He had presence of mind enough to arrange his sentence and to make it plain to the noble lady, seated so close beside him on the bank of verdure, that the words he had just uttered were some that he had heard during his expedition to his friend the timber merchant.
Il eut assez de présence d’esprit pour arranger sa phrase et faire entendre à la noble dame, assise si près de lui sur le banc de verdure, que les mots qu’il venait de répéter, il les avait entendus pendant son voyage chez son ami le marchand de bois.