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to heaven,1 their eyes2 filled with tears of joy and gratitude, they poured forth thanks and praises to God for so great a providence; all present 3 followed their example; a deep and solemn enthusiasm pervaded that splendid assembly, and prevented all common acclamations of triumph. The anthem of Te Deum Laudamus, chanted by the choir of the royal chapel, with the melodious accompaniments of the instruments, rose up from the midst in a full body of sacred harmony, bearing up, as it were, the feelings and thoughts of the auditors to heaven; 6 that," says the venerable Las Casas, "it seemed as if in that hour they communicated with celestial delights." Such was the solemn and pious manner in which the brilliant court of Spain celebrated this sublime event, offering up a grateful tribute of melody and praise, and giving glory 10 to God for the discovery of another world. -(WASHINGTON IRVING.)

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COWPER TO MR. SAMUEL ROSE.

(ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF TIME.)

DEAR SIR,

THOUGH it be long since I received your last, 11 I have not yet forgotten the impression it made upon me, nor

1 See page 22, notes 1 and 7; 'their clasped hands,' leurs mains jointes avec ferveur.

2 See page 26, note 12. We have used leurs in the preceding note, instead of les, as one seems to lose sight of the possessor, in a complicated phrase, where the thing possessed is at once subject (of clasped,' elliptical for being clasped') and object (of 'raising'). For, without this circumstance, we should say, in two separate phrases, levant les mains, raising their hands,' and, les mains jointes, &c., 'their hands clasped '-understood 'being.'

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how sensibly I felt myself obliged by your unreserved and friendly communications. I will not apologise for 3 my silence in the interim, because, apprised as you are of my present occupation, the excuse that I might allege will present itself to you of course, and to dilate upon it would, therefore, be waste of paper.

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You are in possession of the best security imaginable, for the due improvement of your time, which is a just sense of its value. Had I been,8 when at your age, as much affected by 10 that important consideration as I am at present, I should not have devoted, as I did,11 all the earliest parts 12 of my life to amusement only. I am now in the predicament into which the thoughtlessness of youth betrays 18 nine-tenths 14 of mankind, who never discover that the health and good spirits15 which generally accompany it,16 are in reality blessings 17 only 18 according to the use we make of them, till advanced years19 begin to threaten them with 20 the loss of both. How much wiser would thousands have been,21 than now they ever will be,2

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6 as I did :' see page 5, note 8, as above, at note 4.

12 premiers temps.

13 entraîne; or, fait tomber. See

5 autant de papier perdu (or, page 6, note 5. mal employé).

6 l'emploi convenable.

7 laquelle consiste à l'estimer à sa juste valeur. The pronouns qui, que, dont, are replaced by lequel, duquel, to avoid ambiguity: these always relate to the former noun, while qui, que, dont, relate to the latter.

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les neuf dixièmes.

15 et la gaieté (or, gaîté).

16 cet age to remove the ambiguity.

17 réellement des biens.
18 See page 5, note 12.

19 la vieillesse. We also say l'âge, absolutely, in the same

sense.

20 de.

21 Combien des milliers d'entre nous eussent été plus sages.

22 In French, the particle ne is used before the verb which follows plus and moins, unless the preceding verb, which accompanies plus or moins, is conjugated with a negative. See, besides, page 5, note, referred to above, and also page 19, note 5.

had a puny constitution, or some occasional infirmity,2 constrained them to devote those hours to study and reflection, which,3 for want of some such check, they have given entirely to dissipation! I, therefore,5 account you happy, who,6 young as you are, need not be informed that you cannot always be so, and who already know that the materials upon which age 8 can alone build its comfort, should 10 be brought together at an earlier period.11 You have, indeed, in losing a father, lost a friend, but you have not lost his instructions. His example was not buried 12 with him, but happily for you (happily because you are desirous of availing yourself of it) still lives in your remembrance, and is cherished in your best affections. 13

SIR ROGER DE COVERLEY.

HAVING often received an invitation from my friend Sir Roger de Coverley 14 to pass away a month with him in the country, I last week accompanied him thither, and am settled 15 with him for some time at his country-house,

1 Construct so, in French: 'if a puny ... or some... had constrained,' &c.

2 infirmité intermittente. 3 See page 14, note 5.

4 faute d'un frein de ce genre. 5 C'est pourquoi je.

6 vous qui. A personal pronoun, in the objective case, which is the antecedent of a relative pronoun, must be used twice in this way, first in its conjunctive, and then in its disjunctive form: but here it so happens that both are vous; in the first person singular they are me and moi; in the second tu and toi, &c. See any grammar. 7 See page 15, note 9; also, references at page 29, notes 4 and 22. 8 See page 29, note 19.

9 établir (or, fonder) son bienêtre (or, son aisance). This use of

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where I intend to form several of my ensuing speculations.1 Sir Roger, who is very well acquainted with my humour,2 lets me rise and go to bed when I please, dine at his own table or in my chamber, as I think fit, sit still and say nothing without bidding me be merry.5 When the gentlemen of the country come to see him, he shows me at a distance. As I have been walking in his fields, I have observed them stealing a sight of me over a hedge, and have heard the knight desiring them not to let me see them,10 for that I hated to be stared at.11

I am the more at ease in Sir Roger's family, because it consists 12 of sober, staid persons; for 13 as the knight is the best master in the world,14 he seldom changes his servants;15 and as he is beloved by all about him, his servants never care for leaving him :16 by this means his domestics are all

1 de composer plusieurs des articles (or, travaux-or, écrits) qui doivent suivre (or, simply, de mes prochains articles,-contributions to the 'Spectator').

2 qui connait très bien mes goûts et mon caractère (or, simply, mon humeur-sometimes used also in this sense).

3 quand il me plaît; or, à ma fantaisie. The verb plaire does not govern the objective case, in French, but requires an indirect regimen with the preposition à (dative), expressed or implied: me is here dative.

4 selon que je le juge à propos; or, comme bon me semble.

5 et aussi rester silencieux et tranquille, sans m'inviter à la gaieté.

6 Quand les notables des environs (or, des alentours); or, Quand les gens les plus considérables de l'endroit.

7 j'ai aperçu plusieurs de ces messieurs qui m'observaient en cachette (or, furtivement—or, à la dérobée). See page 6, note 5.

8 et jai. When the verbs have each a separate object, although they are in the same tense, the pronoun is usually repeated.

9 See page 22, note 10.

10 de ne pas se laisser voir de

moi.

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car, disait-il, (or, par la raison que) je déteste (or, je ne puis souffrir) les regards des curieux.

12 Je suis d'autant plus à mon aise (or, Je me trouve d'autant mieux) au milieu de la maison de Sir Roger, qu'elle se compose. The word famille, in the sense of 'household,' is no longer French. We find it in La Fontaine, among other writers, in his Fables (Fable LI. of my edition), in the latter acceptation, derived from the Latin familia.

13 Put a full stop here before for,' Car. See page 24, note 19. 14 du monde. Always use the preposition de (genitive case) after a superlative relative, in French.

15 See page 19, note 5; and page 2, note 7.

16 de tout ce qui l'entoure, ses domestiques n'ont aucune envie de le quitter (or, lui sont très attachés -or, tiennent beaucoup à lui). Tout ce qui l'entoure is more emphatic than tous ceux qui l'entourent. See my LA FONTAINE, Fable LXXXIII., fourth line.

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in years, and grown old1 with their master. You would take his valet-de-chambre for his brother; his butler is grey-headed, his groom is one of the gravest men that I have3 ever seen, and his coachman has the looks of a privy-councillor.5 You see the goodness of the master even in his old house-dog, and in a grey pad that is kept in the stable with great care and tenderness, out of regard to his past services, though he has been useless for several years.

I could not but observe with a great deal 10 of pleasure the joy that appeared in 11 the countenances of these ancient domestics upon 12 my friend's arrival at his countryseat. Some of them could not refrain from tears 13 at the sight of their old master; every one of them pressed forward to do something for him,14 and seemed discouraged 15 if they were not employed.16 At the same time the good old knight, with a mixture of the father and the master of the family, tempered the inquiries after 17 his own affairs with several kind questions relating to themselves.18 This humanity and good-nature 19 engages everybody to him ; 20

1 aussi ses gens sont-ils tous âgés, ayant vieilli. The interrogative form is elegantly used after aussi (in the sense of 'therefore'), peutêtre, encore (yet), toujours (still), en vain, du moins, au moins.

2 a les cheveux gris. See page 26, note 12.

3 See page 13, note 5.

4 Whenever a past participle is joined with the auxiliary avoir, it agrees, in number and gender, with the régime direct (accusative) of the verb, but only if that direct regimen precedes the verb.

a tout l'air d'un conseiller privé.

6 jusque.

7 qu'on garde; or, que l'on conserve. The here is merely euphonic, and prevents a dissonance. See also page 24, note 9.

8 par égard pour; or, en raison de; or, en considération de.

9 quoiqu'il ne serve plis à rien

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