Genlis, [Stéphanie
Félicité] Mme. de. The traveller's companion for conversation: being a
collection of such expressions as occur most frequently in travelling and in
the different situations of life; in six languages: English, German, French,
Italian, Spanish, and Russian. Leipzig and London: J. H. Bothe, 1817.
The book’s title
says it all. This pocket book is what is generally known as a phrase book or
polyglot dictionary, and a Napoleonic era traveler would find it handy for
making himself understood in a range of circumstances, from the everyday to the
uncommon -- even sinister or threatening. I’ve reproduced a few pages here to
give a sense of how one might communicate in certain rencontres following a battle.
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