GRAMMATICAL QUESTIONS. 1. Parse the word voyant. 2. Give the chief tenses of the verb se mettre. 3. To what sort of verbs does avoir raison belong? 4. How would you translate: on my arrival.. manner? in that 5. What difference is there between savoir and connaître ? 6. Give good French for this sentence: he took his arm. TURN INTO FRENCH. The important services rendered by the Zouaves in Africa are well known. In all military expeditions they have always been placed in the most perilous1 post2: no occasion of distinguishing themselves has ever been denied3 them, a privilege of which they have always shown themselves worthy. The consequence has been that, military men who have desired rapid promotion acquired at the points of the sword", have always been anxious to serve among the Zouaves. Without (inf. pres.) enumerating a whole host of distinguished officers trained in this brilliant school, the corps of Zouaves has supplied9 Generals Duvivier, Lamoricière, Cavaignac, Canrobert, Ladmirault and Bourbaki. Such names show plainly enough what place in the military history of French Algeria must be occupied by the valiant10 body of troops which gained there its name and military reputation. —N. HUITIEME ESSAI. ESSAY EIGHTH. Il y a une espèce de gens pour lesquels les procès1 ont tant de charmes qu'ils ne pourraient vivre sans plaider2. Du temps de François ler, il y avait un vieillard qui durant tout le cours de sa vie s'était fait une occupa Périlleux, se. poste, m. refuser à. 'épée, f. 7légion, f. 8élever, 9fournir, Law-suit, to go to law, militaire, m. 5pointe, f. 10vaillant, e, tion est un plaisir de plaider. Le, roi, ayant entendu parler de cet homme, le fit venir, et, afin qu'il pût être tranquille le reste de ses jours, il ordonna aux juges de terminer à la fois tous ses procès. Mais le bonhomme, qui en avait au moins cinquante, se jeta aux pieds du roi, et le supplia de lui en laisser deux on trois seulement pour l'amuser, et passer agréablement sa vieillesse. Je vous laisse à juger si une demande aussi singulière fit rire le roi et toute la cour.-N. GRAMMATICAL QUESTIONS. 1. Parse these words: ayant entendu. 4. Give the chief tenses of y avoir, and say what sort of verb it is. 5. Why is cet placed before homme instead of ce? 6. What is the singular of gens? TURN INTO FRENCH. Sir, I like the acquaintance of young people, because in the first place, I don't like to think myself growing old. In the next place, young acquaintances must last longer, if they do last; and then, Sir, young men have more virtue than old men, they have more generous sentiments in every respect.2 I love the young dogs of this age; they have more wit and humour and knowledge of life than we had; but then the dogs are not so good scholars. Sir, in my early days I read very hard.7 It is a sad reflection, but a true one, that I knew almost as much at eighteen as I know now Young men, plys your books diligently now, and acquire a stock of knowedge for when years come (fut.) unto you, you will find that poring10 (inf. pres.) upon books will be an irksomell task.-Johnson, in Boswell. 3 At once. : 4old man. .... 1En premier lieu, m. 2sous tous rapports. 3temps, m. tesprit, m. 5 gaiété, f. jeune temps. m. 7beaucoup. 10jeter les yeux sur. 11fastidieux, se, 8s'attacher. fouds, m. NEUVIEME ESSAI. ESSAY NINTH. Turn into English :— Un homme avait deux fils, dont l'un était paresseux, et aimait à se lever très tard: l'autre, au contraire, était très laborieux, et se levait toujours de très bon matin. Ce dernier, étant sorti un jour de très bonne heure, trouva une bourse pleine d'argent. Il accourut faire part1 de son bonheur à son frère, et lui dit : "Vois, Louis: voilà ce qu'on gagne à se lever matin"—" Ma foi!" répondit son frère, "si la personne, à qui cette bourse appartient, ne s'était pas levée plus matin que moi, tu ne l'aurais pas trouvée." 8 Un paysan3 avait confié1 à un avoué la poursuite d'un procès, mais il ne lui avait pas donné d'argent. L'avoué lui dit mon ami, ton affaire est si embrouillée que je n'y vois goutte. Le villageois, comprenant le sens de ces paroles, tira' deux écus1o de sa poche, et les donnant à l'avoué: Monsieur, lui dit-il, voilà une belle paire de lunettes."-N. GRAMMATICAL QUESTIONS. 1. Give French words for the following figures:-70, 72, 75, 72, 91, 93, 94, 96, 97, 101. 2. Translate into French: London, July the 20th, twelve o'clock. 3. Turn into French: I shall complain of it: I shall complain of him. 4. Parse se levait. 5. Parse also avait confié. 6. What part of speech is matin, as used above? TURN INTO FRENCH. It is not without reason that Gibraltar is deemed1 impregnable.2 I never saw a fortress so thoroughly3 fortified, so perfectly in order, so well stocked with guns and munitions of war, or so well prepared at once to open fire. The whole 5 of this immense rock,6 absolutely impregnable on its eastern side, with the sea beating against the base of a natural? wall fourteen hundred feet high, is everywhere furnished with four lines of fortifications and batteries, one commanding the other, all admirably constructed, bristlings with heavy iron guns, mounted on their carriages,9 each ready pointed10 and having a pile of shots11 at its side.-N. DIXIEME ESSAI. ESSAY TENTH. Montesquieu fut véritablement un sage. Il aima et pratiqua la vertu. Il a été donné à peu d'hommes de pouvoir dire comme lui: "Chaque jour je m'éveille et revois la lumière avec un nouveau plaisir." Le goût de la solitude ne le rendait pas insensible aux agréments1 du monde. Sa conversation était agréable et instructive. Comme son style, elle était pleine de saillies. Digne de tous les honneurs et de toutes les récompenses, il ne demanda jamais rien, et ne s'étonna point d'être oublié. Quoiqu'il vécût parmi les grands par convenance3 et par goût, leur société n'était pas nécessaire à son bonheur. Aussitôt qu'il le pouvait, il retournait dans sa maison de campagne pour y retrouver ses livres et son repos.-E. Géruzes :-Etudes Littéraires. 1Juger. imprenable. complètement. 4garnir. 6rocher. 7bâti par la nature. shérisser. 9affût, m. d'avance. 11boulet, m. 1Charm. witticism. 3propriety. 5totalité, f. 10 pointé GRAMMATICAL QUESTIONS. 1. State the rules for the place of adjectives and adverbs. 2. Give the different degrees of bon, mauvais, bien, and mal. 3. Parse the words: quoiqu'il vécût. 4. Tell for what word stands en. 5. Tell the nature of the word retourner, and give the chief tenses of it. 6. Explain why ses is used before livres and son before repos. TURN INTO FRENCH. Haydn once challenged1 Mozart to compose a piece of music which he could not play. In five minutes Mozart composed a piece, and passed it to Haydn with these words: "There, Sir, is a composition which you cannot, and I can play." Haydn sat down to the piano, surprised (de) at the simplicity of the music, but when he got2 half-way, he stopped suddenly saying: How's this? my hands must be stretched outs at the two ends of the piano, and yet there is a middle key to be touched: nobody can play such music as this. Mozart took the vacant seat, began to run through the easy passages, and, when he came to the difficulty which his friend had found insurmountable, bobbing5 his head, he struck the key with his long nose, and was at the end of the piece in a trice6. Haydn, for whom such a feat7 was a physical impossibility, burst into a roar of laughters, and confessed that nature had endowed9 Mozart with a capacity for music to which he could lay no claim10.—N. 4 Défier. 2arriver. 3étendre. 1cependant. 5balancer en 6clin d'œil, m. 7exploit, m. 8partir d'un long éclat de rire. 9 douer. 10prétendre. avant. |