the king of her desire to speak with him.

208 Que dis-je? = "Nay!"

209 sang, a frequent metonymy for _race_, as in English.

211 Book of Esther, iv. 14: "and who knoweth whether thou art not come
to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

214 vain--"idle," "useless." Cf. "in vain."

216 ses saints = "his holy ones."

218 d'un enfant, and not _d'une enfant_, because the statement is
general. The next line appeals to Esther directly, hence the fem.
heureuse.

221 peuvent = "can avail."

226 Cf. Isaiah, xl. 17. "All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are counted to him less than nothing."

227 trépas (from _trans_ and low Latin _passare_) is the passing across
the boundary of life. Cf. our two uses of "trespass."

230 que is here a survival from the very frequent construction which
begins with _c'est: c'est, sans doute, que_. . .-_Éprouver_ has either
an active sense, "to put to the test," or a passive, "to experience."

232 The addition of _bien_ to _vouloir_ weakens the meaning from strong