8: a de l'ordre: is thrifty.—Il faut ça: a very necessary thing. Lit., «it takes that» (for good management).

9: ça: very contemptuous when used of a person, as in English: And it goes to Switzerland!

10: la balustrade: a railing in front of the ticket window, to keep passengers in single line.

ACTE I, SCÈNE VII

1: entends: note that this verb means: 1. to hear; 2. to understand; 3. to mean.

2: Sauf votre respect: Beg pardon, major, but… Lit., «the respect due to you being preserved.» Cf. the Irish expression, «saving your presence.»

3: autant vaudrait: idiomatic inversion = il vaudrait autant. Tr. you might as well.

4: on: the reluctance of the Major to mention his sweetheart by name must be preserved: anybody.

5: Allons, c'est bien: That'll do! See List of Exclamations. Observe the Major's impatience to get a letter, in spite of his running away.

ACTE I, SCÈNE VIII