a Type of chandelier used in the mid-nineteenth century in which the branches were capped by gas jets.
b The fourth major Exposition Universelle, or World’s Fair, held in Paris in 1867, attracted 11 million visitors. This mention of the exposition establishes the date when the book starts.
c Important Parisian newspaper; founded in 1826 as a gossip sheet on the arts and published irregularly until 1854, when it began to appear weekly, it became a daily in 1866, and still exists today.
d Wide, straight streets cut through the heart of Paris in the urban reconfiguration carried out by Baron George-Eugène Haussmann between 1853 and 1870; the reference here is to the concentration of boulevards in the center of the Right Bank.
e The French franc was equivalent to about 20 U.S. cents at the exchange rate of the time.
f King of France from 1830 to 1848.
g A yodel, or a song marked by yodeling.
h Grenadine or a similar concoction, diluted with soda water.
i Seventh-century king of France; he was a quasi-mythic figure and the subject of a popular song.
j Proverbial rural mail carrier.
k Yearly fair; at the time, Saint-Cloud was a rustic suburb of Paris.
l Old spelling of “clarinet.”
m Large military parade ground on the Left Bank, site of five Expositions Universelles (World’s Fairs) and eventually of the Eiffel Tower, built for the exposition in 1889.
n The legislature, at that time not elected but composed of members of the nobility.
o Active volcano in Sicily.
p Glassed-in shopping arcade, built in 1800 and the first public space in Paris to be illuminated by gas, in 1816.
q Native of Wallachia, a principality in southeastern Europe now incorporated into Romania.
r Gold coin, also called a Napoleon, that was worth 20 francs.
s Variant of “pomade,” a hair-dressing ointment.
t Card game resembling pinochle, but played with a larger deck.
u Coin equivalent to 5 centimes, or the twentieth part of a franc.
w Member of the legislature.
x Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), unifier of Germany, future chancellor of the German Reich, and a foe of France.
y That is, he was in the retinue of Maximilian, the Austrian archduke chosen by Napoleon III to be emperor of Mexico; Maximilian was deposed and executed by a popular insurrection in 1867.
z The coup d’état by which Napoleon III seized the throne of France occurred on December 2, 1851.
aa Game resembling badminton.
ab Royal palace as of 1564; abandoned by royalty after the construction of Versailles, then the center of power during the Revolution; later the official residence of both Napoleons; partly burned in 1871, in the final week of the Commune, and finally demolished in 1882.
ac Adelina Patti (1843-1919), an Italian soprano.
ad Il Barbiere di Siviglia (1816; The Barber of Seville), an opera by Gioacchino Rossini.
ae Cloak made of or lined with fur.
af Clear soup with a chicken base.
ag The Paris stock exchange.
ah That is, being the complaisant consort; after the husband of Mary, whose son Jesus Christ was, according to Christian belief, fathered by God.
ai The choice is between a Bordeaux wine and a Burgundy.
aj In Alsace, an eastern province of France, the local language has a strong infusion of German.
ak Full-length mirror that pivots within a frame.
al Side of the stage farthest from the prompter’s box.
am This endearment is also baby talk for “penis.”
an That is, cheap Parisian souvenirs. The Vendôme column is a pillar surmounted by a statue of Napoleon I that was erected in 1810, pulled down by the Commune in 1871, and rebuilt after the Commune’s suppression. The obelisk was seized by Napoleon from the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor and mounted in the Place de la Concorde in 1836.
ao The Whore of Babylon (Revelation 17:3—18).
ap The Opera de Paris, designed by Charles Garnier, construction on which was begun in 1862 but not completed until 1875.
aq January 6, the twelfth and final night of Christmas. In many countries on that date a cake is served in which a single bean has been baked; whoever gets the slice with the bean is assured of good luck in the coming year.
ar A ribbed or corded fabric.
as Suffering from tuberculosis of the lymphatic glands.
at Unmarried and presumably loose women, whether actresses, dancers, artists’ models, courtesans, or prostitutes.
au Street of pawn shops in what was then the Jewish quarter of Paris.
av King of France from 1180 to 1223.
aw In heraldry, circular figures representing coins.
ax The Jardin Mabille, an open-air dance hall off the Champs-Elysées, opened in 1844 and was immensely popular; the name became a byword for licentiousness. It is associated with the birth of the cancan, the high-kick dance whose participants wore nothing under their skirts.
ay Gift given on an auspicious occasion, or the first payment made to a new business.
az Worn-out or worthless horse.
ba Carriage of various types. Landau: carriage with a two-part top; victoria: low carriage for two passengers, with a high seat for the coachman; calash: light, low-wheeled carriage with a folding top; basket chaise. lightweight, two-wheeled carriage.
bb Simone arrived in a light, two-wheeled carriage with springs (a trap) that Steiner was driving with the horses one behind the other (in tandem fashion). The “tiger” sitting bolt upright behind was a liveried groom or footman.
bc François Boucher (1703-1770), French painter of pastoral and mythological scenes.
be Archaic form of “crunch.”