FRENCH AS SHE IS TRADUCED (continued 3)
Reading edition
Boys are what masters make them.
Both English and French boys are lazy if you give them a chance; both are industrious if you give them inducements to work. They will not come out of their shells unless you make it worth their while.
Both are as fond of holidays as any school-master alive.
French boys are more united among themselves, because their life would be intolerable if close friendship did not spring up between them, and help them to endure a secluded time of hardship and privations.
English boys are prouder, because they are freer. Their pride is born of liberty itself.
The former work more, the latter play more.
But comparisons are odious, especially when made between characters studied under such different circumstances.
What I can affirm is that a Frenchman need not fear that English boys (such as I have known at any rate) will take advantage of his shortcomings as regards his pronunciation of the English language to make his life uncomfortable. I have always found English boys charitable and generous.
A Frenchman will experience no difficulty in getting on with English schoolboys if his character wins their respect, and his kindness their affection; if he sympathizes with them in their difficulties; if he deals with them firmly, but always in a spirit of fair play, truth, and justice; if he is
"To their faults a little blind, And to their virtues very kind."
THE END.
Appendix.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a joke."—(Mark Twain.)
PAGE.
7. Appartement de garçon, "bachelor's quarters," not "waiter's apartment."
12. Fors l'honneur, "except honor" (a phrase used by Francis I. of France, when he announced his defeat at Pavia to his mother).
13. Gare du Nord, "Great Northern Railway Terminus," in Paris (celebrated for its Cloak Room, where, on his arrival from England, John Bull deposits his baggage of superfluous virtue).
16. Très bien, Monsieur, "Very well, sir." (I owe to the reader many apologies for translating such an idiomatic phrase as this.)
19. Qui frise ses cheveux et la cinquantaine, literally, "Who curls her hair and fifty summers." (The word friser means both "to curl" and "to border on." I hope the reader will see the joke.)
21. Recherché, "refined."
22. Planche, "a plank."
33. Allons me voila sauvé, "Now I am saved."
41. Migraine, "Sick headache," an indisposition to which French ladies are subject, when they are reading a novel and do not wish to be disturbed by callers.
48. Elle se retira.... "She retired to her room and prepared for bed. But who could sleep? Sleep!"
48. Celui qui écrit, literally "He who writes."
49. Poitrine, "chest" (part of the body). Caleçons (unmentionables).
49. Il feutra, il gaucha, formed from the nouns feutre ("felt," material) and gauche ("left,"contrary of "right").
51. "Look at Pierrot hanging
Because he did not restore the book;
If the book he had restored
Pierrot wouldn't have been hanged."
Fac-simile of John Bull, Junior's, Exercise.
1. Europe is a part of the world. 2. Asia is a part of the world. 3. Africa is a part of the world. 4. America is a part of the world. 5. My father is in France. 6. My cousin is in Germany. 7. Your brother is in Dresden. 8. Where is thy sister? She is in Paris.
54. Egal, "Equal."
55. Savoir, "to know." The future is je saurai.
57. Vouloir, "to want." The future is je voudrai.
63. Je serai, "I shall be."
Je serais, "I should be."
73. The feminine words respectively mean "trumpet," "medicine," "navy," "sculpture," whereas the masculine names respectively mean "trumpeter," "doctor," "sailor," "sculptor." This is an old examination question, a time-honored chestnut of the University of London.
73. Restait cette redoutable infanterie.... "There remained the redoubtable infantry of the Spanish army, whose big close battalions, like so many towers, but towers that could repair their own gaps, stood unshaken in the awful din of battle and fired from all parts" (with my apologies to the shade of Bossuet).
74. La fille de feu.... "The daughter of my good and esteemed deceased cousin is always welcome."
74. Mon frère.... "My brother is wrong and my sister is right."
74. Elle partit.... "She left the following morning."
75. Diable!... "Good heavens! the old man is capricious!"
76. Je laisse Renaud.... "I leave Renaud in the gardens of Armida." (The worthy boy took Renaud for Renard, a fox—that's near enough.)
76. Chaque âge a ses plaisirs. "Each age has its pleasures."
77. Les exploits d'Hercule.... "The exploits of Hercules are mere play compared to."
77. Monsieur, ne vous retournez pas. "Sir, do not look round."
78. Il raccommodait.... "He mended old shoes."
78. Baissant les yeux, "Casting down her eyes."
84. Dimanche, "Sunday."
84.Manche, near enough to manger (to eat) for Johnny.
84. Cordon bleu, skilful cook. (Teetotalers in England wear blue ribbons, hence the boy's confusion.)
89. Baccalauréat-ès-sciences, degree of B.Sc.
92. Avec de belles dents.... "With fine teeth never was a woman ugly."
93. Arriver, naître, venir, sortir, partir, "to arrive," "to be born," "to come," "to go out," "to set out."
120. Savate, boxing and kicking; canne, cane (fencing expression).
135. Avez-vous du mal? "Are you hurt?" The Englishman understands Avez-vous deux malles? "Have you two trunks?"
135. Garçon, j'ai faim, "Waiter, I'm hungry."
138. Ses amis, "his friends." Seize amis, "sixteen friends."
146. Quelle heure est-il? "What o'clock is it?" Comment vous portez-vous? "How do you do?"
152. Qu'il n'est pas nécessaire.... "That it is not necessary to know any thing of a subject to speak on it."
153. Lycee, "French public school."
159. Un ami à musique would mean a friend who could give off a tune by being pressed upon.
163. Monsieur le Président, je demande la parole, "Mr. President, I ask for the floor."
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