du Nord souffle toujours. La neige tombe du matin au soir. J'espère que le printemps va bientôt venir. Le printemps vint. Mais, au printemps, il fut obligé de travailler toute la journée. Cela ne lui plaisait pas: car il était, comme tous les ânes, très paresseux de sa nature. Il soupira donc après l'été; c'est une saison que j'aime, disaitil, parce qu'il n'y a pas beaucoup à faire. S'écria-t-il L'été vint à son tour. Qu'il fait chaud! alors: on ne sait où se mettre pour n'être pas brûlé du soleil: et puis, je suis toujours altéré, et je n'ai pas toujours de l'eau à boire. Décidément la saison qui me convient le mieux est l'automne. Mais, pendant l'automne, il fut obligé de porter au marché des corbeilles remplies de pommes, de poires, de choux, et de toutes sortes de légume. J'étais un sot de me plaindre de l'hiver, dit-il enfin: car, au moins, je n'avais rien à faire que de manger, de boire, et de dormir. Cette fable montre que chaque saison de la vie a ses avantages et ses inconvénients, et que, si nous sommes sages, nous ne devrions jamais nous plaindre. EXERCISE 222. (The historical tense prevails in the two following exercises.) A dervis travelling through Tartary, being arrived at the town of Balk, went into the king's palace by mistake, thinking that it was a caravansary. Having looked about him for some time, he entered a long gallery, where he laid down his wallet, and spread his carpet to repose himself (y) upon it, after the manner of the eastern nations. He had not been long in this posture, when he was discovered by some guards who asked (lui) him what he was doing in that place. The dervis told (leur) them that he intended to take up his night's lodging in that caravansary. The guards told him, in a very angry tone of voice, that the house in which he was, was not a caravansary, but the king's palace. EXERCISE 223. (Continuation of the precedent.) It happened that the King himself passed through the same gallery during the debate, and, smiling (de) at the mistake of the dervis, asked (lui) him how he could be so dull as not to distinguish a palace from a caravansary. Sir, said the dervis, give me leave to ask (à) your majesty one or two questions. Who were the persons that lodged first in this house after (que) it was built? "my ancestors," said the King. And who, said the dervis, was the last person that lodged here? "my father," replied the King. And who is it, said the dervis, that lodges here at present? "myself," said the King. And who, said the dervis, will be here after you?" the young prince my son," answered the King. Ah! sir, said the dervis, a house which changes its inhabitants so often, and receives such a succession of lodgers, is not a palace, but a caravansary. EXERCISE 224. La chose la plus nécessaire en voyageant est de parler avec facilité la langue du pays que nous visitons. Autrement nous ressemblons à des sourds-muets qui ne peuvent s'exprimer que par des gestes. Quand nous parlons deux langues, nous avons ce grand avantage sur ceux qui ne parlent que la leur : c'est que nous entendons celle qu'ils parlent, et qu'ils ne comprennent pas celle que nous parlons. La connaissance des langues est la clef qui ouvre beaucoup de trésors qui, sans elle, resteraient toujours fermés pour nous. Chaque pays a sa littérature que la traduction la plus correcte déprive toujours de ses plus beaux charmes. Ceuxlà seuls qui entendent à fond plusieurs langues peuvent apprécier la vérité de ces remarques. Il est inutile d'ajouter que la langue française est une de celles qui est le plus en faveur parmi les hommes de notre temps. Indépendamment de son utilité bien reconnue, elle se distingue par la clarté et la précision de sa phraséologie. C'est la langue des princes, des grands, des ambassadeurs, de tous ceux, en un mot qui ont reçu une bonne éducation. EXERCISE 225. (The descriptive is the prevailing tense.) The place of our retreat was a little village consisting (en) of farmers who tilled their own grounds, and were equally strangers to opulence and poverty. As they had within their reach almost all the conveniences of life, they seldom went to towns in search of superfluities. They still retained the primeval simplicity of manners; and, frugal by habit, they scarcely knew that temperance was a virtue. Our little habitation was situated at the foot of a hill, sheltered (par) with a beautiful underwood behind, and a prattling river before. On one side was a meadow, on the other an orchard. My house had one story only, and was covered (en) with thatch, which gave it an air of great snugness. The walls on the inside were nicely whitewashed, and my daughters undertook to adorn them (de) with pictures of their own designing. As the same room served us (de) for parlour and kitchen, that had the advantage of making it warmer. There were three other rooms: one for my wife and me, another for our two daughters, and the third for the other children. EXERCISE 226. Protagore était professeur de littérature à Athènes, et y jouissait d'une grande réputation. Un jour un Athénien, nommé Evalthe, vint le trouver, et lui demanda de le rece voir parmi ses disciples. Mais, ajouta-t-il, je ne vous payerai que si je gagne ma première cause. Protagore accepta la ERCISES. ISE 228. cedent.) ud away to school, 259 At man you or you will I could not get away. words: now, little rascal, bened enough, and the , it was hard enough to turn a 's day, but now to be called a me that very cold winter's The memory of that day happens every day to h. that I never forgot it. day, many a an over polite to his customers, , making great professions exe to grind. ho is a When I see of , that fellow would set you al see a man raised to office elp crying out: methinks, u are doomed for some t ra booby. 229, XERCISE Zemier roi de la seconde race de rec gloire pendant quarante-sept a par des ans sur le vaincu les barbares qui assiég lorsqu'il monta Vaume, il s'occupa entièrement ཟ on nous, lui fait le plus grand ho 's guerres courtes et glorieuses, et sage, le goût des belles-lettre: tiva lui-même. |