Notes on the text

1. Gallomaniac—one who is crazy about everything French (comp. Anglomania—англоманія);

2. down to—from an earlier period to some specified time or date;

3. off and on—from time to time, every now and then, not continuously, irregularly;

4. bout— (here) a period of active, strenuous activity; a fight, an attack, as a bout with an enemy, a boxing bout; also a fit of illness, as a bout of insomnia, a coughing bout, a drinking bout

5. Bossuet, Jacques Benign (1602-1704)—a French preacher and writer; tutor to the son of Louis XIV (1670-1681;

6. in case I ever went there and had one: the clause has a strong ironical ring, emphasizing the utter uselessness of the kind of knowledge he had obtained.

7. Mme. Carnet [ka:'net]— a certain Mme. Carnet

8. rather well on in years at the start — far from being young when I began;

9. I will say this for Mme. Carnet. There is one thing I can say in favor of Mme. Carnet;

10. soliloquy (fig.)— monologue; the string of epithets are used to emphasize that the author never had a chance of uttering a single word;

11. to sustain a conversation (lit.)—to keep up a conversation

12. to hunt down—to follow smb. till he is caught, as to hunt down a criminal, a spy, etc.

13. a career of hypocritical benevolence — a period of activity marked by showing false kindness and friendship;

14. to scrape acquaintance with—to get to know somebody without being formally introduced;

15. to fall in with—to meet by chance;

16. divests the mind of its acquisitions of forty years— makes a man forget everything he has learnt in the course of forty years;

17. Garden of Eden (bibl.)—the garden in which Adam and Eve lived

18. to tax one's powers—to put a strain on one's ability to..., as to tax one's patience

19. unfrocked priest—dismissed from priesthood for inappropriate behavior

20. took to the streets—started walking in the streets, got to like walking in the streets; to take to sth.—to develop a habit, a liking for, as to take to one's new teacher, to take to drinking;

21. a dry season (fig.)- an unprofitable season, a season one can't get much out of;

22. a clannish folk (folk)—people who stick together, cling to their language, customs and traditions;

23. overtures (pl) —an attempt, offer or proposal made to a person with the purpose of making friends with him (her) or to make peace; (sg.) introduction, as the overture to an opera;

24. the more pains I took—the harder I tried;; to take pains—to work hard, with great care, to take the trouble to;

25. that worked quite well—the desired effect was achieved;

26. the West Thirties near the river—the river is the Hudson;

27. persistent puerilities —the author's persistent attempts to behave in a silly childish way;

28. to profess—to claim falsely, to allege, to pretend;

29. to dabble in—to study something just off and on, not seriously or continuously, as to dabble in music, politics, art, etc.;

30. a verbal vacuum—absence of a necessary vocabulary;

31. I am writing over their heads — I am writing things they will not be able to understand.