Preface
|
14 |
fudge Nonsense;
pretentious drivel; also, a small patch of print, especially a
piece of late news, inserted in a newspaper or in a space
reserved for it. |
16 |
"internal evidence" Evidence
derived from what is contained in the thing itself. |
19-24 |
The few SONGS… The
"Other Pieces" in The Emigrant, and Other Pieces
are designated "Songs." As their titles and order
indicate, they follow the sequence of the seasons in the course
of a year and the course of human life from youth to old age:
"The Sleighing Song"; "The Raising Song";
"The Harvest Song"; "Anniversary Song";
"The Maid of the Twelve"; "The Sacred Bower"
and "The Old Settler." |
34 |
THE PAYMASTER An
official, especially in the army or navy, whose duty is to pay
troops, sailors, workmen or others. Newton is using the term
metaphorically to refer to the purchasers of The Emigrant, and Other Pieces. |
36 |
ST. ANN’S NELSON Subsequently
named Crooks Mills and then Tansley, St. Ann’s or St. Anne’s
was a settlement in Nelson township, Halton County approximately
27 kilometres northeast of Hamilton and 58 kilometres east of
Toronto. In 1958, Nelson was amalgamated with Burlington, which
became a city in 1978.
|
The Emigrant
|
1-15 |
The pattern of rising and
falling that Newton describes in his opening lines recalls
numerous Medieval and Renaissance references to the Wheel of
Fortune that supposedly governs human destiny, as well as John
Milton’s synopsis of the tragic and comic movements of human
history in the opening lines of Paradise
Lost. The delayed "I sing" of line 4 also recalls the
opening of Paradise Lost and numerous other poems that
allude verbally and syntactically to the first line of Virgil’s Aeneid
("Arms, and the man I sing" in John Dryden’s
translation). |
28 |
Cf. Shakespeare, Othello, V.ii.341-342: "nothing
extenuate / or set down aught in malice." |
40-41 |
Cf. Thomas Gray, "Ode on
a Distant Prospect of Eton College,"
99-100: "where ignorance is bliss / ‘Tis
folly to be wise." |
43 |
the forbidden tree… "The
tree of the knowledge of good and evil" in Genesis 2:17 |
44 |
erst Formerly;
at first. |
50 |
marrying in haste A
reference to the proverb "marry in haste, repent at
leisure." |
51-52 |
Competition…Stalks o’er
the land…virus The personification of
famine as a predator that "stalks the land" is
commonplace, but Newton’s reference to "competition"
suggests that he may have had in mind Benjamin Disraeli’s
description of "speculation" as a "wild spirit…now
stalking abroad" in the opening chapter of Vivian Grey
(1826). By "virus" Newton would have understood a
moral or intellectual poison or poisonous influence. |
56 |
the olive branch Newton seems to be using the olive
branch less as an emblem of peace than as a metaphor for children on the
basis of Psalm 128.3: "thy children [shall be] like olive plants
round about thy table." |
59-76 |
Newton here alludes to several
Old Testament stories and texts that deal with violence,
betrayal, deception, and worldliness; see particularly, Genesis
4.8, 9.22, 37.24; Exodus 1.15-22, 19.20; 1 Samuel 17.49; 2
Samuel 14.15; and 1 Kings 11.19. |
77-78 |
Alexander prowled the
world The conquests of Alexander the Great (356-323
BC), the King of Macedonia, included Syria, Egypt, and India. |
79 |
Demosthenes The
Athenian orator and statesman Demosthenes (383-322 BC) was
accused of stealing money from the treasury of Alexander the
Great that was in the care of him and other commissioners. |
80 |
Diogenes…huddled in his
stye Diogenes (4th century BC), the
principal representative of the Cynic School of ancient Greek
philosophy, is said to have lived in a large tub in Athens. |
81 |
Homer bawled his ballads Homer
(dates unknown, but several centuries BC) is the name given to the
author of the two classical Greek epics, the Iliad and
the
Odyssey. |
82 |
Virgil fawned… Virgil
(Publius Virgilius Maro) (70-19 BC) composed the Aeneid
while living in a residence provided by the Roman Emperor
Augustus. |
83-84 |
Caesar with his gold…Brutus… The
Roman general and emperor Gaius Julius Caesar (c. 102-44 BC)
spent lavishly on such things as gladiatorial displays to secure
popularity. His contempt for republican institutions was part of
the reason for his assassination by a group that included Marcus
Junius Brutus (c. 78-42 BC). |
85 |
Saul…lightning’s
glare The story of the miraculous
conversion of Saul, a persecutor of Christians, to Paul, the
greatest Christian evangelist, is recounted in detail in Acts 9,
where the "lightning’s glare" is described as
"a light from heaven." |
86 |
Peter in a sheet from Heaven… Newton
is referring to Peter’s vision in Acts 11 of "a certain
vessel descend[ing], as it had been a great sheet let down from
heaven by four corners." |
87 |
Mahomet mounted Gabriel’s
mare On a mountain near Mecca, the
archangel Gabriel is said to have appeared on a horse to
Mahommet (570-632) and commanded him to preach the gospel of
Islam. |
89-90 |
Luther Leo’s Bulls…a
pretty Nun… After being excommunicated by
Pope Leo X, the German Protestant reformer Martin Luther
(1483-1546) burned the papal bull (document) of excom-munication
publicly on June 15, 1520. Five years later, in 1525, he married
a former nun, Katharina Von Bora (1499-1564). |
91-92 |
Calvin…Servetus The
French Protestant theologian John Calvin (1509-1564) established
a theocratic régime in Geneva in 1541 and thereafter tortured
and executed several of the régime’s opponents, including
Michael Servetus (1511-1533), a French doctor who argued for the
abandonment of the doctrine of the Trinity. |
93-94 |
Cranmer…German
bride In his capacity as Archbishop of
Canterbury, the English Protestant reformer Thomas Cranmer
(1489-1556) annulled Henry VIII’s marriages to Catherine of
Aragon and Anne Boleyn and arranged the King’s divorce from
Anne of Cleves. In 1532 he secretly married Margaret Osiander,
the niece of the German Reformation theologian Andreas Osiander. |
95-96 |
Cromwell… Oliver
Cromwell (1599-1658), one of the leaders of the Parliamentary
Party in the struggle with Charles I that resulted in the King’s
execution in 1649, subsequently established himself as a virtual
dictator or monarch. |
97-98 |
Bonaparte…world
slaves Following in the wake of the French
Revolution (and its championship of liberty), Napoleon Bona-
parte (1769-1821) used his military skills to make France an
imperial power and himself the Emperor of the French. |
99-102 |
Owen, the Utopian… The
wealthy owner of a cotton-spinning factory in Manchester,
England, the Welsh-born Robert Owen (1771-1858) was a socialist
and philanthropist whose belief in mutual co-operation led him
to establish two model communities, New Lanark, Scotland (1799)
and New Harmony, Indiana (1825). His A New View of Society
(1813) led to the reforms incarnated in the British Factory Act
(1821). A source for Newton’s first quotation has yet to be
found in Owen’s work, but it pithily reflects his view, as
expressed in the Preface to The Book of the New
Moral World (1836), that "[s]ociety has emanated from
fundamental errors of the imagination, and all the institutions
and social arrangements of man over the world have been based on
these errors. Society is, therefore, through all its
ramifications, artificial and corrupt, and, in consequence,
ignorance, falsehood, and grave folly, alone govern all the
affairs of mankind." The remainder of Newton’s quotations
from Owen are from the fourth essay in A New View of
Society: "[l]et [mankind’s] instruction continue to be left,
as heretofore, to chance, and often to the most inefficient
members of the community, and society must still experience the
endless miseries which still arise from such weak and puerile
conduct…For it may truly be said to be a wonder-working power;
one that merits the deepest attention of the legislature; with
ease it may be used to train man into a demon of mischief to
himself and to all around him, or into an agent of unlimited
benevolence." |
138 |
J.P. Justice
of the Peace: a local minor magistrate commissioned to keep the
peace; often a honourary title with few or no duties. |
139 |
Jockey
Club An association for the promotion and
ordering of horse-racing. |
141 |
"the
tub" The pulpit. |
147 |
this small book, composed by
William Howitt Probably the Popular History of Priestcraft in All
Ages and Nations (1833) by the English writer and radical thinker
William Howitt (1792-1879), whose numerous other works include The
Rural Life of England (1838). |
149 |
Cobbett on the
Reformation William Cobbett (1763-1835) had a
complex political and publishing career in Britain and North
America, shifting, around the turn of the century, from
conservation to radicalism. His History of the Protestant "Reformation" in
England and Ireland appeared in 1824. An undated journal entry that
almost certainly belongs to the period before Newton moved to
Ireland in December 1847 indicates that he wanted the Dudley Hill Literary
Society (see note 4 to the Introduction in the present edition) to
purchase a copy of the History of the Protestant
"Reformation" and regarded Cobbett at that time as
"a real patriot." |
172-73 |
his seed / Had fallen on good
ground An allusion to the parable of the sower
(Christ); see Matthew 13.3-9, Mark 4.3-9; and Luke 8.5-8. |
178 |
pour a draft into the willing
ear A variation on the commonplace association of
corrupting ideas with poison, and perhaps an allusion to William
Shakespeare’s Hamlet I. v. 61-64 (the Ghost is
speaking to Hamlet): "thy uncle stole, / With juice of
cursed hebona in a vial, / And in the porches of my ear did pour
/ The leperous distilment…." |
202 |
The Law then gives, and it must
take away An allusion to Job 1.21: "the Lord
gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the
Lord." |
213 |
meet th’ oppressor face
to face Cf. Corinthians 13.12: "For
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I
know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known." |
216-17 |
the Weekly Sun, / The Poor
Man’s Guardian and the Northern Star The
Weekly, True Sun (1839), The Poor Man’s Guardian
(1831-1835), and The Northern Star (1837-1848) were
radical British political newspapers with a predominantly
working-class readership. Although founded and owned by Henry
Hetherington, The Poor Man’s Guardian was largely
edited by James Bronterre O’Brien (see the note to 218-21,
below), who was also a frequent contributor to The
Northern Star, which was founded, owned, and edited by the radical
Chartist Feargus O’Connor. |
218-21 |
Bronterre’s translation /
Of the true hist’ry of Babeuf’s conspiracy The
History of Babeuf’s Conspiracy (1836), a translation with notes
by James Bronterre O’Brien (1804-1864) of Conspiration pour
l’égalité dite de Babeuf (1828) by Filipo Michele
Buonarrotti (1761-1837). Written by one of his co-conspirators, Conspiration
pour l’égalité dite de Babeuf is an account of the
attempt by François-Noël ("Gracchus") Babeuf
(1760-1797) in 1796 to overthrow the French
revolutionar Directorate and to re-establish
the French Constitution of 1793. An Irish-born radical who
advocated revolution, O’Brien represented Manchester and other
areas at the Chartist convention that took place in London in
the spring of 1839 (see the note to 223-25 below). As a result
of his involvement in the Newport Rising (see also the note to
223-25), he was convicted of seditious speaking and sentenced to
eighteen months in prison. After his release, he continued his
Chartist activities. A (partial?) inventory of Newton’s books
that accompanies the Newton Papers suggests that a copy of O’Brien’s
translation of Buonarotti’s Conspiration was in his
library at his death. |
223-25 |
th’ National
Convention Newton is probably referring
specifically to the assembly of British Chartists (see note to
392-410, below) that took place in February 1839, but he may
also have wished to evoke the National Convention that governed
France from September 1792 to October 1795. Composed of
delegates from the workers of large towns and cities, the
National Convention of 1839 sent a massive petition to the
British Parliament but to no avail, with the result that there
was a hugely destructive riot in Birmingham and an armed attack
on Newport in Monmouthshire. Several rioters were killed or
wounded by soldiers in the Newport attack and in 1840 its
leaders were tried and condemned to death, though their
sentences were subsequently commuted to transportation for life. |
238 |
very In
the full sense; nothing less than; exactly; actual. |
253 |
auditory Audience. |
271 |
natural
philosophy The science of the physical properties
of bodies: physics, or physics and dynamics. |
286 |
Cobbett’s
Grammar Grammar of the English Language
(1818) by William Cobbett, (see note, above) was intended for
working-class people seeking to become literate through their
own efforts. |
296 |
spouter Orator;
fluent speaker. |
361 |
these with a ‘high hand’ Powerful
and arrogant people. |
375 |
nature’s
law Natural law: the sense of right and
wrong that supposedly arises from the constitution of the human
mind rather than as a result of revelation, education, or
legislation. |
392-410 |
…People’s Charter… As
originally framed in the form of a draft parliamentary bill on
May 8, 1838, the "People’s Charter" from which the
British working-class Chartist movement derived its name
contained not five, but six points, namely: "1. A VOTE
for every man twenty-one years of age, of sound mind, and not undergoing
punishment for crime. 2. THE BALLOT—To
protect the elector in the exercise of his vote. 3. NO
PROPERTY QUALIFICATION for Members of Parliament—thus
enabling the constituencies to return the man of their choice,
be he rich or poor. 4. PAYMENT OF MEMBERS,
thus enabling an honest tradesman, working man, or other person, to
serve a constituency, when taken from his business to attend to the
interests of the Country. 5. EQUAL CONSTITUENCIES,
securing the same amount of representation for the same number of
electors, instead of allowing small constituencies to swamp the votes of
large ones. 6. ANNUAL PARLIAMENTS,
thus presenting the most effectual check to bribery and
intimidation, since though a constituency might be bought once
in seven years (even with the ballot), no purse could buy a
constituency (under a system of universal suffrage) in each
ensuing twelve-month; and since members, when elected for a year
only, would not be able to defy and betray their constituents as
now." Newton omits point 5 and replaces it with a version
of point 2.
|
409 |
"he that runs may
read" A proverbial expression meaning that
anyone can understand. |
423 |
"the natural rights of
man" Newton may be making a general reference
to the innate rights of human beings (see note 375, above) or
alluding specifically to The Rights of Man (1791, 1792)
by Thomas Paine (1737-1809). |
433 |
‘Procrastination is the
thief of time’ A quotation from Edward
Young’s The
Complaint, or Night Thoughts on Life, Death and Immortality (1742-1745), 1:18
that had become proverbial by the mid-nineteenth century. |
435 |
"Would we be free
ourselves must strike the blow!" Cf.
Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812-1818)
2:720-21: "Hereditary bondsmen! Know ye not / Who would be
free themselves must strike the blows?" |
449 |
a glorious pop’lar
demonstration Possibly the Chartists’
National Convention of 1833 (see note to 223-25, above). |
457 |
the Chevalier Chevalier
(French): knight. Newton may be referring specifically to James
Stuart (the Old Pretender), the son of James II of England
(reign: 1685-1688), who was also known as "the
Chevalier" (as his son, "Bonnie Prince Charlie,"
was in turn known as "the Young Pretender" and
"the Young Chevalier"); however, his mention of the
"moon" and a "commission" suggest that he
may be referring to a legendary or literary character who has
yet to be identified. |
459 |
"Billet" A
resting place (or, in the colloquial sense, a job or
occupation). |
460 |
ball Planet. |
472 |
corpus Latin:
body. |
485 |
liege Free,
except within the feudal relation of a vassal to a lord. |
499-500 |
"man’s days of
endless peace, which time / Is fast maturing" The
source of this quotation from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage
(see note to 435, above) suggest that he might have had in mind
Byron’s description of the ocean as a "boundless,
endless, and sublime" "image of Eternity" at the
conclusion of that poem (see 4:1603-56). |
510 |
The distant shores of freedom and
the free The United States of America. |
514 |
Pinnock’s Guide to
Knowledge The Guide to Knowledge; an Interesting
Literary Repository, and Popular Scientific Instructor: Consisting of
Art and Science, Biography, Essays, Natural history, Anecdote, Poetry
and General Literature (July 7, 1833—July 22, 1837), a weekly
series edited by the English publisher William Pinnock (1782-1843).
Among the miscellaneous materials appended to Newton’s Journal 5 (see
also the notes to 533-52 and 559-87, below) are "a few lines of
dedication to the ‘Guide to Knowledge’" and an undated draft of
a letter to the editor of a newspaper that concludes with the following
postscript:
You may please yourself whether you
make any other use than reading the following or not.—J.N.
Written on the blank leaf of a volume of Pinnock’s Guide to Knowledge
The Guide to Knowledge:—aye
indeed thou art
A Guide faithful and kindly as the spot
To which thou guid’st th’ oft weary trav’ler
Is ‘pleasant to the eye’—potent and fam’d
In all nations and at all times; not as
The Guide who leads his hapless charge through woods
Briers and sloughs—thou leadest him through lawns
And verdant fields, and ever and anon
Benignly shows the rich and living scenes
To thy astonish’d charge, until, at last
He stands transfix’d with wonder in the plains
O Knowledge, where reign joy and peace for aye!
The materials appended to Journal 5
include a meditation on "Independence" that links the concept
to education and knowledge and describes it as "one of the most
troublesome or annoying things you meet with in business or
company," where "[m]odest merit has no chance whatever."
The meditation is followed by a draft of lines 559-87 of The Emigrant
that begins "You whom business, fate or folly / Leads to cross the
Atlantic tide…" and ends "Lightning all our hearts as we /
Hail the land of liberty."
|
523-24
|
thou leadest him through lawns /
And verdant fields Newton alludes to Psalm 23.3:
"he leadeth me beside the still waters."
|
528
|
aye Ever.
|
533-52
|
Included with Newtons’s
"Sketch" of his life in Journal 5 (April—June 1839)
but clearly a product, like the "Sketch," of his
experience of emigration are fair copies two poems entitled
"Farewell song on leaving Ireland for America" and
"The Hottinguer—a Jingle" with the byline "Hottinguer/Oct
6, 1842." See also the entry under October 6, 1842 (Journal
8) in the Appendix to the present edition.
|
552
|
weal Welfare;
condition.
|
557
|
indite Put
into words, particularly in a literary or rhetorical form such
as a poem or a speech.
|
559-87
|
See the notes to 514 and
533-52, above. "Those whom business, fate, or folly…"
is a version of "The Hottinguer—a Jingle" with the
name of the ship changed to "Liberty." See also the
version of the poem appended to Journal 12 in the present
edition.
|
597
|
declension Descent;
decay.
|
616
|
Young art thou in
Independence The colonies that became the United
States declared their independence from Britain in 1776 and
formally achieved it by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783.
|
623
|
"naught’s in a name" Cf.
Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet II. ii. 43-44: "What’s
in a name? that which we call a rose / By any other name would
smell as sweet."
|
637
|
Quantum Quantity.
|
637
|
meted out Measured
out; given out.
|
641
|
"Isle of
Beauty" A poem by the English versifier
Nathaniel Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797-1839) that sentimentally
expresses the emotions aroused by leaving a beloved island.
|
644
|
"tip the
finger" Give money.
|
692
|
drown himself like Tannahill In
1807, the Scottish weaver and poetic disciple of Robert Burns
(see note to 693, below), Robert Tannahill (1774-1810) published
a book of Poems
and Songs that was harshly criticized by reviewers. After having a
revised edition of the book rejected by a publisher, he
destroyed his manuscripts and drowned himself in a culvert, a
decisive and considerate course of action that all bad poets
should consider emulating.
|
693
|
get well drunk, like Nicholson and
Burns In addition to being Scots, the artist
William Nicholson (1781-1844) and the poet Robert Burns
(1759-1796) were both heavy drinkers of alcohol, an unacceptable
alternative to the fate of Tannahill for bad poets.
|
715
|
sounding Proclaiming;
enacting.
|
727
|
"Thy yoke is easy and thy
burthen light" An allusion to Christ’s words
in Matthew 11.28-30: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you…For
my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
|
729
|
the lake Probably
Lake Ontario.
|
732-77
|
But, hush…her life. Newton’s
journal entry for February 8, 1837 (Journal 3) includes a draft of lines
732-61 of The Emigrant after a note explaining their origins:
"[L]ast week I read a story of a man, a settler in America, who was
charmed by a rattle snake. The circumstance has made a very strong
impression upon my mind, and I have composed the following lines in the
vacation." The source of Newton’s inspiration for lines 740-77
has not been located, but clearly it contained a version of the story
entitled "The Rattlesnake Hunter" in the September 9, 1882
number of the Canadian Illustrated News, p. 174:
The following is the story of a man
known amongst the Green Mountains as the Rattlesnake Hunter:—
"We had resided in the new
country nearly a year. Our settlement had increased rapidly, and the
comforts and delicacies of life were beginning to be felt, after the
weary privations and severe trials to which we had been subjected. The
red men were few and feeble, and did not molest us. The beasts of the
forest and mountain were ferocious, but we suffered little from them.
The only immediate danger to which we were exposed resulted from the
rattlesnakes, which infested our neighbourhood. Three or four of our
settleers were bitten by them, and died in terrible agonies. The Indians
often told us frightful stories of this snake, and its powers of
fascination, and although they were generally believed, yet, for myself,
I confess I was rather more amused than convinced by their marvellous
legends.
"In one of my hunting excursions
abroad, on a fine morning—it was just at this time of the year—I was
accompanied by my wife. It was a beautiful morning. The sunshine was
warm, but the atmosphere was perfectly clear; and a fine breeze from the
north-west shook the bright green leaves which clothed to profusion the
wreathing branches over us. I had left my companion for a short time in
the pursuit of fame; and in climbing a rugged ledge of rocks,
interspersed with shrubs and dwarfish trees, I was startled by a quick,
grating rattle. I looked forward. On the edge of a loosened rock lay a
large rattlesnake, coiling himself as if for the deadly spring. He was
within a few feet of me, and I paused for an instant to survey him. I
know not why, but I stood still, and looked at the deadly serpent with a
strange feeling of curiousity. Suddenly he unwound his coil, as if
relenting from his purpose of hostility, and raising his head, he fixed
his bright fiery eye directly on my own. A chilling and indescribable
sensation, totally different from anything I had ever before
experienced, followed this movement of the serpent; but I stood still,
and gazed steadily and earnestly, for at that moment there was a visible
change in the reptile. His form seemed to grow larger and his colours
brighter. His body moved with a slow, almost imperceptible motion
towards me, and a low hum of music came from him, or at least it sounded
in my ear a strange sweet melody, faint as that which melts from the
throat of a humming-bird. Then the tints of his body deepened, and
changed and glowed, like the changes of a beautiful kaleidoscope—green,
purple, and gold—until I lost sight of the serpent entirely, and saw
only a wild and curiously woven circle of strange colours, quivering
around me like an atmosphere of rainbows. I seemed in the centre of a
great prism, a world of mysterious colours, and tints varied and
darkened and lighted up again around me; and the low music went on
without ceasing until my brain reeled; and fear, for the first time,
came over me. The new sensation gained up on me rapidly, and I could
feel the cold sweat gushing from my brow. I had no certainty of danger
in my mind, no definite ideas of peril, all was vague and clouded, like
the unaccountable terrors of a dream, and yet my limbs shook, and I
fancied I could feel the blood stiffening with cold as it passed along
my veins. I would have given worlds to have been able to tear myself
from the spot—I even attempted to do so, but the body obeyed not the
impulse of the mind, not a muscle stirred, and I stood still as if my
feet had grown to the solid rock, with the infernal music of the tempter
in my ear, and the baleful colourings of his enchantment before me.
"Suddenly a new sound came on my ear.
It was a human voice, but it seemed strange and awful. Again, again, but
I stirred not; and then a white form plunged before me, and grasped my
arm. The horrible spell was at once broken. The strange colours passed
from before my vision. The rattlesnake was coiling at my very feet, with
glowing eyes and uplifted fangs; and my wife was clinging in terror upon
me. The next instant the serpent threw himself upon us. My wife was the
victim! The fangs pierced deeply into her hands; and her scream of
agony, as she staggered backwards from me, told me the dreadful truth.
"Then it was that a feeling of
madness came upon me; and when I saw the foul serpent stealing away from
his work, reckless of danger, I sprang forward and crushed him under my
feet, grinding him upon the ragged rock. The groans of my wife now
recalled me to her side, and to the horrible reality of her situation.
There was a dark livid spot on her hand; and it deepened into blackness
as I led her away. We were at a considerable distance from any dwelling;
and after wandering for a short time, the pain of her wound became
insupportable to my wife, and she swooned away in my arms. Weak and
exhausted as I was, I yet had strength enough to carry her to the
nearest rivulet, and bathe her brow in the cool water. She partially
recovered, and sat down upon the bank, while I supported her head upon
my bosom. Hour after hour passed away, and none came near us, and there,
alone in the great wilderness, I watched over her, and prayed with her,
and she died."
The old man groaned audibly as he uttered
these words, and as he clapsed his long bony hands over his eyes, I
could see the tears falling thickly through his gaunt fingers. After a
momentary struggle with his feelings, he lifted his head once more, and
there was a fierce light in his eyes as he spoke;—
"But I have had my revenge. From that
fatal moment I have felt myself fitted and set apart, by the terrible
ordeal of affliction, to rid the place of my abode of its foulest
course. And I have well nigh succeeded. The fascinating demons are
already few and powerless."
Years have passed since my interview with
the Rattlesnake Hunter; the place of his abode has changed—a beautiful
village rises near the spot of conference, and the grass of the
churchyard is green over the grave of the old hunter. But his story is
fixed upon my mind, and Time, like enamel, only burns deeper the first
impression. It comes up before me like a vividly remembered dream, whose
features are too horrible for reality.
|
737 |
ingrate Ungrateful. |
757 |
And with his "heel
bruises the serpent’s head" Cf. God’s
words to the serpent after the Fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis
3.15: "And I will put emnity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel." |
783-84 |
Apart from the addition of
commas in the first line, Newton’s quotation from the first
scene of Taste
(1752) by the English actor and playwright Samuel Foote
(1720-1777) is accurate. |
796-97 |
a "little learning" …
"drinking deep" The two phrases quoted by
Newton are from Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Criticism (1711)
215-18: "A little learning is a dang’rous Thing;
/ Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring: / There shallow
Draughts intoxicate the Brain, / And drinking largely
sobers us again." |
804 |
"whatever is, is right" This
statement is quoted from Pope’s An Essay on Man
(1733-1744) 1:293-94: "And, spite of Pride, in erring
Reason’s spite, / One truth is clear, ‘Whatever IS, IS RIGHT.’"
|
812
|
Hid in the womb of dark
futurity Cf. Walter Scott, A Legend of Montrose
(1819), Chapter 1: "These events were still in the womb of
futurity"—that is, future time.
|
819
|
recurs to Reverts
to; recalls.
|
828
|
enow Enough.
|
832-34
|
Council…Provincial
Assembly Town Council and Legislative
Assembly (presumably of Upper Canada).
|