56 21 terrasses: cf. note to 64 2.
56 22 salade russe: 'Russian salad,' a heavy fish and vegetable salad.
56 25 frisé au petit fer: 'with finely curled hair.' Friser au fer = 'to curl with an iron.'
56 26 rasé à la pierre ponce: 'very closely shaven.' Pumice stone has from ancient times been used by the effeminate for smoothing the skin.
56 27 lui donnait un faux air de: 'made him look like', lit. 'gave him a false air of.'
56 28 Mazarin: Giulio Mazarini (1602-1661), an Italian who became cardinal, and prime minister under Louis XIII and Louis XIV, talked French with an Italian accent. He wore the mustache and slight beard usual at that period.
56 29 les langues latines: pompously for la langue latine--à tout propos: 'apropos of everything,' 'at every opportunity'--Tacite: 'Tacitus' (54-140 A.D.), the famous latin historian.
56 30 Horace (64-8 B.C.) the Latin lyric poet--Commentaires: the histories of the wars of Julius Caesar written by himself, with supplements by his officers, bear the Latin title Commentarii, i.e. 'Notebooks.'
56 31 héréditaire: transl. 'noble.'
56 32 depuis: adverb, 'since then', cf. note to 1 6.