354 34 Peag (pronounced peeg), or peak, consisted of small shell beads pierced and strung. The white variety were known as wampum (white), or wampumpeag. They were used by the Indians as money and also as ornaments. - See Century Dictionary. 357 14 Starved. To starve signified originally to die. The German sterben, which is akin to it, has kept this broad meaning. In England the term is still applied to death from cold as well as from hunger, but in the United States it is applied only to death from hunger. The word weed, in the sense of clothing, has undergone the same kind of change; that is, it has become restricted in its application. 361 John Bull. In this paper Irving draws a humorous sketch of the typical Englishman, and at the same time glances at the social and political condition of the English nation. The subject does not call forth his best powers as a humorist, and consequently the production is somewhat commonplace. 362 12 Beyond the sound of Bow-bells. grave auntients, p. 284; also note on p. 141, 1. 5. See note relating to 363 31 Took lessons in his youth. An allusion, of course, to England's troubles with neighboring nations in past centuries. 365 2 366 19 367 22 The Gentlemen of the fancy, sporting characters. The family chapel, i.e. the established church. To have the old edifice thoroughly overhauled. doctrines that led to the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832 were being warmly advocated at the time when this paper was written. 367 34 The growth of centuries. The development of the English constitution forms an interesting subject of study, especially for Americans. 368 5 Any part of the building as superfluous. Some persons would like to do away with the laws which protect the English aristocracy the laws relating to entail and primogeniture. The House of Lords has often been characterized as a hindrance to legislation. 371 31 Family dissensions. - See mention of riots in note on p. 288, 1. 25. 374 8 That he may remain quietly at home. The student who is familiar with the history of England since 1820 will find something humorous in Irving's remarks. 375 To starve. · See note on p. 357, l. 14. 377 5 Earth to earth, etc. The expression occurs in the burial service in the Book of Common Prayer, used in the Episcopal Church. 377 11 Isaiah xl. 6-8; I Peter i. 24. Flower of the field. Job xiv. 2; Psalms ciii. 15; Rachel mourning, etc. Matthew ii. 18. 377 13 378 3 This is the prettiest low-born lass, etc. Shakespeare: Twelfth Night, Act IV. Sc. 4, 1. 156. 378 10 Rites of May. The first day of May was formerly widely celebrated in Great Britain, but the observance has almost ceased. The day is still observed in some parts of New England. The chief feature of the English celebration was the gathering of flowers and the crowning of the May Queen. See The May Queen, by Tennyson. 383 10 The silver cord. Ecclesiastes xii. 6. 386 7 386 15 Don Quixote, the hero of the famous Spanish romance bearing his name, written by Cervantes (1547-1616). The English adjective quixotic comes from the name of the Spanish Don. Don Quixote is one of the great books of the world—a book that for generations has pleased both the ignorant and the cultivated. There are several good English translations of the romance, one of the best being Ormsby's. Expurgated editions have been arranged for young readers. 386 17 Cap-a-pie (or cap-a-pe), from head to foot, at all points. 387 3 Hero of La Mancha among the goatherds of the Sierra Morena. The account of Don Quixote's adventures among the goatherds begins in Don Quixote, Part I. Book III. Chap. ix. 391 23 The Battle of Camperdown was a naval battle fought between the English and the Dutch, Oct. 11, 1797. The English were victorious. 394 20 Admiral Hosier's Ghost, a ballad by Glover celebrating Vice-Admiral Hosier (1673-1727). 394 20 All in the Downs. This expression occurs in a ballad by John Gay (1688-1732), entitled Sweet William's Farewell to Blackeyed Susan. 394 21 Tom Bowline (properly Tom Bowling) is a character in Smollett's Roderick Random. Dibdin wrote a song about him, beginning, "Here, a sheer hulk, lies poor Tom Bowling." 395 32 Sinbad (or Sindbad) the Sailor is a character in a story in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments which bears his name. 396 25 St. Peter's master. The Apostle Peter, it will be remembered, was a fisherman. 397 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a delightful narrative, notwithstanding the fact that the action is slow and that the descriptions occupy many paragraphs. The slightly malicious humor of the piece is thoroughly enjoyable, the descriptions are lively and varied, and the characters strongly marked. Although it has certain elements in common with the Rip Van Winkle, it is unlike that sketch in its general tone. Rip's experiences occur in a region where nature has a mysterious charm, while Ichabod's adventures take place in a land of material plenty and physical comfort. The author's touch is kindly as he portrays the luckless Rip, but he draws the portrait of the Yankee schoolmaster with a relentless hand. A careful study of the narrative will reveal to the student of composition something of the author's method. It will be found that he mentions sounds as often as sights, and that he frequently stimulates the imagination by remote suggestions. In the picture of Sleepy Hollow with which the narrative begins there is little that appeals to the eye. It will also be found that he usually represents persons and things as in motion. Ichabod is seen "striding along the profile of a hill," sauntering with a bevy of country damsels, or wending his way to the farmhouse "by swamp and stream and awful woodland." In the description of Baltus Van Tassel's farm, even inanimate objects are endowed with life and motion. The spring "bubbled up" at the foot of the elm, and then "stole sparkling away" through the grass. Every window and crevice of the vast barn seemed “ bursting forth with the treasures of the farm." Inside, the flail "was busily resounding" from morning to night. Swallows were twittering, pigeons cooing, porkers grunting, turkeys gobbling, while many other creatures with their sounds and motions added to the anima tion of the scene. 397 Diedrich Knickerbocker, the fictitious author of Irving's History of New York. - See Introduction in the present volume. 397 Castle of Indolence, a poem by James Thomson (17001748), a Scotchman. The Seasons is his best known poem. 397 5 St. Nicholas, a noted bishop who lived in Asia Minor about A.D. 300, the patron saint of boys and sailors. Santa Claus is a corruption of his name. 3987 If ever I should wish for a retreat, etc. Irving's home in his later years, was in Tarrytown. bis brother Peter, written in 1835, he said: Sunnyside," In a letter to "You have been told, no doubt, of a purchase I have made of ten acres, lying at the foot of Oscar's farm, on the river bank. It is a beautiful spot, capable of being made a little paradise. There is a small stone cottage on it, built about a century since, and inhabited by one of the Van Tassels.... My idea is to make a little nookery somewhat in the Dutch style, quaint but unpretending... In fact, it is more with a view of furnishing the worthy little Bramin a retreat for himself and his girls [his nieces], where they can go to ruralize during the pleasant season of the year." In later years, when in Madrid, he wrote of his "darling little Sunnyside," and added: "Nay, I believe it is the having such an object to work for which spurs me on to combat and conquer difficulty." 398 13 The original Dutch settlers. The impression that the Dutch settlers of New York were inactive has come mainly from Irving's portrayal of their character in his humorous History of New York, and in his Dutch sketches. 398 22 Master Hendrick Hudson. See note on p. 58, 1. 33. 398 33 The nightmare with her nine-fold. Shakespeare: King Lear, Act III. Sc. 4, l. 126. Nine-fold, as used here, may be a corruption of nine foals, or it may mean nine imps, or familiars. The nightmare was formerly believed to be a witch who oppressed people during sleep. 399 20 In a hurry to get back to the churchyard. It was supposed that ghosts were obliged to hurry back to their habitations at cockcrow. See Hamlet, Act I. Sc. 1, lines 157-164. Irving quotes the lines in Hamlet on p. 218. 400 24 Country schoolmasters. See remarks on the "NewEngland Schoolmaster" in A History of the People of the United States, by John Bach MacMaster, Vol. I. p. 21. 401 14 Eel pot, a trap for catching eels. This trap has a funnelshaped entrance which makes it easy for the eels to get in, but difficult for them to get out. 401 25 Spare the rod, etc. Butler: Hudibras, II: i. 843. There are earlier forms that differ slightly from the expression quoted. All originate in the Bible verse: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son."- Proverbs xiii. 24. 403 5 The lion bold, etc. The following couplet accompanied the letter Z in the New England Primer: "The lion bold The lamb doth hold." A rude cut illustrated the interesting situation. The couplet may have been suggested by the following passage: "Sporting the lion ramp'd, and in his paw Dandled the kid." Paradise Lost, Book IV. 1. 343. 403 5 Whilom, formerly, once. 404 18 Cotton Mather's History of New England Witchcraft. Cotton Mather (1663–1728) wrote of witchcraft in New England in his Wonders of the Invisible World and his Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft. Prof. Barrett Wendell has written a sympathetic and interesting biography of this noted divine, entitled Cotton Mather, the Puritan Priest (1891). 405 17 In linked sweetness, etc. "Of linked sweetness," etc. Milton: L'Allegro, l. 140. 4097 Craving that quarter, i.e. craving that consideration, that mercy. Quarter signified formerly friendship, concord. 409 25 Setting out for Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. These states were not admitted to the Union until near the close of the eighteenth century. During Irving's boyhood they were the scene of the wildest kind of border life. 411 18 Herculean, an adjective derived from the name Hercules. Hercules (the same as the Greek Heracles), the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Alcmene, was renowned for his strength and his courage. He accomplished certain superhuman feats known, as the "twelve labors." 4127 Don Cossacks, i.e. Cossacks living near the river Don. The Cossacks are tribes living in Russia, members of which form an important element in the cavalry of the Russian army. 412 15 Rantipole, wild, rakish; a term not in good use. 412 33 Supple-jack, a climbing shrub having a tough but pliable stem. 413 5 That stormy lover, Achilles. Homer's Iliad tells the story of the wrath of Achilles. The hero's anger was aroused because Agamemnon, his chief in war, took from him a prize that had been allotted to him, a beautiful young girl whom he dearly loved. 415 27 Mercury, the Roman god of commerce and gain, is usually identified with Hermes, the messenger god of the Greeks. He is often represented as carrying a winged staff, and sometimes has wings at his heels, and wears a close-fitting winged cap. |