"Dis donc, Maurice!—prête‑moi ton Ivanhoé!" (with an accent on the e), whenever he had to construe his twenty lines of Valtére Scott—and what a hash he made of them!
Sometimes M. Brossard himself would come, smoking his big meerschaum, and help the English class during preparation, and put us up to a thing or two worth knowing.
"Rapaud, comment dit‑on 'pouvoir' en anglais?"
"Sais pas, m'sieur!"
"Comment, petit crétin, tu ne sais pas!"
And Rapaud would receive a pincée tordue—a "twisted pinch"—on the back of his arm to quicken his memory.
"Oh, là, là!" he would howl—"je n' sais pas!"
"Et toi, Maurice?"
"Ça se dit 'to be able,' m'sieur!" I would say.
"Mais non, mon ami—tu oublies ta langue natale—ça se dit, 'to can'! Maintenant, comment dirais‑tu en anglais, 'je voudrais pouvoir'?"