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35. Prisoner in Lilliput.

125 Lilliput, the land of the little people, where everything was on a similarly small scale. The piece is a satire on George the First and his times.

Inventory, a list or catalogue, literally, of things found in a certain place.

127 Lucid, clear; transparent.

Oracle, literally the reply given by some god to a question asked; a prophecy; here, something to advise one.

128 Scimitar, sword; literally, an Eastern form of sword, short, curved, and broad towards the point.

130 Magnanimous, great-minded; not easily disturbed.

131 Perspective, telescope; something for looking through.

36. Life in Brobdingnag.

132 Brobdingnag, the land of the giants, where everything was on a scale as much greater than ours as in Lilliput it had been smaller.

37. The King of the Crocodiles.

137 Crocodilople, a name invented by the poet, meaning the city of crocodiles.

138 Dervise, or dervish, a priest or member of a religious order among the Mohammedans.

as God wills "-an Arabic interjection expressing

38. True Courage.

143 Latitude. Here used in its literal meaning of breadth.

Laurels, praise or honour due to a victor; from the ancient bestowal of a laurel wreath.

144 Spirits scattered and confounded, thoughts confused; courage weakened.

Enervated, weakened.

Nerve formerly meant a sinew. Enervated

is now used of a condition or state produced gradually and not by a sudden shock.

146 Insensible, so small as not to be perceived (by any of the senses).

39. On his Blindness.

146 Blindness. Milton was blind during the last twenty years of his life, the period when his greatest poems were written. This poem is in the sonnet form. (See note on Lesson 18.)

40. A Roman Victory.

147 A Roman Victory. This battle took place in the year 69 B.C. Tigranes, King of Armenia from about 96 B.C. to 55 B.C.

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147 Mount Taurus, a mountain range in Asia Minor.

Lucullus, a famous Roman general (about 110-57 B.C.).

Tigranocerta, the capital of Armenia, built by Tigranes.

150 Burganet or burgonet, a helmet; literally a helmet of the kind worn in Burgundy.

Eagle. The imperial standard of Rome was the figure of an eagle borne on a pole.

Adiabenians, a people of Armenia.

Medes, people of Media, which lay south of the Caspian Sea.

Caepio, Servilius, Roman general, disastrously defeated by the Cimbrians in 105 B.C.

Cimbrians, a barbarian people from the north, who invaded Italy towards the end of the second century B.C.

151 Thracians, people of Thracia, a country to the north of the Ægean Sea, and now part of Turkey. It was famous for its horsemen. Gauls, people of Gaul, the ancient name of France.

41. The Destruction of Sennacherib.

153 Sennacherib, King of Assyria, 705-681 B.C. The event here described took place during his expedition against Hezekiah, King of Judah. (See 2 Kings xviii., xix.)

Cohort, a Roman term used for a body of about five hundred men; a battalion.

Asshur, Assyria.

42. Maildun's Escape.

154 Maildun, a character of ancient Irish romance, hero of an imaginary voyage in the Atlantic Ocean.

43. The Ballad of the Boat.

158 Siren, in Greek fable a sea goddess who lured sailors to their death by her sweet song.

44. The Siege of Gibraltar, 1782.

161 Siege. This siege took place while Britain was at war with the North American colonies.

Grappled, threw aboard of them hooks, called grappling-irons, at the end of a long chain.

45. The Burning of Moscow, 1812.

165 Deputation, messengers deputed or sent by a larger body.

Bazaar, an Oriental market-place or street of small open shops or stalls.

Ségur, Philippe Paul, a general under Napoleon, and a historian, wrote an account of this campaign.

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165 Kremlin, the citadel of Moscow-to the Russians the most sacred spot in the empire. It contains several cathedrals, numerous

churches, three palaces, an arsenal, and other public buildings. 167 Howitzer, a short cannon used for throwing bomb-shells into a town. Furies, in Greek and Roman fable beings whose work it was to punish the guilty by filling them with remorse and despair. Banditti, outlaws: an Italian word, meaning those who have been banished.

Incendiaries, those who set fire to buildings.

168 Scythians, the people of ancient Scythia, north of the Danube; noted for their ferocity.

Moskwa (Moskva), the river on which Moscow stands, a tributary of the Volga.

46. The Two Captains.

169 Captain Farmer, George (1732-79), was a native of Youghal, Ireland, and lost his life in the engagement off Ushant here described.

171 Pigtail. Up to recent times sailors wore their hair plaited or twisted in a long queue or tail.

Commission, the writing which gave him his appointment. Hence officers of a lower grade are called non-commissioned-that is, not appointed by the king.

King of France. This title was retained by the kings of England long after the loss of all their French dominions.

Cape la Hogue, etc., places on the north-west coast of France. Guillotine, the instrument by which many Royalists were beheaded at the time of the French Revolution.

Fleur-de-lis, the lily of France, the badge of the royal house. Antoinette, Marie, queen of Louis the Sixteenth; both were guillotined in 1793.

47. Ramble from Richmond to London.

174 of no character or significancy, not distinguished, and of no public importance.

Particularity, here used as equal to peculiarity.

176 Supercargoes, those in charge of the cargo, but not of the ship or

boat.

178 Ordinary, the common table of an inn, where the guests dine together; table d'hôte.

179 Light, link. Owing to the want of street lights, men with links, or torches, were engaged by foot-passengers at night.

48. Hymn of the City.

180 Present Deity. The meaning is, see the Deity present or the pres

ence of the Deity.

(1,114)

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49. The Death of the French King.

181 Within the bills of mortality, within the area in which deaths were registered as occurring in London.

182 Re-establishment, pardon for political offences; restoration of property and rights.

184 Retained as an advocate, paid to plead his cause.

185 Privateers, fighting ships fitted out by private owners.

Non-juror, a clergyman who refused to take the oath of allegiance. Augustus Cæsar, Nero, two Roman emperors of very different character.

50. Death the Leveller.

187 Blood and state, high rank by birth, and high office.

Victor-victim, once a conqueror, but now conquered (by death).

51. Escape of Rob Roy.

188 Rob Roy-that is, Robert the Red-one of the outlawed Clan MacGregor, a real personage, of whom many stories are told. He has been called the "Robin Hood" of Scotland. [In this extract several words in the Scottish dialect have been changed into English.]

Duke, the Duke of Montrose.

192 Hollow'ing, shouting: the usual spelling is hallooing.

Carabine, a short gun or rifle used by cavalry; now carbine.

52. The Solitary Reaper.

195 Shady haunt, an oasis in the desert.

Hebrides, the islands to the west of Scotland.

53. Exploring in Australia.

196 My father, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who did great service in planning a wise method of colonization in South Australia, begun in 1836.

“Victoria,” the proposed name for the capital of the colony. Adelaide was selected instead.

Port Lincoln, Sleaford Mere, Louth Hills, on the promontory west of Spencer Gulf.

Lake Alexandrina, Cape Jervis, south-east of St. Vincent Gulf.

An exploring expedition. Such expeditions in Australia have usually been carried on under extreme hardships, very different from the charming picture here given.

54. Discovery of America.

201 Columbus, Christopher, a native of Genoa; born 1447, died 1506. His first famous voyage of discovery was made in 1492.

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201 Seditious, guilty of plots to overthrow lawful authority; traitorous. 203 Presages, signs by which future events can be foretold.

204 Pinta. Columbus had three small ships-the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina.

Comptroller (pron. controller), the officer who keeps the accounts; paymaster.

205 Te Deum, the opening words of the Latin hymn, Te Deum laudamus; in English, "We praise Thee, O God."

Office, literally, duty: used for an act of worship.

55. Ulysses.

206 Ulysses, in Greek, Odysseus; in Greek legend, a king of Ithaca who took part in the war against Troy, and had many years of marvellous adventure on his way home.

Hyades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus. When the sun
was in this part of the heavens, rainy weather was expected.
Troy, an ancient town in Asia Minor, mentioned in Greek story.
For two thousand years its site, and even its having really existed,
were matters of doubt. Excavations have been made which seem
to settle both questions.

207 The sounding furrows, a Greek expression for the waves.

Baths of all the western stars. The earth was thought to be flat,
and the stars seemed to sink down into the western ocean.
Happy Isles. See note on Lesson 34.

Achilles, a king of northern Greece who took part in the war
against Troy-the hero of Homer's "Iliad."

56. The Fairy Palace of the Quicken Trees.

208 Quicken Trees, mountain ash (Scottish rowan), supposed to have magical properties.

Finn, Oisin (Ossian). See note on Lesson 28. The others named are also mythical heroes.

209 Erin, the ancient and native name of Ireland.

Curved walls. Ancient Irish houses were circular in shape.

211 Druidical spell. The Druids were the priests of the old heathen religion.

Tooth of knowledge. Finn had the power of foretelling the future in this way, but only resorted to it on rare and serious occasions.

212 Dord-Fian, a plaintive Irish melody.

57. A Dream.

213 Dogs howl. There are many old superstitions connected with the howling of dogs, which were supposed to feel the presence of ghosts, etc., more quickly than their masters.