L'HISTOIRE LA PLUS DROLE.
[18] 7. que je vous donne telle quelle: which I'll tell you just as it is.
[18] 10. moblot: soldier of the mobile. The mobile is the reserve force of the French army, called under arms in case of war, and then only to replace on garrison duty the regular soldiers who have gone to the front. The moblots go to battle only as a last extremity, when regular troops no longer exist.
[18] 16. vieux jeu: of the old school.
[19] 7. cela me serrait le cœur: the thought of that made my heart ache.
[19] 11. pension: boarding school; the word also signifies a boarding house.
[19] 20. jouaient aux billes: were playing (at) marbles.
[19] 24. un échappé des contes d'Hoffmann: as if he had escaped from one of Hoffmann's stories. Hoffmann, a German writer of fantastic stories, was born Jan. 24, 1776; died June 25, 1822.
[19] 27. gaillard ayant fait campagne: robust, independent-looking fellow, who had been through the war.
[20] 19-20. me les sciait à mi-cuisse: sawed into the middle of my thighs.
[21] 6. je l'ai pas mal oublié: I have forgotten most of it.