10. toils: snares. (So in Hamlet, III. ii. 362.) It is derived through French from Latin tela, a web, a thing woven. Probably not of the same derivation as 'toil,' to work. 16. take the water: to embark. To take horse' is an expression frequently met with, meaning to mount and ride a horse,' and here we have the same sense of the water, i.e. the river. It means that she will embark and travel on the river. 'To take to the water' is often used: but to take the water ordinarily would mean to 'drink.' divertisement: amusement. From the Fr. divertir, to amuse, and now generally spelt in its French form, i.e. divertissement.' We say, more frequently, 'diversion.' 18. Sir Squire of the Soiled Cassock: a playful address to Raleigh, referring to the cloak which he soiled by laying it beneath the Queen's feet when she had to cross a muddy way. The incident is described in Kenilworth, ch. xv. Cassock: originally meant a vestment, an outer cloak. Italian, casacca, an outer coat, from Lat. casa, a cottage, a 'covering.' The meaning, 'some part of outer clothing,' originated in a half-jocular allusion to the size of a cloak. It now means the ecclesiastical garb. |