[34], 2. la fille du czar. Probably a reference to the Duchess Anna Ivanova, niece of Peter the Great. She became Czarina in 1730.
[35], 8. par état: ‘by profession.’
Scène VI
[36], 16. “Sors vainqueur d’un combat dont Chimène est le prix.” Quotation from Corneille’s Le Cid, Act V, Scene I. It is Chimène herself who speaks these words to Don Rodrigue—the Cid.
[37], 22. je tiendrais à savoir: ‘I am anxious to know.’
23. actuelle: ‘present.’
25. Je te saurai cela: ‘I will find that out for you.’
[38], 14. Bajazet: a play by Jean Racine (1672).
[39], 7. C’est impayable: ‘It is a capital joke.’
9. Impayable? Here the word is used in its literal sense: ‘Can’t be paid for.’