NOTES
Page 1.
[ 1.] Anstatt, a fictitious name used to represent some town in Alsace.
[ 2.] Vosges allemandes, the Vosges is a mountain range in northern France, running up into Alsace; a northern portion of the Alsatian Vosges being called Vosges allemandes.
[ 3.] Christine, the mother of the boy Fritzel who is supposed to be telling this story.
[ 4.] courses, visits to patients, calls.
[ 5.] me faisait, would have me; here the imperfect, as usual, expresses customary or habitual action.
[ 6.] M. de Buffon, to be read: Monsieur de Buffon. Buffon's Histoire naturelle, though a work on science, is, because of its style, one of the French literary masterpieces of the eighteenth century.
[ 7.] il me semble être, it seems to me that I am.
[ 8.] dessinant ... avec grâce, throwing into graceful relief.
[ 9.]. sentimental, kind-hearted. In its modern sense it usually means "silly, foolish;" not so here.
[ 10.] le, i.e. tout cela; omit in translating.
Page 2.
[ 1.] mauser, for taupier, molecatcher; this word is German, meaning "mouser."
[ 2.] Héming, a village in Alsace.
[ 3.] faisait de tout, did everything.
[ 4.] avec du fil de fer, with iron wire; translate with rafistolait.
Page 3.
[ 1.] tiroir à rabots, cabbage cutter, a box or drawer in which the cabbage to be cut was drawn against stationary blades.
[ 2.] Pas de choux? for N'avez-vous pas de choux?
[ 3.] Voilà, that's ...
[ 4.] monsieur le, omit in our idiom.
[ 5.] Si le coeur vous en dit, "If your mind (inclination) tells you (to do so, have supper with us);" if you feel inclined, take supper with us.
[ 6.] beau temps, good weather.
[ 7.] lui, omit in translating; it is merely emphatic.
Page 4.
[ 1.] sifflions, used to whistle; i.e. in admiring amazement.
[ 2.] vieille, emphatic.
[ 3.] Salm-Salm, a district of southwestern Germany.
[ 4.] le plus grand usurier, the most notorious money lender.
Page 5.
[ 1.] Les Républicains, see Introduction, § 5.
[ 2.] le Palatinat, the lower Palatinate, of which region Anstatt was a part.
[ 3.] les trois électeurs, so called because they elected (or at least had the right of electing) the emperors of Germany. They were the archbishops of Trèves, Mainz, and Cologne. An account may be found in Bryce, Holy Roman Empire.
[ 4.] le roi, Frederick William II, King of Prussia, 1740-1786. Introduction, § 8.
[ 5.] Joseph (the Second), Emperor of Germany and of the Holy Roman Empire. As he died in 1790 and as the French did not reach Anstatt till 1793, this conversation must be understood as taking place at least three years before the events described in the subsequent chapters.
[ 6.] ne pouvait, pas omitted; it may be omitted with cesser, oser, pouvoir, and savoir.
Page 6.
[ 1.] rien que, nothing but.
[ 2.] chapeaux à cornes, like the three-cornered hats worn by some of the American troops in the Revolutionary War.
Page 7.
[ 1.] citoyen, word introduced during the Revolution to supplant monsieur.
[ 2.] monsieur, see above note; it is an indeclinable plural here.
[ 3.] madame, see above notes; this word was replaced by citoyenne.
[ 4.] quatre chemins, this term is inclusive; it embraces roads leading to the four cardinal points of the compass; translate, with est toujours, travels all the roads.
[ 5.] habits blancs, white coats, i.e. the Austrians.
Page 8.
[ 1.] eau-de-vie, it was the business of the cantinière to distribute liquor to the soldiers, especially to those needing it by reason of wounds or exposure.
[ 2.] j'ai découvert, the dawn enabled her to discover the sign.
[ 3.] la branche, this was the sign of a place where liquors could be obtained. People who could not read could understand such signs. Compare Shakspere, As you like it, Epilogue, "good wine needs no bush."
Page 9.
[ 1.] kaiserlick, for the German kaiserlich (imperial), one favorable to the emperor. This term was first applied to adherents of the Emperor of Austria. It is here a term of contempt.
[ 2.] faisait le sourd, played deaf, would not hear.--on, we.
[ 3.] aveugle, possibly it was a matter of observation that the blind are more easily alarmed than others because they do not have the sense of sight with which to judge dangers.
[ 4.] assignats, the paper money (irredeemable) of the French Revolution. It was a promise to pay gold and was secured by the confiscated church property, the confiscated estates of those who had fled at the outbreak of the Revolution, and the public domain. Assignats were in circulation from 1789 to 1796. Like the paper money of our own country they did not circulate freely in foreign lands.
Page 10.
[ 1.] je ... fais, present with future meaning. This use is frequent in English.
[ 2.] caniche, French poodle, a dog with a curly black coat. Ordinarily these dogs are shorn to resemble lions--their manes are uncut and a tuft is left at the end of the tail. Rings of hair are left on their joints and tufts on their haunches. There is a rarer variety of caniche which is pure white.
Page 11.
[ 1.] prêtant l'oreille, listening.
Page 12.
[ 1.] les Croates, soldiers from Croatia, a part of the Austrian Empire (1793) east of Venice and touching the east coast the Adriatic.
[ 2.] ventre à terre, descriptive of an animal running at full speed.
[ 3.] se repliaient, in its military sense this expression means to fall back in good order.
[ 4.] sur trois rangs, three lines (of soldiers) deep.
[ 5.] encore, implies a comparison between Fritzel's fear and curiosity; his fear was great, but his curiosity was greater still (encore).
[ 6.] le temps de regarder, not grammatically with the rest of the sentence. It is equivalent to a time clause; there was merely time to, etc.
Page 13.
[ 1.] Forvertz, French spelling of the German word Vorwarts (forward), a cry of encouragement uttered by the Croats.
[ 2.] feux de peloton, volleys fired by the soldiers as a body at command.--feux de file, shots fired by the soldiers without system, each shooting as he pleased.
[ 3.] coup de pointe (point of his sword), thrust of his sword.
[ 4.] pour ainsi dire, so to speak.
Page 14.
[ 1.] faisait serrer les rangs, made them close up the gaps in their ranks.
[ 2.] sentinelle, other commonly used feminine nouns applying to men are: connaissance, créature, dupe, personne, pratique, victime.
[ 3.] maison commune, town-hall.
[ 4.] manteaux rouges, red cloaks, i.e. the Croats.
[ 5.] appuyé, leaning; the free and easy manner of this officer in the presence of his superior shows that this division had not yet developed a system of military etiquette and red tape.
[ 6.] laissai là mes sabots, because he could climb more easily without his wooden shoes (sabots).
Page 15.
[ 1.] pelisses vertes, green (fur-lined) cloaks, worn by the hussars.
Page 16.
[ 1.] houlans, light cavalry.
[ 2.] à quatre pas, at short range; lit., "four steps away."
[ 3.] ils ne tiraient plus, they were no longer firing.
[ 4.] vous refers to no definite person; it is like the indefinite you in English.
[ 5.] chair de poule, "hen's flesh;" in English, goose flesh.
Page 17.
[ 1.] C'est tout ce que j'ai vu de plus terrible, it was the most terrible thing that I have ever seen.
Page 18.
[ 1.] il s'agit de tirer notre peau, the thing that we have to do is to get away with a whole skin; i.e. without loss or wounds.
[ 2.] bras, the English idiom requires hands instead of "arms."
[ 3.] faire battre la retraite, to have the retreat sounded (on the drums).
[ 4.] C'est bien vu, that is a wise decision.
[ 5.] la rue, this was the main-traveled road, and the only one by which the allied forces could leave the village in pursuit of the French (see page 15, lines 13-19).
[ 6.] on ne voyait rien, i.e. those who were shooting and shouting were not visible.
Page 19.
[ 1.] bien encore, fully; the encore (still) is not translated here.
[ 2.] devaient être, must have been.
[ 3.] venaient de battre en retraite, had just beaten a retreat or fallen back.
[ 4.] en courant, by running, or if you run.
[ 5.] que j'étais sans malice, that I was not making fun of him.
[ 6.] Qu'ils soient maudits, in English the active form (curse them); is preferably used.
Page 20.
[ 1.] Seigneur Dieu, expressions in French containing the name of God are devoid of any profane intent and should not be translated literally. Here, merciful Heaven! might do.
[ 2.] on finit par se rendre maître du feu, they finally got control of the fire; or the fire was finally brought under control; notice the idiom finir par.
[ 3.] Place, make room!
Page 21.
[ 1.] il leva son tricorne, to acknowledge the respect shown him by the mayor and council.
[ 2.] Pour vous rendre mes devoirs, i.e. your wishes shall be complied with.
Page 22.
[ 1.] un chien gronder sourdement, the adverb means "Dully", "indistinctly", "in a rumbling way". It is better to paraphrase the whole into: the low growls of a dog.
[ 2.] ça, they.
[ 3.] il tombe mal, "he hits it badly," he doesn't have luck on his side this time.
[ 4.] elle a reçu son compte, she has received her dues.--c'est bien fait, she deserved it, expresses approval.
[ 5.] du papier alludes to the assignats which this woman had offered to Spick in payment for the brandy which she had obtained at his house.
Page 23.
[ 1.] ses, i.e. the cantinière's.
[ 2.] n'osait, pas omitted, cf. page 5, note 6.
[ 3.] lui sauterait à la gorge, would spring at his throat.
[ 4.] du haut en bas, contemptuously.
Page 24.
[ 1.] Il ne faut pas que, translate this impersonal expression, our misery must not etc.; or, we must not let our misery, etc.
Page 25.
[ 1.] kreutzers, worth four-fifths of a cent apiece. At one time they were marked with a cross (Kreuz in German), hence the name.
Page 26.
[ 1.] en reviendrait, would recover from it.
[ 2.] en vint à, reached (en, vaguely, "in matters"); this idiomatic use of en has no equivalent in English.
Page 27.
[ 1.] suis, present indicative of suivre.
[ 2.] égoïste, selfish man.
[ 3.] c'est le fond de, that is the basis of, or back of.
Page 28.
[ 1.] kirschenwasser, a sort of brandy made of cherries, and flavored with wild cherries.
[ 2.] Si is used to answer affirmatively a question containing a negative.
Page 29.
[ 1.] revenu à elle, recovered from her delirium, came to herself.
Page 30.
[ 1.] voulut se retourner, made an effort to turn herself.
Page 31.
[ 1.] tout à la fin, at the very end.
[ 2.] que is used to avoid a repetition of quand.
[ 3.] il me faisait de la peine, I felt sorry for him.
[ 4.] intérieurement, here to herself.
Page 32.
[ 1.] de long en large, up and down.
[ 2.] qu'elle soit ... ou tout qu'on voudra, be she ... or whatever you please.
[ 3.] que, cf. page 31, note 2.
[ 4.] qui me regardait, a relative clause is often used in French when a present participle would be used in English: and looking at me.
Page 33.
[ 1.] bas may be omitted; strictly, "here below."
[ 2.] que voulez-vous, il le faut, how could it be helped; it's a case of necessity.
[ 3.] Un pauvre diable, a poor fellow.
[ 4.] Il sera, he must have; a common idiom of the future perfect.
[ 5.] à cette heure, just now.
[ 6.] il faudrait, less blunt and more courteous than il faut.
[ 7.] j'arrive, I will go; the French present for future and the verb used are more vivid than the English rendering.
Page 34.
[ 1.] Le décès constaté, the cause of death is determined.
Page 36.
[ 1.] j'aurais quelque chose à vous demander, I should like to ask a favor of you.
[ 2.] prairie communale, common; a part of nearly every European village.
Page 37.
[ 1.] Il me défendait toujours, he was all the time forbidding me.
[ 2.] la grande rue, the main street.
[ 3.] au tournant de l'église, after going back of the church.
[ 4.] Voyez un peu, just see.
Page 38.
[ 1.] allongeait ses hanches, "stretched her haunches," i.e. increased her pace.
[ 2.] aura, cf. page 33, note 4.
[ 3.] grand'rue, cf. page 37, note 2. This road was the highway between Pirmasens and Landau. In the village of Anstatt it had the name of rue.
[ 4.] père, no relationship is intended; cf. our use of "oncle" in a similar way.
Page 39.
[ 1.] Frédéric II, Frederick the Great, King of Prussia (1740-1786).
[ 2.]. schnaps, a German word for any sort of ardent liquor made by distilling. It is generally taken to mean brandy. It sometimes means Holland gin.
[ 3.] la guerre de Sept ans, the Seven Years' War was fought against Frederick the Great by a coalition of Austria, France, and Russia. It was the greatest war of the eighteenth century. One of its ramifications was the French and Indian War in America (1756-1763).
[ 4.] moi, omit in translating, it is a dative of interest.
Page 40.
[ 1.] dépassait un peu de côté, slanted out a little beyond; he was seated back to the window.
[ 2.] si, cf. page 28, note 2.
[ 3.] Tiens! c'est Fritzel, oh, it's Fritzel, is it?
[ 4.] tabac, (tobacco) smoke.
[ 5.] se gratta l'oreille, scratched his ear. The French uses an article and a dative (se) where the English prefers a possessive adjective.
Page 41.
[ 1.] connaître l'exercice, know how to drill.
[ 2.] en trompette, curved upwards like a trumpet.
Page 42.
[ 1.] en place, repos! stand at rest!
[ 2.] Reste, for il reste, "it remains."
[ 3.] derrière, from behind.
[ 4.] le mit en travers, held it out in a horizontal position.
[ 5.] le général Hoche, a French general at this time in command of troops near Anstatt.
[ 6.] le vieux bonhomme, the jolly old fellow; bonhomme is sometimes used in an uncomplimentary sense, but not so here.
[ 7.] sourire tout bas, to chuckle.--les yeux plissés, with his eyes half closed.
[ 8.] arrive, come here.
Page 43.
[ 1.] cou, translate plural, necks. The English inserts a negative with casser; in French the negative idea is in prenez garde.
[ 2.] comme des bienheureux, "like the blest," like those beside themselves for joy.
[ 3.] sur la porte, on his doorstep.
[ 4.] A la bonne heure, good, or I'm glad of it.
Page 45.
[ 1.] avait fini par, cf. page 20, note 2.
[ 2.] seulement ... je, it was only ... that I.
[ 3.] Que voulez-vous, what else could you expect; cf. also page 33, note 2.
Page 46.
[ 1.] Boeuf-Rouge... Cruchon d'Or, Red Ox... Golden Pitcher, names of taverns, so called from their signs.
Page 47.
[ 1.] du moment que, if.
[ 2.] s'est livrée, was fought.
Page 48.
[ 1.] pour deux liards, two cents' worth; strictly half a cent's worth, as the liard was worth about one fourth of a cent.
[ 2.] Brunswick, the Duke of Brunswick, a Prussian, commander-in-chief of the allied Austrian and Prussian forces.
Page 49.
[ 1.] Champagne, this was formerly the name of a district in France lying east of Paris and a little to the south.
[ 2.] proclamations, for example, "A proclamation to the French, issued by Brunswick, assumed to speak to them in the name of their own legitimate government, threatened to destroy every city which should resist, and to chastise Paris in a way to be remembered forever, if a hair of the king's head was harmed. These empty threats had no effect but to serve as texts by which French patriotic orators stirred the people to fury in their resistance." Lewis, History of Germany, page 553. See Introduction, § 9.
[ 3.] la baïonnette dans les reins, with a bayonet through him: meaning that his army had been badly defeated.
[ 4.] fait la conduite, sarcastic, attended him.
[ 5.] Argonne, Brunswick's army suffered losses in the passes among the hills of Argonne, east of Paris.
[ 6.] Valmy, east of Paris in Champagne. An important battle was fought here in 1792. For a full account see Creasy's Fifteen Decisive Battles. See also Introduction, § 9.
[ 7.] manger nous-mêmes, see Introduction, §§ 13-20.
Page 51.
[ 1.] temps, weather.
[ 2.] sous sa schlitte; woodcutters in the Vosges sometimes bring down their wood from the mountains on schlittes which move on specially constructed tracks. The woodcutter takes his place before the loaded schlitte and braces his feet against ties or other obstructions, much as one would in taking a small vehicle down stairs. The woodcutter spoken of here had lost his footing while thus bringing down a schlitte, and the sled had plunged forward and crushed him under its weight.
Page 53.
[ 1.] enjamba l'échelle, put his foot over the step and into the sleigh.
Page 54.
[ 1.] Un vendredi, as it was Friday. Friday was a holy day.
Page 55.
[ 1.] Gleiszeller, a wine named after the locality where it was made.--cachet, seal, a cap of sheet lead tightly fastened over the top of the bottle.
[ 2.] lui lever la main du bout de son nez, to raise his hand with the end of his nose.
[ 3.] l'ancien, old fellow.
Page 56.
[ 1.] rapporte moins que de prêter à gros intérêts, brings back less, that is, does not pay so well as to lend (money) at high interest.
[ 2.] Raison, the revolutionary government had substituted the worship of Reason for the worship of God. See Introduction, § 10.--Maximum, the revolutionists had passed a law fixing maximum prices for the necessaries of life.
Page 57.
[ 1.] Wurmser, commander of the Austrian army.
[ 2.] A la bonne heure, that was well said.
Page 59.
[ 1.] il y a de ressource, you can accomplish something.
[ 2.] prenez bien garde, "take good notice," you may well rest assured.
Page 60.
[ 1.] travail, possibly alluding to blind Samson's toil. See Judges, XVI: 21.
Page 61.
[ 1.] il se tenait le derrière, he kept backed up.
[ 2.] d'un coup de dent sec, with a single clean bite; sec modifies the whole expression coup de dent.
[ 3.] il lui faisait claquer la patte, he cracked (the bones in) his paw.
Page 62.
[ 1.] qu'il fallut entendre, that you ought to have heard.
[ 2.] au coin de, from behind.
[ 3.] marquerez, future for imperative; "mark," i.e. put down; he has an account.
Page 63.
[ 1.] Postthâl, Post Valley; probably the place where the stage company's barns were.
Page 66.
[ 1.] n'a pas donné, did not take part in the battle.
[ 2.] Vous ne m'en diriez pas plus, que je serais déjà trop heureuse, tell me no more about it, I am too happy already.
[ 3.] pas de charge, quick step.
[ 4.] Landau, the French were determined to raise the siege of Landau, and thus free their beleaguered comrades.
Page 67.
[ 1.] blessé d'un coup de feu, suffering from a gunshot wound.
[ 2.] Université, i.e. of the University of Heidelberg in south central Germany.
[ 3.] on pense, think, or it is easy to imagine.
[ 4.] nous avons manqué d'ensemble, we have failed to act in concert.
[ 5.] il y avait de quoi, that was something.
Page 70.
[ 1.] Que ce soit, be it.
Page 71.
[ 1.] choses de la matière, material things.
Page 72.
[ 1.] tirés, drawn back, showing the interior of the alcove.
[ 2.] Seigneur Dieu! Good heavens! cf. page 20, note 1.
Page 73.
[ 1.] plus de, no more.
Page 74.
[ 1.] intérieure, i.e. secret.
Page 75.
[ 1.] ce que je vous dois de, what I owe you in the way of.
[ 2.] voir les choses en beau, take a more cheerful view of things.
Page 76.
[ 1.] Faïence, porcelain; named after a city in Italy where much glazed ware is made.
[ 2.] le, this fact.
[ 3.] proclamation, cf. page 49, note 2.
Page 77.
[ 1.] faisais l'école des jeunes femmes, taught the girls.
Page 78.
[ 1.] Salut, our greetings to.
Page 79.
[ 1.] j'ai toujours, I still have.
[ 2.] la main retournée, "with his hand turned back against his ear;" i.e. with the palm turned forward and the fingers at the visor of the cap.
Page 80.
[ 1.] 2e, read: deuxième.
[ 2.] 1re, read: première.
Page 81.[ 1.] Forvertz, cf. page 13, note 1.
[ 2.] Convention Nationale, see Introduction, § 10.
Page 82.
[ 1.] quand je devrais tout y perdre, though I may be destined to lose all by it.
[ 2.] vendre des régiments, compare with the purchase of Hessian regiments by the British government in our Revolutionary war.
Page 83.
[ 1.] les paysans, see Introduction, §§ 15-20.
Page 84.
[ 1.] tonneau, cask; to be filled with wood ashes from which lye was made.
[ 2.] Il s'agit; it was a question of, or the work consisted in.
[ 3.] Sans-Culottes, lit., "without breeches" (knickerbockers), means "ragamuffin;" it was derisively applied to some of the Revolutionists who wore pantaloons, as small clothes were the dress of the Aristocracy.
[ 4.] si vous partiez, if you went away.
Page 85.
[ 1.] on vous considère beaucoup, people think a great deal of you.
[ 2.] les gens de bien, all good people.
Page 87.
[ 1.] ne ... que plus tard, not ... till later.
[ 2.] cela semblait devoir durer, it seemed as if that must last.
Page 88.
[ 1.] ils voient les hommes en grand, they see great possibilities in mankind.
[ 2.] de pareilles gens, such people; i.e. the Republicans.
[ 3.] de la part de, from; customary with lettre.
Page 89.
[ 1.] se, one another.
[ 2.] allemand de Saxe, German of the province of Saxony; i.e., good German as opposed to the dialect which Fritzel heard in Anstatt.
[ 3.] Mayence, the German fortified city Maintz on the Rhine.
Page 90.
[ 1.] Palatinat, Hundsrück; the border country between France and Germany. Anstatt was one of the villages in this region.
[ 2.] en, as.
[ 3.] Trèves, the German city Trier, on the Moselle.--Spire, the German city Speyer, on the Rhine.
Page 91.
[ 1.] renversé, who had fallen back.
Page 92.
[ 1.] anciens, former.
Page 93.
[ 1.] il n'y aura que la route de pénible, the only painful thing will be the journey on the road.
Page 95.
[ 1.] ce qui finissait de m'abreuver d'amertume, freely, what filled my cup of bitterness to the brim.
[ 2.] dans les siècles des siècles, for ever and ever.
[ 3.] se, for herself.
Page 96.
[ 1.] avaient pour deux liards, cf. page 48, note 1.
[ 2.] kougelreiter: "long cavalry pistols," "horse pistols."
Page 98.
[ 1.] ses connaissances, what he knows.
[ 2.] des entrailles, of my heart.
Page 100.
[ 1.] bois de lit, foot-board.
Page 101.
[ 1.] Sauf votre respect, with due respect, or begging your pardon.
Page 103.
[ 1.] il aura demandé, he must have asked.
[ 2.] le garde forestier, the forester.
[ 3.] comme pas un contrebandier, as no smuggler knew it; i.e. better than any smuggler.
Page 104.
[ 1.] en, for it.
Page 105.
[ 1.] que, omit.
[ 2.] Donc, so.
[ 3.] Le 8 nivôse, 28 December.
[ 4.] an II, 1793. See Introduction, § 9.
Page 106.
[ 1.] d'honnête homme, as an honest man.
Page 107.
[ 1.] Trois Maisons, probably some small village on the road.
[ 2.] Orangerie, probably a residence occupied by officers.
[ 3.] Conventionnels, members of the Convention, like our congressmen.
Page 108.
[ 1.] nationalité, had Dr. Wagner taken service in the French army he would have been guilty of treason.
[ 2.] Il écrivit ... au bout de la table, he went to the end of the table and wrote.
Page 110.
[ 1.] Adjugé, taken; a word used at auctions to indicate that the bidder accepts an article at the price named.
Page 111.
[ 1.] A la baïonnette, charge bayonets.
[ 2.] feu de charbonnière, charcoal burner's fire; the charbonnière is the place where charcoal is being made, and the allusion is to the crackling of the fire in the big heaps of brush.
[ 3.] La Marseillaise, the French national hymn alluded to on page 16, line 29, where it is not expressly named. An interesting history of this air is given by Karl Blind in The Nineteenth Century for July, 1901, No. 283, page 93. Roget de l'Isle, the author of the song, was in Strasburg and was asked to write words and music for a war song in honor of the volunteers who were marching to battle from the city. He wrote the words, for his music he adapted the Credo of the Mass from a composition written in 1776 by Holzmann, Kapellmeister to the Elector of the Palatinate.
[ 4.] au pas de course, double quick.
[ 5.] quitter la partie, to give up.
Page 112.
[ 1.] couper, applied to the ordinary minor operations; trancher, to amputations made because the injured members could not be saved; amputer, to the usual amputations made to save the lives of the wounded.
Page 116.
[ 1.] il a l'air bon enfant, he looks like a good fellow.
Page 117.
[ 1.] 1er, read premier.
[ 2.] encore, more.
[ 3.] ventre à terre, cf. page 12, note 2.