Boyarsky speaks English

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"Mesdames, Messieurs, bonsoir— good evening ladiss and dzhentlemens" :-D

(It's an interesting error to make, because it suggests that he does actually know the word 'gentlemen' rather than just reciting it phonetically, and realises that it is *supposed* to be plural, but not quite how!)

I also appreciate the appropriately stiff and restrained body language, as versus the flamboyant hand-kiss for the French ;-)

No knitting

I spent an incredibly frustrating hour at lunchtime trying to teach a woman how to knit -- I have never known anyone so utterly fail to *understand* the process before. ( She just could not *see* the basic principle of how it was supposed to work )

The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra-la

I have (finally!) just started upon my crackfic "Little Gentlemen" story (as with my usual crackfic, I envisage a total lack of humour :-p) And while checking on the description of the chateau at Bragelonne, I have just noticed that Athos appears to be in possession of some very unusual trees ;-)

In Chapter 15, we are told that as d'Artagnan approaches the house, he perceives it sur le fond d’un massif d’arbres épais que le printemps poudrait d’une neige de fleurs. Very picturesque, except that, constrained by history, Dumas proceeds to inform us some fifty-five chapters later that, after the passage of a relatively short period of time, the date at that point is January :-p

(But as we already know, consistency in dates is not the author's strong point...)

Edit: I have just noticed that there was likewise a magnificent display of flowers visible from the windows of Athos' dining-room, so at the time of writing Dumas evidently envisaged the scene as taking place later in the year! I don't *think* it can have been the previous autumn, as all the events of the novel (from Athos' arrival in Paris immediately following d'Artagnan's visit and Raoul's departure for Flanders and encounter with Mordaunt along the way, followed by Mordaunt's interview with Mazarin and departure from Boulogne ten days later, followed by King Charles' capture within a week of Athos and Aramis' arrival) seem to have taken place within a remarkable brief timespan...