Resuscitated on the 17th of August, between three and four in the
afternoon, he died on the 17th of the following month, at what hour we
shall never know. His second life had lasted a little less than
thirty-one days. But it is simple justice to say that he made good use
of his time. He reposes in the spot which young Renault had bought for
him. His granddaughter Clementine left off her mourning about a year
since. She is beloved and happy, and Leon will have nothing to reproach
himself with if she does not have plenty of children.
_Bourdonnel, August_, 1861.
FINIS.
NOTES
TO
THE MAN WITH THE BROKEN EAR.
NOTE 1, page 69.--_Black butterflies_, a French expression that we might
tastefully substitute for _blue devils_.
NOTE 2, page 72.--_The 15th of August_ is the Emperor's birthday.
NOTE 3, page 85.--_Centigrade_, of course.
NOTE 4, page 101.--Fougas' surprise is explained by the well-known fact
that Napoleon was obliged to forbid the playing of _Partant pour la
Syrie_ in his armies, on account of the homesickness and consequent
desertion it occasioned.
NOTE 5, page 118.--_Jeu de Paume_ (tennis-court), is the name given to
the meeting of the third-estate (_tiers-etat_) in 1789, from the
locality where it took place.
NOTE 6, page 161.--The English used by the two young noblemen is M.
About's own. It is certainly such English as Frenchmen would be apt to
speak, and it is as fair to attribute that fact to M. About's fine sense
of the requirements of the occasion, as to lack of familiarity with our
language.
NOTE 7, page 164.--It is not without interest to note that M. About used
the English word _gentlemen_.
NOTE 8, page 166.--_War against tyrants! Never, never, never shall the
Briton reign in France!_
NOTE 9, page 214.--The original here contains a neat little conceit,
which cannot be translated, but which is too good to be lost. The French
for daughter-in-law is _belle fille_, literally "beautiful girl." To
Fougas' address "_Ma belle fille!_" Mme. Langevin replies: "_I am not
beautiful, and I am not a girl._" It suggests the similar retort
received by Faust from Marguerite, when he addressed her as _beautiful
young lady!_
NOTE 10, page 230.--The Translator has intentionally used both the
singular and the plural of the second person in Fougas' apostrophe to
Clementine, as it seemed to him naturally required by the variations of
the sentiment.
NOTE 11, page 248.--The reader will bear in mind Marshal Leblanc's
allusion to condemned horses.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Man With The Broken Ear, by Edmond About
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account