l. 531: Et j'ai pâli deux fois. . . .
If the imperfect were used here, the meaning would be "My father used to tell me a thousand times," i.e., he told me 1000 X n times, and in the second sentence, "I grew pale 2 X n times."
The student is recommended to account to himself carefully for the different tenses used in contrast to one another in the following passages:
ll. 4 and 6; 72 and 73; 1058 sqq. and 1073; 1074 to 1082.
PASSÉ INDÉFINI.
With regard to the third tense, the PASSÉ INDÉFINI, there is no difficulty. It is used:
A. Precisely like the English compound of the past.
E.g., l. 30: le ciel a-t-il conduit . . . = "has heaven brought about. . ."
l. 158: a . . . conduit vos pas = "has guided your footsteps."
B. As a colloquial form of the passe defini in all its uses.