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their return from hunting, they saw a couple of owls 1 upon a tree that grew near an old wall out of a heap of rubbish. "I would fain know," 2 says the sultan, "what those two owls are saying to one another; 3 listen to their discourse, and give me an account of it." 4 The vizier approached the tree, pretending 5 to be very attentive to the two owls. Upon his return to the sultan: "Sir," says he, "I have heard part of their conversation, but dare not 10 tell you what it is." 11 The sultan would not be satisfied with 12 such an answer, but forced him to repeat, word for word, everything the owls had said. 13 must know 14 then," said the vizier, "that one of these owls has a son and the other a daughter, between whom they are now upon a treaty of marriage.15 The father of the son said 16 to the father of the daughter, in my hearing,17 'Brother, I consent to this marriage, provided you will settle upon your daughter fifty ruined villages for her portion.' 18 To which the father of the daughter replied,19 Instead of fifty, I will give her 20 five hundred, if you please.21 1 un couple de hiboux. The monsieur corresponds to 'sir,' the French substantive couple is femi- common term of civility. nine when it simply means two of 9 Translate, a part.' the same species, or kind, and near in place, or considered together; but it is masculine when it refers either to two individuals, male and female, or to any two beings united by a common will or sentiment, or any other cause which fits them to act in concert. Thus, une couple de pommes, d'œufs (a couple of apples, of eggs'); and un couple de fripons (a couple of rogues').

2 Je voudrais bien savoir.

3 ce que se disent ces deux hiboux. In subordinate sentences, like the present, it is often more elegant to put the nominative (ces deux hiboux) after the verb (se disent).

4 rends-m'en compte.-listen;' use the second person singular. 5 en feignant de; or, en faisant semblant (or, mine) de.

6 Translate, to the words (page 28, note 3) of the two owls.'

7 Simply, Revenu près du.
8 Sire (speaking to a sovereign);

10 See p. 31, n. 1; and p. 48, n. 12. 11 de quoi il s'agit.

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ne voulut pas se contenter de. 13 See p. 1, n. 12, and above, n. 3. 14 Vous saurez (future of savoir). 15 et ils sont maintenant en pourparler sur les conditions d'un mariage entre ces derniers.

16 Translate, has said.' [disse. assez haut pour que je l'enten

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pourvu que vous constituiez en dot (or, assigniez pour—en—dot) à votre fille cinquante, &c. Always observe, as a rule, in French, the closest connexion of ideas: thus, constituiez cinquante, &c. en dot à votre fille, would not be a good French construction.

19 Translate, has replied.'
20 See page 158, note 10.

21 si cela vous fait (or, peut vous faire) plaisir; or, si vous le voulez. -S'il vous plaît would correspond to 'if you please,' if used as a common term of civil request.

God grant a long life to Sultan Mahmoud; whilst he reigns over us we shall never want 2 ruined villages.'

The story says,3 the sultan was so touched with the fable that he rebuilt the towns and villages which had been destroyed, and from that time forward consulted the good of his people.-(ADDISON, Spectator.)

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66

TIT FOR TAT. 4

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to

A FRIEND of Dean 5 Swift one day sent him a turbot, as a present, by a servant who had frequently been on similar errands, but who had never received the most trifling mark of the dean's generosity. Having gained admission, he opened the door of the study, and, abruptly putting down the fish, cried very rudely, "Master has sent you a turbot." Young man," said the dean, rising from his easy chair,11" is that the way you deliver your message ? 12 Let me teach 13 sit down in my chair, better manners; you we will change situations, 14 and I will show 15 how you behave in future." The boy sat down; and the dean, going to the door, came up to 16 the table with a respectful pace, and making a low 17 bow, said, "Sir, my master presents his kind compliments,18 hopes you are well,19 and requests your acceptance of 20 a small present.” "Does -he?" 21 replied the boy; "return him my best thanks,2 1 au sultan. Nouns of title or, ... que tu fais ta commission)? (such as 'Sultan,' 'King,' 'Queen,' Doctor,' 'Dean,' 'Colonel,' 'Captain,' &c.), used before proper names, are preceded, in French, by the definite article.

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13 Laisse-moi te donner une leçon de politesse (or, de savoir-vivre).

14 situations;' use rôle (singular), and see page 2, note 6; and page 132, note 18

15 comment il faut.

16 s'avança vers.-' with; de.
17 profond.

18 vous présente (or, vous fait) ses compliments affectueux.

19 que vous vous portez bien; or, more politely, que vous êtes en bonne

santé.

20 et vous prie d'accepter (or, more politely still, de vouloir bien accepter. 'your kind acceptance of'). 21 Vraiment ! 22 remercie-le bien de ma part.

and there's half-a-crown for yourself."1

The dean, thus drawn into 2 an act of generosity, laughed heartily, and gave the boy a crown for his wit.—(* *)

* *

RABELAIS A TRAITOR.3

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THIS celebrated wit was once at a great distance from Paris, and without money to bear his expenses 5 thither. The ingenious author being thus sharp set, got together? a convenient quantity of brickdust, and having disposed of it into several papers, wrote upon one, Poison for Monsieur;9 upon a second, Poison for the Dauphin; 10 and on a third, Poison for the King. Having made this provision for 11 the royal family of France, he laid his papers so that the landlord, who was an inquisitive man and a good subject, might get a sight of them.13 The plot succeeded . as he desired; 14 the host gave immediate intelligence to 15 1 et voilà une demi-couronne which was afterwards transferred pour toi. The adjective demi is invariable when placed before the substantive, but agrees with it in gender when after, as une couronne et demie (a crown and a half'). 2 entraîné à.

3 coupable de haute trahison. 4 Rabelais, si célèbre par son esprit. See p. 90, end of note 6.

5 Translate, to pay his expenses.'-'thither,' jusque-là.

6 en étant donc aux expédients; or, étant donc réduit à sa dernière ressource; or, étant donc presque à bout de ressources (or, à bout de voie); or, ne sachant donc plus de quel bois faire flèche.In the more usual sense of, 'to be famished, 'to be sharp set' is, avoir les dents longues. 7 ramassa.

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to the eldest son of every French king, from the time of the annexation of that province to the crown until the first Revolution, in 1789.

11 Après avoir ainsi pourvu à la consommation de. 12 fidèle.

13 put les voir. The subjunctive (the mood which expresses doubt, among other things) is here used, instead of the indicative (pût instead of put), because an intention only-implying a doubt as to the result-and not a positive fact, is stated.

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comme il le désirait! The pronoun le (it'), which is used in French in such cases as this, carries back the mind to the fact mentioned before, namely, here, that 'it' (the plot) should succeed. It also corresponds to 'so,' or to any other resuming expression, either expressed or understood, in English.-Yet this pronoun may be left out after the adverbs of comparison plus, moins, comme, and after si, &c.

15 avertit immédiatement.

the secretary of state. The secretary presently sent down1 a special messenger, who brought up the traitor to court, and provided him, at the king's expense, with proper accommodations on the road.2 As soon as he appeared, he was known to be3 the celebrated Rabelais, and his powder, upon examination, being 5 found very innocent, the jest was only laughed at ; for which a less eminent droll would have been sent to the galleys.-(BUDGELL, Spectator.)

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THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE.

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A HARE jeered at a tortoise for 7 the slowness of his pace. But he laughed and said that he would run against her and beat her any day she should name.8 "Come on," said the hare, "you shall soon see what my feet are made of." 10 So it was agreed that they should start at once. The tortoise went off jogging along, without a moment's stopping, at his usual steady pace. The hare, treating the whole matter very lightly, said she would first take little nap, and that she should soon overtake the tortoise. Meanwhile the tortoise plodded on, 13 and the hare, oversleeping herself, arrived at the goal only to see tortoise had got in before her. Slow and steady wins the race.15

1 'sent down;' envoya sur les lieux, or, simply, envoya.

2 en lui faisant fournir sur la route, aux frais du roi, le logement et les vivres nécessaires.

3 on reconnut en lui; or, on le reconnut pour. See page 1, note 2, and page 8, note 15.

4 après, followed by no article. 5 Translate, having been.' 6 l'on ne fit que rire du tour. Notice this use of ne before a verb, and que after it.

7 raillait une tortue sur (or, de). 8 qu'elle le vaincrait à la course quand il voudrait.-A la course, running;' in the same way we say, passer une rivière à la nage ('swimming'); tuer un oiseau au vol ('flying'), &c. 9 Allons.

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a

14 that the

(JAMES'S Fables of Esop.)

10 ce que peuvent (page 44, note 4) mes jambes. See page 3, note 3.

11 n'attendit pas un instant, et se mit en route tout doucement, de son pas ordinaire et régulier.

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commencerait par faire.

13 continua de s'évertuer (p. 184, note 12). When translating such strongly elliptical expressions as the present, formed with a verb and a preposition, we are compelled to render in full the idea only partly expressed by the words used. Thus, 'kick him out,' faites-le sortir à coups de pied; to refine people out of their veracity,' (HERVEY,) polir les gens au point de leur faire perdre leur véracité, &c.

14 See above, note 6.

15 Hatez-vous lentement. This pro

MULY MOLUC.

WHEN Don Sebastian, king of Portugal, invaded the territories of Muly Moluc, emperor of Morocco, in order to dethrone him, and set his crown upon the head of his nephew, Moluc was wearing away with1 a distemper which he himself knew was 2 incurable. However, he prepared for the reception of3 so formidable an enemy. He was, indeed, so far spent with his sickness that he did not expect to live out the whole day;5 but, knowing the fatal consequences that would happen to his children and his people, in case he should die before he put an end to that war, he commanded his principal officers, that, if he died during the engagement, they should conceal his death from his army, and that they should ride up to 10 the litter in which his corpse was 11 carried, under pretence of receiving orders as usual.12 Before the battle 13 began, he was carried through all the ranks of his army in an open litter, as they stood drawn up in array, ,14 encouraging them 15 to fight valiantly in 16 defence of their religion and

verbial expression, which has been used by Regnard, Boileau, and La Fontaine, is nothing more than the old Greek proverb, σrevde Spadéws,' which the Latins took from the Greeks, and translated by festina lente, and which the English often render by 'most haste, worst speed.' 1 se mourait de.

2 he himself;' see p. 86, n. 1.'knew was,' savait être. This turn is French (in the case where, as here, the nominatives, or subjects, of the two verbs are different), only after a relative pronoun. Thus we cannot say, je le sais être savant (I know him to be learned'); it should be, je sais qu'il est savant. See p. 1, n. 2.-Sometimes the following elegant turn, which comes nearer to the English construction above, is used: je le crois savant, on le dit habile, &c.

3 à recevoir.

4 tellement épuisé par.

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