[178.]--7. zéro. The French use the Centigrade thermometer with zero at 32° Fahrenheit; 1 4/5° F. = 1° C.
[179.]--28. un air de famille avec les Auvergnats. An allusion to the custom in Auvergne of wearing the beard in this fashion.
[180.]--32. chaussons de lisière et de la brosserie. List-shoes and brushes are manufactured in French prisons.
[181.]--13. qui s'en faisait deux fois autant par la vertu de l'anse du panier. Compare the phrase, faire danser l'anse du panier, said of a cook who makes a profit on the supplies of the Household.
24. son Allemande. Gouvernante is to be understood.
[182.]--7. joueur comme les cartes. Compare the phrase in another of Coppée's stories (les Vices du Capitaine), joueur comme feu Bésigue, where the game (bezique) is spoken of as though it were a person.
11. trop heureux de devenir. Notice the difference between this phrase and trop heureux pour devenir.
31. Dauphin. When the province of Dauphiné was added to French territory, the last ruler of Dauphiné, Humbert III, ceded the province on condition that the title of Dauphin be given to the eldest son of the French king; the province became a part of French territory in 1349.
[183.]--10. le trois pour cent. The reference is to government bonds.
16. quatre bureaux de tabac. Tobacco is a government monopoly in France, hence the management of the shops is sometimes turned over to friends of politicians.