The Sire de Maletroit's Door

by Robert L. Stevenson

O

n a high chair beside the chimney, and directly facing Denis, as he entered, sat an old gen­tleman in a fur tippet. He sat with his legs crossed and his hands folded, and a cup of spiced wine stood by his elbow on a bracket on the wall. His countenance had a strongly masculine cast; not properly human, but such as we see in the bull, the goat, or the domestic boar; something equivocal and wheedling, something greedy, brutal, and dangerous. The upper lip was inordinately full, as though swollen by a blow or a toothache; and the smile, the peaked eyebrows, and the small, strong eyes were quaintly and almost comically evil in expression. Beautiful white hair hung straight all round his head, like a saint's, and fell in a single curl upon his tippet. His beard and moustache were the pink of venerable sweetness. Age, probably in consequence of inordinate precautions, had left no mark upon his hands; and the Maletroit hand was famous. It would be difficult to imagine anything at once so fleshy and so delicate in design; the taper, sensual fingers like those of Leonardo's women; the fork of the thumb a dimpled protuberance when closed; the nails perfectly shaped, and of a dead, surprising whiteness. It rendered his aspect tenfold more redoubtable, that a man with hands like those should sit patiently on his seat with an unwinking stare, like a god, or a god's statue. His quiescence seemed ironical and treacherous, it fitted so poorly with his looks.

      Such was Alain, Sire de Maletroit.

Notes and exercises:

1.   Read the following words paying attention to the pronunciation of the digraph “oi” and memorize their spelling:

bourgeoisie   couloir     repertoire    coiffeur      conservatoire

bourgeois      boudoir    peignoir      porpoise    connoisseur

reservoir        memoir     trottoir        tortoise      choire

2.   Memorize the spelling of the following words and give their plural forms: chamois, chassis, corps, faux pas, patois.

3.   Give derivatives:

Verb                 Noun        Adjective    Adverb

compute           ...              ...               ...

analyse             ...              ...               ...

process            ...              ...               ...

conceptualize    ...              ...               ...

systematize       ...              ...               ...

4.   Group the words in two columns in pairs of synonyms:

swollen-headed  cowardly

lion-hearted        stubborn

chicken-hearted  courageous

close-fisted        conceited

pig-headed         greedy

5.   Word study:

tippet         a covering for the shoulders as a cape or scarf

bracket       a shelf supported by brackets

equivocal   ambiguous, not genuine

wheedle     to persuade or obtain by flattery or guile; to cajole

pink           the highest degree of excellence: in the pink of health, the pink of perfection, Their new cook seems to be the pink of perfection.

taper          a slender candle

redoubtable           awesome, formidable, worthy of respect or honour

quiescent   inactive or still; dormant

6.   Translate the following expressions and use them in sentences:

a swollen upper lip, the river has swollen, he is a swell, a swell watch, a swelling

7.   Translate the following sentences paying attention to the idiomatic expressions in them:

a)       I’ve got his name on the tip of my tongue.

b)      We’d better lie low for a week or so.

c)       She made him eat humble pie before forgiving him.

d)      I went to him hat in hand, but he wouldn’t help.

e)       The whole thing was only a storm in a tea-cup.

f)        Go and tell that to the Marines!

g)      Yes, there’s no doubt that she wears the trousers.

h)       Has he, perhaps, got his tongue in his cheek?

i)         You’ll get into hot water, I’m afraid, for this.

j)         Why have you got such a long face today?

k)       Before you could say Jack Robinson, he disappeared.

l)         I think you’d better go and pour some oil on those troubled waters.