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A FRENCH PEASANT'S SUPPER.

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The family consisted of1 an old gray-headed man and his wife, with five or six sons and sons-in-law and their several 2 wives, and a joyous genealogy out of them.3 They were all sitting down together to their lentil soup; a large wheaten loaf was in the middle of the table; and a flagon of wine at each end of it promised joy through the stages of the repast; 'twas a feast of love. The old man rose up to meet me, and with a respectful cordiality would have me sit down at the table :8 my heart was set down the moment I entered the room,10 so I sat down at once 11 like a son of the family; and to invest myself in the character 12 as speedily as I could,13 I instantly borrowed 14 the old man's knife, and taking up the loaf, cut myself a hearty luncheon ;15 and as I did it 16 I saw a testimony in every eye, not only of an honest welcome, but of 17 a welcome mixed with 18 thanks

1 Consisted of, se composait de-2 several, to be left out-3 a joyous genealogy out of them, leur joyeuse généalogie-4 sitting down, attablés-5 at each end of it, à chaque bout-6 joy through the stages of the repast, "a joyful repast from the beginning to (jusqu'à) the end "- to meet me, et s'avança au-devant de moi-8 would have me sit down at the table, il insista pour que je me misse à table-9 was set down, s'y était assis-10 the moment I entered the room, du moment où j'étais entré (see note a, p. 6) dans la salle-11 so I......at once, je......donc à l'instant même-12 to invest myself in the character, pour me mettre dans mon rôle-13 as speedily as I could, le plus promptement possible-14 see note, p. 3-15 cut myself a hearty luncheon, je me coupai de quoi faire une copieuse collation-16 as I did it, ce faisant-17 I saw, etc......but of, literally, "I read in all the eyes not only a sincere welcome (accueil), but also (mais encore)" -18 with, de.

a An old gray-headed man, un vieillard aux cheveux blancs.Gray hair, indicative of old age, and used emphatically as such, really means white hair, and in French must be rendered by cheveux blancs.

b A son of the family, un fils de la maison. The word famille, in the sense of "household," is now quite obsolete.

A FRENCH PEASANT'S SUPPER.

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Was it this, or that made 5 this

that1 I had not seemed to doubt it.2 tell me, Nature, what else it was, morsel so sweet; and to what magic I owe it that 7 the draught I took of their flagon was so delicious with it, that they remain 10 on my palate to this hour ?11 If the supper was to 12 my taste, the grace which followed it was much more so.13

When supper was over, 14 the old man gave a knock upon the table with the haft of his knife to bid them prepare 15 for the dance. The moment the signal was given, 16 the women and girls 17 ran all together into a back apartment 18 to tie up their hair, 19 and the young men to the door to wash their faces 20 and change their sabots ;21 and in 22 three minutes every soul 23 was ready, upon a little esplanade before the house, to 24 begin. The old man and his wife came out last,25 and placing me betwixt them,26 sat down upon a sofa of turf by 27 the door. The old man 28 had, some fifty years 29 been no mean performer upon 30 the vielle; and

ago,

1 That, de ce que-2 "to doubt of it"-3"that" (see note, p. 13)-4 what else it was, ce que ce pouvait être 5 see note ", p. 2 6sweet, succulent-7 to what magic I owe it that, grâce à quelle magie-8 the draught I took of, le vin que je bus de-9 was so

..with it, me parut-il en même temps si......- 10 they remain, tous les deux, sont encore là-11 to this hour, à l'heure qu'il est-12 to, de-13 was much more so, le fut encore davantage14 when supper was over, le souper fini-15 to bid them prepare, pour leur dire de s'apprêter-16 the moment the signal was given, aussitôt le signal donné-17 girls, les jeunes filles-18 a back apartment, une arrière-pièce-19 to tie up their hair, pour se nouer les cheveux (i. e., "to tie up the hair to themselves")—20 and the young men, etc.......faces, tandis que les jeunes hommes coururent se laver le visage à la porte-21"and change of sabots"-22 and in, au bout de 23 every soul, tout le monde-24 was ready upon, ....to, était sur...... prêt à25 came out last, arrivèrent les derniers _26 betwixt them, entr'eux deux-7 by, près de 28 the old man, le bonhomme-29 some fifty years ago, quelque cinquante ans auparavant 30 had been no mean performer upon, n'avait pas mal joué de.

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at the age he was then of, touched it well enough for the purpose. His wife sang now and then a little to the tune, then intermitted, and joined her old man again as their children and grandchildren danced before them.

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GALILEO'S * ABJURATION.

STERNE.

Clothed in the sackcloth of a repentant criminal, Galileo, at the age of seventy, fell upon his knees 8 before the assembled cardinals, and laying his right hand on the Holy Evangelists, he invoked the Divine assistance in abjuring and detesting and vowing never again to teach the doctrine 10 of the earth's motion and the sun's stability. He pledged himself never again to 11 propagate such heresies either 12 in his conversation or 13 in his writings; and he vowed that he would 14 observe all the penances which had been inflicted on him.15 What a 16 mortifying picture does this scene present us of 17 moral infirmity and intellectual, weakness! If we brand with infamy 18 the unholy zeal of the inquisitorial

1 He was then of, qu'il avait alors-2 touched it......for the purpose, il en touchait......pour ce qu'il en voulait faire-3 sang now and then a little to the tune, joignait de temps en temps sa voix à la musique-4 then, etc.......again, puis s'arrêtait, pour se remettre encore à accompagner son vieux brave homme-5 as, pendant que.

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6 Clothed in the sackcloth, vêtu du sac-7 "seventy years' upon his knees, à genoux-9 his, "the"-10 he invoked, etc.......doctrine...... il implora le ciel de le soutenir dans son abjuration et sa haine de la doctrine...... et dans le vœu qu'il faisait de ne plus jamais l'enseigner he pledged himself never again to, il s'engagea à ne jamais plus-12 either, to be left out-13 "nor"-14 he vowed that he would, il jura de-15 " to him"-16 what a, quel-17 does this scene present us of......, de......cette scène nous présente-18 if we brand with infamy, si nous marquons du sceau de l'infamie.

*Galileo was born at Pisa in 1564, and died in 1642.

THE ADVANTAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVELS.

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conclave, what must we think when we behold 1 the 2 venerable sage, whose gray hairs were entwined with the chaplet of immortality,5 quailing under the fear of man, and sacrificing the convictions of his conscience, and the deductions of his reason, at the altar of a base superstition? Had Galileo added the courage of the martyr to the wisdom of the sage,-had he carried the glance of his eye round the circle of his judges, and with uplifted hands 10 called upon the living God to witness 11 the truth and immutability of his opinions, he might have disarmed the bigotry of his enemies, and science would have achieved 12 a memorable triumph.

SIR D. BREWSTER, "Life of Sir Isaac Newton."

THE ADVANTAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVELS.13 Ours is 14 a nation of travellers; and no wonder,15 when the elements, air, water, and fire, attend at our

1 "When we see," or "in seeing"-2 the, ce— 3 sage, philosophe 4 see note, p. 24-5 entwined......immortality, couronnés de l'auréole de l'immortalité-6 quailing under the fear of, se prosterner tremblant devant-7 man, plural-8 had Galileo, si Galilée eût - had he carried the glance of his eye, si, promenant son regard—10 and with uplifted hands, les mains levées vers le ciel— I called upon the living God to witness, il eût pris le Dieu vivant à témoin de 12 achieved, remporté.

13 Travels abroad"-14 ours is, a rien là d'étonnant.

66 we are"-15 no wonder, il n'y

a He might have disarmed, il aurait pu désarmer, and not: il pourrait avoir désarmé. Whenever any one of the verbs may or might (see note ", p. 2), could, should, ought to, or must, is thus followed by another verb in the past infinitive, this second verb is generally construed in the present infinitive in French, whilst the first verb, pouvoir or devoir, is put in a past tense-that is to say, supposing the nominative case to be of the third person singular, may will be rendered by "a pu," or 'aura pu;" might or could by "aurait pu," or "avait pu;" should or ought to by "aurait dû;" and must by the preterite "dut," or the compound “a dû,” "avait dû," or "aura dû."

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bidding1 to transport us from shore to shore ; 2 when 3 the ship rushes into the deep, her track the foam as of some 5 mighty torrent; and, in three hours or less, we stand gazing and gazed at 7 among a foreign people. None want an excuse. If rich," they go to enjoy ; 10 if poor, to retrench; 11 if sick, to recover; if studious, to learn; 12 if learned, to relax from their 13 studies. But whatever they may say and whatever they may believe, they go for the most part on the same errand; nor will those who reflect think 16 that errand an idle one.17

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Almost all men are over-anxious.18 No sooner do they enter 19 the world than they lose that taste for 20 natural and simple pleasures so remarkable in early life.21 Every hour do they ask themselves 22 what progress 23 they have made in the pursuit of wealth or honour,24 and on they go as their fathers went 25 before them, till, weary and sick at heart,26 they look back 27 with a sigh of regret to the golden time of their childhood.

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1 Attend at our bidding, sont à nos ordres—2 “ from one shore to the other"-3 this when being somewhat lame had better be left out into the deep, sur l'océan 5 her track, etc....... some, marquant son passage par un sillon d'écume que l'on croirait creusé par un-6 “or even we stand gazing and gazed at, nous sommes là regardant et regardés-8 among, au milieu de 9 none want an excuse, ce ne sont pas les excuses qui manquent-10 they go to enjoy, on s'en va pour s'amuseril to retrench, pour se retrancher-12 to learn, pour s'instruire13 to relax from their, pour se relâcher de ses 14 they go for the most part, la plupart des gens se mettent en route-15 on the same errand, "with the same object in view"-16" and (see note a, p. 5) those who reflect will not find"-17 that errand an idle one, cet objet insignifiant-18 over-anxious, portés à se tourmenter-19 no sooner do they enter, ils ne sont pas plus tôt entrés dans--20 for, "of the"

21 early life, l'enfance- 22 "they ask themselves from hour to hour (d'heure en heure)"-23 what progress, quels progrès (plur.) 24 "honours"-25 on they go as their fathers went, ils vont leur chemin comme ont fait leurs pères-26 sick at heart, dégoûtés27 they look back, ils se reportent.

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If rich, si l'on est riche. This ellipsis of the verb "to be," after if and when, is not French.

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