931. a. 9. harled, rough-cast with lime mingled with small gravel. b. 5. commerce, conversation, intercourse. 10. counters, remarks that mean nothing, not true coin. 25. Give him the wages of going on. A reminiscence of Tennyson's poem entitled Wages, in which the poet says of Virtue, 'Give her the wages of going on, and not to die.' 932. a. 37. Byron did actually discuss theology on his way to take part in the Greek war of independence. As to his descent and schooldays, see the biographical sketch on p. 586. b. 3. proctors, officers who supervise the behavior of students at Oxford and Cambridge. 18. rotten borough. The constituencies which before the Reform Act were in the gift of great patrons were so-called; they were regarded as safe refuges for unknown or unpopular politicians, and some of the greatest of English statesmen made their entrance into Parliament - Gladstone for instance - in this way. 21. raffish, fashionable. 35. Professor Blackie (1809-95), a popular professor of Greek at the University of Edinburgh. 37. umbrageous, suspicious, shy. 933. a. 6. iron skerries, rocks projecting from the sea, hard as iron. 13. girdle, griddle, gridiron. 20. Flodden Field, where James IV of Scotland was defeated in 1513. 21. Darien, an attempt in 1698 to plant Scottish settlers on the Isthmus of Panama, which caused considerable loss of life and widespread disappoint nient. Forty-five, the rebellion of 1745, which was crushed by the defeat of the Scotch at Culloden the following year. 24. Wallace, the Scottish hero who was defeated by the English at Falkirk in 1298. 25. Bruce defeated the English at Bannockburn in 1314; he was King of Scotland, 1306-29, and suffered many reverses. 47. Shorter Catechism, adopted at an Assembly of Puritan divines held at Westminster during the Commonwealth. b. 3. another church. The Highlanders were, for the most part, Roman Catholics. 8. Highland costume, the kilt, a short plaited skirt, coming to the knees. 15. Black Watch, a famous Highland regiment. 43. Ireland, though in the 'political aggregation' of the British Empire, retains its own religion and customs. FRANÇOIS VILLON 934. a. 24. exhumed, dug out of the grave. b. 20. pilloried, exposed to public disgrace. 935. a. 21. tubbed and swaddled, washed and wrapped in baby clothes. 26. given piously, addicted to pious practices. b. 24. Notre Dame de Paris, a novel by Victor Hugo (1831). 936. a. 9. piping the eye, pretending to cry. 54. the red door, the Porte Rouge of the previous column, 1. b. 32. Clough. See p. 673. 937. b. 41. cannikin clinked. A reminiscence of Iago's drinking song, Othello II, iii, 71. 938. a. 12. words of Mariana. Pericles IV, vi, 173-4. 25. Murger (1822-61), author of Scènes de la Vie de Bohème. 939. a. 11. Hogarth (1697-1764), the great English caricaturist. One of his most famous series portrayed the careers of The Industrious and the Idle Apprentice. b. 42. pitch-and-toss. Matching' coppers. 940. a. 55. aumries, boxes in which the offerings for the poor were kept. b. 21. made a demonstration against, attempted to break into. 941. a. 19. was upsides with him, had the advan tage of him. 942. a. 7. pantler, butler. 39. extraordinary, by torture. b. 26. put to the question, tortured. 35. of our pleasant vices. Lear V, iii, 170171: The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices 48. Nathan's parable. See ii Samuel xii, 3. 943. a. 4. planted upright, buried alive. See 937. b. 20. 22. mortal push, hand of death. 51. more pecked, pecked more full of holes. 944. a. 26. present volume. Familiar Studies of Men and Books (1882). b. 21. roystering, swaggering. 945. a. 43. Rabelais (1483-1553), the great humorous writer of the French Renaissance. 51. a work of some power. Perhaps Albert Glatigny's L'Illustre Brezacier, which made some sensation in 1873. Stevenson's essay appeared first in Cornhill, August, 1877. 946. a. 23. Béranger (1780-1857), the most popu lar of French lyrical poets. 26. Johnson. See p. 405. HEATHER ALE an Among the curiosities of human nature, this legend claims a high place. It is needless to remind the reader that the Picts were never exterminated, and form to this day a large proportion of the folk of Scotland: occupying the eastern and the central parts, from the Firth of Forth, or perhaps the Lammermoors, upon the south, to the Ord of Caithness on the north. That the blundering guess of a dull chronicler should have inspired men with imaginary loathing for their own cestors is already strange: that it should have begotten this wild legend seems incredible. Is it possible the chronicler's error was merely nominal? that what he told, and what the people proved themselves so ready to receive, about the Picts, was true or partly true of some anterior and perhaps Lappish savages, small of stature, black of hue, dwelling underground-possibly also the distillers of some forgotten spirit? See Mr. Campbell's Tales of the West Highlands. (Stevenson's own Note.) 948. 2. long-syne, long ago. 6. Swound, swoon. 8. underground. The ballad tells of the early race of men who dwelt in caves. 10. feld, fierce, dreadful. 12. roes, deer. 15. dwarfish. This ancient race was of small 208. what is for heaven alone, the secret which I wish to breathe to heaven. See 11. 201-2. 7. One that outjuggles all. Death. 25. cricket, play at cricket. 27. bale, a small piece of wood placed on top of the wickets, and whipped off by the wicket keeper to put the batsman 'out.' 33. victual, pronounced vittle.' 39. session (of Parliament). 41. mock thunder of the juggler's pistol. 954. 45. professor of juggling. 67. bolus, a large pill. 70. fields, souls or bodies. 81. chirper, glass. This ode was written in the hour of France's bitter humiliation by Germany, when Paris was in the hands of the enemy. Meredith regards France as the nation which brought political enlightenment and freedom to the world at the Revolution, but surrendered her ideals at the instigation of Napoleon III, whom he despises as a trickster. The Franco-Prussian war, he thinks, did France a service by showing her the hollowness of the pretensions of her sham-hero, and by recalling her to the path of light and freedom from which she had teen beguiled by the Emperor's dreams of military glory. France is treated throughout under the 11. when our time was dark. Before the Revolution of 1788. 12. fetters, of feudal serfdom. spark, of freedom. 24. Angel and Wanton. Half an angel of light, and half sunk in vice. The state of private and public morality under Napoleon III was low. lurid hosts who 31. riven, split by lightning. 37-8. the irreparable mischance. The Fallen-Angels in Milton's Paradise Lost. 45. fire from heaven. Here the Prometheus metaphor begins. 48. Mother of Pride. The past is contrasted with the present, which is pictured in the words that follow. 51. Heroes, bondsmen. The contrast continued. 56. crown with bays. The King of Prussia was made Emperor of Germany in the Palace of Versailles, on the outskirts of Paris. 957. 64. Tranced circumambient. The world is imaged as a circle of spectators, struck dumb with astonishment. 65. Beaks. As the vulture tore the entrails of Prometheus with its beak. 72. Chamber (gives answer) to chamber. sequent, logical, reasoning. 74. vaults (of the brain). 84. long, long ago. 100. pinnacled Alp. A reference to the crossing of the Alps by Napoleon I, a feat up to that time thought impossible. 106. along the snows. Napoleon I's retreat from Moscow. 112. oriflamme, the banner of ancient France, which gave place to the imperial eagle under Napoleon I. 113. forgets, how they sucked, etc. (1. 110), during the wars of Napoleon I. Earth covers the slain with the green grass, but the gods do not forget; they punish after the lapse of many years. 120. They, the gods. 133. Immortal. Again the Prometheus metaphor. 958. 136. Unsparing. The gods are merciless as were the children of France in their hour of triumph over Europe under Napoleon I. 140. perishable, material, the vine and grain of 1. 138. imperishable, spiritual. 153. worm, grave. 161. their, the gods'. 171. fables of her priests. Napoleon III had the support of the Roman Catholic clergy, who, when the tide of battle went against France, prayed for a special intervention of Providence. 182. In peril of, at the risk of losing. 190. a forfeit blade. Meredith changed this afterwards to a broken blade.' His point is that France was defeated because of the insufficiency of her military organization, which, under the laxity and corruption of the administration of Napoleon III, had been allowed to fall into decay. 194. Clamored of treachery. At the surrender of Sedan, which was the turning point of the war, there were outcries that France had been betrayed to the Germans by her leaders. 204. her Dishonorer, Napoleon III. 206. Bellona and Bacchante, the goddesses of War and Bacchic Frenzy. 207. Schoolmen of the North, the Germans, who planned the campaign scientifically long before it began. 959. 210. faithful to himself, to the law of strength. See 11. 161-170. 215. A name of terror. Napoleon III was much dreaded in Europe, but was suffering from severe illness, and showed a lack of self-control at critical moments. 216. trickster. Napoleon III. 217. for dominion. Napoleon had gained military successes and territory in previous wars. to patch a throne. The war against Germany was said to be undertaken to divert the public attention from internal misgovernment and secure the succession of Napoleon III's son, the Prince Imperial. 220. for their sake, i.e., in a righteous cause. 221. divine, and therefore immortal. 228. her own (line). That, so that. 229. cease, die. THE LARK ASCENDING Cf. Wordsworth (p. 531) and Shelley To a Sky Lark (p. 627). The different ways in which the subject is treated by the three poets should not be overlooked. 13. quick o' the ear, inmost nerve of the ear. 14. her, the brain. 16. dry (referring to springs) unresponsive. he, the lark. 961. 44. argentine, silvery. 46. choric, dancing in the wind. 48. shivers wet. In a storm of wind and rain. 49. chime (of a waterfall). 56. him, the lark. 64. The sentence here ended runs on continuously 1 1 1 NOTES from the beginning of the poem, like the lark's song. 75. fallows, fields lying fallow. 101-124. In associating the lark's song with human intellectual activities, Meredith strikes a characteristic note, different from that of the older poets of the nineteenth century. 110. Earth. See biographical sketch, p. 949. THE WOODS OF WESTERMAIN This is more difficult than the preceding poems, and had perhaps better not be attempted by students who have not attained some mastery of Meredith's habits of thought and modes of expression. It will, however, repay study, for it sets forth the poet's attitude towards Nature and Life somewhat fully. Wordsworth's belief that Nature never did betray the heart that loved Her' is made by Meredith the foundation of a wide-reaching philosophy. To trust and follow Nature, to keep close to the Earth, and yet to maintain a firm hold on the senses, to control self, and to follow the highest develop- this is for Meredith the secret ment of humanity of happiness. The first three stanzas are similar in structure, the first part in each indicating the consequences of an attitude of trustfulness towards Nature, the second part the consequences of an attitude of distrust. Both these attitudes are represented by the same formula, used in different senses in the first At the beginning of each two and last two lines. stanza, the poet says: You may enter the enchanted woods safely, if you do so trustingly;' at the end, If you enter distrustfully, you do so at your own risk.' The fourth stanza passes into a general discussion of the conduct of life, considered allegorically under the similitude of a wood. 5-7. If you toss your heart up you fare successfully. 8-9. But if you show a sign of fear, they change their form. 962. 15. golden bath, of sunlight. 17. winnowing plumes, fanlike wings. 18. on a chuckle, chuckling. 21. jar, a bird with wings mottled like those of a moth. 23. Note the change of thought. 25. rood, a small plot of ground, a fraction of an acre. 30-40. The wood opens in various directions, with bramble bushes, and wild strawberries, topped by the star-flower; the ground is encumbered by fallen twigs, fir cones, seed pods, mole hills, and particolored flint stones; here and there in the earth are to be seen the footprints of small animals that have fled in fear. 46. whins, low shrubs. 47. minikins, small birds. 51. flowing not from purse, not dependent upon the power of money. 58. If you desire it with all your soul. 59. t' the lyre, to the poet. 62. Granaries, treasures. 65. Not enslaved to worldly appetites. 66-73. In the place too often usurped by mere 1129 worldly success, you will enthrone the joy evoked 74-81. Or the dull eyes of cattle chewing the cud 88-91. If you follow Nature, you will embrace closely her glory narrowed down to beauty, or take in arms spread wide as air her beauty enlarged to magnificence. 92. white Foam-born, Venus, the goddess of Love. 94. Phœbus, Apollo, the god of song. Phabe, Diana the huntress, goddess of chastity. 95. Pan, the god of untamed Nature. 97. her, Nature. 98. sterner worship, of modern science, which regards them not as deities but as natural forces. 99. her, Nature's. 103. awn, the delicate silky growth that terminates the grain-sheath of barley, oats, etc. 104. Argent, silvery. The moon is imaged as Diana the huntress. 105. the blush, of sunrise. 107. Passing, and eternally recurring. 110. opposing grandeurs, as of moonlight and sunrise. The spirit of beauty saves their glory from death (fleetingness '). 114-121. The divine harmony of Nature destroys no spring (fountain) of strength; it subdues, but does not slay, guiding the course of the stream, but preserving its source; it tempers the heat of young blood, but hears the heart of its wildness beat through self-restraint, like the solemn yet ardent dance of centaurs on the greensward. 122-9. If you catch the sense of Nature's harmony, it will open the way to a larger fellowship with humanity, and to a Love, instinct with passion, soaring beyond egotism, if you do not put the sensual appetites in the foreground. 963. 132-3. Womanhood, the supreme triumph of Nature, demands reverence for Nature's earlier developments. 138. throat and thigh. The waterfall, reflecting the rays of the sun, is pictured as a human being. The courtly dames' are 143. Bare or veiled. compared to the open waters and whispering leaves, with which they share the sincerity of Nature. 146. Part of the Nature, by which they are surrounded, and of which they are the outcome. 147. They have the surety of the tree's roots and the grace of its branches. 148-151. They reveal the treasures of their hearts, and do not conceal those of their minds, in order to flatter the pride of the tyrant, Man; for when the mind is not open to the light of day, darkness breeds trickery. Of woman's wiles when oppressed and their consequences, strange and terrible stories are told. 154. the ancient battle, between the sexes. 155. astonished friends, man and woman, aston ished at the charm of the new relation of friendship. 158. the tiger, man. the snake, woman. 162-165. Now the woman leads the man in a silken leash, decked with wild flowers, and unconscious of the constraint, though feeling its sweet ness. 166-169. Love ennobles the senses, and develops individuality. 172. The dots indicate the change of thought. 181. Gaps, rends. 185. fell, savage, dreadful. 187. Fellowly, in the spirit of comradeship. 189. cocks of day, harbingers of dawn. 191. quern, mill. 199. thought and felt, what is thought and what is felt. 200-1. Nature flows on, ever-changing, like the brook, not foolishly standing still in established customs, like a stagnant pool. 209. them you quit, the fellow mortals you leave behind. 210-211. The most soaring spirit gains by contact with common humanity. 215-16. The sense of superiority to one's fellows is always dangerous. 218. Again the thought changes. 220. Dragon-fowl, of selfishness. See 1. 243. 226-7. No force, not even that of egotism, is destroyed, but is controlled and turned to noble uses. 235-8. Nothing in nature is philosophically wise, least of all man, except when long experience has freed his mind from egotism. 239. him. The dragon of selfishness. dumb, with astonishment. Beware of self-esteem, even when you seem to be drinking in wisdom. 964. 241. she, wisdom. When you feel that you only are wise, then above all beware. 244. late in the history of the race. 251. Shrewd only for his own material interests. 257. Like the pine, soft within, but obdurate to all outside himself. 265-7. Out of sight of heaven, to the very heart of Earth, the source of her activity and the spring of progress. 270-287. Humanity is imagined as a crowd gazing on the source of Nature, and discovering in the history of the race the slow beginnings of human sensibility. In all these beginnings are described the efforts of man to demand of Nature the satisfaction of material and selfish desires. But Nature cares nothing for the individual, and gives no sign in answer to the cravings of egotism. She proceeds with her task of developing the human spirit out of sensual desires. 292-305. Regarded merely from the physical side, the history of the race appears only a constant interchange of beginnings and endings, darkness and light, life and death, youth and age; but regarded spiritually, beyond the mere senses, Nature is seen to be permanent. 306-9. We may regard Nature with loathing, gaz ing on the dust in the tomb, or with love, keeping in mind the spiritual sense of living men. 312-3. Yield to the sensual appetites, or, like Nature, give yourself to service. 321. Airing, opening. 323. seer, the prophet or beholder of Nature. 324. witch, bewitch, play the witch, charming you with external beauty. 329. her awful tremble. What is dreadful in Nature, as well as what appears beneficent. 330. Fount. The source of Nature. See 11. 266–7. 346-9. Not the pleasures of sense, which, wantonly followed, grow into habits, and like hags, ride the souls of men to destruction. 350-1. Pleasures that keep the senses under the control of the intellect. 352. sequent birth. Body, mind, and spirit developed in orderly succession. 356-363. It is fatal to neglect either blood, or brain, or soul. If we part company with any one of these three we shall be wrecked. The attempt to develop soul without blood, or worse still, without brain, is to court certain disaster, of which the chronicles of religion are full. The athletic craze for training the blood alone, is no better; and if the brain of the mere intellectual be a higher development, it is not in itself perfect, or satisfying, or secure.' (G. M. Trevelyan.) 965. 363. Glassing her, mirroring Earth or Nature. 370. Eglantine, the wild-rose. 371. darkness. Dark eglantine in thought most beautiful. 372. Knowing, who know. 373. kin o' the rose. Short-lived, but beautiful while it lasts. 374. Those who have explored the depths of Nature use life as a tool or weapon. 379. If they ask the secret of life, the answer is the same as the question 'Why?' With this answer they are content. See 1. 369. 380. ramped, held in check. Selfishness being subdued, they will thrill to be marked for service. 384-5. So that in the hour of death, where fear sits, they will still see the stream of life flowing on. 386. lynx. Eyeing it without fear. her, Nature. 388. Sphinx. Riddle. 396. lop, trim, keep within bounds. 418. Momently, for a moment. 430. at the paths behind, at the past history of the race. 441. Again the note of warning. 446-452. If with the sons of selfishness you fear all that is outside of your personal interests. All these are conditional clauses, dependent on 1. 453. 455. Nighted, descending by night, like a vul ture. 457. One whose eyes are out. Ignorance. 463. yapping, barking. 466. drums the sconce, confuses the intelligence. 467. nibblenips, pinckes, torments. 469. demon-growing girl, the girl being transformed into a demon. 479. yell you Where, yell to you where you are. |