Once returned from the abysms of the utter North to that little house upon the outskirts of Meudon, it was not the philosopher, the daring observer, the man of iron energy that imposed himself on his family, but a fat and even plaintive jester, a farceur incarnate and kindly, the co-equal of his children, and, it must be written, not seldom the comic despair of Madame Lavalle, who, as she writes five years after the marriage, to her venerable mother, found "in this unequalled intellect whose name I bear the abandon of a large and very untidy boy." Here is her letter:

"How far you may be right in what you have said I do not know," remarked the General moodily; "but I DO know that you are becoming an insufferable farceur whenever you are given the least chance."

He was an elderly man, with a white beard and a florid complexion, who had painted a number of decorations for the State, but these were an object of derision to the students he instructed: he was a disciple of Ingres, impervious to the progress of art and angrily impatient with that tas de farceurs whose names were Manet, Degas, Monet, and Sisley; but he was an excellent teacher, helpful, polite, and encouraging.

Lastly, Farceur Du Large shaped with promise on his debut at Limerick and he might go a couple of places better in the bumper.

SLIGO: 1.50 Little Light, 2.20 Cobaltic, 2.50 No Way Jack, 3.25 Take A Turn, 3.55 Castlebellingham, 4.30 Global Racing, 5.00 Torquay, 5.30 Farceur Du Large.

Praising Juan in America as 'one of the most acute and amusing picaresque studies perpetrated by the literary farceur', he added that 'it would be even more regrettable if Mr Linklater hampered his genius by an uneasy adherence to a so-called Scots literary Renaissance' (17)--a warning which seems to have been heard since much later Linklater called the Scottish literary Renaissance 'a pompous tide which means nothing'.

As rowdy and ridiculous and filled with gender cartoons as they were, the events of April 30, 1971, might have provided great material for a farceur like Jackie Curtis or the diva Viva.

Seize trotteurs francais de 3 ans et plus formeront la ligne de depart du prix Farceur ce Jeudi a l'hippodrome Emir Abdelkader de Zemmouri.

At the helm of the party is Julius Malema, the talented farceur who sucked his political milk at the ANC Youth League.

Kenneth Branagh proves a born farceur in Sean Foley's adaptation of Francis Veber's classic French farce "The Painkiller." As an anonymous hitman who holes up in a hotel room only to find himself caught up in the suicide next door, Branagh comes brilliantly, hopelessly, beautifully unstuck.