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HINTS ON TEACHING FRENCH 
 
HINTS ON 
 
 TEACHING FRENCH 
 
 WITH A RUNNING COMMENTARY 
 
 TO DENT'S FIRST AND SECOND 
 
 FRENCH BOOKS 
 
 WALTER RIPMAN 
 
 NEW YORK 
 E. P. DUTTON Esf CO. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 FIFTEEN years have elapsed since the first edition of these 
 Hints appeared, together with the First French Book the 
 first school book in England on reform lines, written 
 entirely in French. 
 
 What seemed a bold venture then, and was exposed to 
 a good deal of adverse criticism, is now accepted as 
 " orthodox." The principles of the reform movement have 
 been universally recognised as sound, at least as far as 
 the early stages of instruction are concerned. I have 
 never doubted that they are also applicable to the inter- 
 mediate and advanced stages, and many volumes have 
 been added to this Modern Language Series which testify 
 to my faith. Still, I confess that here we have yet a good 
 deal of work to do ; our foremost task being to make the 
 external examinations more reasonable. The University 
 of London has shown the way. Its Junior Examination 
 is better than any other, and the regulations for the 
 Senior and Matriculation Examinations have recently 
 been changed in accordance with the valuable Report on 
 External Examinations issued by the Modern Language 
 Association. 
 
 In this, the fifth, edition of the Hints I have made a 
 number of changes which experience showed to be desir- 
 able. The discussion of method has been supplemented 
 by the mention of recent additions to the Series, etc., and 
 a few mistakes have been corrected. In the running 
 commentary the references have been changed so as to 
 apply to the First French Book in its present form (21st 
 and following editions). 
 
 I was tempted to extend the book considerably by 
 dealing at length with the teaching of French after the 
 early stages, incorporating the substance of lectures I have 
 
vi Introduction 
 
 delivered for some years past at Queen's College and 
 at the Ramsgate Holiday Course. I felt, however, that 
 adequate treatment required more time than I could well 
 spare. I hope to issue a book on the subject in a year or 
 two. In the meanwhile I would draw the attention of 
 teachers to the growing list of volumes in this Series, 
 which now contains many books on reform lines suitable 
 for Middle and Upper Forms. To single out one book, 
 which contains a wealth of material on French life and 
 ways, I may refer to Mr Duhamel's Tony et sa Sceur, because 
 it has not yet attracted all the notice it deserves. 
 
 The Hints, then, remain a handbook for the teaching of 
 beginners ; but the underlying principles can be applied 
 by the intelligent teacher to subsequent work. A classi- 
 fied list of the volumes in the Modern Language Series 
 will be found on pp. 129 and foil., and from these a choice 
 can readily be made. 
 
 I cannot conclude without recording the death of my 
 honoured friend, Sines Alge, who passed away since the 
 last edition of the Hints appeared. He was a splendid 
 son of Switzerland vigorous, upright, transparently 
 sincere. In the very front rank of teachers, a true 
 pioneer, he always took especial interest in the teaching 
 of languages ; and as a Modern Language teacher he has 
 most strikingly left his mark. Few school books have 
 had so wide a circulation, or exerted so great an influence, 
 as the First French Book, which in its earliest form was 
 Alge's Legons de Franpais (1887) ; and this is only one 
 though the most noteworthy of his works. His books on 
 method opened my eyes to the importance of the reform ; 
 and I owe to him a great debt, which I was able only in 
 part to repay. 
 
 WALTER RIPPMANN 
 
 LONDON 
 
 July 1913 - 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 INTRODUCTION . , , . . 
 
 HINTS ON TEACHING FRENCH . . . 
 
 The teacher's object ... 2 
 Importance of vocabulary ... 3 
 The ' dead ' method ... 4 
 The ' translation ' method ... 4 
 The ' living ' method ... 5 
 The use of pictures ... 5 
 Its advantages .... 7 
 Learning words and forming sentences , 9 
 Applying and repeating words . , 11 
 Grammar . . .13 
 Pronunciation and spelling . . 14 
 Difficulties of English Children in pro- 
 nouncing French . . . 17 
 Transition from the phonetic to the ordi- 
 nary spelling .... 26 
 The Vocabulary .... 30 
 Class Teaching .... 33 
 Words and Phrases which can be accom- 
 panied by Action in Class . . 35 
 
viii Contents 
 
 RUNNING COMMENTARY 
 
 PAGE 
 
 To the First French Book .... 37 
 To the Second French Book ... 84 
 
 A CLASSIFIED LIST OF BOOKS FOR THE TEACHING OF 
 FRENCH IN DENT'S MODERN LANGUAGE SERIES 
 
 Preliminary Year ; First Year . . .129 
 
 Second Year . . . . .130 
 
 Intermediate Stage . . . .131 
 
 For Older Pupils ..... 133 
 Dictionary; Phonetics .... 136 
 
HINTS ON TEACHING 
 FRENCH 
 
 The principles on which Dent's First and Second French 
 Books are based are in all essential points identical 
 with those advocated ~by the Association phonttique 
 internationale, by Widgery in his book on "The 
 Teaching of Languages in Schools" by the pioneers 
 of the " reform " movement in Germany ( Victor, 
 Franke, Walter, etc.), and prescribed by the French 
 Minister of Public Instruction, for the teaching of 
 Modern Languages. 
 
 The " reform " in Modern Language Teaching now 
 in progress is one of the most noteworthy events 
 in the sphere of Teaching since the Eenaissance, 
 surpassing in importance even the results of intro- 
 ducing Science to the school. 
 
 Professor FINDLAY, Principles of Class Teaching, 
 p. 200. 
 
 The acquirement of a living language as a direct 
 instrument of thought will secure that everything 
 which is now learnt will be learnt the more thoroughly, 
 and that boys on leaving school will have the addi- 
 tional advantage of being able to converse easily and 
 correctly in the foreign idiom. 
 
 Dr SPENCER, Chapters on the Aims and Practice of 
 Teaching, p. 90. 
 
OUR pupils' object in learning a modern language is, 
 in the first place, that they may understand, speak, 
 and write it. It must therefore be our first care as 
 teachers to enable our pupils to understand it and 
 to gain some fluency in the use of it ; and we begin 
 by acquainting them with the common objects of 
 daily life, their usual surroundings. 1 They must 
 learn to speak about them in simple language, it 
 is true, but without effort. This is our guide in 
 selecting the vocabulary which they are to acquire 
 first; and in the beginning we avoid what is 
 strange to the mind of a child, as well as what is 
 unusual in point of grammar. 2 When we come, for 
 
 1 Ce qu'il faut e"tudier d'abord dans une langue e'trangere, 
 ce n'est pas le langage plus ou moins archai'que de la litera- 
 ture, mais le langage parle de tous les jours. Association 
 phon&ique Internationale. 
 
 a Take care of the easy things, and the hard ones will take 
 care of themselves. . . . The way to make out a difficulty is 
 not to puzzle at it, but to familiarise yourself with those parts 
 which you do understand, till they gradually throw light on 
 the more obscure. This is particularly evident in the learning 
 of languages. If men could but be persuaded to read easy 
 books with very great care and attention, they would acquire 
 such a knowledge of the language as they might apply with 
 the greatest advantage when they came to harder ones. . . . 
 My rule will apply also very well to the right method of 
 learning grammar. Archbishop Whateley. 
 
Hints on teaching French 3 
 
 instance, to the first case of an " irregular " feminine 
 or plural, we do not at once inflict a long list of 
 " exceptions " on the child. Let the instances first 
 occur in the reading, and in each fresh case let the 
 pupil recall what has gone before. Care must be 
 taken that the stock of words does not dwindle ; 
 and therefore constant repetition is essential. 
 
 To have at command a good vocabulary of common 
 words is the surest step towards an intelligent enjoy- 
 ment and appreciation of literature. With such a 
 vocabulary, our pupils can take up a French book 
 and read it with the same ease as French children. 
 
 It is necessary to emphasise strongly that common words 
 should be learnt first, and those aspects of life considered which 
 are of like interest to children in all civilised countries. That 
 broad sympathy with other nations and appreciation of what 
 is good outside our native country, which the modern language 
 teacher should be ever anxious to foster, will spring from thus 
 early insisting on what is similar ; when the intellect is more 
 matured there will be plenty of time for the pupil to notice and 
 think about the features in which various nations differ from 
 each other. 
 
 It was suggested by Toussaint, that at the outset such words 
 should be preferred which are similar in the two languages ; 
 and both Dr Spencer and Professor Findlay approve of this. 
 There is, however, a grave objection : the pupils are inclined 
 to approximate them still more, and to let the English pro- 
 nunciation influence that of the foreign word. Again, the 
 number of common words of this kind is fairly large if we 
 compare English and German ; but the French words which 
 resemble English words in most cases denote abstractions, or 
 comparatively unfamiliar objects, and it must be our aim first 
 to teach words which denote concrete things of natural interest 
 to the child. 
 
4 Hints on 
 
 For a long time it was customary to teach living 
 languages in the same way as classics ; we may call 
 this the " dead " method. The grammar was made 
 the centre of instruction ; the results achieved were 
 not satisfactory, for the pupils barely succeeded in 
 reading an easy text, and hardly ever learnt to express 
 themselves with ease either in speaking or writing. 
 Moreover, the choice of books was seldom made to 
 suit the child mind ; for instance, the tragedies of 
 the Louis XIV. period were put into the hands of 
 those who were far from possessing the literary 
 training necessary for a proper appreciation of these 
 difficult plays. 
 
 An intermediate stage is represented by the 
 * translation ' method, which is still occasionally 
 employed. Here the instruction is based entirely 
 on the reading book. The grammar is taught in 
 connection with it, but it must be confessed that the 
 treatment of it is often anything but systematic ; nor 
 is sufficient care given to the choice of a suitable 
 vocabulary. Constant translation and retranslation 
 are supposed to lead to the desired result of a 
 thorough command of the language. 
 
 Recent developments in modern language teaching 
 show a distinct tendency to paying great attention 
 to the spoken language in the first place. Instead 
 of connecting an object with the English word and 
 then translating it into its foreign equivalent, the 
 child is taught to connect the object directly with 
 the foreign word ; in other words, it is led to think 
 
teaching French 5 
 
 in the foreign language. 1 Various ways have been 
 suggested for accomplishing this end. By some 
 the foreign language has been taught by means 
 of object lessons; but it is not easy to have in 
 the class-room specimens of all the common objects 
 about which one wishes to talk. Others prefer to 
 " visualize " the objects, to create a scene before the 
 pupil's mind. This puts a great strain on the teacher, 
 and is not found to answer in the case of children ; 
 moreover the "series" method, which makes a 
 special feature of "visualization," has a tendency 
 to become mechanical. 
 
 The use of pictures, on the other hand, has 
 been found a most valuable aid in teaching; 
 and those published by Holzel 2 have, during 
 
 1 This is sometimes called the " direct " or the " natural " 
 method of learning languages. It is worth noting that these 
 ideas are being adopted even by some teachers of classics. 
 The admirable work done by Dr Rouse at the Perse School, 
 Cambridge, has attracted much attention. 
 
 2 These pictures were used in the first ten editions of our 
 First French Book ; but many teachers of experience objected to 
 them on the score that they represented Austrian scenes, and 
 were not artistic. In consequence a fresh series of Pictures 
 of the Seasons has been designed by Mr Symington ; they are 
 published by Messrs J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., and cost 2s. 6d. 
 each unmounted, 3s. 6d. each mounted on linen and eyeletted, 
 and 6s. each mounted on linen and bound at edges, with rollers. 
 In these pictures the general effect is very pleasing, and the 
 details are clear and thoroughly French. Small reproductions 
 are given at the end of the First French Book, but these are 
 only meant as a help to the pupil in his home work. For class 
 work the teacher should use the wall pictures, the size of which 
 is 55 x 35 inches. 
 
6 Hints on 
 
 the last fifteen years, been utilised by many teachers 
 following Mr S. Alge's example, the first edition 
 of whose book appeared in 1887. Here we have 
 men and animals, their relations to each other l and 
 to nature, their occupations and qualities, the objects 
 of nature and art, life in the country and in towns ; 
 and all is put vividly before the pupil. Guided by 
 his teacher he travels through his early childhood 
 again ; he learns to clothe his thoughts and feelings 
 in a new garment ; he becomes thoroughly familiar 
 with the stock of words he acquires, and has it fully 
 at his command. He understands the teacher, and 
 can answer his questions (based on the picture) ; 
 and his companions can tell whether he is right for 
 the questions call up the same associations in the 
 mind of each pupil. 
 
 Though there might be a hundred answers to Que fait 
 la mere ? yet the old First Courses gave only one, chosen at 
 random. When the teacher bases his first teaching on the 
 "Spring" picture, the pupils will all have only such answers 
 ready as suit the particular case : die travaille dans lejardin, 
 elle b$che, elle laboure (ou cultive] le jardin, etc. 
 
 And how little human interest there is in the unconnected 
 sentences of those First Courses ! 
 
 Personne ne parle pour appliquer une regie de grammaire, 
 c'est le defaut de ces phrases qu'on a longtemps fait apprendre, 
 et qui a juste titre ont ete' tournees en ridicule. Voici une 
 
 1 The persons on the first picture (Spring) are all related to 
 each other ; and our pupils take quite a keen interest in the 
 three generations of the Bontemps family, each member of 
 which soon gains a distinct individuality. 
 
 The persons on the other pictures also have names, and 
 thus appear as individuals, not as mere types. 
 
teaching French 7 
 
 phrase sur les pronoms que je prends dans un livre d'exer- 
 cices : Votre mere n'a-t-elle pas entendu chanter nos oiseaux ? 
 Et cette autre : <Tai froid aux mains, mais vous avez chaud 
 aux v6tres. La meilleure volont se refroidit au contact de ces 
 phrases vides de sens. M. Michel Bre&l. 
 
 The teacher suggests a train of thought, and the 
 pupils can often supply several answers to any 
 particular question, according to their tastes or 
 inclinations. They are encouraged to be as original 
 as possible ; and this gives fresh zest to their work. 1 
 Frequently the picture is merely the starting point, 
 and the teacher passes from it, by easy stages, to 
 other things which are familiar to the pupil. 
 
 The striking advantages of teaching by pictures 
 are : 
 
 (i) The sound of the foreign word is directly 
 associated with the idea to be expressed. Neither 
 the spoken nor the written form of the English word 
 intrudes between them. 2 
 
 (ii) The employment of the mother-tongue by the 
 pupil is reduced to a minimum 3 ; and he is en- 
 
 1 The actual use of the foreign tongue invariably interests 
 the pupils, giving them a sense of mastery that nothing else 
 can bring. Professor 0. H. Grandgent. 
 
 2 Autant que possible, le maitre rattachera les expressions 
 de la langue etrangere directement aux idees ou a d'autres 
 expressions de la meme langue, non a celles de la langue 
 maternelle. Toutes les fois qu'il le pourra, il remplacera done 
 la traduction par des Ie9ons de choses, des leons sur des 
 images et des explications donnees dans la langue etrangere. 
 Association phonttique internationale. 
 
 3 But not excluded entirely ; it is not always a gain to be 
 rigidly consistent. See the remarks a little further on. 
 
8 Hints on 
 
 couraged as much as possible to make a free and 
 natural use of the foreign words he has already 
 acquired. 1 
 
 The objection is sometimes raised that it is impossible to 
 impart any fluency of speech to pupils in a class : see some 
 suggestions with special reference to class teaching on p. 33. 
 
 (iii) The picture readily supplies a very large 
 number of examples for the purposes of grammar 
 drill. 
 
 (iv) Hence the pupil is led to express his own ideas, 
 not slavishly following the cut and dried phrases 
 of a book, and the teaching becomes brisker and 
 brighter. 
 
 1 If we accustom children to hearing the foreign language and 
 to using it themselves constantly from the very beginning, and 
 insist on their pronouncing correctly and uttering fluently 
 whatever they say, we shall, it is true, not succeed in making 
 foreigners of them, nor is this in any way desirable ; but we 
 shall prevent the feeling of helplessness and embarrassment, 
 and the nervous fear of appearing foolish, which makes so 
 many of us hesitate to use a foreign language, and impedes 
 us in our intercourse with foreigners, depriving us of much 
 pleasure and profit. 
 
 La timid ite grandit avec les annees : nous nous rendons 
 mieux compte des difficulte's, nous avons plus d'egards pour 
 1'oreille de nos interlocuteurs, notre amour-propre aussi est 
 devenu plus sensible, et nous demeurons muets pour ne paa 
 etre au-dessous de la bonne opinion que nous voudrions donner 
 de nous-memes. M. Michel Br6al. 
 
teaching French 9 
 
 The learning of words and forming of sentences. 1 
 
 (i) The teacher begins 2 by pointing to persons, 
 animals, and things on the picture (as many as he 
 has selected for the lesson), and names them. The 
 pupils repeat what he says, until they can pronounce 
 the words to the satisfaction of the teacher. Pupils 
 are made to point at the various persons, etc., while 
 others name them ; or again, some name them, and 
 others point them out (No. 1). 
 
 (ii) We show persons, animals, and things, and say 
 what they are (No. 1). 
 
 (iii) We show persons, animals, and things, and say 
 what they do (Nos. 2 and 3). 
 
 (iv) We show persons, animals, and things, and 
 give their distinguishing features (Nos. 4 and 5). 
 
 (v) We show persons, animals, and things, and 
 say where they are (No. 6). 
 
 (vi) In the later stages, teacher and then pupil 
 read the sentences of a lesson one by one. In each 
 sentence there is, as a rule, only one unknown word 
 (printed in clarendon type) ; all the others are 
 familiar to the pupil. The context gives the mean- 
 ing of the new word. The pupil finds a special charm 
 
 1 A detailed "running commentary" to the lessons will be 
 found on pp. 37 and following. 
 
 2 Notice the suggestion on p. 33, as to giving French names 
 to the pupils in class teaching. 
 
to Hints on 
 
 in discovering it ; it makes him think, he values it as 
 the result of his thought, and his memory retains 
 the word thus gained much longer than if he had 
 obtained it without effort from vocabulary 1 or 
 dictionary. 2 
 
 If the teacher is not convinced that his pupils fully grasp 
 the meaning of the new word, and cannot easily help them 
 to do so, he may supply the English word. This should 
 be regarded rather as a last resource ; at the same time, it 
 would be unreasonable to make oneself the absolute slave 
 of the rule that the foreign language should be used in the 
 class-room. Many who make the attempt will be surprised 
 how very little English they will find it necessary to introduce. 
 In bringing out some point of grammar, it will sometimes be 
 
 1 A vocabulary is indeed given at the end of the First French 
 Book, but such explanations as are to be found there are given 
 in French. An alphabetical list of words, with references to 
 the place where they first occur, is added to the Second French 
 Book. 
 
 The pupils do not " prepare" a new piece; 1 whatever is 
 new is first done in class, then revised by the pupil, who will, 
 therefore, only require the vocabulary in order to recall the 
 words he no longer remembers, not to find new ones. If he 
 has been systematically through the First Book, he will not 
 have acquired the habit of turning at once to the vocabulary 
 whenever he is doubtful, but will rather have gained the 
 faculty of getting the meaning of words from their context. 
 Besides, the fairly extensive vocabulary he will have acquired 
 will enable him to recognise many words at once (e.g., com- 
 pound verbs, adjectives derived from substantives, etc.). 
 
 2 The clumsy use of the dictionary causes an immense waste 
 of time among junior pupils. Mr W. Stuart Macgowan. 
 
 1 The dangers of such preparation are now generally recognised ; it is a 
 hotbed of errors. Similarly, passages for dictation should be based on the 
 existing vocabulary, and should introduce nothing new ; compare those 
 given in the running commentary to the Second French Book, e.g. on p. 97. 
 
teaching French 11 
 
 found convenient to give explanations in English ; but as 
 soon as the pupils are somewhat advanced, this too is best 
 done in French. 
 
 ' ' Every minute taken from native speech and conducted in 
 foreign speech is a gain to the foreign language." Professor 
 Findlay, Preparations for instruction in English on a direct 
 method, p. 9. 
 
 (vii) At a still later stage the teacher can convey 
 the meaning of a new word, without pointing to the 
 picture and without giving the English, by means 
 of an explanation in simple words that are already 
 familiar, or better still, by means of suitable ques- 
 tions leading up to the required word. This is at 
 the same time excellent practice for ensuring a know- 
 ledge of the existing vocabulary. 
 
 Applying and repeating words. 
 
 Every new word is at once applied. The teacher 
 asks what are the qualities of the new object, what 
 the persons or animals do, where, when or under 
 what conditions they do it; he asks about their 
 various parts ; about the subject and object of some 
 form of activity ; he also asks for synonyms, oppo- 
 sites, and so on. Many such questions are given in 
 the various lessons, together with exercises of various 
 kinds, which may be utilised for home work. At 
 the end of a suitable number of lessons there is 
 a careful repetition of the words that have been 
 learnt. 
 
i2 Hints on 
 
 All translation from the mother - tongue is 
 avoided. 1 The pupil is to move as much as possible 
 in the foreign atmosphere ; and as the result of his 
 efforts he is conscious of an ever-increasing stock of 
 words, and consequently a growing power to express 
 himself in the foreign language. 2 The recurrence 
 of words in ever-varying surroundings will before 
 long make him quite familiar with the words which 
 form the framework of every ordinary conversation. 
 
 1 "Das ttbersetzen in eine fremde Sprache ist eine Kunst, 
 welche die Schule nichts angeht," Professor Victor. Nothing 
 is more dangerous for beginners than to make them translate 
 English into the foreign language ; the power to do this pro- 
 perly presupposes an extensive knowledge of the peculiarities 
 of both languages, which only a mature student can hope to 
 possess. Dr K. A. M. Hartmann has rightly said, that this 
 conviction is one of the most important results gained during 
 the last fifteen years by those who have studied the theory and 
 practice of modern language teaching. 
 
 2 For exercises in the use of the foreign language (" skeleton 
 exercises " and "free composition"), see the remarks on pp. 
 89, 93, and also Mr Storr's article on the Teaching of Modern 
 Languages (composition, p. 277) in Mr Barnett's Teaching and 
 Organisation. 
 
 The little books on Easy Free Composition in French (by 
 Miss Bull) and Free Composition and Essay Writing in French 
 (by Messrs Philibert and Pratt), are recommended for pupils 
 in the third and following years of instruction. 
 
teaching French 13 
 
 What we know as grammar is the result of a 
 critical comparison of the whole mass of a language ; 
 a grouping of linguistic phenomena in various ways, 
 and in certain cases their reduction to rules. If 
 we wish to speak a foreign language, we must learn 
 the rules in accordance with which it is constructed. 
 
 We should, however, not show our pupils the 
 whole building with its enormous number of details 
 and all its irregularities ; it must take shape under 
 their very eyes, and, as they themselves use the 
 materials, it will be as though they had helped to 
 build it. For this purpose we supply them with 
 words, the materials of language building ; and we 
 show them how these are to be used in sentences, 
 and let them notice to what changes they are subject 
 in certain circumstances. 
 
 For an example, the reader is referred to the running 
 commentary on No. 7 of the First French Book. 
 
 The new "materials" are examined from every 
 point of view : everything remarkable in grammar, 
 spelling, order of words is noticed, and either 
 connected with what is already stored in the pupil's 
 mind and put into its proper place, or if it is 
 something quite new it is carefully kept until the 
 time when it can usefully be employed; all the 
 materials are suitably arranged, and the rules 
 deduced from them. As a help to the teacher we 
 have given on pp. 37 and foil, a running commen- 
 tary to the lessons of the First and Second Book. 
 Here he will find in convenient arrangement all 
 
14 Hints on 
 
 that is noteworthy in each lesson, and also remarks 
 about the method to be employed in certain cases 
 which require special treatment. The grammar 
 rules are gained by the pupil himself under the 
 guidance of his teacher; they have been put to- 
 gether and arranged in sections 23, 33, 46, 52, 64 of 
 the First Book, and pp. 129 and foil, of the Second. 
 Copious references to the lessons are supplied ; it is 
 unnecessary to insist on the great value of this close 
 inter-dependence of grammar and text. The rules 
 are given in French, and the pupil is thus made 
 acquainted with the French grammatical terms, 
 which again helps him to avoid the use of 
 English. 
 
 Many readers will be glad to make use of M. Berthon's 
 Premiere Grammaire Fran$aise, published by Messrs J. M. 
 Dent & Sons, Ltd., price Is. 6d. net, in which all that is 
 important in French grammar is stated in clear and concise 
 French, and of Miss Batchelor's First Exercises and Further 
 Exercises in French Grammar. A Key to the latter has also 
 been issued. 
 
 Pronunciation and Spelling. 
 
 Always, and particularly at the outset, insist on the best 
 pronunciation attainable. Professor G. H. Grandgent. 
 
 There can be no question that flexible organs well trained, 
 together with only an average ear, will yield better results 
 than even an exceptionally good ear without organic training. 
 Dr H. Sweet. 
 
 Quelques notions de phone'tique physiologique ne seront 
 pas inutiles au professeur. Ainsi qu'on 1'a dit avec raison, 
 elles seront pour lui ce que des notions d'anatomie sont pour 
 le professeur de gymnastique. Corriger une fausse prononcia- 
 tiori n'est pas chose facile : il faut avoir quelque ide'e des 
 organes mis en jeu. M. Michel Breal. 
 
teaching French 15 
 
 In the first edition of this little book, issued 
 towards the end of 1898, I said: "The application 
 of phonetics to modern language teaching has as yet 
 found little favour in England." During the last 
 ten years, however, great progress has been made ; 
 many books have followed our First French Boole 
 in using the transcription of the International 
 Phonetic Association, and there is a steadily in- 
 creasing number of teachers with a good training 
 in what we may call practical phonetics or school 
 phonetics. 
 
 In the second of my articles on the Early Teaching 
 of French in the School World (Feb. 1899, p. 51 and 
 foil.) will be found suggestions for those who wish 
 to gain some knowledge of phonetics ; these may be 
 briefly repeated here. 
 
 First obtain a general idea of the organs of speech, 
 and of the sounds uttered in English and French. 
 Exercise your own organs of speech systematically, 
 in order to give them greater flexibility. At present 
 the most convenient books for this purpose are the 
 English translation of Victor's Kleine Phonetik 
 (Elements of Phonetics ; English, French, and German,' 1 
 2s. 6d. net), Mr B. Dumville's Elements of French Pro- 
 nunciation and Diction 1 (2s. 6d. net), and Mr L. 
 Basean's Manuel de Phonttique 1 (2s. 6d. net). 
 
 French texts in phonetic transcription will be found in the 
 French Phonetic Reader* (Is. 6d.), by Mr S. A. Richards; 
 Lectures- Dictfes l (Is. ), by Mr L. Bascan ; and Episodes en 
 Action 1 (Is. 4d.), by Mr J. S. Walters. 
 
 i In Dent's Modern Language Series. 
 
1 6 Hints on 
 
 The teacher may also be recommended to read a book on 
 English Phonetics, such as The Sounds of Spoken English 
 (same publisher, Is. 6d. net). It is a growing practice to give 
 children some knowledge of the sounds of their mother-tongue 
 before they start a foreign language. For this purpose English 
 Sounds (same publisher, Is.) will be found useful. 
 
 This will give the teacher such a knowledge of 
 the sounds and their mode of production as is 
 indispensable for the proper teaching of French 
 pronunciation. But if he knows German he cannot 
 do better than work through Klinghardt's admirable 
 Artikulations- und Hb'rubungen (published by Schulze, 
 Cothen, at 5s. 6d. net) ; this will render his ear 
 more delicate and his organs of speech more flexible. 
 
 If in doubt as to the pronunciation of any par- 
 ticular word, refer to Passy's Abrege de Prononciation 
 franchise (published by Reisland, Leipzig, at Is. net); 
 to Aug, Andre's Traitt de Prononciation franqaise et 
 de Diction accompagne' de Lectures en prose et en vers, 
 (published by Payot, Lausanne, at 4 frs. ; the trans- 
 cript is not quite the same as that of the Association, 
 but it is not troublesome) ; or to the dictionary of 
 Passy and Michaelis (published by Prior, Hannover, 
 at 4s. net). 
 
 With the knowledge thus acquired, a stay in 
 France will be most beneficial : the command of the 
 language will be increased, and the student will be 
 able to discriminate between good and bad pro- 
 nunciation on the part of natives. 
 
 The Board of Education issues an annual list of Holiday 
 Courses, which can be obtained through any bookseller. 
 The London University Holiday Course at Ramsgate is par- 
 ticularly suitable for English teachers desiring to obtain a 
 good knowledge of phonetics and to have opportunities of 
 intercourse with French teachers. 
 
teaching French 17 
 
 A recent addition to Dent's Modern Language Series forms 
 an excellent preliminary to the First French Book. It is 
 Mr W. E. Llewellyn's French Primer. Part I. contains a 
 simple phonetic text, with many pictures; Part II., the 
 transition to the ordinary spelling. An excellent plan for 
 the year preceding the First French Book is to give the first 
 term to English Sounds (mentioned above), and to go through 
 this Primer during the rest of the year. 
 
 A few remarks may be added on the main difficul- 
 ties of English children in pronouncing French. 
 
 The teacher should make sure that all the pupils breathe 
 properly. Children who stutter, lisp, or have any other 
 defect of speech require special attention ; the parents should 
 be communicated with, and steps should be taken to remove 
 at an early stage what may become almost ineradicable later 
 on, and the source of much discomfort, if not actual un- 
 happiness. 
 
 The pronunciation of each individual must be 
 distinct and sufficiently loud to be heard by every 
 one present. This is particularly necessary in 
 French, the articulation of which is much more 
 precise than in the case of English. There must be 
 no mumbling or slurring ; the teacher must insist on 
 clear enunciation until it becomes habitual. 
 
 If the pronunciation of French sounds gives a 
 pupil serious trouble, he will often derive more help 
 from the pronunciation of a fellow pupil than from 
 his master's, because the former's voice is more like 
 his own. 
 
 The teacher will endeavour throughout to let the 
 children discover differences between English and 
 French pronunciation for themselves. 
 
1 8 Hints on 
 
 The pupils should be encouraged to listen carefully 
 while the sentences of the lesson are read by each in 
 turn, and should be asked if they notice anything 
 faulty in the pronunciation. It is remarkable how 
 soon their ear becomes trained. They should, how- 
 ever, when asked, not reproduce the faulty pronun- 
 ciation, but give the correct form of the word that 
 has been mispronounced. 1 
 
 Especially at the beginning, the class should read 
 in chorus frequently. They soon learn to keep time, 
 even without the guidance of the teacher, who can 
 then control the pronunciation, and, like the director 
 of an orchestra, single out the one who has " played 
 a false note." When a class is large, it should be 
 divided into sections for chorus work. 
 
 Separate sounds. 
 
 The vowels present much difficulty to English 
 (especially to southern English) speakers; a diffi- 
 culty intensified when the children in learning 
 English reading have been accustomed to spelling 
 words by giving the names of the letters, instead of 
 uttering the sounds which constitute the words. 
 Their ear is not trained if they are told that the 
 
 1 When a pupil has mispronounced a word, another pupil 
 goes to the sound-chart, points first to the sound which has 
 been heard and then to the sound which should have been 
 uttered. The sound-chart Les Sons du Fran^ais contains 
 the phonetic symbols in bold type. Small reproductions of 
 this chart, with keywords, can be obtained at the price of 30 
 for Is. There is also a set of nine charts, by Jones and 
 Rausch, which show the tongue and lip positions for the chief 
 vowel sounds. 
 
teaching French 19 
 
 vowel in bit is i (pronounced as "eye") or that 
 the vowel in but is u (pronounced " you ;J ). They 
 must be taught to distinguish the actual sounds 
 uttered ; for instance, they must come to know that 
 in bait and boat we have not simply long vowels, but 
 real diphthongs, and to recognise that beat and boot 
 also have not one vowel sound of uniform value 
 between b and t. Unless this be clearly understood 
 they will pronounce the French and English rose 
 alike, and make French Ute and English late rime. 
 To make these mistakes is alone sufficient to stamp 
 a pronunciation as utterly un- French. 
 
 In pronouncing the a in words like dme, pas, the 
 tongue should lie flat in the mouth ; many southern 
 English speakers either draw the tongue back too 
 far, which gives a " dark " sound, often heard in 
 southern English father, or raise the front of the 
 tongue, which gives the " clear " sound of a in French 
 rage, ma, or in northern English cat. 
 
 The three sounds of e, viz. unaccented e, close 6, 
 and open e must be carefully kept apart. The first 
 offers little difficulty, as a very similar sound (with- 
 out lip-rounding) occurs in English. But the dis- 
 tinction between close 6 and open e requires 
 attention; e in then is about half-way between the 
 two. 
 
 Exercises : e (i.e. unaccented e)-a-e-e-e-a-e, e'-e-a-e-a-e-e". 
 (Repeat; first slowly, then more rapidly, but always dis- 
 tinctly. ) 
 
 In practising these exercises, the vowels should not only be 
 jerked out separately; it is good to practise gliding from 
 one to another. 
 
20 Hints on 
 
 The lips are very inactive in southern English ; 
 in French clean and vigorous lip action is essential 
 for the correct production of a large proportion of 
 the vowels. The teacher will round his lips as much 
 as possible in producing the sounds written o and ov 
 in French, and will insist on a close imitation on 
 the part of his pupils. Every pupil should be pro- 
 vided with a little mirror ; it is the only way to make 
 the beginner understand what lip-rounding means. 
 
 Exercises : a (mouth well open) -o (lips well rounded) -ou 
 (lips still more rounded) ; the opening no larger than the end 
 of a lead pencil) -o-a, ou-o-a-o-ou (Repeat). 
 
 The distinction between close o (as in rdle) and 
 open o (as in parole) must be mastered next, and 
 the sounds practised by individuals and the whole 
 class. 
 
 Exercises : a-open o-close o-ou, ou-close o-open o-a ; 
 close e-open e-pause-close o-open o ; 
 i-close e-open e-a, ou-close o-open o-a. 
 
 Special care is necessary in the case of <?, e and close o to 
 avoid the diphthongal character of the kindred English 
 sounds. The organs of speech must be kept in one position 
 all the time ; thus in the case of close o the lips must be 
 rounded before the beginning of the vowel, and the rounding 
 must remain unchanged during its production. 
 
 When open , close 6 and i are pronounced with 
 lip-rounding, we obtain the sounds heard in peur, 
 pen, pur respectively : 
 
teaching French 21 
 
 For open eu 
 For close eu 
 For u 
 
 Tongue position : 
 as for open e 
 as for close e 
 as for i 
 
 Lip-rounding : 
 as for open o 
 as for close o 
 as for ou 
 
 Sounds closely approaching the French sounds can be pro- 
 duced without lip-rounding, and are often substituted for them 
 by English speakers ; but the teacher should insist on the 
 correct mode of production. 
 
 The sound of u gives a good deal of trouble. The pupils 
 should push a pencil into their mouths in order to realize that 
 in the case of French ou the back of the tongue is raised, and 
 in the case of u the front. 
 
 When a vowel is followed by r, there is a tendency 
 to slur the r, often also to lengthen the vowel. 
 Here the teacher has a most difficult task : the 
 pupils must be made to trill the r (see below), and 
 the idea that the vowel is long must be eradicated 
 by constant repetition of the correct pronunciation. 
 The French porter is not represented by the English 
 paw-tay. 
 
 The nasal vowels give some trouble, until the child 
 clearly recognises to which oral vowel each nasal 
 vowel corresponds. The relationship is roughly as 
 follows : 
 
 Oral : Nasal : 
 
 (on in oncle 
 oinparte 
 
 (in in fin 
 eininpkin 
 am in main 
 aim in faim 
 
 1 Or a in southern English bat, pat may be compared. 
 
22 Hints on 
 
 fun (indef. art.) 
 eu in peur . , I7 
 
 \,um in humble 
 
 ren, an in enfant 
 a in ZM0 J em in terwpfe 
 
 [am in champ 
 
 The two most frequently confused are the sounds 
 written on and aw; 1 this is largely due to the 
 fact that the oral vowels are badly pronounced. 
 If a very "dark" a is pronounced (see above), 
 and if the open o is uttered without lip-round- 
 ing, the two sounds are very much alike; and if 
 they become nasal, the ear can hardly distinguish 
 them. 
 
 Many of the consonants also deserve attention : 
 b, d 3 g, at the end of words are uniform in value; 
 very often in English the vocal chords cease vibrating 
 before the sound is at an end ; in other words, the 
 b passes into p, d into t, and g into k. The same is 
 true of final " voiced " s (as in English dogs), which 
 in French never passes into "voiceless" s. 
 
 1 To one who knows the language it may seem incredible 
 that these sounds should not be recognised by the ear as 
 different. I have had lisping ' patients ' who in the same way 
 could not distinguish between the sounds of sh and s ; now that 
 they are cured they are quite clear about it. I also had a 
 pupil nineteen years of age, who had never been able to hear 
 any difference in the pronunciation of fought and thought ; 
 he himself pronounced them in exactly the same way. 
 11 The greatest difficulty I have to encounter," says Professor 
 C. F. Kroeh, an American teacher of recognised ability and 
 long experience, " is the imperfect training, or total absence of 
 training, of the ear in our schools." This is quite as true here 
 as in America. 
 
\ 
 
 teaching French 23 
 
 p, t, k, are never aspirated, as is often the case in 
 English; when we emphasise a word like pain, we 
 commonly let h follow the p (similarly in German). 
 
 If a sheet of paper is held lightly before the lips, and the 
 English or German Papa is pronounced forcibly, the aspira- 
 tion will cause the paper to move. When the French papa is 
 pronounced, there should be practically no movement. 
 
 The sounds which follow I in Louis and lui re- 
 spectively are not identical. The former is like the 
 English w ; it is the consonantal sound corresponding 
 to the vowel written ou in French; the latter 
 corresponds to the French u. In ui the tongue 
 position does not change ; but the lip rounding 
 required by the u ceases when the i is uttered. 
 
 j and g (with the same sound) are sometimes read 
 as in English, e.g., French journal is made to begin 
 with d, like English journal. A comparison of the 
 sounds in ledger and leisure will help to impress the 
 fact that j in Jim represents two sounds, as does g in 
 gem. 
 
 In pronouncing Z, care must be taken that the 
 tongue touches the upper teeth ; in southern English 
 it is usually drawn back and the I has a " dark " 
 sound, which appears in an extreme form in the 
 milkman's cry " Milkoo ! " 
 
 The most troublesome of the consonants to a 
 southern English child is undoubtedly the r. It is 
 not, indeed, necessary to teach the " uvular " r (or 
 "throat r," as it is sometimes called), common in 
 the speech of Paris and the other large towns ; the 
 " lingual " r (or " tongue r ") is preferred by the 
 
24 Hints on 
 
 French themselves, in theory. But r must always 
 be trilled : this is difficult for speakers who have 
 been accustomed to the ordinary English r, which 
 is lingual also, but untrilled, where it has not disap- 
 peared altogether. It takes some time before children 
 acquire the habit of trilling every r in French. 
 
 Difficult combinations should be practised, such as arbre, 
 mercredi, and the ron-ron-ron, which represents the purring 
 of a cat. 
 
 Accentuation. 
 
 English speakers constantly transfer the English 
 accent to French words ; thus they dwell emphati- 
 cally on the second syllable of words like commencer, 
 regarder, re'pondre. To counteract this, the teacher 
 does well to insist on uniform accentuation of all 
 syllables, none being stressed in a marked way ; later, 
 the French distribution of stresses may be attempted. 
 
 A good exercise consists in tapping uniformly on the table 
 as each syllable is uttered in reading aloud. 
 
 Liaison. 
 
 It is a great mistake to make every possible liaison 
 in conversational French ; the pronunciation becomes 
 intolerably pedantic. It is a still greater mistake to 
 carry a letter across a pause, however slight. The 
 pupils should be taught to make suitable breath 
 pauses when they read a sentence ; they will then 
 instinctively "run together": 
 
 article and noun : des enfants 
 
 adjective and noun ; de bans enfants 
 
teaching French 25 
 
 pronominal adjective and 
 
 noun : ces enfants, mes enfants 
 
 preposition and noun : dans un jar din ; en arrivant 
 adverb and adjective : die est tres heureuse 
 pronoun and verb : Us out joud, ont-elles chantd, 
 
 on ira 
 conjunction (not et\) and 
 
 following word : quand il viendra 
 
 How much time will the Teacher have to devote 
 to exercises in pronunciation 1 He will have to 
 spend as much as will enable each Pupil to pro- 
 nounce the unfamiliar sounds fairly correctly, if not 
 fluently. This may take eight or ten periods with a 
 class of average size and ability, in which the Pupils 
 have not already acquired bad habits of pronuncia- 
 tion. But it is not enough to have enabled them to 
 pronounce the words correctly a few times ; only 
 constant repetition will ensure their being produced 
 easily and instinctively. For this purpose it is advis- 
 able to set aside some minutes every lesson during 
 the early stages for drill in sounds ; this can best be 
 done with the aid of the sound-chart (see p. 18, note). 
 After some time it will be unnecessary to continue this 
 special drill ; l the constant use of French by the 
 Pupils in class will afford the Teacher a ready means 
 
 1 To avoid monotonous repetition it is better to let further 
 attention to this subject take the form of carefully working up 
 a piece of poetry or a fine prose passage, which are learnt by 
 heart. The Pupils have the whole in phonetic symbols (if 
 these are used) to help them at home. Many, however, like 
 to give their Pupils a few minutes' sound drill at the beginning 
 of every lesson, to "tune up" the instruments, 
 
26 Hints on 
 
 of ascertaining that their pronunciation is satisfac- 
 tory. He may take it for granted that any remiss- 
 ness on his part in correcting faulty pronunciation 
 will soon lead to undesirable results. The fact that 
 his Pupils use their mother-tongue almost exclusively 
 when they are not in his class makes it imperative 
 that he should demand an absolutely correct pro- 
 nunciation of French when they are with him. 
 
 Transition from the phonetic to the ordinary 
 spelling. 
 
 This section is for the use of those Teachers who believe iu 
 the exclusive use of the phonetic spelling in the early stages. 
 
 The Teacher who has made himself familiar with 
 the elements of phonetics will not think it excessive 
 if he is asked to go through the whole of the lessons 
 (22) based on the spring picture without letting his 
 Pupils see a word in the conventional spelling. 1 When 
 he has reached this point, his Pupils will have ac- 
 quired a very fair pronunciation, and are no longer 
 likely to be misled by the conventional spelling. The 
 transition to this can therefore be undertaken now, 
 and will afford the pupils much that is of interest. 
 
 The Teacher revises what has been learnt, now 
 using the text as printed on pp. 1-37. This can be 
 done all the more easily, as each word is printed in 
 clarendon where it appears for the first time. The 
 Pupil realises how confusing the conventional spell- 
 ing is. Hitherto he has been able to read every 
 
 1 The early lessons of the First French Book in phonetic 
 transcript are issued separately at 6d. net. 
 
teaching French 27 
 
 word easily, because each sign represented one 
 sound only ; but now he finds the same sign repre- 
 senting several sounds, several signs used to re- 
 present one sound, some signs representing no sound 
 at all. Thu's when he sees fait, he notices the spell- 
 ing ai for the sound represented by e in pere and 
 mire. When he comes to nager, he is expected to 
 pronounce g as [3], while in garpon, the sign g had a 
 different value ; and the r of nager is not pronounced 
 at all. 
 
 After a few remarks on this difference between 
 the phonetic and the conventional spelling, the 
 Teacher will call upon his Pupils to compare the 
 two, saying for instance : 1 
 
 Paul : p for 2 [p], au for [o], I for [1]. 
 
 C^cile : c for [s], 6 for [e], c for [s], i for [i], 
 
 I for [1], e silent. 3 
 Henri : h silent ; en for [d] ; r for [r], i for [i]. 
 
 Or the Pupils may write the words in parallel 
 columns, e.g. : 
 
 Mm Ch J LI p p 
 
 a a a a o\ 6s: 
 
 r r r r u/ r r 
 
 i i 11 i i: e 
 
 e e s z 
 
 s e 
 
 1 The French letters may be pronounced in the conventional 
 French way. 
 
 2 Or better : pour. 8 muette. 
 
28 Hints on 
 
 When the Pupils have compared a dozen words in 
 this manner, they are asked to note the various ways 
 in which sounds are represented. They notice, for 
 instance, that p, I, r, m, d have the same value in 
 both spellings ; that ch does duty for [/] ; that 
 nasal vowels are written ' vowel plus n ' (later on they 
 find examples of ' vowel plus m '). The Pupils 
 rapidly acquire the conventional spelling of these 
 words (as may be seen by giving them a short 
 dictation in the following lesson), after which another 
 set of words can be taken in the same way. By 
 constantly asking for words of which the spelling has 
 already been seen, the Teacher ensures that powerful 
 associations are formed in the minds of his Pupils. 
 It is well to let them make their own lists of words ; 
 thus the representation of sounds in the words occur- 
 ring in lessons 3-10 can be summarised as follows : 
 
 A. Vowels. 
 
 o: aussi, sauter, eau, oiseau, haut, beau, chapeau, 
 ruisseau, jaune. 
 
 o : Paul, voler, joli, prononcez, porte, colline, labori- 
 eux, foret, proverbe. 
 
 o : maison, caneton, font, hirondelle, sont, montagne, 
 prononcer, bon. 
 
 a : Henri, comment, grand, dans, champ, branche, 
 paysan, enfant, parents, manger. 
 
 e : C^cile, rpetez, agitable, pre, eglise. 
 
 8 : fidele, derriere, f rere, riviere, air, contraire, hiron- 
 delle, insecte, ferme, vert, fentre, fort, neige. 
 
 |: jardin, insecte, cinq, moulin, 
 
teaching French 29 
 
 0: deux, laborieux, joyeux, heureux, mieux, vieux. 
 
 oe: jeune, fleur, couleur, heureux. 
 
 u: Louise, jouer, poule, ouverb, bouquet, ou, couleur, 
 
 rouge. 
 
 w: trois, oiseau, voix, toit, voici, noir. 
 y : utile, plume, sur. 
 j : travailler, abeille. 
 
 B. Consonants. 
 
 p : pere, repeter, paysan, paysanne. 
 
 b : bon, blanc, beau, belle, laborieux. 
 
 t : toit, partie. d: deux, de, des. 
 
 k : canard, caneton, bouquet, cinq, qui. 
 
 g : garon. 
 
 v : voler, village. 
 
 s : C^cile, sauter, aussi. z : Louise, maison. 
 
 J : Charles, marcher, chien, cheval, branche, chose. 
 
 5 : jardin, jouer, jeune, joyeux, nager, village, neige, 
 
 rouge, 
 p : montagne. 
 
 On p. 33 and foil, will be found the substantives, 
 adjectives, verbs and prepositions contained in lessons 
 1-22, silent letters being printed in italics. On pp. 
 38-43 are given the sounds and their signs. A 
 few exercises have been added to show certain 
 grammatical changes which at first give trouble. 
 
 Experience has shown that the use of phonetic 
 transcript in the initial stages, if followed by this 
 systematic transition to the conventional spelling, 
 does not confuse the Pupils. Indeed they usually 
 spell better than those who have used the conven- 
 tional spelling from the outset. 
 
30 Hints on 
 
 The Vocabulary. 
 
 Much attention has of late been given to the 
 teaching of French pronunciation ; but the import- 
 ance of carefully selecting the words to be learnt has 
 not been generally recognised. 
 
 A glance at the majority of First French Books 
 will show that little thought has been given to the 
 vocabulary. In many cases the words are chosen 
 because they illustrate some grammar rule ; thus, 
 cheval, marshal, animal, capital, etc., appear in the 
 same lesson because of the way in which their 
 plural is formed. These words are given in the 
 beginning of the lesson, with the English at the side, 
 and the Pupil learns them off in parrot fashion, 
 repeating them in French and in English alternately 
 until he thinks he knows them. Now there is 
 something lifeless and mechanical about this process ; 
 only in few cases does the Pupil actually think of 
 the object designated by the word. When he reads 
 cheval, he does not see a horse with his mind's eye ; 
 and consequently when he actually sees a horse, it 
 does not at once suggest cheval. It is true that even 
 with such a method, a diligent Pupil will achieve 
 certain results ; but he is not reaching them in the 
 most profitable and the most direct manner. 
 
 The Eeform Method demands a more rational 
 acquisition of the vocabulary. It insists that the 
 foreign words should be connected 
 
teaching French 31 
 
 (a) with objects, or pictures of objects ; 
 
 (b) with one another. 
 
 The objects in the class-room are utilised in- 
 cidentally ; in most cases the vocabulary is taught in 
 connection with the wall pictures of the four seasons, 
 which have been specially prepared for this book. 
 
 It will be readily seen that these pictures are 
 particularly suitable for the object in view. They 
 show scenes, not unconnected objects ; these scenes 
 are simple, and enable the Pupils to acquire all words 
 designating the common interests and occupations of 
 civilised man. They do not introduce the learner 
 too early to the complex conditions of the great 
 city ; they give him a wholesome picture of simple, 
 honest life in the country, and show him how much 
 resemblance there is after all between his own life 
 and that of the foreign people whose language he is 
 learning. 
 
 The first picture used is that representing Spring. 
 The Teacher begins by supplying the names of certain 
 concrete objects ; thus he points to the house and 
 says la maison, he points to the window and says 
 la /entire. In each case he can be sure that his 
 Pupils are clear about the meaning. Similarly he 
 teaches the meaning of la porte. There is no need 
 to use English he need not do more than point to 
 the object ; or he may leave even this to a Pupil. 
 The English words do not intrude ; and the Pupil 
 consequently learns to connect directly the foreign 
 word with the object. This leads to a surer know- 
 
32 Hints on 
 
 ledge, and also represents a distinct economy of 
 time. 
 
 It will be conceded that this is a simple and 
 effective way of teaching the foreign names of con- 
 crete objects. But how about abstract ideas, such 
 as the activity expressed by a verb 1 This is usually 
 best taught by means of examples. Thus, voter is 
 taught in connection with hirondelle and abeille (lesson 
 2). It may happen, that the examples given do not 
 suffice to make the meaning of the verb quite clear ; 
 the experienced Teacher will easily gather this from 
 the expression on his Pupils 7 faces. In that case he 
 will ask them to suggest the meaning in English. 
 
 The meaning of adjectives can be conveyed in a 
 similar way. Thus fidete is taught in connection 
 with chien (in Lesson 4) ; the Teacher says : " I am 
 now going to tell you a quality which makes the 
 dog a special friend of man : Le chien est fidete." 
 Prepositions (see Lesson 6) are easily taught by 
 means of the picture. 
 
 As a Teacher's experience grows, he becomes more 
 skilled in thus leading his Pupils to find out new 
 words. At first it may often seem rather difficult, 
 and there are critics who have not been slow to make 
 fun of this feature of the method to describe it as 
 a childish game, a futile setting and solving of 
 riddles. Yet after all, does not the child learn new 
 words in its mother tongue in just this way 1 The 
 child is led in both cases to find the meaning, by 
 being shown the object designated, or by being 
 helped to associate it with something it already 
 knows. 
 
teaching French 33 
 
 The process is indeed not to be compared to the 
 setting and solving of riddles ; rather is it like the 
 use of algebraic equations, and it requires clear 
 thinking and application to deduce the unknown 
 quantity from several that are known. It is true 
 that the definition of a new word given by the 
 Teacher is often suggestive, rather than exhaustive ; l 
 but the end is achieved all the same, and the mental 
 process represents a definite gain to the Pupil, who 
 has not only learnt the new word, but repeated 
 several old ones, with which fresh associations are 
 now formed. 
 
 This method appeals not only to the memory ; it 
 calls forth the reasoning faculty and the imagination. 
 The lessons become more stimulating to the Teacher 
 and the taught ; the former is not the servant of the 
 printed word, the latter rejoice in thinking for 
 themselves. 
 
 Some Suggestions for Class Teaching. 
 
 In speaking to the pupils, or in letting them ask 
 each other questions, it is awkward to introduce 
 their English names; and yet it is necessary to 
 distinguish them. It is therefore advisable to give 
 them French names, and the most convenient will be 
 proper names which are equivalent to common words. 
 The following list will be found useful : 
 
 Bottier, Boucher, Boulanger, Brasseur, Charbon- 
 nier> Charpentier, Chevalier, Cordonnier, Coutelier, 
 Fruitier, Menuisier, Mercier, Pelletier, Poissonnier, 
 
 1 The pupils find difficulty in defining simple objects even 
 in their mother tongue. 
 
 C 
 
34 Hints on 
 
 Sellier, Sermrier, Tailleur, Tavernier, Tisserand, 
 Tonnelier, Tourneur, Verrier, Vigneron ; Aigle, Bour- 
 geois, Honore, Petit jean, Kenard, Riviere, Rosier, 
 Sauvage, Vaillant, Vigoureux; Labbe", Laumonier, 
 Lebeau, Leblanc, Leblond, Lebrun, Leclair, Lecomte, 
 Lecoq, Lecourt, Lecouvreur, Le*crivain, L^cuyer, 
 Ledoux, Leduc, Lefort, Lefranc, Lefrere, Legris, 
 Legros, Lejeune, Lelarge, Lelievre, Lemaire, Lemaltre, 
 Lemar^chal, Lemoine, Leneuf, Lenfant, Lenoble, 
 Lenoir, Lepage, Lepere, Lepetit, Leprince, Lerouge, 
 Leroux, Lesage, Lesimple, Letemps, Letrange, Le*- 
 veque, Levieux, Loiseau. 1 
 
 Giving the pupils French names also helps to sug- 
 gest the French atmosphere which we want them 
 to breathe in these lessons. This may well be taken 
 as the very first step, and incidentally they can be 
 practised in producing the sounds which are strange 
 to them. In learning to pronounce each other's 
 names fluently they will be preparing their organs of 
 speech for the new language generally. 
 
 When a question is asked, and a pupil named, 
 he (or the whole class) should, in the early stages, 
 repeat the question before he gives the answer. 
 Sometimes this may be varied, by letting him answer 
 one question and ask the next one in the book (or 
 one he has made up). The pupil (or the teacher) 
 then names some other pupil, who answers the 
 question and himself asks a third. 
 
 The teacher may also tell the pupils to adc[gess a 
 question to some person on the wall picture, and put 
 
 1 These names appear in phonetic transcript on p. 54 of the 
 Phonetic Section of First French Book (see p. 26, note). 
 
teaching French 35 
 
 it on a slip of paper ; each then passes on his slip to 
 his neighbour, who supplies the answer. The ques- 
 tions and answers are then read aloud. 
 
 Words and Phrases which can be accompanied by 
 Action in Class. 
 
 A useful exercise consists in making certain words 
 live by means of action. This can of course be done 
 only in the case of verbs. 
 
 The teacher gives the verb se lever, and a pupil 
 designated by him performs the corresponding action, 
 saying Je me leve. The other pupils then say Charles 
 (Boulanger, or whatever may be the " French name " 
 of the pupil) s'est Iev6. The action is then performed 
 by two or more pupils, who say Nous nous levons ; and 
 the others say Us se sont leve's. Or they may address 
 the pupil or pupils performing the action in the second 
 singular or plural. 
 
 Such verbs are : se baisser, monter, descendre, se 
 tourner, saluer, s'en aller, sortir, s'asseoir, marcher, 
 s'arreter, s'avancer, souffler, venir, se suivre, sus- 
 pendre, parler, ouvrir, fermer, murmurer, montrer, 
 lire, ecrire, se hausser, enlever, donner, courir, 
 compter, crier, dire, demander, entrer, Jeter, Her, 
 mener, sourire, lancer, rire, se pencher. 
 
 Whole phrases may be " performed " in this way, 
 for instance : t&ter le pouls, mettre le livre sur le 
 bane, se placer devant la table, poser la main sur le 
 pupitre, fourrer le mouchoir dans la poche, frapper 
 a la porte, se diriger vers le tableau noir, appuyer 
 le coude sur le bane, changer de place, saisir le bras 
 
36 Hints on teaching French 
 
 du voisin, faire un compliment, couvrir la table de 
 livres eb de cahiers, plier un papier, etendre un bras, 
 enfoncer les mains dans les cheveux, passer devant la 
 classe, se tenir droit, se"parer deux eleves, secouer la 
 tete, retenir quelqu'un, mettre un chapeau, <Her un 
 chapeau, entourer une personne, ramasser un papier, 
 jeter a terre, serrer la main, plonger la plume dans 
 1'encre, donner une tape, croiser les bras, regarder 
 par la fen^tre, laisser tomber un livre, Staler les 
 livres et les cahiers sur le bane, quitter sa place, 
 appeler un eleve, remuer le bras, traverser le corridor, 
 apporter une plume, appuyer la tete dans les mains, 
 tourner et retourner un livre, respirer profondement, 
 tendre la main, envelopper un crayon d'un papier, se 
 tenir au bane, ranger les chaises autour de la table, 
 annoncer une personne, faire la moue, presenter une 
 personne, tourner la t^te, reciter une partie d'une 
 poe'sie, adresser une question, commander de I'eau, 
 blamer une personne, enlever un livre, nommer son 
 voisin (sa voisine), remplacer un cahier par un 
 autre, quitter la salle, prendre une plume, porter 
 une chaise, placer la chaise devant la table, rouler 
 un crayon, tenir le bras du voisin, toucher au livre, 
 enfiler une aiguille, emporter une chaise, eminener 
 un enfant, s'eloigner de la table, s'elancer devant la 
 porte, se detourner d'une personne, de"plier une lettre, 
 de'crocher le thermometre, d6poser le cahier sur la 
 table, boutonner Thabit, agiter le mouchoir, mener 
 par la main. 
 
RUNNING COMMENTARY. 
 
 NEW FIRST BOOK. 
 
 Teachers who attach importance to a good pronuncia- 
 tion will naturally devote the first lessons to exercises in 
 producing those French sounds which are unfamiliar to 
 their Pupils. (See the section on pronunciation, p. 14.) 
 Incidentally they may give their Pupils French names, as 
 is suggested on p. 33. 
 
 1. The Teacher suspends the Spring picture 1 in 
 view of the whole class. Two facts are readily 
 ascertained by the Pupils : 
 
 (1) The picture represents Spring. 
 
 (2) The persons in the picture make up a family 
 to which we are going to be introduced. We shall 
 consider how they are related, what they are doing, 
 the conditions in which they live ; and in doing so 
 we shall be discussing in French things and occur- 
 rences with which we are quite familiar from our 
 own daily life. The picture is therefore a means of 
 concentrating the attention of the Pupils on a con- 
 nected group of persons, on a definite scene. They 
 will not talk vaguely about the father, the house, 
 etc.; for them "the father" is the man who is har- 
 rowing the field on our picture, " the house " is his 
 house (on the left). In order that the persons may 
 have an individuality, they receive names. 
 
 1 I.e. the first of Dent's wall pictures of the seasons. 
 
38 Running Commentary 
 
 The Teacher points to each child on the picture 
 in turn, beginning on the left with Paul (sitting on 
 his grandmother's lap), then passing to Cecile (feed- 
 ing the fowls and ducks), Henri (in the garden), 
 Marie, Charles, Louise and Julie (playing together). 
 He utters each name carefully and distinctly. The 
 Pupils pronounce it after him, singly or in chorus, 
 as he directs them. It may be well to let each 
 Pupil pronounce the word by himself, before letting 
 the class utter it as a whole ; but if the word is an 
 easy one this is not necessary. 
 
 When all the children have been named, the 
 Teacher points to them in any order he likes, and 
 the Pupils utter the names as he does so. 
 
 He next teaches le pere and la mire (she is digging 
 in the garden l ) in the same way. Then et : point- 
 ing to two persons in quick succession, he utters 
 their names coupled with et. Then le jardin and 
 la maison. The definite and indefinite articles are 
 taught in connection with these words, 2 and usually 
 give no difficulty. 
 
 The Teacher now points to Charles and says un 
 garqon ; he points to Cecile and says une fille. He 
 
 1 In some copies of the picture she is using a fork, not a 
 spade ; in that case the Teacher should make the necessary 
 change by blacking in the spaces between the prongs of the 
 fork. 
 
 2 II n'y a qu'une seule regie infaillible pour apprendre les 
 genres. La voici : N'apprenez jamais un mot nouveau sans le 
 faire pre"ce"der d'un article. . . . Les regies qu'on trouve dans 
 les grammaires offrent un si grand nombre d'exceptions qu'il 
 est inutile de perdre son temps a les apprendre. BERTHON, 
 Prem. gram. fran?. , p. 27. 
 
New First Book: No. i 39 
 
 applies the same words to the other boys and girls on 
 the picture, and the Pupils quickly see what theymean. 
 
 The Teacher then says Charles est un garqon. Here 
 only est is new to the Pupil, who gathers its meaning 
 from its position and can himself make the sentences : 
 Henri est un gar$on : Paul est un gar$on ; Marie est une 
 fille ; etc. 
 
 The Teacher asks in a tone of voice which is 
 obviously interrogative : Qui est-ce qui est un garyon ? 
 There are sure to be a few among his Pupils who 
 see what is meant, and reply e.g. Charles est un gar$on. 
 Then the rest will understand it too, and suggest the 
 further answers Paul est un gar$on, Henri est un garpn. 
 Then follows the question Qui est-ce qui est une fille ? 
 with its answers, and questions with qu'est-ce que. 
 
 In this way the Teacher conveys and the Pupils 
 acquire the meaning of the words in the first lesson. 
 As far as possible the Pupils have been made to find 
 things out for themselves ; they have been kept on 
 the alert by frequent and varied questioning they 
 have heard and spoken nothing but French. 
 
 The second part of the lesson contains grammatical 
 terms. The Teacher will use his discretion here : it 
 will do no harm if he passes them over, it may do 
 some good to let his pupils learn them. The simpler 
 facts of French grammar can well be treated in 
 French, especially as many of the terms are so much 
 like those used in English grammar; where a real 
 difficulty presents itself, it will often be well to dis- 
 cuss it in English. The grammatical part of the 
 lessons is summed up at the end of each section (see 
 Nos. 23, 33, 46, 52, 64). 
 
40 Running Commentary 
 
 At the end of some of the lessons are given class- 
 room phrases which are necessarily often used by the 
 Teacher, and the repetition of which soon makes 
 them familiar to the Pupils. They understand the 
 phrases as a whole, just as a little child obeys a 
 command, though it does not distinguish each word. 
 It would be a mistake to analyse such class-room 
 phrases at this early stage ; on the other hand the 
 Teacher will emphasise the meaning by the tone of 
 his voice, by gesture, etc. See p. 35. 
 
 For homework the Pupils read through the lesson 
 (aloud or silently, or both, as the Teacher directs), 
 and the questions given under JExercices, which they 
 answer. These Exercices provide for a thorough 
 revision of what has been learnt. In the early 
 stages there is no need to set written home work. It 
 is easy for the Teacher to ascertain by questions on 
 what has been learnt that no Pupils are lagging 
 behind. 
 
 A good test in a lesson is to dictate, say, five 
 questions and require the Pupils to write answers ; 
 at the same time a good Pupil (or two) may write 
 the answers on the blackboard. Unless writing is 
 introduced soon, similarly sounded words tend to 
 get confused. 
 
 2. In the second lesson our object is to give the 
 Pupils some idea of the verb. 
 
 Teacher: "I am going to tell you what some 
 people and animals on the picture are doing. First 
 I shall name their occupations in a general way. 
 (Pointing to le pere :) travailler ; (to la mere :) travailler; 
 
New First Book: Nos. I, 2 41 
 
 (to Ce'cik :) travailkr ; (to Charles :) jouer ; (to Marie 
 and the other girls :) jouer ; (to le canard :) nager." 
 (The Pupils repeat these words after him.) " I have 
 named their occupation ; I am now going to assert it 
 in little sentences, showing clearly that they are so 
 occupied at this moment. La mere travaille. Charles 
 joue. Le canard nage, etc. (The Pupils observe the 
 difference of sound, afterwards that of form.) 
 
 " Now I want you to name or to assert the occupa- 
 tions of the people or animals I point to." The 
 Teacher points e.g. to Louise and says : Occupation ! 
 A Pupil (or the whole class) says : jouer. Assert ! 
 Louise joue. 
 
 The Pupil realises anew the distinction between 
 the infinitive and a personal (finite) form of the 
 verb, which he has already met with in English ; he 
 notices the difference in form, and observes that fait 
 is peculiar ; and he learns the forms il and elle, their 
 substitution for names of persons already familiar 
 showing him that they refer to the two genders. 
 
 In the following lesson (as indeed in every lesson), 
 the Teacher will begin by making sure that the 
 Pupils have revised what they have learnt. To this 
 end he may read the questions given under Exercice, 
 and get individual Pupils to answer them; or the 
 questions may be asked in chorus and answered 
 individually or in chorus; or the books may be 
 closed, and the Teacher then asks any question he 
 likes ; or a single Pupil may ask the questions and 
 call upon another to answer them. If there are 
 several possible answers to a question, they should 
 
42 Running Commentary 
 
 all be given at this early stage : frequent repetition 
 is essential if fluency of speech is desired. 
 
 Some Teachers have the habit of repeating a question which 
 a Pupil has not understood, very slowly far more slowly than 
 would ever be the case in actual conversation. This often 
 leads to an unnatural pronunciation, which the Pupils had 
 better not hear. When a particular kind of question appears 
 for the first time, the Teacher should make sure that its com- 
 ponent parts are well understood ; the question as a whole 
 should neither be uttered at excessive speed nor with an 
 unnatural slowness, but in a natural conversational tone. 
 
 3. The meaning of the words in the first eight 
 lines of this lesson presents no difficulty. 
 
 The rest of the lesson deals with the formation of 
 the plural. It is probably best to let the Pupils 
 read one section after the other, and then to ask 
 them what they imagine its purpose to be. The 
 way in which it is printed will enable almost any 
 Pupil to give the right answer ; to print the plural 
 endings in some special type would have left too 
 little to the Pupil, who should never be told what 
 he can find out for himself. 
 
 Towards the end of the lesson a short exercise in 
 pronunciation is given, showing changes due to 
 liaison. 
 
 Exerdce B. The Pupils themselves will be able 
 to gather from the Exemple what is required of 
 them. 
 
 4. The adjective (like the verb) is taught in con- 
 nection with a substantive of which it is a more or 
 less characteristic attribute. In some cases (e.g. le 
 
New First Book: Nos. 2-4 43 
 
 cJiien est fidele) there is not likely to be much doubt; 
 but in such a sentence as Paul est jeune there might 
 be some uncertainty. The further sentence Julie est 
 jeune shows it must refer to some quality common to 
 both children. If this does not suffice to suggest the 
 meaning, the Teacher may remark : "I could not 
 say jeune of this man (pointing to the grandfather) 
 or of this woman (the grandmother)." 
 
 A fresh interrogative phrase is introduced in this 
 lesson, viz. qu'est-ce qui (asking for an animal or 
 thing). In connection with this the Teacher will 
 make sure that the Pupils are quite clear about 
 qui est-ce qui (asking for a person, sometimes 
 for an animal), and qu' est-ce que (asking for a de- 
 scription of a substantive by means of another 
 substantive). 
 
 The word comment deserves special attention; it 
 asks for some quality pertaining to a substantive. 
 This the Pupils are likely to discover for themselves 
 from the tone of voice in which the question is 
 uttered and from the answer given; but if the 
 Teacher has any reason to doubt that all the Pupils 
 see clearly what a word means, he will not hesitate 
 to ask for the English equivalent. In every class 
 there are some Pupils of slow habits of mind; and 
 it is not well to ignore them. 
 
 The Pupils gather from the examples in this 
 lesson the main rules for the formation of the 
 feminine and the plural of adjectives. They note 
 that those in -e have the same form for both 
 genders ; and that the addition of -e in the case of 
 some others leads to a change in pronunciation. 
 
44 Running Commentary 
 
 Exercice C. These numbers should be read 
 rapidly in French. It is well to give the order 
 Comptez/ at the end of each lesson, and to let the 
 Pupils say in chorus the numbers they have learnt, 
 forwards and backwards ; e.g. at the end of this 
 lesson they will say: un, deux, trois, quatre ; quatre, 
 trois, deux, un. 
 
 5. The -e of the feminine affects the pronunciation 
 in grand, petit, haut, vert (No. 4), and in ouvert, 
 laborieux, joyeux, heureux, bon (No. 5). In addition 
 we have the 'exceptional' forms blanche and belle. 
 This lesson is best taken with the open book ; but 
 slowly, leaving the Pupils enough time to observe 
 and assimilate several new facts, e.g. the position of 
 aussi, the plural forms of several adjectives, the use 
 of the adjective in the masculine plural when it 
 refers to a masculine and a feminine subject. 
 
 The form bel (which occurs in the proverb) is 
 found again in a footnote, to show that while it is 
 not of primary importance, yet it will be well to 
 remember it, until something similar is met with 
 later on (well occurs in No. 11). 
 
 The children like to learn proverbs. The Teacher 
 will ask them for the English equivalent ; in many 
 cases they will have occasion to observe that the 
 French is by no means a literal rendering of the 
 English. 
 
 Particular attention should be paid to the pro- 
 nunciation of the numerals ; notice the scheme on 
 p. 35. 
 
New First Book: Nos. 4-7 45 
 
 6. We have here some examples of the adjective 
 following its substantive, which is very unusual in 
 English, and is therefore readily noticed by the 
 Pupils. It would be a mistake to give them rules 
 for this at present; it suffices to let them collect 
 instances from the text, and to correct such mis- 
 takes as they may make in speaking. 
 
 The meaning of ou will be clear from the tone of 
 voice in which the question is uttered, and from the 
 answer, which is supplied at once. Here also the 
 Teacher may find it advisable to ask for the English 
 word, if some of his Pupils look at all puzzled. 
 
 By learning the four prepositions given in this 
 lesson, the Pupils are enabled to form quite a large 
 number of sentences, without any difficulty. If we 
 take dans as an example, we obtain Qui est-ce qui (or : 
 qu'est-ce qui) est dans le jardin? Un homme, la mere, 
 Henri, un arbre, les fleurs. Dans I'eau? Le canard, 
 k caneton. Dans le pr6? Les fleurs, Vherbe, r arbre. 
 Dans le village ? La maison, I'dglise. The Pupils 
 should give full answers to each of these questions, 
 as a help towards fluent speech. 
 
 The pronunciation of six, dans and devant before 
 words beginning with a vowel requires special care, 
 and a number of suitable examples have conse- 
 quently been given. Similar examples of liaison, 1 
 etc., will be found at the end of subsequent lessons. 
 
 7. This lesson deals mainly with the so-called 
 'genitive.' In French, as in English, it is formed 
 
 1 See the note on liaison (p. 24). 
 
46 Running Commentary 
 
 by means of a preposition, and therefore presents no 
 special difficulty to our Pupils. It may be left to 
 the discretion of the Teacher, whether he gives the 
 term ge'nitif or not. It is certainly useful; it is 
 familiar to those who learn German or Latin; 
 and undoubtedly de plus substantive has certain 
 functions which are best designated as genitival. 
 The term * genitive ' will also be found convenient 
 when we deal with the pronouns (en, duquel, 
 dont, etc.). 
 
 Almost all the examples given in this lesson are 
 * partitive' genitives. It may be useful to let the 
 Pupils understand this common use of the genitive 
 The lesson might proceed somewhat as follows : 
 
 Teacher (pointing to window). What is that ? 
 
 Pupil. La fenUre. 
 
 T. The window is a part of . . . ? 
 
 P. La maison. 
 
 T. Yes, it is 'the window of the house. 7 In 
 French we call it 'la fentre de la maison.' (The 
 words in * . . . ' are written on the board.) What 
 part of speech is oft 
 
 P. A preposition. 
 
 T. de aussi est une proposition. (Pointing to door :) 
 La porte de la maison. (Pointing to roof, and inviting 
 pupil to answer :) 
 
 P. Le toit de la maison. Le toit de I'dglise, etc. (as 
 in book). (T. points to gate of garden :) 
 
 P. La port e de le jar din. 1 
 
 1 Some Teachers object to this, and prefer to tell the Pupil 
 that he must use du, des, not letting him make the mistake 
 even once. I do not share this objection. 
 
New First Book: No. 7 47 
 
 T. No, you must bear in mind that de le melt 
 together into du. What is it then 1 
 
 P. La porte du jardin, etc. (as in book). 
 
 T. La porte du jardin. What should we say if we 
 meant all the gates and all the gardens in the 
 village ? 
 
 P. Les portes de les jardins. 
 
 T. I told you just now that we must not say de le, 
 but du y in the same way we say, not de les, but des. 
 What will you say in this case ? 
 
 P. Les portes des jardins. 
 
 T. I shall point to different things, and you will 
 give me the plurals of the part and of the whole. 
 
 P. Les portes des maisons, les toils des maisons, les 
 fen&tres des maisons. 
 
 T. Now let me see how many objects you can 
 tell me which are parts of other objects on the 
 picture. 
 
 The Pupils will quickly collect a large number of 
 instances. They know 45 substantives (excluding 
 proper names), and the following combinations are 
 possible : 
 
 Toit, f entire, porte : moulin, maison, e'glise, ferme. 
 
 Maison, ferme, e'glise, pre*, jardin, champ : village. 
 
 Arbre : foret, pr6, jardin, champ, colline, montagne. 
 
 Herbe : prt, fortt, jardin, champ. 
 
 Fleurs : prd, jardin, arbre, bouquet. 
 
 Branche: arbre. 
 
 Pied : homme, pere, mere, enfant. 
 
 Patte: oiseau. 
 
 Plume : oiseau, canard. 
 
 Roue : moulin. 
 
 Neige : montagne. 
 
48 Running Commentary 
 
 As each object is mentioned, a Pupil may point it 
 out on the picture ; others may say or write the 
 plural. 
 
 This exercise amounts to a thorough recapitula- 
 tion of the substantives. 
 
 8. Some Pupils probably noticed that ks petits d'un 
 canard in No. 7 does not give the relation of the 
 part to the whole. 
 
 The Teacher will refer to this in dealing with the 
 * possessive' genitive, of which No. 8 contains 
 examples. 
 
 The great majority of genitives are partitive or 
 possessive ; it will be a long time before the Pupils 
 meet with such expressions as se repentir d'unefaute. 
 
 The Pupils are again invited to find further 
 examples of * thing possessed and possessor'; but 
 it need not be an exhaustive collection this time, as 
 there was^uch a full recapitulation in the last lesson. 
 
 The answers with dest and ce sont will require a 
 good deal of practice; the answers with void and 
 voilh should always be accompanied by action, the 
 Pupil pointing to the object (on the wall-picture, on 
 the little picture in his book, or in the class room). 
 
 9. The ' partitive article ' seems strange to our 
 Pupils ; and they have to be prepared for it. The 
 Teacher takes such a sentence as Le paysan a troisfils, 
 where a definite number is given. He points out 
 that it does not do in French simply to omit the 
 numeral, if you wish to say ' he has sons/ but that 
 you must say Le paysan a des fils. He then gives 
 
New First Book: Nos. 7-9 49 
 
 fchem similar sentences containing numerals, for 
 which they substitute sentences in which the number 
 is left vague ; e.g. Le paysan a guatre files ; Us parents 
 out trois fils ; Us out sept enfants ; le paysan a deux 
 chevaux, etc. 
 
 The Pupils understand sentences like Uherbe est 
 dans le pr6, la neige est sur la montagne. The Teacher 
 tells them that this means all the grass and all the 
 snow we see ; but when we are not talking of all, 
 but only of some grass or snow, we say (void) de la 
 neige :, (void) de Vherbe. 
 
 Sentences like Les enfants sont devant le jardin pre- 
 sent no difficulty. The Teacher explains that when 
 we do not refer to any particular children, we say 
 II y a des enfants devant le jardin. This construction 
 will startle the children, and numerous instances 
 will be required before they feel at their ease in 
 using it. No doubt some Pupils will suggest sen- 
 tences like Dans le jardin il y a Henri, dans le champ 
 il y a le paysan. This (the Teacher will say) would 
 be stiff and unnatural ; the simpler way of putting it 
 is : Henri est dans le jardin, le paysan est dans le champ. 
 
 Towards the end of the lesson we have du pain. 
 Cases of the partitive article in the singular are not 
 common at this stage, and such instances as occur 
 should be carefully collected by the Pupils. It will 
 be well occasionally to let them form sentences 
 containing the partitive article du, de la, de V. It 
 might be pointed out that the partitive article is 
 identical in form with the genitive case, and the 
 brighter Pupils would be able to suggest how the 
 meaning has developed. 
 
50 Running Commentary 
 
 The plurals in, -aux and -eaux are noted by the 
 Pupils. 
 
 The sentences with il y a on p. 1 1 should be com- 
 mitted to memory ; they anticipate the interrogative 
 form (a-t-il). The negative is dealt with in the next 
 lesson. 
 
 10. The Pupils soon see that ne precedes and pas 
 follows the verb; but it takes some little time 
 before they use the negative fluently. Numerous 
 examples provide still further material. In Exerdce 
 C the Pupils supply the forms est, a, sont, wit; in 
 D, E, they use the same forms negatively. B is 
 added as a test of pronunciation ; it is necessarily 
 somewhat changed in the Phonetic Section (p. 13). 
 
 11. The text should be read slowly, sentence by 
 sentence. The Teacher must make sure that his 
 Pupils clearly understand the relationships indicated ; 
 to this end he will reproduce the 'tree' (top of 
 p. 14) on the blackboard and also the following 
 scheme of the generations : 
 
 I. Grand-pere, grand'mere. 
 
 II. Pere, mere; oncle, tante. 
 
 III. [Moi], frere, sosur ; [cousin, cousine 1 ], 
 
 IV. Fils, fille; neveu, niece. 
 V. Petit-fils, petite-fille. 
 
 Plenty of practice is afforded by Exerdce D. 
 
 The Pupils are interested to hear how old Henri, 
 
 1 These may be added, though they do not occur till 
 No. 27. 
 
New First Book: Wfos. 9-12 51 
 
 Cecile and the rest are. The questions may be 
 varied : Qui est-ce qui a neuf ans ? Quel dge a Paul ? 
 Charles a-t-il huit ans ? N'a-t-il pas six ans ? Ques- 
 tions like the third of these (beginning with subject) 
 are troublesome, and several should be given, in 
 addition to those found in the next section. 
 
 On coming upon vieil, the Pupils recall bel (No. 5). 
 
 Several sentences with de qui and de quoi should 
 be given. 
 
 Observe the contractions M. (never Mons.), but 
 Mme and Mile (no point). 
 
 12. If the Pupils have thoroughly learnt the 
 preceding lessons, the mere reading of this one will 
 enable them to gather such fresh information as it 
 contains and to work through the Exercices. 
 
 Questions like the following might be added : 
 Dans quel champ M. Auguste travaille-t-il ? Avec quelle 
 beche Mme Rose travaille-t-elle ? Avec qui Charles 
 joue-t-il ? The Pupils introduce possessive pronouns 
 in the answers. 
 
 In order to give the Pupils some confidence, it 
 may not be too early to call one or the other to 
 the picture, and let him describe, in connected 
 sentences, some feature of it. Thus the Pupil may 
 be asked to speak about the children, and will 
 perhaps say (pointing to each as he mentions the 
 name) : C'est Charles. Charles est un garpon ; il joue 
 devant le jardin. II joue avec ses sceurs. II a quatre 
 sceurs. Les quatre so2urs sont Marie, Julie, Louise et 
 Ce'cile. Ce'cile ne joue pas, elle travaille. Charles a deux 
 freres. Les deux freres sont Henri et Paul. Henri est 
 
52 Running Commentary 
 
 le gar$on qui est dans le jardin. Henri est grand, Paul 
 est petit. La grand' mer e porte Paul. 
 
 The Pupils may also be required to ask each other 
 questions. The Teacher either selects two for the 
 purpose; or one, who addresses a question to 
 another, who answers it and asks a question of a 
 third, until all the Pupils have asked and answered. 
 Or all the Pupils may be asked to put a question (in 
 writing) to some person, on the picture ; each passes 
 his question on to his neighbour, who writes the 
 answer. Then questions and answers are read out, 
 the class as a whole, or some individual Pupil, being 
 asked to correct mistakes. 
 
 13. This lesson contains a number of transitive 
 verbs, and the Teacher is recommended to have an 
 introductory talk about the * direct object' in 
 English grammar, as children often have very vague 
 ideas about it. 
 
 When their ideas have become clear, he can pro- 
 ceed to a discussion of the four interrogative phrases. 
 Two of them (qui est-ce qui and qu'est-ce qui) were 
 learnt some time ago; we now have to teach qui 
 est-ce que and qu'est-ce que. This may be done some- 
 what after the following fashion l : 
 
 Teacher. Ask for the substantive to which the verb 
 jouer can be applied. 
 
 Pupil. Qui est-ce qui joue ? 
 
 T. And now for the substantive to which the ad- 
 jective blanc can be applied. 
 
 1 Many teachers will prefer to use French much more than 
 is done in this place ; the lesson is intended as a help to the 
 beginner in reform method work. 
 
New First Book: Nos. 12, 13 53 
 
 P. Qu'est-ce qui est Uanc ? 
 
 T. Why do we use qui est-ce qui in the first question, 
 and qu'est-ce qui in the second ? 
 
 P. Because we are asking for a person (short for 
 "living being") in the first sentence, and for a thing 
 in the second. 
 
 T. What is therefore the first part if we ask for 
 a person 1 
 
 P. Qui est-ce. 
 
 T. If we ask for a thing 1 
 
 P. Qu'est-ce. 
 
 T. I shall now give you some sentences : La 
 grand'mere porte. La grand'mere regarde. Henri 
 mange. Henri regarde. What would you say of 
 these sentences? 
 
 P. They are not complete. 
 
 T. Right ; a part of the sentence is wanting ; we 
 do not know what the grandmother is carrying, what 
 Henry is eating. Do you know what this part of 
 the sentence is called 1 
 
 P. The direct object. 
 
 T. Quite right. Now I am going to ask for the 
 object of these incomplete sentences ; ' notice what 
 words I use for this purpose. Qui est-ce que la grand'- 
 mere parte ? Qu'est-ce que Henri mange ? Qui est-ce que 
 la grand'mere regarde? Qu'est-ce que Henri regarde? 
 Who can tell me what words I have used for 
 asking 1 
 
 P. Qui est-ce que, qu' est-ce que. 
 
 T. What is common to both 1 
 
 P. Que. 
 
 T. I wonder why both have this que. 
 
54 Running Commentary 
 
 P. Because we are asking for the direct object 
 in both cases. 
 
 T. You are right. We have often asked for the 
 subject of a sentence ; did we then use phrases with 
 que at the end 1 
 
 P. No, we said qui est-ce qui, qu'est-ce qui. 
 
 T. When you wish to ask a question with one of 
 these phrases, you must therefore be clear about two 
 things, namely : 
 
 P. Whether we are asking for a person or a thing, 
 and whether it is the subject or the object of the 
 sentence. 
 
 T. Which of these must you settle first ? 
 
 P. Whether it is a person or a thing. 
 
 T. Your reason being ? 
 
 P. It will show whether the first of the questioning 
 words is qui or que. 
 
 (The Teacher now asks the Pupils to give the 
 right form of the questioning words in answer to 
 " Person Subject ? Thing Object 1 Person Object ? 
 Thing Subject?") 
 
 T. Now look at the picture. Search for persons 
 and things of which we can say porter. Now, Charles, 
 ask the question. 
 
 Charles. Qui est-ce qui porte ? 
 
 T. Who can give the answer 1 (Several hands go 
 up. T. selects one.) 
 
 P, La grand'mere porte. 
 
 T. Good. What other question can we ask now 1 
 
 P. Qui est-ce que la grand'mere porte ? 
 
 T. Answer ] 
 
 P. La grand'mkre porte Paul, 
 
New First Book: Nos. 13-18 55 
 
 Similarly fimilie porte un bouquet, la maison porte le 
 toit, etc., until the possibilities of porter are exhausted. 
 
 14-18. Each of these lessons (and many later on) 
 is complete in itself and might have a title ; thus : 
 les fleurs (14); la cuisine (15) ; le moulin, les arbres 
 (16); les oiseaux (17) ; le printemps (18). The Pupils 
 should be asked to supply them. 
 
 Up to this point the lessons have been given very 
 much as they are in the book ; but the Pupils now 
 have a sufficient vocabulary for something like con- 
 versation. When a lesson has been gone through in 
 school, and the Exercices have been done as home- 
 work, the subject-matter may be discussed more 
 freely. The following may serve as examples : 
 
 Les fleurs (No. 14). 
 
 Ou y a-t-il des fleurs blanches ? II y a des fleurs 
 blanches sur le cerisier. 1 De quel arbre les fleurs ne 
 sont-elles pas blanches ? De quelle couleur sont les 
 fleurs du pommier ? Les fleurs du pommier sont 
 rougeatres. Qu'est-ce que les fleurs ornent? Elles 
 ornent les arbres. Quand les arbres sont-ils en fleur ? 
 Us sont en fleur au printemps. Ou, sur le tableau, 
 y a-t-il des fleurs qui ne sont pas blanches ? Devant 
 la fentre de la ferme il y a des fleurs qui rie sont 
 pas blanches. Comment sont ces fleurs ? Elles sont 
 rouges. Qui est-ce qui plante les fleurs ? C'est la 
 paysanne qui plante les fleurs. Ou les plante-t-elle ? 
 Elle les plante dans les pots et dans le jardin. Quelles 
 fleurs y a-t-il dans le jardin 1 Dans le jardin il y a 
 
 1 The answers should be complete sentence?. 
 
56 Running Commentary 
 
 des roses, des tulipes, etc. Les roses sont-elles 
 blanches comme les fleurs du cerisier? Les roses 
 sont quelquefois blanches, mais elles sont aussi rouges 
 ou jaunes. Ou y a-t-il aussi des fleurs 1 II y en a 
 dans les pre's. Comment s'appellent les fleurs qui 
 sont dans les pre's 1 Dans les pres il y a des mar- 
 guerites, des primeveres, des violettes. De quelles 
 fleurs le parfum est-il tres agreable ? Le parf um des 
 roses, des geraniums est tres agreable. 
 
 Les oiseaux (No. 17). 
 
 Qu'est-ce que c'est 1 C'est un oiseau. Quel oiseau 
 est-ce ? C'est un e'tourneau. Ou est 1'etourneau 1 
 II est sur le cerisier. Devant quoi est-il ? II est 
 devant le nichoir. Qu'est-ce que le nichoir ? C'est 
 la petite demeure de 1'e'tourneau. Qu'est-ce qu'il y a 
 done dans le nichoir qui est sur le cerisier ? II y a 
 le nid de 1'e'tourneau. Est-ce que c'est 1'e'tourneau 
 qui fait le nichoir 1 Non, monsieur, c'est le 
 paysan. Pourquoi le paysan place-t-il le nichoir 
 sur 1'arbre ? L'etourneau est tres utile. Par quoi 
 1'e'tourneau est-il utile? L'etourneau mange les 
 insectes qui mangent les fleurs des arbres. A qui 
 1'e'tourneau apporte-t-il les insectes ? II les apporte 
 a ses petits. Dans quoi les porte-t-il ? II les porte 
 dans son bee. L'etourneau est-il blanc 1 Non, 
 monsieur, il n'est pas blanc, il est noir. 1 Les oiseaux 
 qui sont devant la ferme sont-ils des e*tourneaux? 
 Non, monsieur, ce ne sont pas des etourneaux, ce 
 
 1 This kind of answer is used purposely, to afford practice in 
 forming the negative. 
 
New First Book: Nos. 14-18 57 
 
 sont des hirondelles. De quelle couleur sont les 
 hirondelles 1 Elles sont blanches et noires. Combien 
 d'hirondelles y a-t-il devant la ferme? II y en a 
 trois. Les hirondelles ont-elles aussi des nichoirs 1 
 Non, monsieur, elles n'ont pas de nichoir. Oil ont- 
 elles leurs nids 1 Elles les ont sous le toit de la 
 ferme. Leur nid est-il grand 1 Non, monsieur, il 
 n'est pas grand, il est petit. Ou y a-t-il d'autres 
 oiseaux] II y a d'autres oiseaux sur le toit de la 
 ferme. Comment s'appellent ces oiseaux ? Ce sont 
 des cigognes. Combien y en a-t-il ? II y en a deux. 
 Le nid des cigognes est-il grand 1 Oui, monsieur, ce 
 nid est tres grand. Quels oiseaux y a-t-il devant le 
 jardin 1 Devant le jardin il y a des poules, des 
 coqs et des moineaux. Quel est le nom des petits 
 oiseaux qui sont pres du ruisseau ? Ce sont des 
 canetons. Qu'est-ce que les canetons 1 Ce sont les 
 petits des canards. A qui les ceufs des canards 
 et des poules sont-ils utiles ? Us sont utiles a 
 Phomme. Que fait Phomme avec les oeufs des poules 
 et des canards ? II les mange. Quels oiseaux 
 les poules sont-elles? Des oiseaux domestiques. 
 Quels autres oiseaux sont aussi des oiseaux domes- 
 tiques 1 Les canards sont aussi des oiseaux domes- 
 tiques. Combien de pattes les oiseaux ont-ils ? Us 
 ont deux pattes. Combien de bees ont-ils ? Us ont 
 un bee. Qu'est-ce que les oiseaux ont pour voler 1 
 Us ont deux ailes pour voler. Y a-t-il des oiseaux 
 qui ne volent pas ? Oui, monsieur, les canards ne 
 volent pas. 
 
 The amount of Grammar to be acquired in Nog, 
 
58 Running Commentary 
 
 14-18 is not large; special attention can be devoted 
 to the Vocabulary, in which there is a notable 
 increase. 
 
 Observe entrer dans (15). 
 
 In 16 it will be well to add some questions like 
 Est-ce que la mere cultive kjardin ? Est-ce que Charles 
 aime ses swurs ? Est-ce que Marie aime Louise? The 
 Pupils answer, substituting personal pronouns for 
 le jardin, ses soeurs, Louise. 
 
 In 18, observe le paysan va au champ, where a is a 
 preposition of place ; in 21 we meet with the 
 -' dative/ In defleur enfleur we have an instance of 
 de as a preposition of place ; the use of de to form 
 the * genitive ' occurred some time ago (7). 
 
 19, 20. In these two lessons various persons on the 
 picture speak of their relations, and thus supply the 
 Pupils with the possessive pronouns of the 1st and 
 2nd person, and certain forms of avoir and Ure. As 
 each new fact is ascertained, it is written on the 
 blackboard, until we have something like the 
 arrangement at the top of p. 28. It requires a 
 good deal of practice before the new materials are 
 thoroughly understood and fluently used. 
 
 In 20 the Teacher might give J' en aiseulement deux,in 
 addition to^ n'en ai que deux which occurs in the text. 
 
 21. The < dative' (objet indirect) is taught in this 
 lesson, which is so arranged that the Pupils are not 
 likely to find it troublesome. The contractions au 
 and aux will remind them of du and des (No. 7) ; etre 
 a in the sense of ' to belong ' will seem rather easy, 
 
New First Book: Nos. 19-24 59 
 
 but some repetition will be necessary to impress the 
 fact that ressembler is followed by &. With a qui 
 compare de qui and de quoi in No. 11. 
 
 22. The demonstrative adjectives ce, cet, cette, ces, 
 and the interrogative and relative lequel, etc., are 
 learnt by the Pupils; the Exerdces will serve to 
 make them quite familiar. In A it will be well to 
 let them form sentences, e.g. Cette herse est au paysan y 
 cette cloture entoure ce jardin, and perhaps also to point 
 to the various objects mentioned. 
 
 23. In each lesson up to this point the gram- 
 matical features have been mg,de clear by the way in 
 which they are printed and by the Teacher's help. 
 The Pupils have come to realise that they are 
 essential to speech, not arbitrary rules; and many 
 Teachers will have let them learn the grammatical 
 terms in French. It will interest them now to re- 
 view what they have learnt, and for this purpose we 
 have 
 
 1. a systematic resume' of the grammar ; 
 
 2. a number of questions to test the vocabulary 
 acquired (over 150 words); 
 
 3. a list of connected words, which will help the 
 Pupils in various ways] the associations in their 
 mind are strengthened, which aids their memory, 
 and they gradually acquire some knowledge of the 
 common derivative prefixes and suffixes, etc. 
 
 24. In dealing with the first picture it was necessary 
 to proceed rather slowly, because the rudiments of 
 
60 Running Commentary 
 
 Grammar had to be taught. We need not devote so 
 much time to the remaining pictures. The Teacher 
 may still occasionally talk the new lesson through 
 before the Pupils open their books and read ; but as 
 a rule they can proceed to read at once. They take 
 the sentences in turn; only the words printed in 
 clarendon are new, and these will rarely present any 
 difficulty of pronunciation. If the Pupils know the 
 phonetic alphabet, they can be referred to the vocabu- 
 laire, if in doubt; here they will find all the new 
 words transcribed. Sometimes of course they will 
 make slips, which the Teacher will correct; occa- 
 sionally he will ask the other Pupils to listen care- 
 fully and to tell him (when the whole sentence 
 has been read) what mistakes, if any, have been 
 made. 
 
 The meaning of the new words in each sentence 
 will usually be clear from the context. Thus there 
 can be little doubt about the first words of No. 24 : 
 ZW, second, k IU. But to make sure, the Teacher 
 will ask such questions as : Qu'est-ce que V6tt ? U6U 
 est-il la premiere saison ? Quelle est la premiere saison ? 
 De quoi la saison est-elle une partie ? Combien de saisons 
 I'annde a-t-elle ? Qu'est-ce que le "bli ? De quelle couleur est 
 le bid ? In order to suggest the meaning of le devant, 
 the Teacher first asks : Ou est Ctcile ? to remind them 
 of the preposition devant ; then he may continue : 
 Le devant est un substantif ; c'est une partie du tableau; 
 c'est la partie du tableau qui est devant les autres parties. 
 The meaning will now be clear, and several will at 
 once suggest ' foreground ' as the English equivalent. 
 
New First Book: No. 24 61 
 
 For CL droite a gesture will suffice ; le lout can be made 
 clear by pointing to the tip of the finger, the end of 
 the bench, or of a ruler, etc. 
 
 It will sometimes happen that the Teacher cannot 
 give a satisfactory explanation in French of a new 
 word ; e.g. devenir in this lesson. He will then have 
 recourse to the English word. But if he can suggest 
 the meaning by the use of French only, he should 
 do so ; it may take a little time, but that time is not 
 wasted. 
 
 To one who has not previously taught on Reform 
 Method lines, it may seem that this treatment of the 
 text is slow; but he will soon realise how much 
 confidence it gives the Pupils, how thoroughly they 
 possess what they have learnt in this way. It 
 also enables them to do their homework well, 
 which is a great advantage from every point of 
 view. 
 
 The grammar taught in each lesson will require no 
 less attention than before; it must be learnt thor- 
 oughly. The questions in Exercice A also deserve 
 attention ; the Pupils must learn to be careful about 
 the interrogative words and phrases (qu'est-ce qui, qui 
 est-ce qui, qu'est-ce que, qui est-ce que, ou, de qui, b, qui, 
 de quoi, It quoi, d j ou, comment, quand, combien, pourquoi, 
 etc.) ; there must be no uncertainty about their 
 meaning, and only untiring repetition will ensure 
 this. The Teacher should not grudge the time de- 
 voted to such questions ; similar ones are to be found 
 constantly in e very-day conversation. 
 
 Notice au printemps ( = au premier temps), but 
 en 6U. 
 
62 Running Commentary 
 
 25. Jdrdme va au champ : some Pupils will probably 
 remember Le paysan va au champ (No. 18.) These 
 and similar cases of a as a preposition of place are 
 noted by the Pupils ; a good many occur in this book 
 (see Focabulaire, p. 127.) 
 
 Us vont faucher le bU : this expression may be ex- 
 plained by a reference to the English * I am going 
 to do it,' and by a simple discussion of the under- 
 lying idea. 
 
 Us commenccnt h faucher : the use of b with the 
 infinitive is to be noted; several more sentences 
 should be formed to drive it home. 
 
 Lier en gerbes, mettre en fas (but les moissonneurs font 
 des gerbes, des tas) : we have here expressions in which 
 we speak of gerbes and tas indefinitely, yet do not use 
 the partitive article. 
 
 Je jette, tu jettes, il jette, Us jettent, but nous jetonSj 
 vous jetez, and jeter : the Pupils will probably see 
 that the change in stem is associated with a change 
 of accent. They may be told that the doubling of 
 t is a means of showing the nature of the preced- 
 ing e (cp. la molette). 
 
 Us rentrent les gerbes a la ferme : connect [with 
 previous examples of a 1 ]. 
 
 The forms commen^ons and mangeons will not give 
 any particular difficulty ; cp. garc^on and rougedtre. 
 
 The term parfait is more convenient than passd 
 indefini, since the tense corresponds on the whole 
 to the English and German perfect. Je suis tombe" 
 
 1 The word ' connect ' alone is used after this to suggest 
 that the pupils should be led to recall similar forms, etc., 
 already met with. 
 
New First Book : Nos. 25, 26 63 
 
 will require attention, as the use of ttre here seems 
 unnatural to the English child ; those who do German 
 may be reminded of ich bin gefallen. 
 
 26. II a un fouet & la main. 
 
 II tient une cruche a la main. 
 Le cidre est dans la cruche. 
 
 From these examples the Pupils learn a distinction 
 which is not familiar to them in English. Gesture 
 will be helpful. The Teacher takes a book (a la 
 main), a coin (dans la main), holds a pointer (a la 
 main\ a piece of chalk (dans la main). 
 
 Les chevaux tirent le chariot au village; il va d'un 
 moissonneur a Tautre ; a V ombre ; au temps de la 
 moisson ; a chaque pierre : connect. 
 
 It will surprise some Teachers that forms of 
 irregular verbs are introduced at this comparatively 
 early stage. They are, however, very common in- 
 deed, and it would be a serious limitation to avoid 
 them. Of course the Pupils do not learn the whole 
 verb; that is left until much later, and so their 
 minds are not burdened with knowledge which they 
 cannot immediately apply. To learn these verbs 
 gradually is the only rational proceeding, and may 
 be compared to the process by which a French child 
 learns them. It learns^ viens, je prends, etc., a long 
 time before it ever uses vinsse and prisse, or even 
 viendrai and prendrai. 
 
 Jepese, nous pesons : cp. the forms of jeter (No. 25). 
 Here the nature of the e is indicated in another way 
 (cp. pere, etc., Phonetic Section, p. 39). 
 
 Mangeanty chargeant, commen^ant : connect. 
 
64 Running Commentary 
 
 27. Un cJiapeau a ( = qui a de) larges lords. 
 
 Un moulin a eau, un moulin & vent = un moulin que 
 Veau (le vent) fait marcher. 
 
 Celui-ci (as the Pupils readily see) stands for le 
 moulin, ceux-ci for les moulins, celle-ci for la farine. 
 They now only require to be told that the feminine 
 plural is regularly formed, and they have the com- 
 plete scheme as on p. 48. A simple way of prac- 
 tising these words and those in -la is the following : 
 
 The Teacher has on his desk pencils and pens of 
 two colours, say red and yellow. He gives the 
 words le crayon and la plume ; then he takes a pencil 
 in each hand, and holds one closer to the Pupils 
 than the other. They say : Celui-ci estjaune, celui-la 
 est rouge or Gelui-ci est rouge, celui-la estjaune. Then 
 he substitutes the pens and they say : Celle-ci est 
 jaune, etc. ; and taking several pens or pencils in 
 each hand, he can practise his Pupils in the use of 
 the plural forms. It is a simple and effectual 
 method, and does not exhaust the Teacher, as he 
 need not speak at all. 
 
 It should be impressed on the Pupils that celui cannot stand 
 alone : it must be followed by -a, ~la, qui (or some other, form 
 of the relative) or de. Thus the answer to lequel might be : 
 celui-ci, celui-la, celui qui est sur la table, celui que fai a la 
 main, celui de monfrere. 
 
 Je seme, semer ; j'appelle, appeler : connect. 
 
 The scheme of relative pronouns on p. 47 serves 
 to show : 
 
 (1) that que is the pronom re latif which stands for 
 a direct object, while qui represents the subject ; 
 
New First Book: Nos. 27-32 65 
 
 (2) that ce qui does duty for a substantive with 
 qui, and ce que for a substantive with que. 
 
 Some Pupils have great difficulty in realising this ; 
 a difficulty due no doubt to insufficient knowledge 
 of what is meant by subject and object. It is well, 
 therefore, in taking Exercice B to make two sen- 
 tences in each case, e.g. : 
 
 1. Je nomme une chose. 
 Montrez la chose que je nomme. 
 Montrez ce que je nomme. 
 
 2. Le IU est mur. 
 
 Les pay sans fauchent le IU. 
 
 Le U6 que les pay sans fauchent, est mur. 
 
 The family tree in No. 11. is now enlarged, so 
 that it will assume the following form (incidentally 
 nte is taught) : 
 
 LA FAMILLE BONTEMPS. 
 M. Maurice Bontemps=Mme Madeleine B. (ne'e Lefevre) 
 
 M. Auguste B. = Mme Rose B. M. Eugene B. 
 I (ne'e Gautier) 
 
 Henri Cdcile Charles Marie Louise Julie Paul 
 
 Mile milie B. 
 
 M. J6r6me B.=Mme Catherine B. 
 _ | (ne'e Marchand) 
 
 Georges Jean Francois Jacq-ies 
 
 28-32. These lessons present little difficulty with 
 regard to method ; the amount of grammar to be 
 learnt is not large. The introduction of numerals 
 up to 100 will enable the Teacher to set simple 
 
66 Running Commentary 
 
 arithmetical exercises, which are an excellent aid to 
 fluency; addition and multiplication can be used 
 with advantage at this stage. 
 
 Au pied d'un arbre (28), aller a la campagne (30) : 
 connect. 
 
 Elk va boire de I'eau (28), Us vont verser leur eau 
 (32) : connect. 
 
 Autour de (28) : cp. entourer. 
 
 Du Iceuf: cp. 'beef. 7 
 
 Plonger (29) : cp. manger, charger. 
 
 Devinette (29) : a little while before coming to this, the 
 Teacher should speak about the hand, and give le doigt. 
 
 Le promeneur (30) : the Pupils have had faucheur 
 and moissonneur, and can probably suggest the force 
 of the suffix -eur. 
 
 La (31) : cp. celm-la (27). 
 
 Une partie de cette eau vient des hautes montagnes 
 (31) : cp. defleur enfleur (18), and add such sentences 
 as : Uou vient-il ? U vient de Paris, de la wile, du 
 village ; les ruisseaux viennent de la forM, etc. 
 
 La chaleur transforme la neige en eau (31) : cp. Her 
 en gerbes, mettre en tas (25). 
 
 La chaleur fond la neige, and la neige se fond (31) : 
 in English we use c melts ' both transitively and in- 
 transitively ; the difference between this and the 
 French usage should be made quite clear. Compare 
 also j'ouvre la porte, la porte s'ouvre. 
 
 Qa et la : cp. celui-ci and celui-la (25). 
 
 On aime a se reposer : the Pupils may be asked to 
 suggest an English rendering (' we like to rest ') ; 
 they will notice how stiff and unnatural a word-for- 
 word rendering would be. 
 
New First Book : Nos. 28-34 6 7 
 
 33. The grammar learnt in connection with the 
 Summer picture is now treated in a connected form ; 
 that is, accompanied by a revision of No. 23. 
 Notice the treatment of the verb ; compare Berthon's 
 Premiere Grammaire Franqaise (see p. 14). 
 
 The Rdpdtition and Formation de mots serve to test 
 and to strengthen the knowledge of the vocabulary ; 
 cp. No. 23. 
 
 When this revision work has been done, it will be 
 valuable to have a good talk about the summer 
 picture. The words denoting objects on it have 
 been so often repeated, that it can now be discussed 
 fluently; the Pupils realise that they have taken 
 another step forward, and feel inspired to fresh efforts. 
 
 Talks of this kind will never be the same in any two class- 
 rooms ; and this is largely due to the Teacher's personality. 
 Indeed nothing so readily shows the Teacher of experience as 
 the gift of conducting such a talk, of leading his Pupils along 
 by the help of suitable questions. He does not use unfamiliar 
 words or phrases j he knows exactly the limitations of his 
 Pupils' vocabulary. He does not jump from one thing to 
 another, but takes care that all is connected in thought. He 
 does not put a hard question to a weak Pupil and then grow 
 sarcastic about his ' stupidity. ' He does not fidget or lose his 
 temper. 
 
 34. The Pupils are introduced to a fresh picture ; 
 one of its main features is the vineyard. It may 
 well be preceded by a short talk about wine; if 
 the Pupils have some general ideas on the subject, 
 they will ' fall to ' the new words more readily. 
 They should look for Bordeaux in the little map 
 on p. 116. 
 
68 Running Commentary 
 
 They now learn the ordinal numerals and the 
 names of the months ; they may have to be warned 
 against saying, e.g., le troisikme Janvier. To make 
 them acquire the right habit, some such exercise as 
 that on p. 75 (B.) may be given at once : the numbers 
 are written on the blackboard, the Pupils say or 
 write the date in words. 
 
 In future they may be required to write the date in words 
 at the top of their exercises. 
 
 There is no reason why the Pupils should not be 
 told that the future is really a compound tense, as 
 in English and German, originally : 
 
 i 
 
 couper 
 
 ai 
 
 tu 
 
 couper 
 
 as 
 
 il 
 
 couper 
 
 a 
 
 nous 
 
 couper 
 
 (av)ons 
 
 vous 
 
 couper 
 
 (av)ez 
 
 ils 
 
 couper 
 
 ont 
 
 The meaning was once : ' I have to cut ' ; now it 
 is ' I am going to cut/ The omission of e in je 
 rir-ai will be noticed by the pupils. 
 
 It might also be noted that je vais couper, tu vas couper, 
 etc. , practically amounts to a future tense ; but here the 
 auxiliary has not become one with the infinitive. 
 
 vendange, vendangeur : cp. moisson -onneur. 
 vendangewr, vendangeuse : cp. moissonneur -euse. 
 
 35. Ilfaut: I must. It is better here to give the 
 English word than to explain by means of je dois, 
 which is not a true synonym. 
 
New First Book: Nos. 34-36 69 
 
 Verbs like remplir, orner, meler give some trouble ; 
 this force of de is unfamiliar to the Pupils, and a 
 good deal of repetition will be necessary before they 
 use it instinctively. They should note that we say : 
 
 Le paysan remplit le tonneau de vin, singular, 
 but : On remplit la corbeille de 
 On orne le chapeau de flews. 
 
 They will readily suggest the reason for this. 
 
 They may well be asked whether the sentence 
 on p. 65 (Le parapluie preserve I'homme de la pluie) 
 is of the same kind as the others ; all but the 
 least intelligent will see a difference. They may 
 then draw a pencil line in their book to separate it 
 from the preceding sentences. 
 
 36. This lesson lends itself to dramatic reproduc- 
 tion. When the text has been read and discussed, one 
 of the Pupils may take the part of Laurent, another 
 will be le pere, a third filise. Laurent may speak as 
 in the text ; or filise may give the 2nd section (Qucmd 
 mon pkre . . .) in her own words, and le pere the 3rd 
 section in his. 
 
 The substitution of pronouns (duquel, etc., dont) 
 for the genitive l of a substantive is difficult. We 
 begin with the sentence 
 
 On remplit la cruche de cidre. 
 
 Here the nature of the cider is undetermined. If 
 we specify the cider, we say, e.g. : 
 
 On remplit la cruche du cidre qui est Ion. 
 Or if we make the cider the subject, we have 
 Le cidre, duquel on remplit la cruche, est Ion. 
 1 This term is convenient here. 
 
70 Running Commentary 
 
 This represents a combination of two statements : 
 Le cidre est Ion. 
 On remplit la cruche de ce cidre. 
 Similarly, L'eau dont on m$le le vin est pure. 
 _ (L'eau est pure. 
 ~\0n mMe le vin de cette eau. 
 
 37. Sur la ttte : for some time Pupils will say sa 
 tete, etc., in similar cases ; it may be useful to have 
 the difference pointed out at once. 
 
 Haul la tete! (footnote): this will seem queer; 
 explain that la tete is added by way of an explana- 
 tion : * Keep it high I mean your head ! ' 
 
 Tomber a terre : connect (31). 
 
 En m$me temps: cp. en 6t6 (24). 
 
 Appuie : attention should be drawn to the change 
 in the stem. When the ending contains the * mute 
 e,' the stem appears in a fuller form ; cp. je seme, 
 etc., but nous semons. Cp. Berthon, Prem. gram, 
 franc., Chap. II. 
 
 Elle va les vendre : connect. 
 
 Je tiendrai, je viendrai : these forms deserve com- 
 ment; explain that they are irregular. The proper 
 forms would be tendrai and vendrai, but these are 
 required as futures to tendre and vendre ; hence the 
 change. 
 
 38. Par un beau jour : connect (par le beau temps, 
 No. 30). 
 
 Nous voyons a ses habits : a new use of a. 
 A la main gauche : connect. 
 
New First Book: Nos. 36-41 71 
 
 Sw la tete : as in No. 37. 
 
 II est alU: cp. je suis tomU (25). It is a good 
 exercise to let the Pupils repeat No. 36, sections 2 
 and 3, with all the verbs in the perfect, in which 
 case they will also have elle est descendue and elle est 
 rentrte. Pupils who do German may be reminded of 
 ich bin gekommen, gefallen, etc. 
 
 Connattre : for the present cp. je grandis, etc. 
 
 Le lievre : the Teacher might add : chez nous il n'y 
 a pas beaucoup de lievres, mais il y a beaucoup de lapins. 
 
 39. Sur le dos : connect. 
 
 Les bottes : distinguish from sabot (27), soulier 
 (No. 30). The word bottine might be given in this 
 connection. 
 
 En souriant, en aboyant : cp. No. 26. 
 
 Aboyer : cp. what was said about appuyer (37). 
 
 Exercice C : the verbs in the present \ but many 
 of them may also be given in the future and the 
 perfect. 
 
 40. Au moyen de : cp. No. 25. 
 Batteur, latteuse: connect. 
 
 Exercice C. The adverbs should be used with suit- 
 able verbs : doucement (marcher, parler), lieureusement 
 (arriver, sourire), longuement (parler), agrdablement 
 (parler), joyeusement (rire), fidelement (garder). 
 
 41. Regardez: imperative (cp. many class-room com- 
 mands with which the Pupils are familiar). 
 
72 Running Commentary 
 
 II va les cueillir : connect. 
 On aime a manger : connect (32). 
 En hiver : cp. en itt (24), en automne, but auprintemps 
 ( = au premier temps). 
 
 En tombant, en se tenant : connect. 
 
 42. En Pair: cp. lafume'e monte en I' air (15). 
 
 II fait du vent : cp. il fait frais (38), and fourth 
 footnote on p. 46. 
 
 Une brosse a dents: here une brosse a Tiabits, une 
 brosse a souliers may be introduced. 
 
 Exercice E. The Pupils should draw a face, and 
 add the French words for the different parts of it. 
 
 43. Us ont lespattes larges : cp. il a les yeux bleus (42). 
 
 Eessembler a: cp. No. 21. 
 
 Faire la chasse a : cp. No. 30. 
 
 Utile par son lait : observe this use of par. 
 
 Faire tomber : cp. faire marcher (16). 
 
 44. flfaitnuit, ilfaitchaud: connect. 
 
 Pays: cp. paysan. 
 
 Angleterre, etc. : a wall map of Europe should be 
 used for teaching the names of these countries ; or 
 p. 115 may be utilized. 
 
 En leur apportant des insectes : leur = a eux (which 
 would be the emphatic form, cp. J'apporte le livre a 
 vous, et non pas a eux). Other examples should be 
 given, e.g. with donner s ressembler. 
 
New First Book : Nos. 41-47 73 
 
 45. Bateau a vapeur : cp. moulin a eau, etc. 
 Tranquille : same form for masculine. 
 Ilfaut avoir : cp. No. 35. 
 
 Sur le bateau meme: contrast with sur le m$me 
 bateau. 
 
 Cdlebres par leur beauU : connect (43). 
 Voyageur-euse : connect. 
 Entoure'e d'eau : observe this use of de ; cp. 35. 
 
 46. To be treated in the same way as Nos. 23 and 
 33, and to be followed by a general talk about the 
 Autumn picture. 
 
 47. and foil. The Exercices still contain ques- 
 tions on the text, but many will regard them as 
 no longer necessary, for by this time the Pupils 
 are sufficiently familiar with the different ways in 
 which questions are formed, and their vocabulary is 
 so large that the text of the lessons can be discussed 
 fully and freely. Almost every new word can be- 
 come the peg for a series of questions and answers, 
 in which known words are used and become still 
 better known by use. Take for instance No. 47 ; the 
 following conversation might be connected with the 
 new words : 
 
 T. Qui me dit un mot qui est nouveau dans notre 
 numero 1 
 
 P. Le corbeau. 
 
 T. Qu'est-ce que le corbeau ? 
 
 P. Le corbeau est un oiseau. 
 
 T. Le corbeau est-il un oiseau de passage ? 
 
 P. Non, monsieur, ce n'est pas un oiseau de passage 
 
74 Running Commentary 
 
 T. Qu'est-ce qui vous dit que ce n'est pas un oiseau 
 de passage ? 
 
 P. En automne, il ne va pas dans un pays plus 
 chaud. 
 
 T. De quelle couleur est le corbeau 1 
 
 P. II est noir. 
 
 T. Oh voit-on des corbeaux ? 
 
 P. On en voit dans les forets, dans les villages, 
 dans les villes. 
 
 T. Dans quelle saison les voit-on dans les villes 
 et dans les villages ? 
 
 P. On les y voit en hiver. 
 
 T. Qu'est-ce qui le pousse a venir dans notre ville 
 en hiver ? 
 
 P. C'est la faim qui le pousse a venir dans notre 
 ville. 
 
 T. Le corbeau n'a-t-il pas faim dans les autres 
 saisons 1 
 
 P. II a tou jours bon appetit, mais dans les autres 
 saisons il trouve assez a manger dans les forets. 
 
 T. Pourquoi ne trouve-t-il rien a manger en hiver ? 
 
 P. En hiver, la terre est couverte de neige. 
 
 T. Qu'est-ce que le corbeau trouve dans les villes 
 en hiver ? 
 
 P. II y trouve des miettes. 
 
 T. Ce sont des petits morceaux de ? 
 
 P. Ce sont des petits morceaux de pain. 
 
 T. Ou trouve-t-il les miettes 1 
 
 P. II les trouve devant les maisons. 
 
 T. Qui les y jette 1 
 
 P. Ce sont les hommes qui les y jet tent. 
 
 T. Un autre mot ! 
 
New First Book: No. 47 75 
 
 P. La pitie. 
 
 T. Qui a pitied 
 
 P. Les hommes ont pitie". 
 
 T. De qui les hommes ont-ils pitie* 1 
 
 P. Us ont pi tie des oiseaux en hiver. 
 
 T. Pourquoi en ont-ils piti 1 
 
 P. Us en ont pitie parce qu'ils n'ont pas toujours 
 a manger. 
 
 T. De qui les hommes ont-ils encore pitie 1 
 
 P. Us ont pitie des pauvres. 
 
 T. Quels oiseaux sont pauvres 1 
 
 P. Les oiseaux qui ne trouvent rien a manger. 
 
 T. Un autre mot ! 
 
 P. Le flocon. 
 
 T. Qu'est-ce que le flocon 1 
 
 P. Le flocon est de la neige. 
 
 T. D'ou tombent les flocons ? 
 
 P. Us tombent du ciel. 
 
 T. Quand les flocons tombent-ils du ciel ? 
 
 P. Us tombent du ciel quand il neige. 
 
 This is valuable for the Pupils, and not par- 
 ticularly tiring for the Teacher, as there is no need 
 to observe a strict logical sequence. All he needs 
 is readiness to put perfectly simple questions, 
 which will help to drive home the meaning of the 
 new words. 
 
 47. Quatrikme: the ordinal numerals might be 
 revised. 
 
 Ni : several examples should be given. 
 II a faim : connect. 
 
76 Running Commentary 
 
 Us leur jettent des miettes : lear (44). 
 
 (Assez tdt) sefait : cp. se gdter (41). The Pupils will 
 observe that in English the passive would be used. 
 
 Exercice C. The imperative presents no difficulty ; 
 the only matter requiring attention is the absence 
 of -s in the 2nd sing, imperative of verbs in -er. 
 The Pupils have heard many imperatives by this 
 time (ouvrez, re'pe'tez, montre, etc.). 
 
 Exercice D. The Pupils may be asked to repeat 
 the whole or part of this with books closed. 
 
 48. Un bdton a la main : connect. 
 
 Se servir de : the construction of this verb gives 
 trouble ; further examples will be required. 
 H faut Ure habiltt : connect. 
 
 49. Les deux chevaux tirent une diligence : sometimes 
 it is good practice, to take all the cases in which a 
 word can be used, with the vocabulary already 
 acquired. Here for instance we may put the 
 question : Qu'est-ce que les chevaux tirent ? To which 
 may be given the answers la herse, le chariot, la 
 voiture, la charrue, le traineau. The Teacher decides 
 whether the Pupils answer in complete sentences or 
 not. 
 
 Qu'est-ce qu'wi tient a la main ? On tient le f ouet, 
 le parapluie, I'ombrelle, I'e'chelle ; on se tient a une 
 branche, a une e'chelle, a une chose. 
 
 Uauberge est une maison ou Von vend du vin, etc. 5 
 le moulin est une maison ou Ton fait la farine ; la 
 f erme est une maison ou demeurent des paysans ; la 
 grange est une maison ou le paysan rentre le ble, etc. 
 
New First Book: Nos. 47-51 77 
 
 Avoir besoin: L'homme a besoin de manger, de boire, 
 de dormir, de se reposer, de se promener ; il a besoin 
 d'habits, de quoi a-t-il encore besoin ? Quelles sont 
 les choses dont I'homme a besoin ? 
 
 Qu'est-ce que Vhomme qui vend du vin, du cidre, de la 
 biere, etc. ? Qu'est-ce que Phomme qui fait la farine ? 
 le pain? qui coupe les raisins murs? qui va a la 
 ehasse? qui va se promener? qui demeure a la 
 ville ? qui fait un voyage ? qui conduit un chariot ? 
 qui garde le troupeau ? qui fauche le bid ? 
 
 Forgeant : cp. mangeant, chargeant. 
 
 50. Chez : cp. chez le boulanger (35). 
 disant : this form is new. 
 
 Fera remettre : connect. 
 
 Centime, franc : see the plate opposite page 120. 
 
 Timbres-poste : formation of plural. 
 
 Adresse : contrast ' address/ 
 
 The text of this lesson calls for a good deal of 
 discussion and repetition, as idiomatic turns are 
 rather numerous. 
 
 51. Instruire : cp. conduire (26). 
 Noel: cp. * No well/ 
 Brillant: cp. ' brilliant/ 
 
 Font entendre : connect. 
 
 Embellir : cp. bel, belle. 
 
 ParaUre : cp. connaitre (38). 
 
 Before dealing with the French * voices/ it is best 
 to have a talk about the meaning of active and passive 
 in English ; as a rule the Pupils' notions are very 
 hazy on this point. 
 
78 Running Commentary 
 
 Exercice E : all these sentences might be given in 
 the present and the perfect. 
 
 52. The most important part of the Grammatical 
 re'sume' is the order of the pronouns ; and for once a 
 somewhat mechanical method may be the most effec- 
 tive. The formation of sentences is too slow a 
 process ; and the habit of using the pronouns in the 
 proper order is best acquired by saying them often. 
 The class should be asked to repeat 
 
 me le, me la, me les ; 
 te le, te la, te les ; etc. 
 
 for a few times in several consecutive lessons. 
 Eventually the Pupils will use them correctly by 
 instinct, and not by calculation. 
 
 53-59. After dealing with the broad aspects of 
 life as they present themselves to a boy or girl, we 
 may turn to what will particularly interest our Pupils, 
 the daily life of a school-boy. These lessons intro- 
 duce many useful words, and enable them to speak 
 about their own school life. The amount of grammar 
 to be acquired is not large ; but there are plentiful 
 opportunities of revising what has already been 
 learnt. 
 
 53. dont : cp. 36. 
 
 a six heures, etc. : the Teacher may teach what is 
 given on pp. 118 and 119 of the appendix; p. 120 is 
 for practice. 
 
 je me lave les mains : case of me here, and in je 
 me lave ; les not mes, connect. 
 
New First Book: Nos. 51-55 79 
 
 la salle a manger : cp. salle d'attente (50). 
 
 s'asseoir : the class order asseyez-vous I is probably 
 familiar to the Pupils by this time. 
 
 morceau : cp. ' morsel ' ; the Pupils notice the 
 difference in meaning. 
 
 ma so3ur et moi : not je 9 but the pronom personnel 
 fort (see 58). 
 
 en retard : cp. retarder (p. 148). 
 
 je leur serre la main : cp. je me lave les mains (above). 
 
 Exercice B and similar exercises may also be done 
 in the interrogative or negative form, at the teacher's 
 discretion. 
 
 54. me dit adieu : case of me; origin of adieu, 
 elle est arrMe : connect. 
 
 la notre : not noire. 
 
 une maison h deux Stages : observe this use of a. 
 un escalier de pierre : observe this use of de. 
 salle de classe : cp. salle d'attente (50). 
 nous prenons h droite : a new use of prendre. 
 va s'asseoir : connect. 
 un, une 6Uve : cp. un, une enfant (8). 
 chacun pour soi: soi reflexive, referring to an 
 indefinite antecedent. 
 le mieux : superlative of adverb. 
 
 55. ceux-ci : singular 1 feminine ? 
 rarement : revise formation of adverbs. 
 fait calculer : connect. 
 
 la matinee : distinguish from le matin (53) ; cp. an 
 (11), mne'e (18). Soir, soiree, and jour, journe'e might 
 also be given. 
 
8o Running Commentary 
 
 jeunesse : vieillesse may be given. 
 
 lire : the class order lisez has often been given. 
 
 lecture : contrast the meaning of ' lecture/ 
 
 56. il fait beau temps : connect. 
 lejeu: cp.jouer. 
 
 la cloche se fait entendre : connect. 
 
 remonter : cp. other verbs with re-. 
 
 il se donne beaucoup de peine : case of se. 
 
 se faire comprendre : connect. 
 
 adresser: cp. adresse (50). 
 
 re'pondre : cp. response (13) ; observe rtpondre a une 
 question. 
 
 comme une conversation : observe the use of comme ; 
 the Teacher asks for an idiomatic rendering. 
 
 Exerdce C: cp. 36. 
 
 57. au las de : cp. 36. 
 
 en marge : absence of article ; connect. 
 
 Pestalozzi: the Pupils should be told something 
 about the man to whom they owe so much. This 
 the Teacher might do in simple French. Even if 
 the Pupils hear some strange words, it will do them 
 no harm ; it will indeed urge them to fresh efforts. 
 
 While the Teacher will usually confine his conversations to 
 words already met with, he need not allow this rule to bind 
 him down in all cases. When he thinks the moment has 
 arrived for introducing some word or phrase which is not in 
 the lesson, he should not hesitate to give it. He may cause 
 the Pupils to insert it neatly in the margins. They are of 
 course never allowed to write any English words in their 
 books. 
 
New First Book : Nos. 55-64 81 
 
 58. serrer les livres : a fresh meaning of serrer. 
 au meme moment : but en mime temps (37). 
 
 miller : strange spelling, considering the pronuncia- 
 tion ; cp. cher, a word which might here be given to 
 the Pupils. 
 
 du veau : ' veal ' ; cp. du bceuf (28). 
 
 au moyen de : connect. 
 
 les classes du lycee : the footnote can be read or 
 omitted at the discretion of the Teacher. For fuller 
 details see Kron's French Daily Life, Chapter 16, and 
 DuhamePs Tony et sa Swur, pp. 104, 154. 
 
 dans trois semaines : in three weeks from now ; 
 contrast en un jour (45, Proverbe). 
 
 59. se casse : cp. fondre and se fondre (31). 
 apres-midi : formation of plural. 
 
 soir, soirde : cp. matin, matine'e ; an, annde. 
 Exercice F. This use of avant de will present no 
 difficulty. 
 
 60-63. The Appendix contains much that is useful. 
 Reference may have been made to some parts in 
 preceding lessons, as has been suggested ; but it will 
 be well to take these lessons, even if they appear 
 somewhat dry. 
 
 60. 61. Outline maps of Europe and of France 
 would be a great help in teaching the geographical 
 terms and names. 
 
 62. A card-board clock with movable hands, large 
 enough to be seen by the whole class, will save the 
 Teacher a good deal of speaking. 
 
82 Running Commentary 
 
 63. The actual weights, measures and coins should 
 be shown to the Pupils, as far as possible. 
 
 64. The Grammar section, etc., refers only to 
 lessons 53-63, 
 
 The Podsies (p. 173 and foil.) can be taught when- 
 ever the Teacher thinks it convenient and profitable. 
 The meaning should always be made quite clear ; 
 but there is no need for an explanation of every 
 unusual form or construction. 
 
 Other collections of simple verse are : 
 
 Recitations et Poesies. Compiled by Miss Violet 
 Partiugton. Horace Marshall. 1903. (With 
 phonetic transcript.) 
 
 Poemespour Venfance. Par M. et Mme Braunschvig. 
 Didier, Paris. 1910. 2 f. 80. 
 
 Recueil de Poemes. Par F. Nechelput et Ed. Heuten. 
 Teubner, Leipzig. 1901. 1 m. 40. 
 
 The following contain songs and music : 
 
 H. Gautier, Manuel Musical des Scales. Premiere 
 partie (72 choeurs a 2 voix ^gales). Deuxieme partie 
 (46 choeurs a 3 voix 6gales). Chaque partie 1 fr. 
 50 c. net. ; les deux parties reunies et cartonnees : 
 3 fr. 50 c. net. 
 
 The popularity of this book is shown by the fact 
 that it is already in its 50th edition. It is published 
 by A. Pinatel, 18, rue du Faubourg-Poissonniere, 
 Paris. 
 
 Chansons et Rondes Enfantines. Published by 
 Vermot, 20, rue du Dragon, Paris. 
 
New First Book : Poesies 83 
 
 [Dr Baker has kindly given me the following list of songs 
 which he has tried in his classes : 
 
 Manuel (Premiere Partie}. p. 2. Chante, petit oiseau ! p. 2. 
 Le bonhenr est la ! p. 9. L' enfant de la raontagne. p. 14. 
 L'oiseau et Fhomme. p. 23. Les fleurs que j'aime. p. 44. 
 En avant ! p. 48. Le brave tisserand. p. 76. La semaine 
 de I'e'colier. 
 
 Chansons et Rondes. p. 16. II e"tait une bergere. p. 21. 
 Compere Guilleri (requires slight alterations), p. 32. Marianne 
 s'en allant au moulin. p. 40. En revenant de la foire (requires 
 slight alterations), p. 64. Biquette et le loup. p. 82. Le 
 roi de Sardaigne. p. 106. L'avoine.] 
 
 French Songs and Verses. Compiled by A. D. Middleton, 
 B.A. Swan, Sonnenschein & Co. 1902. Is.. 
 
 French Nursery Rhymes. Compiled by A. Thirion. J. 
 Williams, 32 Great Portland Street, W. Two series, 6d. 
 each. 
 
 Chansons Franfaises. Par R. Dax. H. Welter, Paris. 
 1 fr. 50. 
 
 45 Franzosische Lieder. Von K. Wetzel. Fussinger, 
 Berlin, 1898. 
 
 The Teacher may also like his Pupils to act some 
 simple scenes. Miss Partington's Fables en Action 
 (Is.) are admirable for young children. For older 
 Pupils there are Mr J. S. Walters' Episodes en Action 
 (Is. 4d.), Miss Ping's Tableaux Mouvants and Jeux 
 Franqais (Is. 4d. each), Miss Saunois' L? Entente 
 Cordiale a la Campagne (Is. 6d.), and Three Short Plays 
 by Souvestre (Is. 6d.). All these are issued in Dent's 
 Modern Language Series, which also contains a series 
 of The Best French Plays, plain texts, at 3d. each. 
 
84 Running Commentary 
 
 SECOND BOOK. 
 
 BEFORE proceeding to read a story, it is necessary 
 for the pupil to become acquainted with the tenses 
 of the verb which have been purposely excluded 
 from the First Book. Instead of relying on the text 
 of a story for examples, we have preferred to give a 
 number of short lessons on the tenses. If these are 
 thoroughly mastered, it is not likely that the tenses 
 of the verb will give serious difficulty. The ' irregular ' 
 verbs are introduced gradually, and numerous exer- 
 cises on them have been given. 
 
 When the beginner has acquired correct habits 
 of pronunciation and attained a certain degree of 
 ease in the application of elementary grammar, it 
 is important to increase his vocabulary. This is, 
 perhaps, the chief task in the second year of 
 instruction. 
 
 Now there are many ways of learning words,: 
 the meaning can be looked up in a dictionary; 
 lists of French words with their English equivalents 
 can be committed to memory; translation and re- 
 translation may be employed for the same purpose. 
 The teacher who has made proper use of the First 
 Book will, however, not be inclined to adopt these 
 expedients. He will continue to make an extensive 
 use of the foreign language, and to avoid translation. 
 
Second Book 85 
 
 When a word in clarendon type occurs, the pupil 
 knows that it is new. Sometimes he sees the mean- 
 ing at once ; he cannot be in doubt about enchant^ 
 nature, change". If the meaning is not clear, he looks 
 at the foot of the page, where the word is explained 
 in words familiar to him. 
 
 These explanations are not meant to be exhaustive defini- 
 tions ; they are hints, finger-posts guiding the pupil's thoughts 
 in the right direction. Sometimes they are insufficient ; this 
 is particularly the case when the names of plants, animals, 
 etc., occur in the text. Thus ours is explained gros animal ; 
 the pupil may guess that it is a bear, but we cannot blame 
 him for not doing so. This class of words has always been a 
 little troublesome to the reform teacher. I may be allowed to 
 refer here to the French Picture Vocabulary, issued in Dent's 
 Modern Language Series, which will be found serviceable to 
 pupils even in their second year. 
 
 The explanation at the foot of the page will 
 generally suffice, but the teacher will do well (at 
 least in the case of words quite unlike their English 
 equivalents) to ask questions containing the new 
 word, or to let the pupils make sentences with it, 
 until he is confident that the meaning is grasped 
 by all. 
 
 A new word is retained all the better if it forms 
 one of a group of kindred words. It may be suggested 
 that the pupils should have a Vocabulary Notebook for 
 the purpose of recording the new words. These 
 should not be entered in the order of their occurrence 
 in the text, nor in alphabetical order, but according 
 to their meaning. There are many possible ways of 
 classifying words which will occur to the teacher, 
 and it does not matter much which he adopts. The 
 
86 Running Commentary 
 
 essential thing is to get the pupils to look at the 
 vocabulary from this point of view ; they will then 
 soon take an interest in collecting words. 
 
 Thus, in the first lesson, auparavant and longtemps will 
 suggest the heading ' Le Temps ' ; and the pupils may at once 
 add such other words (jour, semaine, etc.) as have occurred in 
 the First Book. Reverdir may be the starting-point of a page 
 for words indicating ' Les Couleurs ' ; vert, verddtre, reverdir 
 will appear together. 
 
 When words are entered, the grammar may be 
 considered as well as the vocabulary; substantives 
 are entered with an article to show gender and an 
 indication of the plural form, if necessary ; the pupil 
 writes not merely blanc, but blanc blanche. 
 
 In the notes at the foot of the page, there are 
 occasionally new words not found in the text ; they 
 are printed in italics, here and in the list of words 
 on pp. 199 and foil. Lists of connected words are 
 given on pp. 42, 79, 121, 195. 
 
 In Lessons 1 to 14 the number of new words is 
 small. This enables the pupils to give their whole 
 attention to the consideration of the verb, and to 
 repeat a number of words with which the previous 
 year's work has made them familiar. 
 
 1. Many examples of the imperfect occur. The 
 pupils ascertain the endings ; from p. 4 it becomes 
 clear to them that the same radical is found in the 
 present participle and the imperfect. This radical 
 cannot be discovered by reasoning, it is a matter 
 of memory; and so the pupils must be prepared 
 to learn the page off. The formation of the plu- 
 
Second Book: Nos. 1-3 87 
 
 perfect gives as little trouble as in English. (Care 
 must be taken to ensure that the pupils know which 
 tense in English is meant.) 
 
 2. The pass6 historique 1 is a much more difficult 
 tense, in form and in meaning, than the imperfect. 
 The teacher will therefore take ample time over this 
 lesson, which deals with the form only; nothing is 
 said about the meaning as yet. 
 
 3. This anecdote is an old-established favourite 
 for teaching the distinction between the imperfect 
 and the passe" historique. Probably the best course 
 for the teacher to adopt is to let the pupils close their 
 books and then to tell them the story in perfectly 
 simple French, but at the same time with a good 
 deal of dramatic movement. The schoolroom is a 
 room in George's house ; some garden visible from 
 this room, or at any rate well known to the children, 
 is the orchard. Teacher and pupils follow George 
 as he leaves the room, goes along the passage and 
 downstairs, opens the door, goes out, crosses the 
 street, and so on. The fuller the details and the 
 greater the use that is made of the existing stock of 
 words, the better. In telling the story the teacher 
 calls attention to the endings of the passe" historique : 
 ' Je ne dis pas quitte ou quittait, mais quitta ' ; but 
 for the time being he makes no further comment. 
 When he has come to the end of the story it is 
 reconstructed by means of question and answer. 
 
 The books are opened and the story is read. Th e 
 pupils are now called upon to pick out the various 
 
 1 This is a. better term than passt dtfini. 
 
88 Running Commentary 
 
 actions which really constitute the narrative, and the 
 teacher writes the verbs on the blackboard. The 
 pupils then look at the story of the book, and will 
 come to recognise that the pass6 historique gives the 
 consecutive actions of which the beginning and end 
 are determined by other actions, while the imperfect 
 interrupts the course of the narrative, and tells us 
 what was there already (the state of things). 
 
 The pupils' attention is drawn to the $ in commen$a, 
 to commencer a y vouloir, pouvoir, aller with infinitive, 
 ttre dbligt de. 
 
 4, 5, and 6 afford further practice in distinguishing 
 the imperfect and passt historique. 
 
 Points to be noticed are : 
 
 in 4 pour Tentendre parler; entrer dans; un 
 moment ou ( = dans lequel) ; etait (not avait) sorti ; 
 ou se trouvait 1'oiseau (order of words) ; faire plaisir 
 (no article) ; 
 
 in 5 en f aisant ; au petit chat ; mute I in gentil ; 
 
 in 6 brode's d'or ; sur la t6te ; se laissa prendre 
 les poires; demander a (the pupils should make 
 up several sentences containing examples of this) ; 
 repondit le paysan (inversion in parenthetical state- 
 ments is the rule in French ; it is not optional as in 
 English) ; le courage de les leur refuser. 
 
 For practising verbal and pronominal forms these and simi- 
 lar narratives are convenient. They can be told again as 
 happening now, or about to happen ; for the third person 
 we may substitute the first or second, making all necessary 
 changes. It is only when pupils can do this readily and 
 without apparent effort that we are justified in saying that 
 
Second Book: Nos. 4-10 89 
 
 they ' know ' their French verbs and pronouns. It tests some- 
 thing more than the mere parrot knowledge of paradigms. 
 
 7. An example of the parfait antirieu^occurs here ; 
 the pupil will not meet with it often at this stage, 
 and it would be a mistake at once to burden him 
 with a list of all the conjunctions after which it is 
 found. At present he may be content with des que. 
 Other points to be noticed are : de son gout ; n'en 
 voulait pas ; s'en f &cha ; en preparer ; en disant (cp. 
 No. 5); promettre de preparer; s'empresser de- } lui 
 demanda; assaiso?mer. 
 
 8. Notice : s'approcher ; perdre courage (no 
 article, cp. faire plaisir, No. 4) ; se coucher par 
 terre; mort de peur; etait monte 1 ; Z'oreille; avant 
 de with infinitive. 
 
 The pupils are much inclined to give the English stress to 
 such words as approcher, retourner. 
 
 9. Notice : trouver moyen (no article) ; allait 
 1'attraper (this use of aller to express what is 
 about to happen should be practised by making up 
 sentences containing examples of it) ; souffrant (the 
 ordinary word for ' ill ') ; toute une bouteille ; 
 toucher a. 
 
 10. Notice : bon pour ; ne . . . jamais de peine, 
 defendu d'aller (cp. Defense de fumer) ; un jour que \ 
 il en vit un; qui s'approchait ( = present participle 
 in English) ; e"quilibre (qu pronounced k). With 
 blanchisseuse cp. blanchir (reverdir, No. 1). 
 
 1 Or : Second passd parfait. 
 
90 Running Commentary 
 
 11. Notice: le page (cp. la page); roi de Prusse 
 (in apposition, no article); ne personne; fauteuil 
 (mute 1) ; qui sortait (our present participle, cp. qui 
 s'approehait, No. 10); correspondence ; apres avoir 
 eu (not present infinitive); alia prendre, allait 
 s'excuser (cp. allait 1'attraper, No. 9) ; retire, palit, 
 regarde (historic present, frequently introduced in 
 French amid a series of verbs in the past) ; je ne 
 sais (without pas) ; en souriant ; sommeil (mute /, 
 cp. gentil, No. 5). 
 
 12. Notice : suisse (no capital, cp. anglais, 
 fran9ais); gros chien noir (place of adjectives); 
 d'un ceil triste ; lui . . . au cou ; ou ( = dans lequel, 
 cp. No. 4) il racontait ; de retour ; accompagne de. 
 
 Lessons 13-15 call for no comment; their purpose 
 is to give the conditional and the present sub- 
 junctive, the only tenses not yet familiar that are 
 of real importance. 
 
 It will be convenient to dictate some of the new words, the 
 spelling of which may give trouble to some pupils. The 
 following will serve as a test : 
 
 Nos. 3-6. La haie, severement, Touverture, cares- 
 ser, le plaisir, presque, une erreur, des ce moment, 
 respectueusement, vetu, posseder, une epee, 6ter, le 
 voleur, la queue, malheureusement, refuser, la poche, 
 gentil, le singe, le chat, oblige, se facher, le courage, 
 se rendre, s'enfuir, crier, la griffe, le gout, appeler. 
 
 Nos. 7-10. Le mets, s'empresser, terrible, des 
 que, la fievre, la bouteille, le soleil, entralner, un 
 e'cureuil, la peau, une epaule, s'approcher, mort, fort> 
 
Second Book: Revision (3-12) 91 
 
 Tours, assaisonner, le poisson, lorsque, se baisser, se 
 placer, jusqu'a Paris, parce que, le fugitif, large, la 
 planche, le coucher, plier, descendre, attraper, de- 
 fendre, le cadavre, la peur, 1'^quilibre, vendre, la 
 blanchisseuse, soufFrant, le eamarade, le signe. 
 
 Nos. 11, 12. La ferme, le billet, connaitre, la cor- 
 respondance, vers la ville, la lettre, excuser, le page, 
 intelligent, attacher, le fauteuil, profond, le dormeur, 
 bloquer, aussit6t, la provision, le torrent, sauver, le 
 sommeil, un oeil, la cime, le commencement, le roi, 
 habiter, le compagnon, ainsi, le panier, une idee, la 
 vie, le coup. 
 
 We now begin the reading of a connected story. 
 As in the work done hitherto, we do not let the 
 pupils prepare what is new, but we go through it 
 with them first, and then let them revise. 
 
 The teacher reads one sentence 1 after the other ; if 
 he likes, they may be repeated by individual pupils, 
 or occasionally in chorus. After each sentence he 
 pauses, in order to give the pupils an opportunity of 
 saying with which words they are not familiar, either 
 because they are new, or occur with a new meaning, 
 or have been forgotten. The teacher may give the 
 English ; but it is much better to give a simple 
 explanation in French, using the words which his 
 pupils know. It gives them great pleasure to be able 
 to understand him as he speaks the foreign language ; 
 the teacher leads them to understand the meaning 
 by his explanation, and sometimes by asking suitable 
 questions, in such a manner that the joy of discovery 
 is left to them. To obtain this result they have to 
 1 Or breath -group, if the sentence is not quite short. 
 
92 Running Commentary 
 
 exercise a certain amount of effort ; and they value 
 the knowledge gained because it is felt to be due to 
 their active participation. 
 
 It is essential that what has been learnt should 
 become the pupil's lasting possession. This is en- 
 sured by various means : 
 
 1. Words are repeated from the point of view 
 of their meaning. All new words are printed in 
 clarendon type, and the teacher asks a perfectly 
 simple question about each ; or he asks the pupils to 
 introduce them into a little sentence, to show that 
 they know the meaning; or he asks them to give 
 brief definitions, opposites, synonyms, words etymo- 
 logically connected, etc. These exercises gradually 
 take .the place of the questions which were mainly 
 used in the beginning (First Book). 
 
 2. Words are repeated from the point of view of 
 their spelling. Suitable sets of words for dictation 
 are given for the convenience of teachers. 
 
 3. The pupils go through the 'Repetition et 
 Exercices.' 
 
 4. The dictation of connected passages is very 
 useful, and a number of pieces have been prepared 
 for this purpose. They are based on the text, but 
 differ from it considerably in the mode of expres- 
 sion. They may be utilised also as model 'free 
 compositions ' : the subject is given to the pupils, it 
 is talked through in class, and they write it out 
 in French at home. In the case of a class of less 
 than average power, it may be well in the beginning 
 to supply them with a brief outline. 
 
Second Book: No. 16 93 
 
 In each of these exercises the words of the text are 
 approached from a different standpoint. This makes 
 the pupil thoroughly acquainted with them, and 
 enables him to use them fluently. Such a treatment 
 obviates the danger of the text being followed too 
 closely, in which case the memory is almost ex- 
 clusively called into play, the power of observation 
 being insufficiently stimulated. 
 
 Homework. The pupils go carefully through what 
 has been done in class, using the * explications de 
 mots ' to refresh their memory. In the next lesson 
 they are asked about the contents of the lesson. 
 The lessons do not all lend themselves equally well to 
 this, and the teacher may have to display some skill 
 in framing his questions. But it is not necessary to 
 recapitulate every sentence; indeed it is advisable 
 to avoid any close adherence to the actual words of 
 the lesson. 
 
 In the notes which follow it will be found that 
 
 A contains what is noticeable in the way of grammar ; 
 
 B difficulties of spelling ; 
 
 C difficulties of pronunciation. 
 
 16. A. quoique; tout enfant; apprendre a; il 
 Pavait vue pleurer ; grande maison tres haute (order 
 of adjectives); toute pleine; de Pautre c6te; finir 
 par comprendre ; ils auraient e"te (cp. I have been to 
 see him) ; jour de semaine (no article). 
 
 B. tdche; to-haut. 
 
 (7. reflexion, enterrer, impossible (not with English 
 stress). 
 
94 Running Commentary 
 
 j 
 
 17. A. gentiment (cp. pronunciation of gentil, 
 No. 5) ; tout en marchant ; sonner creux (cp. parler 
 haut) ; le pauvre cercueil (place of adjective) ; il 
 faisait peine a voir ; on le fit sortir ; le chemin de la 
 maison. 
 
 B. c^monie, cercweil, dommage, d^sesp&e*. 
 
 C. emporter (not with English stress). 
 
 18. A. honte (cp. Honni soit qui mal y pense) ; 
 se sentir les yeux tout sees ; blondinette, chambrette 
 and fossette (in the footnote to fosse, No. 17) are 
 diminutives ; au quatrieme (etage) ; il veut que tu 
 1'attendes (cp. No. 14; the pupils should collect 
 instances of the subjunctive) \ toute basse (examples 
 of tout = quite are frequent in Nos. 16-18, and might 
 be collected) ; rester a ne rien dire ; s'etaient assis ; 
 on ne pouvait (no pas) ; il ne savait pas bien si 
 (introducing indirect question) ; aura-t-il trouve (in- 
 version ; idea of probability in future perfect). 
 
 Ce que le docteur dirait a Pierre. The pupils should realise 
 that the "future in the past" (or conditional) here retains 
 its original force, in French as in English. 
 
 je sais ce qu'il dira 
 
 -4- 
 
 Past Present Future 
 
 (moment at which we 
 
 are speaking). 
 
 Transfer this to the Past, and we have : 
 je savais ce qu'il dirait 
 
 + J x -> 
 
 Present Future Present Future 
 
 \ / (moment at which we 
 
 in the Past are speaking). 
 
Second Book: Nos. 17-20 95 
 
 That is to say, je savais and il dirait both refer to the past ; 
 but the tense shows that je sayais expresses something previous 
 to il dirait Compare : 
 
 I know what he will say 
 and 
 t knew what he would say. 
 
 B. chocolat, compagnie, peut-etre, croix. 
 
 C. attendre, regarder, travailler, observer (not 
 with English stress); b in observer pronounced 
 
 e* 
 
 19. A. J'ai a te parler; $a (colloquial for cela); 
 aille ; depche-toi (imperative of reflexive verbs) ; 
 une dr61e de moue (cp. a beast of a horse); en 
 s'asseyant ; te sens-tu la force ; a qui sa mere avait 
 appris de . . . 
 
 B. depecher, drole, energie, verite, moquer (other 
 words with qu might be collected). 
 
 It might be pointed out that the French use qu to make 
 up for the absence of k. This explains public, f. publique ; 
 turc, f. turque. 
 
 C. hausser (no liaison, cp. haut). 
 
 20. A. avoir raison ; se casser le nez (other ex- 
 amples might be collected); si tu serais (indirect 
 question) ; s'il t'arrivait . . . (condition) ; le travail 
 a faire; avant de mourir; tu ne te souviens pas 
 (tone of voice alone indicating question) ; si fait 
 (affirmative answer to a negative question) ; il avait 
 la voix douce (cp. avoir les yeux bleus) ; etre fermier 
 (no article); aupres de; chose dangereuse (in ap- 
 position ; no article). 
 
 B. mesaventure, rapporter, aine*. 
 
96 Running Commentary 
 
 C. puisque (ui as in lui, not like oui in Louis) ; 
 obscurite, rapporter, commencer, intelligent, amuser 
 (not with English stress). 
 
 21. A. hors de lui ; pour que je te le dise ; & la 
 condition qu'il n'entendrait plus (future in the past, 
 cp. No. 18); en Amerique; faire fortune; il faillit 
 mourir ; mourir de faim. 
 
 B. rever, navire. 
 
 C. condition, embarquer, deposer, consoler (not 
 with English stress). 
 
 22. A. jamais il ne put (order of words) ; il faut 
 te souvenir ; il lui semblait que . . . f aisait, il sem- 
 blait si naturel qu'on t'aimat (cp. No. 14 A) ; elle veut 
 que tu ailles ; ce que tu voudras (future, more pre- 
 cise than our usage) ; elle s'y est refuse'e ; s'il pouvait 
 (instances of conditional clauses might be collected) ; 
 faire honneur. 
 
 B. distingue, se*cher. 
 
 C. he'roique (liaison ; but none in he"ros) ; re- 
 pentir, accomplir, persuader, distingue, desirer (not 
 with English stress) ; persuader (u not as in English 
 persuade). 
 
 23. A. bien entendu (absolute construction); 
 1'argent de ton voyage; des troisiemes = billets de 
 troisieme classe (cp. quatrieme for quatrieme e'tage, 
 No. 18); ou demeure P.D. (other instances of this 
 word order might be collected) ; bons pour ta mere 
 (cp. No. 10); aie (imperative); les yeux rouges 
 (absolute construction); qui faisait (we should use 
 
Second Book: Nos. 20-24 97 
 
 present participle) ; il y penserait ; finirait par 
 oublier (cp. No. 16); dix sous (how much 1 ? revision 
 of French coinage) ; toute neuve (revision of tout) ; 
 sans rien dire (rien = quelque chose). 
 
 B. a^resse, vetement, sur (cp. sur), poupee. 
 
 C. emmener (em as in sembler), respect (ct mute). 
 
 24. A. des que (cp. No. 7); a grand appetit; 
 changer d'assiettes; changeait (other examples of 
 -ge-) ; en sourit ; on le mettrait (future in the past, 
 No. 18); se faire montrer la gare; pieces blanches 
 (i.e. silver coins). 
 
 B. recommander (cp. correspondence, No. 11). 
 
 C. possession, expliquer, recommander, arriver 
 (not with English accent). 
 
 Words for Dictation (Nos. 16-24). 
 
 Refle'chir, e*norme, enterrer, maigre, la ce're'monie, 
 la priere, observer, laid, desespe're', Pouvriere, 
 Pierre, cadet, essay er, vrai, se de'p^cher, lestement, 
 se'cher, Tadresse, la raison, TOc^an, la veste, r6ver, 
 epouser, le recit, le vetement, la dette, le proprie'taire, 
 aine, payer, en effet, decrocher, quoique, le cercueil, 
 sec, coin, se moquer, se croiser, le chocolat, le lieu, le 
 logement, Touvrage, juste, Tenergie, s'imaginer, le 
 brancard, le silence, les gens, la France, le repentir, 
 recommander, la me'saventure, 1'orphelin, le chagrin, 
 impossible, emporter, s'endetter, la chambrette, en- 
 courager, le client, trembler, entre, Ten vie, s'embar- 
 quer, dangereux, emmener, accomplir, le linge, main- 
 tenant, rien, la fa9on, brusque, se hausser, puisque, 
 Pe'ducation, la condition, persuader, possible, la por- 
 
98, Running Commentary 
 
 celaine, la possession, la bourse, cesser, drole, bien sur, 
 sur la maison, une tache d'encre, la tache de Pierre, 
 la moue, mourir, le navire, Paiguiile, le travailleur, 
 faillir, attirer, rapporter, gagner, secouer, raachinale- 
 ment, cordialement, distingu6, le voyageur, Phonneur, 
 la honte. 
 
 Passages for Dictation. 
 
 Lepere de Pierre. Le grand-pere de Pierre e*tait 
 paysan. II avait deux fils. II envoya Paine dans les 
 e"coles de Paris. Au bout de quelques ann6es celui-ci 
 e'tait avocat at avait de"ja commenc6 a faire son chemin. 
 Dans ce temps son pere mourut, ne laissant rien a ses 
 deux fils. Le cadet etait tres intelligent ; c'est pour- 
 quoi Paine* le fit veriir a Paris et lui donna une bonne 
 Education. Malheureusement le cadet aimait trop le 
 plaisir. II joua tres souvent avec des jeunes gens. 
 Un jour il perdit ; il voulut se rattraper et perdit plus 
 encore. Pour pouvoir payer sa dette, il vola une 
 grosse somme a son patron. Celui-ci alia dire a 
 Pavocat ce que son frere cadet avait fait. L'avocat 
 paya la dette de son frere, mais il lui dit qu'il ne 
 voulait plus le voir. Le frere cadet alia en Ame'- 
 rique. Mais dans ce pays il ne fit pas fortune, et 
 bient6t il eut le desir de revoir la France. Comme 
 il n'avait pas d'argent, il travailla sur un navire 
 pour gagner Pargent de son voyage. II arriva a St- 
 Nazaire ou il trouva un travail de copiste. Une 
 ouvriere, a laquelle il avait raconte* son histoire et qui 
 Pavait conso!6, devint sa femme ; mais apres quelques 
 anne'es, il mourut, le chagrin et le desespoir dans le 
 cceur, et laissant sa femine et son fils dans la misere. 
 
Second Book: Revision (16-24) 99 
 
 Madame. Delsart et son fils. St-Nazaire est uue ville 
 de France. Elle est situe"e a Tembouchure de la 
 Loire. Dans cette ville demeurait une ouvriere. 
 Son mari etait mort, et elle e*tait obligee de gagner 
 sa vie et celle de son fils. Cette femme etait madame 
 Delsart. Avec son fils Pierre elle habitait une petite 
 mansarde d'une grande maison. Elle etait bien 
 pauvre, cette mansarde ; il y avait un lit, une chaise 
 de paille et une malle, pas d'autres meubles. Le 
 petit Pierre avait dix ans ; c'e'tait un brave gar$on 
 qui aidait sa mere autant qu'il pouvait. II faisait des 
 commissions pour elle : il portait le travail fini et 
 rapportait le travail a faire ; il recevait de 1'argent, 
 et il n'en perdit jamais ; il allait acheter du pain et 
 de la viande, et il faisait si bien que sa mere lui 
 disait souvent : Tu es un petit homrne. Ses voisins 
 Taimaient aussi. Un jour sa mere tomba malade. 
 On alia chercher le docteur Dubois ; celui-ci donna 
 tous ses soins a la malade, mais malgre cela, la pauvre 
 malade mourut. 
 
 L'enterrement de madame Delsart. La mere de 
 Pierre etait morte. Le jour apres sa mort, on 
 apporta un cercueil et on y mit la morte. Encore 
 un jour apres, la voiture noire s'arr^ta devant la 
 maison laide ; deux hommes monterent dans la 
 chambrette et porterent le cercueil en bas; ils le 
 mirent sur le brancard, et deux chevaux com< 
 mencerent a tirer la voiture. Pierre seul la suivit. 
 Les voisins n'en avaient pas le temps ; car c'etait jour 
 de semaine, et puisqu'ils etaient pauvres, ils etaient 
 obliges de travailler. II ne faisait pas beau temps ; 
 la pluie tombait, et Pierre, marchant sous la pluie, 
 
ioo Running Commentary 
 
 bien triste. Bient6t on arriva au cimeti&re, et 
 la voiture noire s'arrta devant une fosse. On y 
 deposa le cercueil et le cure fit une petite pri&re. 
 Alors on jeta de la terre sur le cercueil. Pierre 
 sanglotait ; il resta devant la fosse et ne perisa pas a 
 quitter le cimetiere; il fallut le faire sortir, et 
 machinalement il retourna a la maison. 
 
 Pierre et son amie. Pierre avait une petite amie 
 de palier. C'^tait Lisette, une enfant de quatre 
 ans. Lorsque Pierre revint de Penterrement de sa 
 m&re, Lisette Pattendait devant la porte de la 
 chambrette; elle lui raconta que le docteur Dubois 
 ^tait venu, qu'il 6tait alle ensuite au quatri&me 
 et qu'il reviendrait pour lui parler. Les enfants 
 entr&reiit dans la mansarde et s'assirent sur la 
 petite malle. Lisette tira de sa poche un gros 
 morceau de pain et un bout de chocolat et partagea 
 son goiiter avec son ami. Bientdt le docteur entra 
 dans la chambrette. C'etait un homme tr&s bon au 
 fond, mais un peu brusque. II dit a Lisette de sortir 
 et de les laisser seuls. Lisette ^tait un peu curieuse 
 et aurait aim4 a entendre ce que le docteur racon- 
 terait a Pierre; c'est pourquoi elle fit d'abord la 
 moue. Mais Pierre lui souffla qu'il lui raconterait 
 tout, et alors elle sortit. 
 
 Pierre et le doctewr Dubois. Pendant quatre ana 
 la m&re de Pierre travailla du matin au soir, mais 
 ensuite elle ri'en eut plus la force. Elle sentait 
 ses forces s'en aller. Alors elle raconta au docteur 
 Dubois 1'histoire de son mari et le pria de faire ce 
 qu'elle n'avait pas la force de faire elle-meme : de la 
 raconter, apres sa mort, a Pierre. Le bon docteur fit 
 
Second Book : Revision (16-24) I01 
 
 ce qu'elle avait desire". Ce qu'il raconta a Pierre, fit 
 plus de mal a celui-ci que la mort de sa maman ; mais 
 il promit de faire ce que sa mere avait desire 1 : d'aller 
 a Paris trouver son oncle, de devenir un homme 
 distingue et de payer la dette de son pere avec la 
 sienne. Le docteur parla de Pierre a quelques clients 
 qui lui donnerent 1'argent pour faire le voyage. 
 Pierre dit adieu a tous ceux qui avaient e"te bons 
 pour sa mere. Plusieurs lui donnerent encore 
 quelques sous, et Lisette fourra sa poupee en porce- 
 laine, grand e comme un doigt d'enfant, dans le 
 paquet de Pierre. Celui-ci alia alors dans la maison 
 du docteur Dubois oh on le re9ut tres cordialement. 
 
 Dans la maison du docteur. Pierre etait tres 
 heureux de diner avec la famille. Jamais il n'avait 
 vu une table aussi bien servie et une nappe toute 
 blanche. Jamais il n'avait eu une serviette dans la 
 mansarde ; jamais il n'avait vu plusieurs personnes 
 a table. Apres le diner le docteur lui dit le 
 chemin qu'il devait preridre et lui donna Targent 
 pour faire le voyage de Nantes a Paris en chemin de 
 fer. Madame Dubois lui donna quelques pieces 
 d'argent et les cousit dans la doublure de sa veste. 
 Tu seras, dit-elle, peut-tre content de retrouver cet 
 argent. Pendant la nuit Pierre dormit dans un joli 
 lit chaud, et le lendemain il dit adieu a la bonne 
 famille Dubois en la remerciant bien fort, les yeux 
 pleins de larmes. Le docteur Taccompagna alors sur 
 le navire qui le menerait a Nantes ou il devait so 
 faire montrer la gare et prendre un billet de 
 troisieme. 
 
102 Running Commentary 
 
 26^ A. lorsque tu seras (future, more accurate 
 than our present, cp. No. 22) ; chercher a faire quel- 
 que chose ; s'il pouvait (il serait bien content) ; tout 
 d'un coup ; que ce serait (future in the past) ; comme 
 parent (no article) ; la tete lui tournait (not sa t6te ; 
 several examples have occurred, and might be col- 
 lected) ; ouvrir les yeux tout grands (cp. une porte 
 grande ouverte); faire le brave (cp. faire le mort, 
 No. 8) ; verdure (cp. vert, reverdir, verdatre). 
 
 B. ensoleille, gwise, trover, int^t, lointain. 
 
 C. lointain, fier (r not mute), eloign6 (other 
 examples of gn might be collected) ; installer, res- 
 sembler (not with English stress). 
 
 27. A. prendre garde; un paquet a cote de lui 
 (absolute construction; several other examples in 
 this section) ; aimer a ; qui est avocat (no article ; 
 such instances might be collected) ; etant revenus 
 (perfect participle) ; les premieres (cp. troisiemes, 
 No. 23) ; ni . . . ni . . . ne ; eut parle (subjunctive) ; 
 penchee sur. 
 
 B. volaille, regard (not e). 
 
 C. attention, admirer (not with English stress). 
 
 28. A. sortir (transitive) ; en mains (no article or 
 possessive adjective); jouer aux cartes (du piano); 
 sentir mauvais, bon (cp. sormer creux, No. 17); 
 tout en crachant ; poliment (cp. gentiment and other 
 adverbs; they might be collected); qu'on fit (sub- 
 junctive) ; de la haute (colloquial ; supply some such 
 word as socie"te) ; les ndtres ; naif-ve (other adjectives 
 with similar formation of feminine might be col- 
 
Second Book : Nos. 26-31 103 
 
 lected) ; tenant son paquet bien a la main (not 
 dans la main). 
 
 B. gener, rejoindre (not e), naif, remue-menage, 
 effrayer. 
 
 (7. importance (not with English stress). 
 
 29. A. plantee d'arbres; avec le camarade; de 
 quoi (cp. [il n'y a] pas de quoi, don't mention it) ; il 
 avait Tair fach6 ; (il n'y a) pas de troisiemes ; il faut 
 que nous attendions ; avoir en vie de ; mon prince 
 (cp. monsieur, madame, mon capitaine). 
 
 B. qu&i. 
 
 C. arreter, protecteur (not with English stress). 
 
 30. A. tout a fait (cp. tout a coup, tout d'un coup, 
 tout de suite) ; dinette (diminutive, cp. blondinette 
 and chambrette, No. 19); avoir honte ; prendre 
 plaisir a ; ayant achete* (perfect participle) ; ou Ton ; 
 grand'faim, grand'soif (cp. grand'mere) ; la tete lui 
 tournait. 
 
 B. heros, botanize, aventure. 
 
 C. heros (no liaison) ; botanique, compagnon, 
 d^penser, aventure (not with English stress). 
 
 31. A. ne . . . aucun; (devrait-il, fallait-il) tour- 
 ner ; a qui (il pourrait) demander ; il prendrait (he 
 said to himself : je prendrai). 
 
 B. ^v^nement, envelopper, abando/iwer, parti, 
 jaque^e. 
 
 C. envelopper, abandonner (not with English 
 stress). 
 
104 Running Commentary 
 
 Wards for Dictation (Nos. 26-31). 
 
 S'etonner, eloigner, ramener, etaler, le quai, une 
 allee, decouvert, r6v6nement, la r&ponse, le desert, 
 decidement, Tinter^t, la ferme, la verdure, la plai- 
 santerie, la recherche, gener, la passerelle, le spec- 
 tacle, effrayer, le protecteur, la levre, la faiblesse, la 
 jaquette, le fleuve, la grandeur, mieux, le cheveu, la 
 volaille, causer, la robe, le port, auparavant, en 
 dehors, aucun, Tendroit, Tattention, la tente, se 
 pencher, ensemble, entretenir, Taventure, le silence, 
 envelopper, loin tain, la fin, 1'individu, rejoindre, Tim- 
 portance, prochain, int6resser, demain, le brin, se 
 hater, la dinette, apercevoir, la conscience, la de- 
 pense, la pelouse, se lasser, patient, epuiser, inaper^u. 
 tousser, la reconnaissance, la surveillance, merci, le 
 prince, la joue, chagrin er, la voyageuse, la fatigue, se 
 diriger, a j outer, leger, le quartier, inoccupe, tran- 
 quille, la moquerie, botanique, la charcuterie, le 
 coude, le coeur, en guise, naif, le remue-menage, le 
 parti. 
 
 Passages for Dictation. 
 
 Sur le bateau a vapeur. Lorsque le docteur et 
 Pierre arriverent au port, on jeta une passerelle, et 
 Pierre monta sur le bateau a vapeur. II y voyait 
 arriver des paysans apportant des cages de volailles 
 et les mettant sur le pont; des messieurs et des 
 dames, allant a la premiere classe et s'asseyant sous 
 la tente bien tendue ou ils ^taient bien a 1'aise ; il 
 entendait rire et causer. Enfin on retira la passerelle 
 sur le bateau a vapeur, la cloche sonna, et le navire 
 
Second Book: Revision (26-31) 105 
 
 se mit en mouvement et sortit du port. D'abord 
 la tete tourna un peu a Pierre, parce que c'tait la 
 premiere f ois qu'il quittait la terre f erme ; mais il se 
 fit vite au mouvement et comme^a alors a regarder 
 les rives de la Loire qui etaient assez loin tain es a 
 cet endroit ; leur verdure lui semblait la plus belle 
 chose du monde. Apres avoir regarde longtemps, 
 notre voyageur s'installa dans un coin. La faim se 
 faisant sentir, Pierre ouvrit son petit paquet et en 
 tira son dejeuner : de la viande froide et un morceau 
 de pain. II les mangea de bon app^tit. 
 
 Les deux voleurs. Apres le dejeuner, Pierre sortit 
 son argent de sa poche et se mit a le compter. II 
 etait fier d'avoir une telle somme. Malheureusement 
 deux individus, qui jouaient aux cartes, le virent. 
 Us se Ian cerent un regard et firent comme si la 
 partie e'tait finie. Us se leverent et se dirigerent, 
 sans se hater, du c6te de 1'enfant, en f umant des pipes 
 qui sentaient mauvais. Us firent parler Pierre qui 
 leur raconta naivement qui il 6tait et ou il allait. 
 Les deux hommes lui dirent qu'ils allaient aussi a 
 Paris et que, a Nantes, ils lui montreraient la gare. 
 Lorsque le bateau arriva & Nantes, il y eut un grand 
 remue-menage, et Pierre, un peu effraye de ce bruit, 
 suivit les deux hommes. Mais au lieu de le mener a 
 la gare, ils le menerent dans le jardin botanique qui 
 lui semblait le plus bel endroit du monde parce qu'il 
 y avait 1& des pelouses tres vertes, de grandes allies 
 bien entretenues, de belles fleurs. L'un des hommes 
 alia acheter de quoi manger et revint bientdt avec de 
 la charcuterie, du pain et deux bouteilles de vin. 
 Ils allerent a quelque distance de la ville, ou ils 
 
106 Running Commentary 
 
 commencerent a diner. Les deux homines en- 
 couragerent Pierre a boire beaucoup. Le vin lui 
 montait a la tete, il parlait sans cesse, ne sachant 
 pas ce qu'il disait. Les deux compagnons le 
 menerent dans une grange voisine en disant 
 qu'ils dormiraient bien sur le foin. Bientot Pierre 
 s'endormit, et alors ses deux eompagnons lui 
 volerent 1'argent. 
 
 Le rdveil. Le lendemain il faisait deja grand 
 jour lorsque Pierre se reveilla. D'abord il ne put se 
 rappeler oh il e"tait. II se leva sur son coude et 
 regarda autour de lui. II vit le foin, il vit qu'il etait 
 dans une grange, et il se rappela les evenements de 
 la veille. II chercha des yeux ses " protecteurs," 
 mais il ne les vit pas ; il les appela doucement, mais 
 aucune reponse ne vint. Alors il se leva, alia vite 
 hors de la grange et appela plus fort. Personne ne 
 lui repondit, il ne vit personne, il se trouvait seul 
 dans un champ desert. II se secoua pour faire 
 tomber les brins de ses cheveux et de ses vetements. 
 II alia a une fontaine qui se trouvait pres de 1& pour 
 se laver. En otant ses vetements, il trouva sa 
 jaquette bien l^gere ; il plongea la main dans la 
 poche elle etait vide. Alors, enfin, Pierre comprit 
 que ses deux protecteurs etaient des voleurs. 
 
 32. A. ne . . . nullement ; chercher a ; grand'- 
 chance (cp. the kindred words in No. 30) ; comment 
 attendre (cp. similar elliptical expressions in No. 31) ; 
 il fallait que with subjunctive (the previous instances 
 of falloir might be collected) ; tomber & terre (cp. 
 parterre); elle tiendrait (he said to himself: elle 
 
Second Book: Nos. 32-35 107 
 
 tiendra) ; cousues, decouvertes (agreement of par- 
 ticiple). 
 B. tater. 
 
 33. A. a une cinquantaine (cp. douzaine) de pas ; 
 qu'il avait prise ; prendre dans ; a pen de distance ; 
 tout en dinant ; regarder jouer ; ombragee d'arbres ; 
 penser a; jouer aux billes (cp. jouer aux cartes, 
 No. 28) ; des plus animees (other examples may be 
 given) ; aimer a ; nouveau-venu (obs. formation) ; 
 ouvrir de grands yeux (cp. No. 26) ; la soupe aux 
 clioux (cp. cafe au lait) ; sentir bon (cp. sentir 
 mauvais, No. 28); afin que wjth subjunctive; ses 
 pauvres sous (place of adjective, cp. No. 17). 
 
 B. btfte, s'attrouper, honnete. 
 
 34. A. par le soleil (par le beau temps) ; chose 
 arriv6e (no article) ; fmissaient par brouiller (cp. 
 Nos. 16, 23) ; faire oublier a son oncle la faute; il 
 n'y a pas de sa faute ; le vague (adjective used as 
 substantive). 
 
 B. brouiller, vagwe. 
 
 G. continuer, fatiguer (not with English stress). 
 
 35. A. qu'il ne porta ; ne : . . nullement ; gar- 
 connetf (cp. blondin^e and chambr^6 in No. 18, 
 and dinette in No. 30) ; une belle ferme basse 
 (place of adjectives) ; la maman (obs. article) ; 
 toute blanche (pupils might collect previous ex- 
 amples of adverbial tout) ; de force ; revint a lui 
 (reflexive) ; il ouvrit de grands yeux (cp. No. 26) ; 
 profondement (formation of adverb) ; comme aurait 
 
io8 Running Commentary 
 
 fait ta maman (order of words) ; prends-moi cette 
 soupe (' ethic ' dative ; ' let me see you eat this 
 soup') quand ii eut fini (2nd parfait passe, cp. 
 No. 7) ; je ne sais plus comment faire ; la Pichonne 
 (cp. bon, bonne) ; nous aurons mis (future perfect) ; 
 il fut bien aise (substantive used as adjective) ; 
 lorsque venait le soir (order of words) ; il avait failli 
 mourir (cp. No. 21). 
 
 B. danser, atteindre, a^partenir, boug^a (cp. 
 mangea). 
 
 C. in trod wire (cp. lui), amasser (second a as in 
 pas). 
 
 Words for Dictation (Nos. 32-35). 
 
 Se de*sesperer, e*tudier, la volonte, epuiser, la soiree, 
 Paffaire, ordinaire, regretter, a meme, la b6te, extra- 
 ordinaire, honnete, la fermiere, peut-etre, la priere, 
 le clair de lune, le dernier, la ferveur, chauffer, le 
 saut de mouton, la cause, la peViode, le repos, la meule, 
 Todeur, se fortifier, enfiler, pourtant, Intelligence, 
 danser, la dent, le lendemain, afin que, la surete, le 
 besoin, atteindre, tter, sftrement, plut6t, le front, 
 tocher, une cinquantaine, soigner, la passion, la prison, 
 le gar9onnet, la force, vague, bouger, 1'action, la con- 
 naissance, le crime, la conduite, heroique, le guide, 
 le but, brouiller, surveiller. 
 
 Passages for Dictation. 
 
 Le parti de Pierre. D'abord Pierre eut bien peur. 
 II ne pouvait pas retourner a St-Nazaire; il ne 
 pouvait pas non plus e*crire a son oncle, car il ne 
 connaissait pas meme son adresse. II prit done le 
 
Second Book: Revision (32-35) 109 
 
 parti de se rendre & Paris, sans argent, a pied. 
 Heureusement il trouva dans son paquet un morceau 
 de pain, et quoique celui-ci fut un peu sec, il le 
 mangea de bon appetit en buvant de Teau dans le 
 ruisseau qui etait & peu de distance. Alors il se mit 
 en route en remontant le courant de la Loire. II 
 alia pendant trois bonnes heures sans s'arre'ter; le 
 soleil chauffait bien, et la faim se faisait sentir. 
 Pierre s'installa a Pombre d'un arbre et, bient6t, il 
 s'endormit. Lorsqu'il se re'veilla, il avait encore 
 bien plus faim. Tout a coup il se rappela les pieces 
 blanches de Madame Dubois. II t&ta bien sa jaquette, 
 elles y e'taient encore. II d^cousit la jaquette et fit 
 glisser une des pieces hors de la doublure. Alors, 
 avec une aiguille de sa maman qu'il avait dans son 
 paquet, il fit quelques points pour tenir les autres en 
 place. Puii il se dirigea vers un village a peu de 
 distance, il acheta un pain, s'assit sur une grande 
 pierre et mangea son pain de bon appetit. 
 
 Dans le village. Tout en mangeant son pain Pierre 
 regardait jouer des gar9ons du village. Bientdt il 
 fourra le reste de son pain dans son paquet et alia 
 jouer avec les ga^ons. Pierre savait tres bien jouer 
 aux billes ; c'est pourquoi tout le monde voulut 6tre 
 de son cote'. Alors Pierre organisa une partie de 
 saut de mouton. D'autres enfants e'taient venus; 
 tous s'attroupaient autour du nouveau-venu. Tout a. 
 coup on rappela les enfants qui rentr&rent pour 
 souper. Un des gar9ons, pourtant, resta et demand a 
 a. Pierre ou il prendrait sa soupe, ou il coucherait et 
 ou il irait. En entendant les r^ponses de Pierre, la 
 pitie" s^veilla dans son coeur. Sans rien dire, il alia 
 
no Running Commentary 
 
 vite raconter a sa mere que le petit ga^ori qui jouait 
 si bien, ne savait pas ou il coucherait, qu'on lui avait 
 vole* son argent et qu'il irait a Paris ; il demanda & sa 
 mere la permission d'amener le garon. La mere fut 
 touche'e et le permit. Pendant ce temps, Pierre 
 s'dtait mis en route assez tristement. II n'avait pas 
 fait vingt pas que Penfant le rattrapa eb le mena dans 
 la ferme. 
 
 Dans la ferme. Pierre entra dans la ferme om- 
 brage"e de grands arbres. Dans la grande cuisine il 
 trouva beaucoup de monde autour d'une grande table. 
 On lui fit une place entre les deux enfants aine*s, et 
 il mangea de tres bon appetit la soupe qui sentait 
 bon. C'6tait une soupe aux choux, ou il y avait tant 
 de pain que la cuiller y tenait debout. Apres le 
 souper on demanda qu'il racontat son histoire, et il 
 avait Fair si honnete et si naif qu'on le crut sur 
 parole. On Tinvita a rester pendant la nuit, et 
 Pierre fut bien heureux. Avant d'aller se coucher, 
 les enfants jouerent encore aux billes ; on lui fit une 
 place dans le grand lit du fils aine, ou Pierre dormit 
 tres bien. Le lendemain la fermiere fourra un pen 
 de viande dans le paquet de Pierre, et plein de re- 
 connaissance, Pierre dit adieu aux braves gens et 
 continua sa route. 
 
 Le voyage. Pendant plusieurs seniaines Pierre alia 
 a pied. C'etait assez agr&able par les beaux jours. 
 II se reposait a Pombre des arbres et couchait dans 
 une etable abandonn^e, quelquefois aussi il couchait 
 en plein air. Mais par la pluie il fallait s'arreter 
 dans une auberge de village, et alors les pauvres 
 sous diminuaient, diminuaient toujours. L'enfant vit 
 
Second Book: Revision (32-35) in 
 
 venir le temps ou il faudrait peut-etre mendier le 
 long de la route. Et, a cette pens^e, le rouge lui 
 montait au front ; il avait peur de se montrer dans 
 les villes et les grands villages. II ne s'arretait guere 
 que dans les petits villages. La faim et la fatigue finis- 
 saient par brouiller les idees du pauvre enfant. II 
 e*tait si las ... si las. Dans un pre* il vit des meules 
 de foin. Avec beaucoup de peine il en atteignit 
 une et tomba sur le foin, comme mort, sans connais- 
 sance. 
 
 Chez Pichon. Le pre ou. Pierre 4tait tombe sur le 
 foin, appartenait a un gros fermier qui s'appelait 
 Pichon. Celui-ci surveillait son monde et vint a 
 passer aupres de la meule qui avait fort bien accueilli 
 le pauvre petit voyageur. En le voyant, il lui dit de 
 s'en aller tout de suite. Mais le gar$on ne bougea 
 pas. Alors Pichon vit qu'il 6tait tres pale ; il lui 
 rappela son atne, le petit Jean, qui, six mois aupara- 
 vant, e"tait mort. II souleva Pierre avec beaucoup 
 de soin et le porta a sa femnre. Celle-ci concha 
 Fenfant dans le lit du petit Jean ; elle lui ouvrit de 
 force les dents serrees et lui introduisit un peu de 
 vin. Bient6t Pierre revint a lui et ouvrit de grands 
 yeux en voyant la fermiere et ses enfants autour de 
 son lit. On lui donna de la soupe, et Pierre se sentit 
 fortifie'. II raconta son histoire et, une fois de plus, 
 on le crut sur parole. Pierre dit a Pichon qu'il 
 voudrait travailler chez lui, et Pichon ne refusa pas. 
 Pendant quelques mois, Pierre travailla dans les 
 champs, et tout le monde fut content de lui. Apres 
 avoir amasse une petite somme, il prit le parti d'aller 
 rejoindre son oncle a Paris. 
 
ii2 Running Commentary 
 
 37. A. lustre (chandelier is a kitchen candle- 
 stick; bougie, one for the bedroom); quoiqu'il fit 
 (No. 14^4); il fait jour; 6tres (infinitive used as 
 substantive ; cp. diner, souper, etc.) ; heureux de 
 leurs costumes ; fillette (cp. ga^onnet in No. 35) ; 
 jouer a des jeux (cp. Nos. 28, 33) ; d'ici a dix minutes; 
 ne demander pas mieux que (etre bien content de) ; 
 fut abandonne (2nd parfait passe) ; que je te bande les 
 yeux (the pupils might collect previous examples). 
 
 B. musi^we, f^ter, quelques-uns, tA6, abandcwner, 
 colin-maillard. 
 
 G. novembre, anniversaire, costume, maternel, 
 amuser, demander, disposer (not with English stress). 
 
 38. A. il faut que je le voie (No. 14); avoir tort 
 (cp. avoir raison in No. 20); de force (occurred in 
 No. 35); en courant (gerund); il avait peine a 
 retenir (cp. c'est a peine s'il . . .) ; un petit homme 
 (so the neighbours called him, No. 16; the doctor, 
 No. 19; and his mother, No. 20); que me (dat.) 
 veux-tu ? ; sans parole (no article) ; se tenir debout 
 (6tre assis, couche) ; le coaur lui battait ; longuement 
 (formation of adverb); j'ai re9u de ses nouvelles ; 
 pendant ces anne'es (cp. ans) ; travailler dur (cp. 
 sonner creux, No. 17 ; sentir mauvais, No. 28 ; and 
 parler haut, chanter faux, tomber dru, tenir ferme, 
 etc.) ; j'arriverai a payer ; cela se fera (cp. cela ne se 
 dit pas) ; j'ai gagne* de quoi faire le voyage. 
 
 B. longwement, pardo/wer. 
 
 39. A. va ! (cp. allez ! No. 38) ; y reussir (je 
 reussis a faire cela); so^m^me (reflexive); prendre 
 
Second Book: Nos. 37-41 113 
 
 fin ; arrivee (cp. entree) ; on vous demande (cp. on 
 frappe) ; non sans fermete (cp. non sans impatience, 
 No. 38) ; tremblante (the participle is variable here) ; 
 eut eu (past perfect subjunctive) ; lui avait peur (lui, 
 emphatic pronoun) ; elle ne veut pas de son neveu ; 
 en voila assez ; parmi (not = entre) ; aller a (cela lui 
 va tres bien) ; se mordit les levres ; effraye de (cp. 
 content de, heureux de) ; le dialogue ; lisait et se 
 leva (tenses) ; de quoi il s'agissait ; se remettre a 
 faire une chose. 
 
 B. vi?ain, demande, la^wais, embrasser. 
 
 C. arrivee, re" server, embrasser (not with English 
 stress) ; influencer (u as in lui). 
 
 40. A. lui irait fort bien (cp. aller a in No. 39, of 
 a suit of clothes) ; je suis content que tu sois ; il fit 
 le loup (cp. faire le mort, No. 8 ; faire le brave, 
 No. 26) ; en passant (gerund) ; le groupe ; plus jeune 
 de dix mois ; bien des choses ; Tecole primaire (cp. 
 First French Book, No. 58) ; il fallait le faire ; 
 nouvel ; afin de (cp. afin que, No. 33). 
 
 B. naivement (cp. naif, No. 28) ; irr^guli^rement, 
 fl^ner. 
 
 41. A. que je meure ; deux semaines (quinze 
 jours, une quinzaine) ; on est ensemble ; il faut 
 bien (cp. ou bien, No. 35) ; sa dr61e de xangue 
 (cp. une drdle de moue, No. 19); avant qu'elle 
 allat (cp. No. 14 A) ; il est moins que je ne Taurais 
 cru ; tout honteux ; que je pourrai (ecrire) ; cela se 
 fait (cp. No. 38). 
 
 B. proems, boutofwer. 
 
 H 
 
ii4 Running Commentary 
 
 42. A. avoir honte ; soigneusement ; il craignifc 
 que sa tante ne le grondat (No. 14 A) ; aille ; qu'on 
 ne 1'aimat pas. 
 
 B. raisofinable ; essay er (j'essaie). 
 
 Words for Dictation (Nos. 37-42). 
 
 L J e*clat, la livree, h&iiter, r^ussir, Tarrivee, reserver, 
 la charite 1 , meriter, s'ecrier, ge"neralement, la tristesse, 
 1'anniversaire, un etre, la fillette, maternel, Peffort, le 
 buffet, essuyer, saisir, la profession, la nouvelle, la 
 fermete, adresser, Pappel, parfait, espe*rer, affectueux, 
 le chef, raisonnable, le proces, la preuve, ailleurs, le 
 danseur, le professeur, la feuille, autant, monotone, 
 la faveur, reposer, bruyant, la bande, mentir, men- 
 dier, la souffrance, enfermer, se cramponner, la 
 demande, influencer, embrasser, irregulierement, 
 gourmand, avant que, ennuyeux, le gant, la manche, 
 s'empecher, tandis que, feter, 1'impatience, le marin, 
 1'entrain, afin de, ingrat, inventer, lacher, flaner, sur, 
 le lustre, la betise, la naissance, bailler, assourdir, 
 pei^ant, s'avancer, le concierge, ceder, froisser, la 
 presentation, la valse, silencieux, Taffection, au sujet 
 de, le dialogue, la gorge, le journal, la langue, la 
 musique, quelqu'un, ridicule, la colere, recueillir, 
 reconnaissant, les haillons, guerir, attrister, renvoyer. 
 
 Passages for Dictation. 
 
 Pierre va a Paris. Au commencement du mois de 
 novembre Pierre dit adieu & la bonne famille Pichon. 
 Cela lui coutait bien de se separer de ces braves gens 
 qui 1'avaient si bien re9u ; mais il voulut accomplir 
 
Second Book: Revision (37-42) 115 
 
 le de'sir de sa mere mourante et aller a la recherche 
 de son oncle. Pichon 1'accompagna a la station, il 
 prib pour ltd un billet de troisieme classe et I'installa 
 dans le wagon. Pierre remercia le brave Pichon, et 
 lorsque le train se mit en mouvement, Pierre, par la 
 glace ouverbe, agita son mouchoir aussi longtemps 
 qu'il put voir Pichon. Cette fois Pierre arriva 
 heureusement a Paris. Comme le docbeur lui avaifc 
 recominande", il entra dans un cafe et demanda le 
 Bottin. Avec quelque peine il y trouva Tadresse de 
 son oncle, se fit montrer le quartier et la rue ou 
 celui-ci demeurait et trouva bient6t le numero de la 
 maison. En voyant la belle maison, Pierre eut un 
 peu peur ; mais il pensa a son pere et a sa mere, il 
 prit courage et tira la sonnette. La porbe s'ouvrit et 
 Pierre entra. 
 
 Uaccueil dans la maison de son oncle. Le concierge 
 qui avait ouvert la porte fut bien etonne de voir 
 entrer un petit gar^on mal vetu. Mais 1'oeil de 
 Penfant e"taib si suppliant qu'il lui permit de monter 
 1'escalier. Sur le palier du premier, Pierre vit 
 plusieurs laquais en livree. Lorsque ceux-ci en- 
 tendirent que le pauvre gar9on de'sirait parler a leur 
 patron, ils se moquerent de lui en lui disant que M. 
 Delsart ne recevait pas de vagabonds dans sa maison. 
 Malgre les prieres de Pierre, ils le firent redescendre 
 de force. Dans ce moment, la porte d'une salle 
 s'ouvrib, et M. Delsart parut. II demanda la cause 
 du bruifc, et un domestique alia la lui dire. Le 
 silence qui avait suivi le bruit, etonna Pierre. II 
 se retourna, il vit un monsieur 4 1'approche duquel 
 les laquais se leverent, il remonta vite, et allant 
 
n6 Running Commentary 
 
 devant le nouveau-venu, il lui dit d'une voix sup- 
 pliante : ' Monsieur, je suis venu ici pour voir Mon- 
 sieur Delsart et on me jette a la porte.' Le monsieur 
 le calma. II lui dit qu'il etait M. Delsart et lui 
 demanda ce qu'il lui voulait, Au premier moment 
 Pierre resta sans paroles, mais alors il dit courageuse- 
 ment : ' Monsieur, je voudrais vous parler seul.' 
 L'avocat le fit passer dans son bureau. 
 
 Avec son oncle. M. Delsart s'assit a une table 
 chargee de papiers. Pierre se tenait debout devant 
 lui. II dit que son pere avait etc* le frere de 1'avocat, 
 qu'il 6tait mort depuis cinq ans, que sa mere mou- 
 rante avait racont6 Fhistoire de son pere au docteur 
 Dubois qui lui avait donne* ses derniers soins et 
 qu'apres la mort de sa mere, le docteur lui avait raconte" 
 cette histoire. ' Je sais maintenant,' continua Pierre, 
 ' pourquoi mon papa e*tait si triste et si malheureux ; 
 il avait la seule idee de racheter sa faute et il ne put 
 1'accomplir. Ma mere m'a charge* de cela. Je suis 
 venu de St-Nazaire, on m'a vole mon argent; alors 
 j'ai voyage a pied, ne mangeant que du pain. Et 
 lorsque je suis tombe mourant, de braves gens m'ont 
 accueilli ; j'ai gagne* de 1'argent et j'ai fait le reste du 
 voyage en chemin de fer.' M. Delsart etait touche* 
 et dit a son neveu : * Vois-tu, mon enfant, j'ai dit un 
 mot en colere a ton pere. Depuis ce tenips-la j'ai 
 cherche' la trace de ton pere sans la trouver. Cela a 
 fait beaucoup de peine a ton pere et a moi. Toi aussi, 
 tu en souffrais. Mais tes souffrances vont prendre fin. 
 Avant ton arrive' e je n'avais qu'un fils, j'en ai deux 
 maintenant.' 
 
 La presentation. Le jour ou Pierre arriva a Paris, 
 
Second Book: Revision (37-42) 117 
 
 justement le jour, oh le fils de M. Delsart, 
 Maurice Delsart, avait son dixi&me anniversaire. 
 On le fetait par une matine'e costume"e. Beaucoup 
 d'enfants etaient invites a cette f6te pour s'amuser 
 avec leur ami Maurice qu'ils aimaient, parce qu'il 
 e"tait bon pour tous ses camarades. M. Delsart ne 
 voulut pas introduire son neveu avec les habits qu'il 
 portait en arrivant. II alia done dans la chambre de 
 Miss Nancy, 1'Anglaise, qui ^levait le petit Maurice, 
 et la pria de laver notre petit voyageur et de lui 
 chercher, parmi les vetements de Maurice, quelque 
 chose qui pourrait lui aller. II s'y trouva, en effet, 
 un costume de marin, qui, quoique bien juste, allait 
 bien a Pierre. Celui-ci se regarda dans la glace et ne 
 se reconnut pas. Alors son oncle amena Pierre 
 au milieu des enfants et le pr^senta comme cousin de 
 Maurice. Maurice le regarda avec un grand se'rieux 
 et lui serra bien cordialement la main. Tous les 
 petits regard&rent curieusement le nouveau-venu qui 
 se trouva bient6t comme dans un paradis. 
 
 La matinde costumfo. Au commencement les enfants 
 avaient e'te bien heureux de leurs jolis costumes, mais 
 ils n'avaient guere e'te a leur aise ; la presence des 
 m6res qui Etaient assises le long des murs, les g^nait, 
 et ils auraient prefere* jouer a des jeux bruyants. 
 M. Delsart s'en ape^ut. C'est pourquoi il invita les 
 dames a prendre une tasse de the dans la salle a c6t6. 
 Tout de suite les enfants j ou&rent au colin-maillard 
 avec autant de passion que s'ils avaient porte* leurs 
 vetements de tous les jours. Ce jeu fut interrompu par 
 Tarrive'e de Pierre, mais bientdt repris avec le m6me 
 entrain. Pierre s'amusait beaucoup. Tout le monde 
 
n8 Running Commentary 
 
 voulaifc 6tre de son cdte* comme dans le village oh il 
 avait joue aux billes. Apres le jeu vint le gouter. 
 Tous, grands et petits, firent honneur aux bonnes 
 choses qui couvraient la table. Tout ce petit monde 
 riait, bavardait, s'amusait de tout et de rien. Pierre 
 etait tres heureux. 
 
 La tante. Madame Delsart, la f emme de Tavocat, 
 avait surpris son mari dans le moment ou il avait 
 dit a Pierre que ses souffrances prendraient fin ; elle 
 avait appele Pierre un vagabond ; elle avait dit a 
 son mari qu'il e'tait fou de regarder Pierre comme son 
 second fils ; elle avait, pendant la matinee costume*e, 
 dit a quelques dames qui s'informaient du nouveau- 
 venu : " Ce n'est qu'un orphelin que mon mari a 
 recueilli par charite." Par tout cela elle avait montre 
 qu'elle n'aimait pas Pierre. Celui-ci e'tait assez 
 raisonnable pour comprendre que la femme de son 
 oncle n'avait aucune raison de Taccueillir comme 
 1'avait fait son oncle Iui-m6rne. C'est pourquoi il 
 essavait de gagner Taffection de sa tante. Mais 
 e'etait tres difficile. Quelquefois, le soir, Madame 
 Delsart jouait avec Maurice, mais jamais avec lui. 
 Lorsque, 1'apres-midi, elle emmenait son fils dans la 
 voiture, elle laissait gen6ralement Pierre a la maison ; 
 cela la froissait aussi que son fils Maurice parlat 
 tou jours de Pierre. Et malgr6 cela Pierre esperait 
 gagner Famour de sa tante. 
 
 43. A. changer de ; le caractere ; rase (the pupils 
 might collect other instances of substantives used as 
 adjectives) ; le cercle ; il ne tenait plus a jouer (je n'y 
 tiens pas) ; prit (No. 14 A)\ ne . . . nulle part (cp. 
 
Second Book: Nos. 43-46 119 
 
 ne . . . nullement, No. 32) ; propres (making ses 
 emphatic) ; les choses qu'il avait vues ; forcer a faire 
 quelque chose ; travailler a deux. 
 B. caractere, Paques, forfait. 
 
 44. A. par une belle matinee (cp. No. 26) ; station 
 (smaller than gare) ; la f erme Pichon (cp. la maison 
 Hachette, 1'affaire Galas) ; kilometre (8 kilometres = 
 5 English miles; a yard is a little over 91 centi- 
 metres) ; robe de dimanche (cp. blouse du matin, 
 No. 37) ; une porte en bois ; dernier-n6 (for forma- 
 tion cp. nouveau-venu, No. 33) ; ce fut le tour des 
 petits (e'est mon tour) ; il se fit a tout ; faire compli- 
 ment de ; il avait ete f ermier (no article) ; moins que 
 tu ne 1'esperais (cp. No. 41) ; plus age" que tu ne Tes 
 (tout) de suite. 
 
 B. Mtiment, quantf a. 
 
 C. aspect (ct mute, cp. respect, No. 23). 
 
 45. A. tomber en sommeil ; donner mal ; tout 
 seuls ; auxquels . . . aider ; aussi restaient-ils (order 
 of words) ; s'interesser a ; jaune clair (invariable, 
 cp. des yeux bleu clair, des cheveux chatain fonc6) ; 
 rouges de TeiFort (cp. rouge de ses efforts, No. 37) ; 
 se fortifiaient a vue d'ceil (cp. No. 36, end) ; qu'on 
 put vivre (No. 14 A); plus de trois semaines (plus 
 followed by de in the sense of ' upwards of '). 
 
 B. recommendation, pensiowiaire, depart, ^l^gant, 
 remarg'wer. 
 
 C. muscle (c is pronounced). 
 
 46. A. ne . . . ni . . . ni ; le charme ; le sable ; des 
 
120 Running Commentary 
 
 petits enfants (des now commonly found before 
 petit[e]s) ; Pierre en e"tait le ge*n6ral (as on previous 
 occasions). 
 B. Miller, 
 
 47. A. il y fait tres bon; fe*e (our 'fay 7 ; ' fairy' 
 is really feerie) ; sans que Pierre vit. 
 B. r^signer. 
 
 Words for Dictation (Nos. 43-47). 
 D6crire, la clarte, la gaiete, le fermier, la proprete', 
 la couvee, le deplaisir, la sant^, le dernier-ne, le 
 depart, la liberte, elegant, la mare" e, eclater, la detresse, 
 le rocher, se resigner, la fee, la maladresse, le kilo- 
 metre, flairer, traire, & peine, examiner, engraisser, 
 la dentelle, vrai, le desespoir, le taureau, la couleur, 
 Tembarras, le sentiment, le ventre, le compliment, 
 le Parisien, le bain, Tinstant, Piques, le cercle, 
 becher, le pensionnaire, le batiment, la medecine^ 
 forcer, capricieux, se decider, Tadmiration, la mesure, 
 la confiance, allonger, le changement, agiter, le 
 naufrage, arrangement, le muscle, la remarque. 
 
 Passages for Dictation. 
 
 Maurice Delsart. Maurice dtait plus jeune que 
 Pierre de dix mois. II avait de'ja appris bien des 
 choses que Pierre ne savait pas, car a cause de la 
 maladie de sa mam an, celui-ci n^tait all^ qu'assez 
 irr^gulierement & 1'ecole primaire. II prenait les 
 Ie9ons d'un jeune professeur et lisait de Tanglais 
 avec Miss Nancy, mais il aurait mieux aime* jouer 
 qu'apprendre. Pierre prenait les Ie9ons avec lui, et 
 
Second Book: Revision (43-47) 121 
 
 le prof esseur e*tait content de son nouvel eleve. Vers 
 la fin de 1'hiver, Maurice tomba malade. Le me'decm 
 disait qu'il avait trop grand i. Maurice ne travaillait 
 plus et ne tenait plus a jouer. Sa mere le soignait de 
 son mieux, et Pierre devait lui raconter ce qu'il avait 
 vu dans son voyage. Ce qui amusait Maurice, c'e'tait 
 ce qui se faisait a la ferme Pichon. C'est pourquoi 
 M. Delsart ecrivit a Pichon de faire une place 
 a Pierre et Maurice pour les vacances de Paques. 
 Lorsqu'on dit cela a Maurice, celui-ci fut transporte 
 de joie. 
 
 Chez Pichon. Par une belle matine'e d'avril M. 
 Delsart, Maurice et Pierre descendirent a la station 
 d'Amboise. La on prit une voiture pour aller a la 
 ferme Pichon. M. Delsart fut tres content de la 
 ferme et de ses habitants. Et ceux-ci e'taient aussi 
 heureux de revoir le petit Pierre, qui, pendant ce 
 temps, 4tait presque devenu un petit monsieur. M. 
 Delsart recommandait a Pierre d'agir en homme, de 
 veiller sur Maurice et de lui e'crire de suite si celui-ci 
 n'e'tait pas heureux a la ferme. Mais Pierre et 
 Maurice furent paysans avec passion. Us travail- 
 laient a la ferme. Us jetaient les grains aux volailles, 
 ils cherchaient les ceufs frais et les apportaient a la 
 Pichonne, ils soignaient specialement une vache qui 
 leur e*tait confine, ils la trayaient, ils cultivaient leur 
 jardin, bechaient, plantaient, arrachaient les mau- 
 vaises herbes, et tous les deux se fortifiaient a vae 
 d'ceil. Mais bient6t les vacances furent passees, 
 et Madame Delsart vint chercher les enfants... En 
 voyant son fils fortifie, les yeux brillants, les joues 
 fermes et roses, elle fut tres heureuse. 
 
122 Running Commentary 
 
 48. A. aucune reponse ne vint, personne no re 7 - 
 pondit ; en (not dans) un instant ; dans (not en) dix 
 minutes ; la vague (cp. le vague, No. 34) ; il faudrait 
 (future in the past, cp. No. 18) ; plus de dix (cp. No. 
 45) ; toucher a. 
 
 B. m&rque, vague, p^n^trer. 
 0. appui (ui as in lui). 
 
 49. A. h ce moment (cp. au mthne moment) ; oser 
 faire quelque chose; plus de temps qu'il ne croyait 
 (other instances have occurred) ; mettre du temps a 
 faire quelque chose (cp. rester a ne rien dire, No. 18); 
 fui le'chaient les pieds ; nageur (no article) ; il arriva 
 a courir (cp. No. 38); faute de soins (cp. faute de 
 mieux) ; chose facile (no article) ; se mourir ; hors de 
 lui (beside himself); le plus doucement possible 
 ( = aussi doucement que possible) ; que nous nous 
 installions ; il souffre (souffrant is the usual word for 
 <ill,'cp. No. 9). 
 
 B. sain, ceinture, bar^, grelo^er. 
 
 50. A. faisait de son mieux; put (No. 14 A); si 
 . . . avait pu ; il avait mal a la tete (un mal de tte) ; 
 il finit par s'endormir (cp. No. 23 ; commencer, 
 finir par faire quelque chose) ; il fait nuit ; qu'il s'en 
 aille ; sans que ... fit ; rien de pareil. 
 
 51. A. suffisamment (cp. patiemment, violem- 
 ment) ; sa violence de la veille ; la jeune femme le 
 raconta, elle (added for emphasis) ; toute changee ; 
 demi-lucidite (cp. demi-heure) ; quoique Pierre 
 divaguat. 
 
 J5. operation, divat/wer, divagation, 
 
Second Book: Nos. 48-52 123 
 
 52. A. son compagnon de tous les instants ; on 
 voulait bien ; finit par prendre (cp. previous in- 
 stances) ; un devouement de tous les instants ; il 
 craignait que M. ne fut ; lorsque . . . et que ; faire 
 grand plaisir. 
 
 B. difference ; orgueil. 
 
 Words for Dictation (Nos. 48-52). 
 
 La facilite, le*cher, etrange, la lucidite, etranger, 
 e"prouver, fervent, faible, detester, cruel, la lumiere, 
 leger, la caresse, Pexclamation, le chevet, complete- 
 ment, sauf, augmenter, le nageur, la lourdeur, se 
 meurtrir, le sauveur, la douceur, tendrement, le ras- 
 semblement, suffisamment, embarrasser, la presence, 
 impuissant, sain, la ceinture, le chirurgien, la r6solu- 
 tion, la descente, au-dessous, au-dessusj la seconde, 
 le secours, rassurer, la violence, Pemotion, Topera- 
 tion, la scene, la constitution, la difference, certes, 
 1'excursion, gemir, Pinjustice, le sujet, le joujou, 
 jaloux, joindre, la marque, manquer, la barque, 
 Tacciderit, immobile, la muraille, Tappui, pareil, 
 divaguer, Torgueil. 
 
 Passages for Dictation. 
 
 Sur la plage. Pendant plusieurs mois Maurice se 
 porta toujours bien. Mais comme il grandissait 
 un peu trop vite pour ses forces, le me'decin vou- 
 lait Pair de la mer pour lui. M. Delsart 6taib tres 
 occup^ pour le moment ; c'est pourquoi sa femme 
 alia avec les deux gar^ons a la mer. La vie que les 
 enfants menaient la, etait tres heureuse, Apres le 
 
i24 Running Commentary 
 
 bain et le dejeuner les enfants e'taient libres de jouer ; 
 ils pouvaient courir, les jambes nues, sur le sable. 
 Un jour, Pierre et Maurice allerent a la recherche 
 d'un peu d'ombre. Ils trouverent un bon endroit. 
 Pierre se jeta a plat ventre, son livre pose* devant lui, 
 ses mains enfoncees dans ses cheveux. Apres quelque 
 temps Pierre entendit quelque chose qui ressemblait 
 a un cri de detresse. Pierre crut reconnaitre la voix 
 de Maurice; il se leva et regarda autour de lui. 
 Maurice avait disparu. Pierre monta vite les rochers, 
 et de la il vit son cousin, en bas, sur le sable. Pierre 
 1'appela, mais aucune reponse ne vint. La marque 
 que la derniere vague avait laissee, touchait presque 
 a Tendroit ou Maurice etait tombe. Dans dix mi- 
 nutes 1'enfant serait pris tout doucement par la mare*e 
 et roule, envoye a la grande mer. Pierre n'avait 
 plus le temps de retourner a 1'hdtel ; il ne lui restait 
 qu'une chose a faire : descendre aupres de son cousin 
 et le porter hors de 1'eau. 
 
 La descente. Pierre fit une courte priere, puis il 
 commen9a la descente. D'abord il trouva facilement 
 des endroits qui offraient un appui a ses pieds. 
 Mais la chose comme^a a devenir difficile, et a une 
 hauteur assez grande, son pied ne trouvait plus 
 d'appui. Que faire ? II ne pouvait plus remonter. 
 En regardant en bas, il jeta un grand cri. Deja la 
 mare"e e'tait arrive 1 e jusqu'& Maurice, deja les vagues 
 lui lechaient les pieds, meme les jambes jusqu'aux 
 genoux. II prit vite son parti : il s'61an9a dans le 
 vide et tomba dans 1'eau. La chute avait e'te amortie, 
 et sain et sauf Pierre se releva. II courut prendre 
 Maurice, le tira hors de 1'eau et le deposa tendrement 
 
Second Book: Revision (48-52) 125 
 
 sur le sable sec, a un endroit ou 1'eau ne pouvait pas 
 arriver, en lui faisant un lit aussi commode que 
 possible. Son cousin s'etait casse, en tombant, le 
 bras gauche. En voyant cela, Pierre se mit a 
 pleurer. 
 
 Le sauvetage de Pierre. Comment sauver Maurice 
 qui etait tou jours sans connaissance ? Pierre ne 
 pouvait le faire seul, il e'tait trop faible. D'un cote 
 de 1'endroit oil se trouvaient les gar9ons il y avait des 
 rochers qui sortaient & moitie de 1'eau. Pierre se dit 
 que, tout au haut, il aurait plus de chance d'attirer 
 1'attention. II monta done de rocher en rocher et 
 arriva, non sans peine, au bout de la muraille. L& 
 il agita son mouchoir. Apres quelque temps une 
 barque s'approcha. Dans celle-ci il y avait un mon- 
 sieur de Paris et sa jeune femme qui logeaient dans 
 le meme h6tel et que Pierre connaissait. Us re9urent 
 Pierre dont les forces s'etaient presque e'puisees, dans 
 leur barque, et Pierre leur raconta ce qui s'etait passe*. 
 La barque se dirigea vers 1'endroit ou se trouvait 
 Maurice ; le monsieur porta celui-ci dans la barque, 
 et alors on retourna b, I'h6tel ou tout un rassemble- 
 ment s'etait forme a cause de la longue absence des 
 deux ga^ons. On alia chercher le chirurgien de 
 1'endroit et on envoya une de'peche & Monsieur 
 Delsart. La de"p6che arriva & temps pour que le 
 pere put prendre le train du soir et amener un 
 chirurgien de Paris. 
 
 La colere de la tante. Madame Delsart fut ter- 
 riblement effrayee en voyant son fils sans vie, sans 
 connaissance dans son lit. Tout d'un coup elle vit 
 Pierre et se retourna furieuse. ' Ya-t'en, J lui cria-t-elle, 
 
126 Running Commentary 
 
 Vest toi qui Fas mene au danger; c'est ta faute 
 s'il s'est blesse; s'il meurt, ce sera a toi que je le 
 devrai. Depuis que tu es entre dans ma maison, il 
 m'aime moins. Tu me 1'as pris. Je te d^teste. 
 Va-t'en!' Pierre la regarda, trks'effraye ; il resta 
 sans paroles et s'en alia tristement dans la chambre 
 qu'il partageait avec Maurice depuis I'arrive'e k 
 I'hdtel. II etait tres malheureux parce qu'il n'avait 
 pas merite la col ere de sa tante. II finit par s'en- 
 dormir sans quitter la chaise ou il etait, la tete 
 appuyee contre le mur. 
 
 L'opdration. Lorsque Pierre se reveilla, il faisait 
 nuit. II entendit du bruit dans la chambre a cdte 
 ou Ton avait transporte Maurice. Pierre se leva, 
 non sans peine, car il avait mal partout. II ouvritla 
 porte, mais il disparut vite dans Pombre, car on 
 faisait sortir sa tante qui pleurait. Son oncle etait 
 debout aupres du lit de Maurice; le m&lecin de 
 Pendroifc et le chirurgien de Paris pr^paraient des 
 morceaux de Huge. Pierre eut un mouvement de 
 joie, car il entendit Maurice crier: Je veux Pierre. 
 Celui-ci f ut tout de suite pres de lui, et les deux 
 enfants se tendirent les mains. Le chirurgien de 
 Paris voulut faire sortir Pierre, mais celui-ci promit 
 d'etre bien sage, de ne pas dire un mot et de tenir 
 seulement la main de Maurice, comme il avait tou- 
 jours fait chez le dentiste ; il suppliait si bien que le 
 m^decin lui permit de rester. Tout le temps qu'on 
 remettait le bras et que Maurice souffrait cruelle- 
 ment, Pierre tenait la main de Maurice et ne tremblait 
 pas. Mais lorsque le chirurgien dit qu'on pourrait 
 
Second Book: Revision (48-52) 127 
 
 faire venir Madame Delsart, Pierre se glissa hors de 
 la chambre. 
 
 Deux malades. Apres l'ope"ration on arrangea 
 les oreillers de Maurice, et bientdt le calme du 
 sommeil se vit sur la petite figure blanche. Le 
 malade passa une bonne nuit. Le lendemain, de 
 bonne heure, la jeune marie* e frappa a la porte de 
 Madame Delsart pour avoir des nouvelles du blesse 1 . 
 C'est par elle que Monsieur et Madame Delsarb surent 
 que Pierre etait le sauveur heroique de Maurice. 
 Madame Delsart se rappela sa colere de la veille et 
 en fut honteuse. On s'elan9a dans la chambre de 
 Pierre. Quel aspect ! Pierre, tou jours dans les vete- 
 ments qui avaient e'te' mouilles la veille, e*tait sur son 
 lit, la tete tourne*e et retourne'e d'un mouvement 
 machinal. II ne reconnut ni son oncle ni sa tante 
 et r^petait sans cesse d'une voix navrante : " Maman, 
 maman, ma petite maman ! " Le medecin disait qu'il 
 avait la fievre ce're'brale. Ce fut un coup pour 
 Madame Delsart. Elle se disait : " S'il meurt, c'est 
 moi qui Pai tueV' Elle e*tait toute changee et ne 
 quitta plus le chevet du malade pendant longtemps. 
 Lorsque, dans un moment de demi-lucidite', Pierre 
 sentant une main fraiche et douce sur son front, 
 Pappela " maman," elle se detourna et dit en elle- 
 meme : " Oui, je te le promets, je serai ta maman, 
 tou jours. Tu verras ! " 
 
 Aim6 1 Quitte / Maurice allait bien ; Poperation 
 avait parfaitement re"ussi; mais il se sentait perdu 
 sans son compagnon de tous les instants. Avec 
 Pierre c'e'tait autre chose ; il y eut des moments oil la 
 fievre devint si terrible que le me'decin ne repondit 
 
i28 Running Commentary 
 
 plus de son malade. Et pourtant il ne mourut pas ; 
 sa forte constitution finit par prendre le dessus. 
 Lorsqu'on sut dans Ph6tel et dans tout le pays que le 
 gar^on etait sauve, il y eut une explosion de joie. 
 Les petits lui envoyaient des fleurs cueillies expres 
 pour lui. Cela lui fit plaisir. Une chose le tour- 
 taentait; il voyait que sa tante, qui aimait tant 
 les bals, les excursions, les soirees, ne qtactait 
 jamais le chevet de son lit et qu'elle e'tait telle- 
 ment afFectueuse pour lui. II lui semblait qu'il volait 
 le plaisir de sa tante. Mais celle-ci Pierre le 
 sentait bien n'etait plus comme auparavant : Elle 
 racontait des choses dr61es, f aisait rire tout son monde 
 et oubliait m6me de dire ' vous 7 a son mari. Une fois 
 Pierre apprit qu'on devait faire une grande partie de 
 campagne et que les Delsart refusaient de s'y joindre 
 pour rester avec lui. Alors Pierre eut le courage de 
 dire : " Ma tante, il me semble que je vous vole votre 
 plaisir." Mais Madame Delsart lui repondit : " Je ne 
 suis plus ta tante, une vilaine tante qui ne t'aimait 
 pas ; je suis ta mere. Tu m'as sauv6 mon fils, tu 
 m'en as donne* un autre. Et faime mes deux fils 
 d'une tendresse 6gale ! " Que Pierre 4tait heureux ! 
 Et en m^rne temps son oncle prit la main de Pierre et 
 lui dit : " Quittes ; mon fils, nous sommes quittes ! " 
 
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