Although M. Ducros had heard English talked around him for so many
years, he had all the average Frenchman's difficulty in
assimilating any foreign language. His knowledge of our tongue was
confined to one word only, and that a most curiously chosen word.
"Slop-basin" was the beginning and end of his knowledge of the
English language. M. Ducros used his one word of English only in
moments of great elation. Should, for instance, his sister Mlle.
Louise have surpassed herself in the kitchen, M. Ducros, after
tasting her chef d'oeuvre, would joyously ejaculate, "Slop-basin!"
several times over. It was understood in his family that "slop-
basin" always indicated that the master of the house was in an
extremely contented frame of mind.
The judicial system of France is not as concentrated as ours.
Every Sous-prefecture in France has its local Civil Court with a
Presiding Judge, an Assistant Judge, and a "Substitut." The
latter, in small towns, is the substitute for the Procureur de la
Republique, or Public Prosecutor. The legal profession in France
is far more "clannish" than with us, for lawyers have always
played a great part in the history of France.
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