55 7 la garde qui monte: 'the guard coming up.' Note that a French relative clause is often to be rendered by a present participle in English e g, je l'entends qui frappe 'I hear him knocking.' Cf. 6 10, 64 18, 68 9.
55 8 ces saturnales: 'this saturnalia' The Roman festival of Saturn was a penod of riotous license--était venu s'égarer: 'had come straying', cf. 93 19.
55 10 s'en allait: for allait, cf. note to 17 4.
55 13 M'sieu: indicates by the spelling the usual pronunciation of Monsieur.
55 15 Après? 'Well, what have you to say?'
55 17 Je ne demande pas mieux: 'I don't ask (anything) better,' 'that's exactly what I should like to know.'
55 25 algarade: a word borrowed from the Spanish, the root being Arabic. It was originally a military expression meaning a raid, but now is used more or less jocularly for a wordy attack. Transl. 'dispute.'
55 26 Me voilà bien avancé: 'I'm much farther along,' 'I'm much the wiser' (sarcastically).
55 28 ça: = cela, 'that,' 'the thing Gregory du Montenegro,' contemptuous when used of persons, cf. 69 32.