NOTES

the old order changeth:

“The old order changeth, yielding place to new —”
Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, The Passing of Arthur, l. 408.

(See Riverside Literature Series, Nos. 99, 233.)

the Goths sacking the sacred city: Reference to the sacking of Rome by the Goths, a Teutonic race which overran a large part of the Roman Empire early in the Christian era. Here the reference is to the commercial spirit of the young men who are pushing their way into the “sacred precincts” of the South. Sharlee and West reveal the spirit of the old Southern aristocracy in the New South.

Tory Gamaliel: Gamaliel was a Pharisee and learned Jewish doctor who was the teacher of Saint Paul. Tory is used here with Gamaliel to indicate the conservative attitude of Colonel Cowles, who clings loyally to the traditions of the Old South.

  8 sauve qui peut (F.): Save (himself) who can.

 10 Tartar: A member of any of the hordes inhabiting parts of Russia and of eastern and central Asia, known for their fierceness. Here, a person of irritable and violent temper.

Comte, Auguste (1798-1857): A French philosopher, the founder of a system of philosophy known as positivism, which deals only with positive facts and excludes inquiry into causes.

 11 You can’t serve two masters: “No man can serve two masters —” Matthew VI, 24.

gift horse: A reference to the familiar saying, “Look not a gift horse in the mouth.”

432

 14 had ought: What is the purpose of this grammatical error?

Porterhouse: Notice the use of a capital for emphasis.

Latrobe heater: Named after the inventor. It is a stove set up in a fireplace, with flues leading to the room above.

coturee: Mispronunciation of coterie.

 22 sotto voce (It.): In an undertone.

 24 Fabian: An adjective referring to Quintus Fabius Maximus (275-203 B.C.), a Roman general, who was very cautious and played a waiting game in his battles with the Carthaginians; hence the meaning here of cautious.

 26 May, 1862: Period at the beginning of the Civil War when the Confederate army was forced to evacuate Yorktown, Virginia, and other cities, and centered about Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy.

 34 lapis lazuli: A stone of azure blue (probably the sapphire of the ancients).

Egypt’s night: Intense darkness. This is an allusion to Exodus X, 22, “And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.”

 35 Harvey, William (1578-1657): An English anatomist and physician, who discovered the circulation of the blood.

Whitney, Eli (1765-1825): The inventor of the cotton gin.

 37 Great Wall of China: A world-famous structure built about 200 B.C. as a protection against the Tartar tribes. It traverses the north boundary of China and is estimated to be twelve hundred and fifty miles long.

 41 Dana, Charles Anderson (1819-97): An eminent American journalist. He was connected with the New York Tribune, and, after 1868, was editor of the Sun. He was Assistant Secretary of War, 1863-64.

 45 Davis, Jefferson (1808-89): The President of the Confederate states, 1861-65.

Reconstruction: The period after the Civil War during which the governments of the Southern States were in a process of reorganization in accordance with the Reconstruction Act of 1867.

carpet-baggism: Policy or practice of the carpet-baggers, Northern political adventurers and exploiters who swarmed into the South after the Civil War. These men were so called because they had no property and were represented in political cartoons as carrying all their belongings in a carpet-bag.

433

scalawaggery: Behavior of Southerners who acted as Republicans during the Reconstruction and, accordingly, were considered traitors by the Democrats of the South.

Tilden, Samuel Jones (1814-86): Democratic candidate for the Presidency, who was defeated by Rutherford B. Hayes in the election of 1876.

Hayes, Rutherford Birchard (1822-93): President, 1877-81. He was a Republican.

Cleveland, Grover: Democratic President who served two terms, 1885-89, 1893-97.

free trade: Interchange of commodities between States unrestricted by customs duties except for the purpose of revenue. This was the policy advocated by Cleveland and his party.

free silver: Free coinage of silver advocated by the Democratic Party in the campaign of 1896.

Bryanism: Policy of William J. Bryan, Democratic candidate for the Presidency in the campaign of 1896. He was defeated by McKinley because of a split in the Democratic Party.

Hercules-labor: Allusion to the twelve labors which Hercules, the national hero of Greece, was compelled to perform at the command of his cousin Eurystheus as a punishment for the slaying of his own children.

 47 a lion’s of the tribe of Judah: Biblical language. See Revelation V, 5. The meaning here is evident.

 48 stinging each other in the dust: An allusion to Tennyson’s Maud, Part II, line 47.

 51 Pro Bono Publico (L.): For the public good.

 54 Phrygia: An ancient country in Asia Minor which was celebrated for its marble.

Cappadocia: In ancient geography, an extensive country in the eastern part of Asia Minor. It became a Roman province in 17 A.D.

1875: Year when the Whiskey Ring was brought to light. This was a combination of distillers and revenue officers, formed in St. Louis (1872), for the purpose of defrauding the Government by keeping back part of the internal revenue tax. This business had branches in several large cities.

cloven foot: Evil intention. The reference is to the devil, who was depicted in Christian art with a cloven hoof.

 56 Judas Iscariot: Betrayer of Jesus.

434

 58 Solomonic: Pertaining to Solomon, a king of Israel in the tenth century B.C. He was noted for his wisdom.

Philistines: Natives of ancient Philistia in Syria; hence persons lacking culture and refinement.

 59 Burne-Jones, Sir Edward (1833-98): an English painter of the nineteenth century.

 60 Socrates (469-399 B.C.): An Athenian philosopher, celebrated for his learning. Socrates’ method of argument was to ask questions and to study the answers for inconsistencies. In so doing, he made many enemies. The authorities at Athens declared him guilty of impiety and corruption of the young, and put him to death by forcing him to drink hemlock.

Astor Library: A library in New York City named after John Jacob Astor, by whom it was endowed.

Gorgon: Any one of three sisters of mythology who had snaky hair and whose appearance turned the beholder to stone. Medusa, one of these three, was slain by Perseus, who gave her head to the goddess Minerva.

 65 Magnum Opus (L.): a great work.

 67 dossier (F.): A bundle of statistics, or papers, referring to some matter.

 75 about six to one: As the Civil War progressed, the Northern soldiers outnumbered the Southerners in the proportion of two, and even three, to one. Here the proportion is exaggerated.

Willoughby, Smathers, Conant: Fictitious names. Writers whom Queed considers authorities with whom the Reverend Dayne should be familiar.

 80 Diet: A public assembly (national or local), such as the great assembly of councilors of the Holy Roman Empire.

 81 Mergenthaler machines: Linotype machines named after Ottmar Mergenthaler (1854-99), a German-American inventor.

 86 rondy-vooze: Buck’s pronunciation of rendez-vous.

100 Shadrach and Abednego: Reference to two Hebrew youths who, with Meshach, came forth unharmed from a fiery furnace (Daniel III).

captain of his soul:

“I am the master of my fate:
     I am the captain of my soul.”

William Ernest Henley’s Invictus.

102 Colossus: A gigantic statue of Apollo, called the Colossus of Rhodes, which stood at the entrance to the harbor of Rhodes (280-224 B.C.)

“Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
  Like a Colossus —”

Shakespeare’s Julius Cæsar, ACT. I, Scene 2.

104 German: A party at which the german is danced. This is a dance of fanciful, involved figures intermingled with waltzes.

Cotillon: A series of fanciful round dances at which each gentleman presents his partner with favors or trinkets furnished by the managers.

107 deux-temps (F.): Literally, two-time. Two-step time.

109 Oh, that we two were Maying!: Quotation from The Saint’s Tragedy (Act II, Scene 9) by Charles Kingsley (1819-75).

111 Delilah: Samson’s mistress, who, by cutting off his hair in which his strength lay, delivered him into the hands of the Philistines (Judges XVI).

Samson: An Israelite, distinguished for his great strength (Judges XIII-XVI).

116 Quam ob rem, Quirites (L.): For which reason, citizens.

M. T. Ciceronis Orationes Selectæ (L.): Selected Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero.

120 Lecky, William (1838-1903): An English philosophical and historical writer born in Ireland. He had become a recognized authority on the history of the eighteenth century.

Spencer, Herbert (1820-1903): An English philosopher of the nineteenth century, best known for his Principles of Psychology, which appeared in 1855.

Huxley, Thomas (1825-95): A famous English biologist and essayist of the nineteenth century.

Darwin, Charles (1809-82): An English naturalist whose work, The Origin of Species, presented the doctrine of evolution.

Mill, John Stuart (1806-73): English philosopher and economist, who expounded the method of scientific reasoning. He was greatly interested in politics and wrote extensively on theories of government.

Hume, David (1711-76): A Scotch historian and philosopher, who made history interesting, but left to others the task of making it instructive and authentic.

436

Fiske, John (1842-1901): Famous American historian and philosopher.

The Wealth of Nations: A book by Adam Smith (1723-90), a Scottish economist, who wrote to uphold the doctrine that labor is the only source of a nation’s wealth.

Maine, Sir Henry (1822-88): An English jurist and historian famous for his work in proving the inaccuracy of long-prevailing theories in regard to the institutions of civilized society.

121 Kidd, Benjamin (1858-1916): An English sociologist, known principally for his brilliant essay, Social Evolution (1894), the main theme being the conflict between private interest and social welfare.

Marshall, Alfred (1842-): An English political economist, whose Principles of Economics (1890) won for him a position among the foremost English economists. In this, he tries to present and reconcile the important doctrines of classical and modern economics.

Contrat Social: A book written by Jean Jacques Rousseau, one of the great French writers of the eighteenth century. In this, Rousseau offers as an ideal government the direct government of the people and applies the name of sovereign to the whole body of citizens.

Crozier’s Civilization and Progress: The most important work (1885) of John Beattie Crozier (1849-1921), an English writer on philosophy and history, born in Ontario.

122 “Young Ireland” movement: A group of young Irish extremists, filled with zeal for the cause of liberty and nationality, whose activities, literary as well as political, culminated in the rebellion of 1848.

Home Rule: A movement which began in 1870 to secure for Ireland a local legislature, thus taking the control of Irish affairs out of British hands.

Parnellism: A political movement led by Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-91). He was president of the Irish National League formed in 1882.

Phœnix Park Murders: The brutal murder, in Phœnix Park, Dublin, of Lord Frederick Cavendish, newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Mr. Burke, the Permanent Under-Secretary, who were surrounded and killed by enemies of the 437 English rule in Ireland. This unfortunate crime occurred in May, 1882.

124 Black Death: A most virulent form of plague, which swept Asia and Europe in the fourteenth century. It is said to have carried off a quarter of the population of the world.

135 Achilles-armor: Allusion to Achilles, the hero of Homer’s Iliad. By dipping him in the river Styx when he was an infant, his mother made him invulnerable except in the heel by which she held him. Here he was later fatally wounded by a poisoned arrow.

143 no sadness of farewell when she embarked:

“And may there be no sadness of farewell,
  When I embark: —”

Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar.
(See Riverside Literature series, No. 73

151 Morgan John Piermont (1837-1913): Famous American financier.

155 Cemetery Ridge: A chain of small hills just south of Gettysburg, along the crest of which the Union army took its stand on July 1, 1863. On July 3 General Lee sent forward General Pickett with his Virginia troops on his famous charge against the center of the Union lines. This heroic charge was repulsed with terrible slaughter, and the Union army was victorious.

Petersburg: city in Virginia where General Lee held General Grant at bay for nearly a year. On April 2, 1865, the Confederate army was obliged to abandon it.

161 Palissy, Bernard (1510?-89?): French potter and enameler, who for sixteen years devoted himself to discovering a mode of producing white enamel. He exhausted all his resources and was overwhelmed with reproaches from his wife and his starving family. In the end, however, he was rewarded by success and became famous for his glass paintings and beautiful figured pottery.

Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727): Famous English mathematician and scientist, the discoverer of the law of gravitation, who entered into an bitter and spirited controversy with Leibnitz as to the priority of discovery of the differential calculus.

Bacon, Francis (1561-1626): English philosopher and statesman, one of the greatest intellectual figures of his period. He anticipated many of the inventions of to-day and influenced 438 science in the direction of accuracy in observation. He was a man of brilliant intellect, but of coldly calculating, contradictory character. He won the warm friendship of the Earl of Essex, Queen Elizabeth’s favorite, used the Earl as a means of advancement, and then, when Essex was tried for treason, helped, as Queen’s Counsel, to have him convicted and beheaded. For this act he gained a reputation of treachery to friendship.

163 Silurian deposit: A deposit of the Paleozoic period known as the Silurian, which is distinguished by coral-reel building and the appearance of large crustaceans.

165 Vanity Fair: Novel by William Thackeray, English novelist of the nineteenth century. In this novel Thackeray portrays the background of his time.

Astor Library: See note for page 60.

The Percy Anecdotes: A collection of anecdotes supposedly written by “Sholto and Reuben Percy, brothers of the Benedictine Monastery of Mount Benger” (1821-23.) Reuben was Thomas Byerley, editor of the Mirror of Literature, and Sholto was Joseph Clinton Robertson, editor of the Mechanics’ Magazine. The name of Percy was taken from the Percy coffeehouse in London, which they frequented.

Mark Lemon’s Jest Book: Mark Lemon (1809-70), an English journalist and humorist, who was editor of Punch, 1841-70.

166 Johnson, Dr. Samuel (1709-84): The literary dictator of his time, who is best known from Boswell’s famous Life of Johnson.

Billingsgate: A fishmarket, known for its foul language, situated at a former gate in the city of London.

167 con: Slang term meaning bluffing.

170 But He spake of the temple of His body: John II, 21.

175 Renan, Joseph Ernest (1823-92): A French theologian, Orientalist, and critic, whose Life of Jesus (1863) made him famous the world over. This book was followed by a series of works on the history of the beginning of Christianity.

First Cause: A term used by Spencer, in his First Principles, to denote the power, evidently infinite, to which the nature of the universe and the changes wrought in the human consciousness must be due.

176 I am the resurrection . . . : The words of the service that follow are taken from the service for the Burial of the Dead in the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England.

439

177 For all the Saints who from their labors rest: Words of a familiar hymn, which was written by William Walsham How, 1854.

179 Rachel: The mother of Joseph and Benjamin. “Thus saith the Lord; a voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.” Jeremiah XXXI, 15.

191 Don Juans: Allusion to Don Juan, a semi-mythical profligate Spanish nobleman who lived in the fourteenth century and whose career has supplied the basis for romances, plays and the opera; hence the meaning here of dissolute fellows, rakes.

God moves in a mysterious way: The first line of a familiar hymn, the words of which were written by William Cowper, an English poet of the eighteenth century.

194 Henry James’s: Reference to the finished and intellectually sophisticated style of Henry James (1843-1916), a novelist, short-story writer, and critic, who was born in America but lived in England.

196 Barkis-like: Willing. This is an allusion to Barkis, a character in Dickens’s David Copperfield, who proposed to David’s old nurse, Peggotty, by sending her the message, “Barkis is willin’.”

200 “the minute grey lichens . . . .

“How the minute grey lichens, plate o’er plate,
  Have softened down the crisp-cut name and date!”

Browning’s Earth’s Immortalities.

202 Lombroso, Cesare (1836-1909): An Italian criminologist, whose book The Criminal was the beginning of the science of criminal anthropology.

Buckle, Henry Thomas (1821-62): An English historian, noted for his history of the Middle Ages, the History of Civilization being his important work.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.): The famous Greek philosopher whose reputation has been equaled only by that of Plato.

Plato (427-347 B.C.): A Greek philosopher who gathered about him a large school of distinguished followers to carry on his ideas. Aristotle was his pupil.

205 Periclean age: Time of Pericles (495?-429 B.C.), the great statesman 440of Greece, when Athens was at her supremacy, intellectually and materially.

208 as windy as Troy:

“Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy”

Tennyson’s Ulysses
(See Riverside Literature series, No. 73.)

221 Oil Colleges: Colleges supported by endowments from oil magnates.

222 Bourbons: Allusion to the noble French family of Bourbon, whose members founded dynasties in France (Henry IV, 1589), Spain, and Italy. They clung to ideas adapted to the past.

227 Germaine, Lord George (1716-85): The Secretary of State for the colonies, 1775-78, who planned Burgoyne’s campaign and was responsible for General Howe’s failure to meet Burgoyne at Albany because his message to Howe reached America too late. As he was on the way to the country, he thrust the message into a pigeon-hole until it was too late to be of use.

228 war-dogs: West’s enemies, who have been waiting for an opportunity to attack him, like dogs who are unleashed when it is time for the hunt to begin.

“Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war.”

Shakespeare’s Julius Cæsar, Act III, Scene I.

232 Uticas: Speeches. Allusion to the addresses made in the Roman Senate by Marcus Porcius Cato, the Elder, which always ended with the statement that Carthage must be destroyed. Utica, a city in the territory of Carthage, submitted to Rome in the third Punic War.

“No pent-up Utica contracts your powers — ”

Sewall’s Epilogue to Cato.

234 And a man’s enemies shall be those of his own household: “And a man’s foes shall by they of his own household.” Matthew X, 36.

kopeck’s: A small Russian coin, now worth about half a cent.

238 Moses: The Hebrew prophet who led the people of Israel out of Egypt into the promised land.

245 cursed albatross: Reference to Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner and the dead albatross which the shipmates hung around the 441 Mariner’s neck as a punishment for his crime of killing the bird that brought the favorable wind. See Riverside Literature Series, No. 80.

247 Fenian refugee: A member of an Irish revolutionary organization active from 1858-1885.

252 fisherman of the Legend: Allusion to a story in The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. In order to save his life, the fisherman was obliged to use strategy in restoring the genie to the bottle.

Pandora: Allusion to the story of Pandora, a beautiful girl whom Zeus sent as a punishment to mortals because Prometheus stole fire from heaven. Zeus gave her a box containing all the human ills. She opened the box from curiosity and allowed them all to escape.

253 Nothing in Mr. West’s presidential life became him like the leaving of it:

         “ . . .nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving of it.”

Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act I, Scene 4.

254 old man of the sea: Any person or thing of which it is difficult to rid one’s self. This is an allusion to the monster who leapt on to the back of Sinbad the sailor, in The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, and refused to be dislodged for many days and nights.

257 Lee, Robert Edward (1807-70): Commander-in-chief of the Confederate forces, who surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865.

258

Benjamin’s mess: “. . . but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs.” Genesis XLIII, 34.

Stars and Bars: The Confederate flag, which had a red field with a horizontal white bar through the center one third the width of the flag. In 1863 this was changed to a white flag with one blue star in the center.

264 Pickett’s division: See note on Cemetery Ridge, page 155.

265 Jackson, General Thomas Jonathan (1824-63): A Confederate general. He received the nickname “Stonewall” because he and his men stood like a stone wall at one time during the first battle of Bull Run when some of the confederates were retreating in disorder. He was mortally wounded in the battle of Chancellorsville (May 1-4, 1863) and died a few days later.

266 Bedlam: The hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem in London, 442 long used as a lunatic asylum; therefore any place of uproar and confusion.

Adams, John Samuel Quincy (1767-1848): The sixth President of the United States, who was the son of the second. He was born in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Yorktown: City in Virginia where Cornwallis surrendered to Washington on October 19, 1781.

Philadelphia Congress: Continental Congress which met at Philadelphia in September, 1774, and drew up the Declaration of Rights. On May 10, 1775, the Congress held a second meeting, this time appointing George Washington to command the Continental army. The Second Continental congress continued until May 1, 1781, and became the governing power of the colonies during the war. On July 4, 1776, the Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence.

269Ben Hill’s tribute to Lee: Benjamin H. Hill (1823-82) was Senator from Georgia in the Confederate Congress. In his eulogy on Lee he stated that Lee possessed the virtues of other great commanders without their vices, and that future historians would recognize his distinction.

Harper’s Weekly: A publication of Harper and Brothers, New York, the sympathies of which were with the Union during the Civil War.

Garrison, William Lloyd (1805-79): A Boston printer, who was a leader of the abolitionists. In 1831 he started The Liberator, a paper which he carried on until slavery was abolished. He also organized the American Antislavery Society.

270 Lee, Charles (1731-82): An American general born in England who, at a critical moment in the battle at Monmouth Court House, ordered his troops to retreat. For this treachery he was fiercely rebuked by General Washington, who ordered him to the rear. He was court-martialed and suspended from his command. Later Congress dismissed him from the army. It has since been proven that Lee was a traitor to the American cause and gave information to General Howe, commander of the British forces.

Voodooism: A form of superstition and sorcery among negroes, which is regarded as a relic of African barbarism.

Baal: The name of any one of the local Semitic gods regarded as having control over the fertility of the soil and the increase of flocks.

Moloch: Another Semitic god; whose worship was accompanied by human sacrifice, especially of first-born children.

278 dinosaur: A prehistoric reptile estimated to have been from thirty to eighty feet long. Here the allusion is to the reconstruction of the dinosaur from exhumed bones.

285 none so poor to do me reverence:

“And none so poor to do him reverence.”

Shakespeare’s Julius Cæsar, Act III, Scene 2.

286 Coventry: A town in Warwickshire, England. To be in Coventry means to be exiled from society.

deep calling to deep: “Deep calleth unto deep.” Psalm, XLII, 7.

Samaritan: Allusion to the good Samaritan of the Bible (Luke X, 30-37); therefore any one who relieves bodily suffering.

287 Nazareth: City in Galilee where Jesus spent His boyhood and young manhood. Here He commenced His teaching.

291 Cincinnatus-wise: Allusion to Cincinnatus, a Roman of the fifth century, who left his plow to become dictator and save Rome from the ®quians. He is said to have accomplished this and to have returned to his plow again in sixteen days.

293 The Colonel’s bones were dust:

“The knight’s bones are dust,
  And his good sword rust;
  His soul I with the saints, I trust.”

Coleridge’s The Knight’s Tomb.

law of the Medes and Persians: Unalterable law. Daniel VI, 8.

300 ensemble (F.): General effect or appearance.

304 Père Goriot: Allusion to Jean Goriot, the principal character in Père Goriot by Balzac, the French novelist. Père Goriot is a father who gives up everything for his ungrateful daughters.

310 Didymus: The surname of Thomas, the doubting apostle; hence the meaning here of doubtful.

314 Greeley, Horace (1811-72): American journalist who began in 1841 the New York Tribune and became its leading editor. He was active in politics and in 1872 was an unsuccessful candidate for President.

317 con game: Con is the abbreviated form of confidence. A con game is therefore a swindling game, in which the trickster takes advantage of the victim’s confidence.

much learning has made you mad: “Out of too much learning become mad.” Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy.

324 green like the bay-tree: “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.” Psalm XXXXVII, 35.

327 loved he not honor more:

“I could not love thee, Dear, so much,
  Loved I not Honour more.”

Sir Richard Lovelace’s To Lucasta on Going to the Wars.      
(See the Golden Treasury, Riverside Literature Series, 166, p. 102.)

bay-leaves: A wreath of laurel offered to a victor.

thirty pieces of silver: Price paid to Judas Iscariot for the betrayal of Jesus.

349 betrayed them with a kiss: Allusion to Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus.

350 Solon: Allusion to Solon, the famous Athenian lawgiver.

357 Caucasian: White race. Why is mention made of this fact?

Roman progress: Allusion to the triumphs, celebrations with processions and ceremonies, given to emperors and returning victors of Roman times.

358 Straus, Oscar (1870-): An Austrian composer, who was born in Vienna. He composed music for musical comedies and operettas. The Chocolate Soldier is one of his best-known works.

359 Trojan: A native of ancient Troy, which for ten years was besieged by the Greeks. Here the reference is to one who shows endurance like that of a Trojan.

360 Verzenay: One of the finest champagnes in France, obtained from the vineyard at Verzenay.

367 riskay: Risqué (F.) bordering on the improper.

Tombs: A great stone building of Egyptian architecture which serves the city of New York as a prison.

369 Ishmaelitish years: Allusion to Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, who was a social outcast. Genesis XVI, 12.

371 basilisk gaze: Reference to the basilisk, a fabulous serpent, whose breath and look were fatal to its victim.

390 Borgia, Lucrezia (1480-1519): A woman of great beauty and brilliance who shrank from no crime however horrible. She belonged to the Borgia family, which was originally Spanish, but which acquired great prominence in Italy in the fifteenth century when Rodrigo, father of Lucrezia, rose to the popedom as Alexander VI. This was a period when the court of Rome was the scene of the worst forms of crime.

402 Argus: In ancient mythology, the son of Zeus and Niobe. He possessed one hundred eyes, at least two of which he always kept open so that nothing escaped his sight.

406 Sir Galahad: The perfect knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, who achieved the quest of the Holy Grail. He was the only one who saw the vision face to face.

424 with a show of the purple: Royally. Purple was the color worn by emperors in the days of the Roman Empire and therefore the distinguishing mark of royalty.

428 De mortuis nil nisi bonum (L.): Of the dead (say) nothing except good.

Beelzebub: The devil. Beelzebub was a heathen god whom the Jews considered the ruler of evil spirits. Milton, in Paradise Lost, gave this name to the fallen angel who was second in power to Satan.