les armes:'takes arms' (not "takes its arms "), 'arms itself '.
43tremblement:'whole lot,' 'noisy throng,' colloquial.
46Si ... que+ subjunctive = 'however ', cf.6712-13,7818-19 --bête:a pun on the wordbête,which means as a noun 'animal,' as an adjective 'foolish'--vous pensez bien:'you can readily imagine', cf.710,97,123,237,5617.
48A cinq lieues: 'within a radius of fîve leagues', cf.4826.
49-10le moindre: 'the least'--le plus petit: 'the smallest'.
414Rhône'Rhone,' the great river of southeastern France, in the heart of Provence--diablement: 'deucedly'DiableandDieuare used very freely in French.
416du poil et de la plume'of fur and feathers'--est très mal noté'has a black mark against its name',noter= 'to note,' 'to mark,' 'to make a note of'.
419Camarguea vast marshy delta at the mouth of the Rhone See Daudet's "En Camargue," in "Lettres de mon moulin".
423il ne reste plus ... que: 'there remains nothing now, but'Ilis impersonal, cf.523,81,5828Ne plus= 'no longer,'ne que= 'only,' the sameneserving for bothplusandque, cf. line 30,233, 27-28,ne ... guère que526,117.
424coquin de lièvre: cf. note to112--échappe ... aux: note the use ofàwithéchapper, cf.8822, ands'arracher à1014 --septembrisadeson September 25, 1792, mobs broke into the Paris prisons and massacred many political prisoners, henceseptembrisade'massacre'.
427le Rapide:le (train) rapide'the express train'.
430A l'heure qu'il est même: 'even at the present time'.
431enragés'stubborn enthusiasts'.
432deuil:faire son deuil d'une chose= 'to go into mourning about a thing,' 'to give it up for lost'.
Return to page 4
51de sa nature: 'by nature'--qu'il mange:queforbien queto avoid repetition of61,2416,699--hirondelles en salmis'stewed swallows' From time immemorial the swallow has been recogmzed as the friend of man; the superstition that to kill one brings bad luck is very old and almost universal. Despite this belief and despite the game laws, in southern France generally, especially in the Camargue, large numbers of swallows are killed and eaten. Swallows and other small birds are usually roasted, cut in small pièces, and stewed with wine (salmis).
53me direz-vous: 'you [reader] will say to me [author]'.
57en pleine campagne: 'into the open country', cf.22,4113.
511boeuf en daube: 'stewed beef', properly, stewed with vegetables and then baked slowlyDauber=braiser--saucissot: italicized because a dialectal form, =saucisson'sausage'.
>517du 5 etc: 'number 5' etc, sizes of shot.
519met dans:'hits'.
520en triomphateur: 'like a conqueror,' 'in triumph'; cf.en bon Méridional813.
523il se fait:'there is carried on.' Impersonalil; cf. note to423. Note the reflexive used for the passive; cf.cela se fait= 'that is done,' lit. 'that does itself,'ce qui se consomme613 = 'what is consumed,'la forte s'ouvre186 = 'the door opens itself,' 'is opened,' 'opens,'cela se sait618 = 'that is known,'cela se peut= 'that is possible'; cf. alsos'animer'to animate oneself,' 'to become (be) animated,'se décourager'to become (be) discouraged.'
526ne guère que:'scarcely any one besides '; cf. note to423.
527leur en achète:acheter des casquettes aux chapeliers;henceleur en achète, leurreplacingà eux.
529il partait:'he used to set out.'
532Aussi:aussiat the beginning of a sentence or phrase is usually to be rendered 'and so,' 'therefore.' With thisaussi(as with some other adverbs) the word-order is verb--pronoun; hencereconnaissent-ils.Cf.2412,4120;à peine733,4014;en vain1010;toujours259. Note the order with aussi comme ...!1817.
Return to page 5
61qu'il:quereplacescomme;cf. note to51.
63birman:'Burman.' Burma is in southeastern Asia.--ces: cf. note to1613.
66de trois à quatre:'from three to four (o'clock).'
610qui rendait:'dispensing,' see note to557.--Nemrod doublé de Salomon:'a Nimrod and a Solomon at the same time.'Doubler'to line';un manteau doublé de fourrure'a fur-lined coat.' For Nimrod, "a mighty hunter before the Lord," see Genesis x, 8-9; for Solomon as unerring judge, I Kings iii, 28.
6chapter headingNan!dialectal form ofnon!See813-14.
613Ce qui ... de romances:lit. 'what ... of ballads'; transl. 'the number of ballads that ...' Note thatromance= 'ballad,'roman= 'novel,' 'romance.' See Engl. dict. for etymology.
614c'est à n'y pas croire:'it passes belief,' lit. 'it is enough to not believe it'; cf. note to22.Croire à, y croire,cf. note to229.
618cela se sait:cf. note to523.
623receveur de l'enregistrement:'recorder ' (of deeds and various transactions).
624si j'étais-t-invisible:the non-etymologicaltis inserted to avoid hiatus, thesofétaisbeing unpronounced: cf.Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre.This error is common in the speech of the uneducated classes. --n'me: theeofneis omitted as in conversational French.
Return to page 6
73on se réunit:see next note.--on se les chante:'they sing them (the ballads) to one another.' Notese= '(to) one another.'Nous, vous, se, are used as reflexive or reciprocal objects, direct or indirect ('ourselves' or 'each other,' 'to ourselves' or 'to each other' etc.), cf.921,1629,938.Seis used as a reciprocal pronoun several times in this paragraph.
74depuis ... chantent'in all the time that they have been singing them to one another.'Chantentis present tense withdepuis.
75en changer: cf. note to13.
76n'y touche: cf. note to229.
718les lui faire chanter: 'to make him sing them';faire chanter à Tartarin, lui faire chanter, = 'to make T. sing,' 'to make him sing --Revenu ... salon: 'early (in life) surfeited with salon successes'Revenu= 'returned,' 'satiated,' 'tired of.'
721cercle: 'club.' The English word "club" is used in French in reference to sporting and political clubs.
722Nîmes: Daudet's birthplace, an ancient city with remarkable Roman remains, eighteen miles west of Tarascon.
725après s'être bien fait prier: 'after having been begged a long time'; cf.je me fais prier, je me suis fait prier. An active infinitive afterfaireis to be translated passively:faire bâtir une maison= 'to cause (some one) to build a house,' 'to have a house built'; cf.319,6427,7725,817.Se faire prier= 'to have oneself begged,'se faire comprendre(4026) = 'to make himself understood.'Se faire expliquer(246-7) = 'to have explained to themselves,'faire expliquer une leçon= 'to have a lesson explained.' The same constructions are used withlaisser; cf.2925,4914-15,6013.
726dire: 'to say,' 'relate impressively,' 'sing', cf.2421 --Robert le Diable: 'Robert the Devil,' a famous opera by Meyerbeer, text by Scribe (1832). The story, widespread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and later, is concerned with the struggle of a pious mother to rescue her son from the devil. She is successful Robert saves Rome from the Saracens and ends his life as a hermit.
728Pour moi: 'as for me,' 'as far as I am concerned'--quand je vivrais cent ans: 'even if I should live for a hundred years', note this meaning ofquandwith the conditional.
729s'approchant du: note thedeused withs'approcher, se rapprocher,2025.
733A peine avait-il: cf. note to532.
Return to page 7
81il allait se passer: 'there was going to happen'; cf. note to423.--quelque chose de grand: 'something great'; note thedeCf.quelque chose d'informe3521,quelque chose de noir4518.
86bis: Latin, 'twice,' indicating that a thing is to be repeated.
89A vous, Tartarin:'your turn, Tartarin!'
813en bon Méridional:'like a true Southerner'; cf. note to520.
818de plus belle:'louder than ever'; supply a feminine noun (manière, façon) afterbelle;of4515.
819la chose en restait là:'the thing stopped there'; the so called redundanten;of1619-20,1716,1832,2826,9030 Cf. the redundanty(note to97)Enandyin these cases cannot easily be translated, but the student should train himself to recognize their force.
825clignait de l'oeil:cf.battre des mains'to clap one's hands.'
826dire d'un ... air:'to say with an ... air'--Je viens de:venir de faire quelque chose= 'to have just done somethmg.' In this passage the expression has both the figurative and the literal meaning: 'I come (have come) from the Bézuquets', where I have just sung.'
Return to page 8
93diable d'homme:cf. note to112.
94prendre:'to captivate.'
97lapin:lit. 'rabbit'; familiarly, as here, 'a game one.'--s'y connaissait en lapins:se connaître àoren= 'to be an expert in.'Yin this passage is redundant: it replacesà+eux(cf. note to229), which is repeated inen lapins, cf.1030, and the redundanten(note to819).
914cheval de trompette:'trumpeter's horse,' 'war-horse.'Trompette= 'trumpet,' 'trumpeter.'
916gros sous:'ten-centime pieces,' 'two-cent pieces. A five-centime piece (one cent) is calledun petit sou.
917lord Seymour:Henry Seymour (1805-1859), an eccentric, extravagant English lord who spent most of his life in Paris. He was well known to the Parisian populace.
918Roi des halles tarasconnaises:'King of the Tarascon Market-Place.' François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort (1616-1669), fearless, presumptuous, coarse, was the idol of the rabble, by whom he was surnamedRoi des Halles(the great market of Paris).
920bien sanglé ... futaine:'in his tight-fitting fustian shooting-jacket.Sangler= 'to bind with a girth,' 'to strap'; cf.un officier sanglé'an officer with a tight-fitting coat on.'
921se montrant ... ils se disaient:cf. note to72.
Return to page 9
104pampas:'pampas,' vast plains in Argentina, extending from the Atlantic to the Andes.
105faire ... casquette:faire une battue= to beat (battre) the woods or bushes for game. Transl. 'to go a-cap-hunting.'
107A la longue, il y aurait eu(conditional anterior ofil y a)de quoi:'in the end there would have been wherewith,' 'if this existence were continued long, it would have been enough.'
1010en vain s'entourait-il:cf. note to532.
1013lectures romanesques:'romantic readings.' The French for Engl. 'lecture' isconférence, causerie. Romanesque= 'romantic.' The Frenchromantiqueis used in speaking of the Romantic School literary history, and of landscapes.--don Quichotte:hero of the celebrated novel "Don Quixote," by Cervantes (1547-1616, cf. note to3924). Don Quixote, a Spanish gentleman, has his head turned as a result of excessive reading of romances, and, attended by his fat, vulgar squire, Sancho Panza, scours Spain, righting wrongs and rescuing fair damsels, in the fashion of the knights of old. Don Quixote was ever tireless and fearless, while Sancho Panza disliked hard knocks and preferred a slothful life of ease and plenty to the glorious career of privations which was the lot of the knight errant. Tartarin de Tarascon combined the qualities of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza; hence a terrible internal conflict of which we shall read in chapter vi. This disconcerting complexity of character, which is not confined to a Southerner if we may believe the epigraph of this work (En France tout le monde est un peu de Tarascon), is again elucidated in "La Défense de Tarascon" (in "Contes du lundi") and in "Tartarin sur les Alpes," ch. ii, p 35, where the adventurous spirit of warren rabbits (lapins de garenne) clashes with the domesticity of cabbage-garden rabbits (lapins de choux).
1014s'arracher aux:cf. note to424.
1022par les lourdes après-midi d'été:'during the sultry summer afternoons.' Note the use ofparin statements relating to the weather; cf.321,6317.--à lire:'engaged in reading'; cf.à mener6832, and7330.
1024que de fois:'how many times.'
1027foulard de tête:'kerchief round his head.'
1030Qu'ils y viennent maintenant!'now just let'em come!'Yis redundant; cf. note to97.
Return to page 10
116Touareg:cf. note to4017.--des Abruzzes:'of the Abruzzi,' a mountainous district of central Italy, noted for its brigands.
119avait beau les appeler:'called them in vain'; cf.2816,468.Beauis ironical in this expression; cf. Engl. "a fine fellow," "a pretty mess."
1110Pécaïré(Latinpeccator = pécheur'sinner'): sometimes Gallicized by Daudet under the formpéchère. A very common Provençal exclamation, usually denoting pity or resignation. Transl. 'alas,' 'dear me.'
1112les attendait toujours:'continued to wait for them'; note this force oftoujours; cf.2611,7120.
1114chevalier du Temple:'Knight Templar.' The order of the knights of the Temple (i.e. the temple of Solomon) was organized in 1118 for the purpose of protecting pilgrims on the way to the Holy Land.
1115tigre chinoisthe Chinese soldiers used to be calledtigres de guerre(Littre, Suppl).
1117de pied en cap(Latcaput) 'from head to foot', of Engl. 'armed cap a pic'Cap= 'head' is obsolete except in this expression and in a few technical terms.
1120Branle-bas de combat!'clear decks for action!'Le branleis the word formerly used for the seaman's hammock (now usuallyle hamac),branle bas= 'down with the hammocks,' get them out of the way.
1124entre drap et flanelle:transl. 'under his coat'--Par exemplelit 'for example', a common exclamation of which the translation varies with the context, here, 'I assure you!'
1127se fendait, tirait:'lunged,' 'thrust,' fencing expressions.
1129à l'anglaise(supplymode'manner'): 'in the English manner,' i.e. calmly, cf.à la mode indienne1233.
Return to page 11
123vous pensez:cf. note to46.
126fermait la porte à double tour:'double locked the gate', lit. 'with a double turn of the key' In the old lock a single turn of the key drove the bolt into the socket, a second turn drove it farther.
1215chaussée:'highway,' the middle of a road or street, usually paved and arched, cf.8827.
1221cours:'public promenade' "There is all round Tarascon a promenade (cours) lined with trees, which is called in the local dictionaryle Tour de villeEvery Sunday afternoon the Tarasconians, slaves to habit despite their imagination, make their circuit of the town (font leur tour de ville)" "Tartarin sur les Alpes," ch 11, p 42, cf.2310-11.
1222par le plus long:supplychemin.
1225coupe-gorge(plural and singular alike) 'haunts of cutthroats'Coupe jarret= 'cut throat' (jarret= 'ham string')--lui tomber sur le dos'fall upon his back', cf.1833,2013,288,316,6511.
1227jamais, au grand jamais:'never, NEVER'.
1228eut la chance:'had the good luck' Engl 'chance' = French Occasion.
1231planté sur place:'rooted to the spot', ofen resta planté4411.
1232prenant le vent:'sniffing the air,' used of hunting dogs, as a nautical expression = 'sailing near the wind'.
Return to page 12
131Plus de doutes:'no more doubt', cf.,117 Withplus, pas, jamais, rien, and other words of this typeneis omitted when the verb is omitted, but cf.718,883.
133se ramassait sur lui-même.'gathered himself,' 'crouched'.
137Té! vé!dialectal for tiens, vois, used as exclamations, 'Well, well!'--adieu:in Southern France occasionally (as here and644) a greeting ('hello'), though ordinarily, as in Northern France, a parting salutation ('good-by'). The Southerner prefixes an exclamation which Daudet writes sometimesetas here and sometimeshé, ('hey') as in644.
139la sienne'his' (ballad), see617.
1313de long en large:'up and down'.
1318faire son bezigue:'to play his game of bezique,' a game of Cards.
1321diable au vert:'far away corners of the globe' The castle of Vauvert in the suburbs of Paris belonged to King Louis IX. Some Carthusian monks who desired to gain possession of it pretended that it was haunted by evil spirits, and it was abandoned to them, hence the expressiondiable Vauvert(Vauvertis a genitive, 'the demon of Vauvert'), which was later corrupted todiable au vert. The castle was far from the center of the city, perhaps it is for this reason thataller au diable vauvert, au diable au vert, means 'to go a long distance'. I have not seen an article on this locution which appeared in theRevue du Midi, 1911.--comment diantre:'how the deuce', diantre is a euphemism for diable.
1322se trouvait-il:'did it happen'Se trouver= 'to find oneself, itself,' 'to happen,' 'to be'.
1326Marseille:'Marseilles,' the greatest seaport in France and the metropolis of the south, only sixty miles from Tarascon.
1327Provençal:a native of Provence Provence = Latinprovincia,'theprovince,' comprising that part of Gaul which was first conquered and organized, laterGallia NarbonensisProperly, Provence is today the southeastern part of France, but the termsProvence, Provençal,are frequently used to designate all of southern France (south of the Loire), theMidi--se paie:'treats himself to', cf.je me paie un bon dîner'I treat myself to a good dinner'--C'est au plus s'il:'at the most he,' 'scarcely did he'.
1328Beaucaire:a city on the Rhone, opposite Tarascon, to which it is joined by a long suspension bridge. cf. note to1811.
1330diable de pont:cf. note to112.
Return to page 13
144C'est que:'the fact is that'.
145Je sens deux hommes en moi: see Romans vii, Galatians v, 17. One of the distinctive features of the religion of St Paul was its insistence upon an internal conflict between the higher and lower impulses of man. Daudet is probably thinking of the expression of this doctrine in one of Racine's canticles (III) where th wordsJe trouve deux hommes en moiappear.
146Père d'Église'Church Father' Paul was an Apostle, not a Church Father. The Church Fathers were the early disseminators and expounders of the Christian faith who continued the work of the apostles--Il l'eût dit vrai=il l'aurait dit vrai. Vraiis used adverbially, 'truly'.
1410hidalgoSpanish, 'nobleman', Latinfilius de aliquo'son of somebody '--prétexte de corps'apology for a body'.
1411manquait de prise'had no hold'.
1414brave homme de corps'jolly old body'.
1416le corps ... pattesTartarin's Quixotic mind dwelt in the 'fat bellied,' 'short legged' body of a Sancho Panza.
1419mauvais ménagefairefaire mauvais ménageis said of a husband and wife who do not get along well together.
1421Lucien'Lucian,' the famous Greek satirist of the second century A.D., author of brilliant "Dialogues of the Gods" and "Dialogues of the Dead" --Saint-Évremond(1613-1703) man of the world, Epicurean, skeptic, an unsparing satirist.
1432rifles a deux coups=fusils rayés à doubles canons507, 'double barreled rifles'.
Return to page 14
152genouillères'knee caps,' flannel or knitted coverings for the knees, to prevent or ease rheumatism.
153casquettes à oreillettes'caps with ear laps'.
156sonnant la bonne'ringing for the maid' Note this use ofsonner
159moiré'shimmering,' like watered silks cf.Engl 'mohair,' 'moire'.
15chapter headingShang-Hai'Shanghai,' a seaport in China--haut commerce145, cf.haute finance'high finance' transl. Simply. 'commerce'--Tartares (Tatares) 'Tartars' ('Tatars'), a generic term for certain Mongolian tribes The Manchu Tatars were till recently rulers of China--serait-il ?'is it possible that he be ?' Note the use of the conditional to express conjecture or possibility, the future is used in similar constructionsil aura manque le train'he has probably missed the train 'cf. auriez vous l'intention(768) 'is it possible that you intend?'
1513avait failli partir'had failed to départ', i.e. 'almost departed'
1521vous apparaissait d'une hauteur!'was a wonderful thing indeed!'Vousis the common ethical dative, to be omitted in translation, cf.the Shakespearean "Knockmethat door!" and "There's perfectionfor you!' "--D'une hauteur!suppression for emphasis far more frequent in French than in English, cf.3017,4925 Note the play on the wordshaut, Hauteur145n'entendait ... oreille-là. i.e. "didn't see it in that light".
Return to page 15
167Parions que si, parions que non'I'll bet (lit 'let us bet') he will, I'll bet he won't'Siis used forouiin contradictionsQueis not to be translated, cf.je crois que oui (non)'I think so (not)'.
1610Avoir failli allercf.1513.
1611c'était tout commecolloquial, 'it was just the same'.
1612en revenait=revenait de là bas, 'was returning from there'.
1613tous ces messieurs'everybody' English has no construction corresponding to this use ofceIt is used deferentially, especially by servantsMadame prie ces messieurs de l'attendre'Mrs X will see you in a moment, cf.63,537.
1619en arrivait à direredundanten(cf. note to819), 'came to the point of saying'.
1626il devait bien savoir'he must have known perfectly well'.
1629s'entendre'come to an understanding', lit 'hear each other','understand each other' cf. notes to23,72.
1632Toulousean important city in southwestern France.
Return to page 16
171son mensonge à luià luirepeats the idea expressed bysonthus emphasizing it, cf.2013.
174allez-vous-en dans le Midi'go (away) into the South' The force ofs'enins'en alleris sometimes vague, and in colloquial speechs'en alleroften is almost equivalent to the simple aller, e.g.je m'en vais vous dire'I am going to tell you', cf.5510,6322,28,5311.
178butte Montmartrea hill (butte) in Paris.
179Maison carrée('Square House') de Nîmes one of the most beautiful Roman remains in France It was a Roman temple and is very small a mere nothing in comparison with Notre Dame--bijou d'étagère'cabinet gem' Theétagèreis used for displaying small articles of value, see "étagère" and "whatnot" in Engl. Dict.
1710Notre-Damethe celebrated cathedral in Paris.
1714Tout au plus une sous-préfecture'at the very most a subprefecture' Arles (cf.2911) with a population of 29,000, is an example of a subprefecture Both Athens and Sparta were decidedly larger than this, cf. note to8013 The Frenchdépartements(compare our 'States') are divided into arrondissements (compare our 'counties') A prefect (préfet) presides over adépartement, and a subprefect (sous préfet) over anarrondissementSous préfectureis synonymous with arrondissement, or, as here, is used for the city in which the subprefect has his offices. Anarrondissementis divided intocantonsand acantonintocommunes.
1716encf. note to819.
17chapter headingAtlas:a mountain range in northwestern Africa.
1725séculaire:'lasting for centuries'(Latsæculum), 'everlasting' not 'secular' See Engl dict.
Return to page 17