pretending

Mis à jour: 19 juin 2025

Boxtel knew that van Baerle had found the bulb of the black tulip, and had denounced him to the police in the hope that, after the arrest of the master of the house, he could enter the garden unnoticed and steal the famous bulbs. The day of the arrest he remained in bed, pretending to be sick. La nuit vint. C'était la nuit qu'attendait Boxtel. La nuit venue, il se leva.

Alexandre Dumas - La Tulipe Noire

In 1862, as a result of a short but disastrous war, Montenegro had been forced to sign a humiliating treaty of peace in which she virtually acknowledged the suzerainty of Turkey. Daudet was in Africa in 1861-1862, gathering materials out of which "Tartarin" grew. It is possible that he met there the prototype of Gregory brooding over the disgrace of his country, or, at least, pretending to do so.

Alphonse Daudet - Tartarin de Tarascon