صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

The cautious old gentleman knit his brows tenfold closer after this explanation, being sorely puzzled by the ratiocination of the syllogism; while, methought, the one in pepper-and-salt eyed him with something of a triumphant leer. At length, he observed, that all this was very well, but still he thought the story a little on the extravagant - there were one or two points on which he had his doubts.

"Faith, sir," replied the story-teller, "as to that matter, I don't believe one-half of it myself."

D. K.

NOTES.

[The numbers refer to pages.]

THESE notes are not intended to supply the student with information which he can procure for himself from ordinary books of reference. Below appears a list of such books as, it is taken for granted, the pupil will find in the library of his school or town. Even more than those given, the references not given in the notes imply the constant use of the books in the list.

DICTIONARIES: Century or Webster's International.

BIOGRAPHY: Life and Letters of Washington Irving, by Pierre M. Irving (his nephew), published by G. P. Putnam's Sons.

ALLUSIONS, etc.: Brewer's Reader's Handbook, and Dictionary of Phrase and Fable; Hare's Walks in London, and Walks in Rome; Allibone's Dictionary of Authors; Chambers's Cyclopædia of English Literature.

ENCYCLOPÆDIA: Britannica, ninth edition. The best is not too good. Chambers's and the American will often be found very useful.

13. Whence does Irving quote “a lengthening chain" ? 14. I said that at sea. Compare the melody and rhythm of this paragraph and the next two or three, with the sounds of the paragraph beginning "I confess," on p. 17.

17. Deep called unto deep. Do you know and feel the reason for using this sentence?

37. Diedrich Knickerbocker. Consult Warner's Biography, p. 72 et seq., and Putnam's edition of Knickerbocker's History of New York.

its

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

accuracy which.. was a little questioned. This and the next succeeding paragraph glance at the reproof administered to Irving in the address mentioned in the foot-note.

biographies.

Consult the

38. a Queen Anne's Farthing. But very few coins of this value were struck off during Queen Anne's reign, and these few only as samples. As a consequence, they were eagerly sought for by collectors, who preserved them with great care.

good Peter Stuyvesant. Compare the account of this man, in the Cyclopædia of American Biography, with book v. of Knickerbocker's History of New York.

39. siege of Fort Christina. See Knickerbocker's History of New York, book vi., chap. viii.

42. His adherents understood him. Compare the description of Governor Van Twiller in the History, book iii., chap. i. 50. Compare the change in the inn sign described in Spectator, No. 122; the De Coverley Papers, "Sir Roger on the Bench."

51. Antony's Nose. See Knickerbocker's History, book vi., chap. iv. Pictures of this promontory and other of the more striking features of Hudson River scenery appear in the "folders" published by the Albany Day Line of H. R. steamboats, G. T. Van Santvoord, General Manager, New York City.

83. the British Museum. See Walks in London, Baedeker's London and its Environs, and Encyclopædia Britannica, xiv., p. 515 (9th edition).

88. The Paradise of Daintie Devices. Consult a dictionary for the etymological meaning of "paradise." The full title of this work is as follows: "The Paradyce of Daynty deuises, aptly furnished with sundrie pithie and learned inuentions; deuised and written for the most part by M. Edwardes, sometimes of her Maiesties Chappel : . . . Imprinted at London, by Henry Disle, in Paules Churchyard, at the Southwest doore of Saint Paules Church, and are there to be sold. 1576." Hazlitt's Bibliog. of Old English Literature.

Do you think that in this description Irving had any particular authors in mind?

90. this learned Theban. See King Lear, act 3, sc. iv., and cf. Century Dictionary, under "Theban," I., a., 1.

137. Doomsday Book. Consult Brewer's Phrase and Fable, and Knight's Popular History of England, vol. i., p. 203.

139. its pronunciation. an allusion?

barbarous. To what fact is this

141. Robert Groteste, more frequently Grosseteste. Cf. Green's Short History of the English People, Chambers's Cyclopædia of English Literature, Morley's English Writers, vol. iii., pp. 311-315, and Allibone.

Giraldus Cambrensis. Cf. Chambers's Encyclopædia of English Literature, under "Barry, Girald," and Allibone.

Henry of Huntingdon. Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, died about 1154: was author of a history of England, taken from the Anglo

Saxon Chronicles, which he often mistranslated. Toward the end of his life, wrote De Contemptu Mundi, on the illustrious men whose fall from power the author and his friend had seen. Cf. English Writers, vol. iii., pp. 98-101.

Joseph of Exeter. Only a fragment of his works is extant. Consult English Writers, vol. iii., p. 183. See the same work for the others here mentioned.

143. these modern scribblers. History of Elizabethan Literature.

On them, consult Saintsbury's

144. apparently perpetuated by a proverb. What proverb ? We confess our ignorance.

146. for he . . . knew little of Latin. Read Ben Jonson's poem, on which this statement is based, and cf. in Prof. Corson's Introduction to Shakespeare, his ingenious suggestion and the quotation from Ingoldsby's Centurie of Prayse.

...

147. the setting may . require . to be renewed, as in the case of Chaucer. Have these attempts been successful? Cf. the works of Dryden, Pope, and Wordsworth.

195. With Spectator, No. 269 (p. 63 of Thurber's Select Essays of Addison), "Sir Roger comes to town," and Marmion, introduction to canto vi., might be begun a very interesting survey of Christmas in English Literature.

Ben Jonson wrote Hue and Cry after Christmas, but who wrote the Old Song?

197. Heart calleth unto heart. Cf. in The Voyage the analogue of this expression, and look up, in the Psalms, the context of the analogue.

202. mystery. Compare, in Webster's International, the great dissimilarity in source of the two homonyms of which Irving here uses the second.

205. in twelve days. Cf. "Twelfth-Night" in Webster's International, and p. 11 of Rolfe's edition of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, or p. 26 of Hudson's school edition. 207. Poor Robin's Almanac. book.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]

Consult Brewer's Reader's Hand

been. What was a "hall " ?

216. jumping with his humor. Cf. Twelfth Night, act 5, sc. i., and the International Dictionary, under "jump." With the character of Master Simon, compare Will Wimble of the Spectator, De Coverley Papers.

2D

218. the young soldier. Cf. the accomplishments of the Squire in the Prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

air of the Troubadour. Does Irving mean "O Richard, ô mon Roi," from the opera "Richard Coeur-de-Lion," words by Sedaine, music by Grétry (1784) ?

232. Duke Humphry. Consult Brewer's Reader's Handbook, p. 461, or Chambers's Cyclopædia of English Literature, p. 117, foot

note.

234. a Christmas box. Cf. Webster's International, "box," 4 and 9, and compare "Boxing-day, the first week-day after Christmas-day, on which post-men and servants of various kinds expect to receive a Christmas-box."— Murray Dictionary.

...

276. Read also in Hawthorne's Our Old Home, "Recollections of a Gifted Woman."

277. the Jubilee. This took place in 1769. We append extracts from a letter to the Gentleman's Magazine of August of that year. "I found the town filling fast . . . but the inhabitants either pursuing their occupations in the old dog-trot way or staring. at the preparations, the purpose of which they had very few ideas about.

The poet's bust was loaded with branches of bays. . . . The town hall was ornamented with a copy of Gainsborough's portrait of Garrick and a very good picture of Shakespeare." The next morning the writer "rose early and got to the breakfasting in the town hall at nine. At eleven we adjourned to the church, where the oratorio of Judith was admirably performed." At the dinner, served at four in the great booth, "Lord Grosvenor proposed a bumper to the steward, and Mr. Garrick proposed . . . another to the memory of the Bard, to which was subjoined three cheers, at the instance of your humble The whole closed with the old loyal song of 'God save the King." The next morning, our narrator was "alarmed by such a hateful rain," that the procession was given up, but the ode was performed at twelve: "here Garrick did outdo all his former outdoings." At the masked ball, that night (he minutely describes his costume), the narrator danced till he "retired, perfectly satisfied and unfatigued between six and seven."

servant.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

277. the house where Shakespeare was born. See the introduction to Rolfe's edition of The Merchant of Venice, for a picture of the house.

278. Santa Casa. Consult Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.

279. the parish church has recently been suffering "restoration "

« السابقةمتابعة »