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guères possible d'en voir de plus limpide. Près de la petite cabane est un arbre qui permet à peine de la voir, et qui défend ses habitans du soleil, du froid, et du vent. Et un charmant rossignol fredonne sur cet arbre des chants si doux que tous ceux qui passent s'arrêtent pour l'écouter. Toi petite blondine, qui longtems fis ma joye! le vent souffle avec violence, je m'en retourne à ma cabane, veux-tu y entrer avec moi ?

We beg leave to observe to the students of either language, or of both, that it is a very excellent exercise, in the beginning of their studies, to express the idea of the original with another person of the verb. For instance, change the two last lines of the French translation into the language of polite intercourse, by expressing the same idea in the second person plural. Vous petite blondine, &c. Do the same with the seventh and eighth line of our German translation in the preceding page; instead of Da du est wirklich bist, say in the third person plural, (which is used in polite conversation) Da Sie es wirklich sind, &c. and apply this method wherever you have an opportunity.

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THAT French poëtry differs very little from prose, is a remark which is amply confirmed in the following historical narrative, taken from one of BOILEAU, the French satirist's, epistles. It has hardly any inversions, and does not rise above the style of genteel conversation.

"Pourquoi ces éléphants? ces armes ? ce bagage?
Et ces vaisseaux tout prêts à quitter le rivage?
Disoit au roi Pyrrhus un sage confident,

Conseiller très sensé d'un roi très imprudent.

Je vais, lui dit ce prince, à Rome, où l'on m'appelle.
Quoi faire ?-l'assiéger.-L'enterprise est fort belle,
Et digne seulement d'Alexandre ou de vous.
Mais Rome prise enfin, Seigneur, où courons-nous?
Du reste des Latins la conquête est facile.

Sans doute on peut les vaincre. Est-ce tout? La Sicile
De là nous tend les bras; et bientôt sans efforts
Syracuse reçoit nos vaisseaux dans ses ports.
Bornez vous là vos pas?-Dès que nous l'aurons prise
Il ne faut qu'un bon vent, et Carthage est conquise.
Les chemins sont ouverts; qui peut nous arrêter?
Je vous entends, Seigneur; nous allons tout domter;
Nous allons traverser les sables de Lybie,
Asservir en passant l'Egypte et l'Arabie,
Courir delà le Gange en de nouveaux pays,
Faire trembler le Scythe aux bords du Tanaïs,
Et ranger sous nos loix tout ce vaste hémisphère.
Mais de retour enfin, que prétendez vous faire ?

Alors, cher Cinéas, victorieux, contens

Nous pourrons rire à l'aise, et prendre du bon tems.
Eh! Seigneur! dès ce jour, sans sortir de l'Epire

Du matin jusqu'au soir qui vous défend de rire ?"

WHAT are these Elephants, these weapons, this baggage for? and these vessels quite ready to leave the shore? said to King Pyrrhus a wise confidant, a very sensible counsellor to a very imprudent monarch. I am, answered this Prince, going to Rome, whither I am called. What to do there? To besiege it. It is a noble attempt, and worthy only of Alexander or of you: but when Rome is taken at length, my Lord, whither shall we hasten? The conquest of the rest of the Latins is easy. Undoubtedly they may be conquered. Is that all? Sicily then opens its arms to us, and Syracuse soon admits our ships into its harbours without any great effort of ours. Is that to be the end of your exploits? As soon as Sicily is taken, it requires only a good wind, and Carthage is conquered. The roads are open; who can stop us? I understand you, my Lord, we are going to subdue all; we shall cross the waste sands of Lybia, enslave by the way Egypt and Arabia, hasten to new regions beyond the Ganges, make the Scythians tremble on the shores of the Tanaïs, and subject all that extensive hemisphere to our laws. But when we are at length returned, what do you intend to do? Then, my dear Cineas, being victorious and contented, we may laugh at our ease, and be merry. Ah! my Lord! who, from this day forward, prevents your laughing from morn to night without leaving the kingdom of Epirus?

Pourquoi, adv. and conj. why, wherefore, what for. But it is also employed as a subst. for the cause, reason, motive. Je veux savoir le pourquoi, I want to know the reason; Elle voudroit savoir le pourquoi du pourquoi, she would like to know the cause of the cause. Ces armes, these weapons; une arme, f. an arm, a weapon: in the pl. warlike exploits, arms in heraldry, and faire or tirer des armes, to fence; une arme à feu, a musket or pistol; arme blanche, a sword; faire ses premières armes, to make one's first campaign; un maitred'armes, or maitre en fait d'armes, a fencing-master.

ce bagage, m. this baggage, luggage; plier bagage, to run away, and fig. il a plié bagage, he is dead.

et ces vaisseaux, and those ships; un vaisseau, m. a ship. a vessel. It is only used of large ships. Bâtiment, m. is the

most general expression for any ship; un bâtiment marchand, a trading ship. Tout prêts, quite ready; tout is here an adv. entirely, quite. prêt, adj. ready, is always construed with the prep. à. It must be carefully distinguished from the preposition, près, near, which is construed with de. je suis près de sortir, I am on the point of going out. je suis prêt à sortir, I am ready to go out. The subst. un prêt, m. is a loan, the thing lent, a soldier's pay. à quitter le rivage, to leave the shore. Remember that you never translate the English" to leave," when it means "to quit," by laisser; it always is quitter. Je quitterai Paris pour me rendre à Reims huit jours avant le sacre du roi, I shall leave Paris for Rheims a week before the King's coronation. le rivage, m. the shore, is used only in speaking of the sea and of large rivers. la rive, f. or les bords, m. pl. the banks of a river.

un sage confident, a wise confidant; confident, m. confidente, f. a female confidant.

conseiller, m. a counsellor, adviser; but it never means an advocate, a counsellor at law: it is also employed in the f. We may say fig. la faim et la colère sont de mauvaises conseillères, hunger and anger are bad advisers.

très sensé, very sensible. Be careful never to render the English "sensible," by sensible in French, this means "feeling," who has much sensibility. Sensé, ée, adj. wise, judicious, prudent; it may therefore be considered here as nearly equivalent to the English "sensible," though in general 66 a sensible man" is more, un homme de bon sens, de grand sens, or un homme d'esprit.

je vais, 1st person sing. ind. pres. of the irr. aller, to go, which we recommended to your attention, page 73, No. V. Formerly the French indifferently said, “ je vais” or “ je vas," I go, in the first person, but je vais is now more generally used in genteel company. The imperat. va is spelt with an s before a vowel. Vas y, go thither. Il y a des fraises dans le jardin, vas en cueillir, mon enfant, there are strawberries in the garden, go, child, and gather some. On y va, is an expression used by shopkeepers to call out to their customers that they are coming, and also by waiters, for the English

"coming, Sir!" You now will understand the laughable part of the following occurrence. "Un marchand de vin (a publican) étant allé à la messe, s'y endormit (fell asleep) mais lorsqu'il entendit la sonnette, il se réveilla en sursaut (he awoke suddenly) et croyant être encore dans sa boutique (in his shop) il s'écria tout haut (in a loud voice) On y va! On y va!

où l'on m'appelle, whither they call me, whither I am called. You now begin to perceive the great use of this general indeterminate pronoun on, to which an is prefixed, whenever it follows close upon certain vowels and diphthongs for harmony's sake. By avoiding the passive voice, it gives more vivacity to the expression; it might even be said to be more metaphysically correct. On m'appelle, they call me; on me dit, they tell me; on m'écrit, they write to me. In all such cases the action of the verb is not properly exercised upon Appeller, r. a 1. to call, to name, to appeal; appeller en duel, to challenge.

me, but only directed towards me.

Quoi faire, what to do? quoi is here the pron. inter. what? but it is also used relatively; je ne sais quoi faire, I do not know what I am to do. The difference between je ne sais que faire, page 56, No. IV. and je ne sais quoi faire, is very slight. The latter insinuates a perplexity, an embarrassment; the former refers simply to the choice of an occupation. à quoi pensez vous ? what are you thinking of? de quoi cous occupez vous? what are you doing just now? to what is your particular attention directed? à quoi vous occupez vous? How do you employ your time? What are you doing? Je ne sais quoi, I do not know what, is an expression which is always construed with de before the adj. that follows and denotes a something. Il a je ne sais quoi de sinistre dans la physionomie, there is something rather inauspicious in his countenance; l'assiéger, to besiege it. Assiéger, r. a. 1. to besiege, to beset, to become troublesome by too frequent visits; cette pauvre femme m'assiège tous le jours, à toute heure, this poor woman is at me every day, at all times. L'enterprise, f. undertaking, attempt, enterprise. French words in ise are f. except un Cytise, a Cytisus tree.

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