NOTES ON THE PLEASURES OF HOPE. PART II. Note (a). The noon of Manhood to a myrtle shade! Note (b). Thy woes, Arion! Falconer in his poem The Shipwreck speaks of himself by the name of Arion.-See Falconer's Shipwreck, Canto III. Note (c). The robber Moor. See Schiller's tragedy of the Robbers, scene v. Note (d). What millions died that Cæsar might be great. The carnage occasioned by the wars of Julius Cæsar has been usually estimated at two millions of men. Note (e). Or learn the fate that bleeding thousands bore, March'd by their Charles to Dneiper's swampy shore. In this extremity (says the biographer of Charles XII. of Sweeden, speaking of his military exploits before the battle of Pultowa,) the memorable winter of 1709, which was still more remarkable in that part of Europe than in France, destroyed numbers of his tooops; for Charles resolved to brave the seasons as he had done his enemies, and ventured to make long marches during this mortal cold. It was in one of these marches that two thousand men fell down dead with cold before his eyes. Note (f). As on Ionia's height. The natives of the island of Iona have an opinion, that on certain evenings every year the tutelary saint Columba is seen on the top of the church spires counting the surrounding islands, to see that they have not been sunk by the power of witchcraft. Note (g). And part, like Ajut,-never to return! See the history of Ajut and Anningait in the Rambler. NOTES ON GERTRUDE OF WYOMING. PART 1. Stanza 3. 1. 6. From merry mock bird's song. The mockingbird is of the form, but larger, than the thrush; and the colours are a mixture of black, white, and grey. What is said of the nightingale, by its greatest admirers, is, what may with more propriety apply to this bird, who, in a natural state, sings with very superior taste. Towards evening I have heard one begin softly, reserving its breath to swell certain notes, which, by this means, had a most astonishing effect. A gentleman in London had one of these birds for six years. During the space of a minute he was heard to imitate the woodlark, chaffinch, blackbird, thrush, and sparrow. In this country (America) I have frequently known the mockingbirds so engaged in this mimickry, that it was with much difficulty I could ever obtain an opportunity of hearing their own natural note. Some go so far as to say, that they have neither peculiar notes, nor favourite imitations. This may be denied. Their few natural notes resemble those of the (European) nightingale. Their song, however, has a greater compass and volume than the night ingale, and they have the faculty of varying all interme diate notes in a manner which is truly delightful. Ashe's Travels in America, Vol. II. p. 73. Stanza 5. 1. 9. Or distant isles that hear the loud Corbrechtan roar. The Corybrechtan, or Corbrechtan, is a whirlpool on the western coast of Scotland, near the island of Jura, which is heard at a prodigious distance. Its name sig. nifies the whirlpool of the prince of Denmark; and there is a tradition that a Danish prince once undertook, for a wager, to cast anchor in it. He is said to have used woollen instead of hempen ropes, for greater strength, but perished in the attempt. On the shores of Argyleshire I have often listened with great delight to the sound of this vortex, at the distance of many leagues. When the weather is calm, and the adjacent sea scarcely heard on these picturesque shores, its sound, which is like the sound of innumerable chariots, creates a magnificent and fine effect. Stanza 13. 1. 4.1 Of buskin'd limb and swarthy lineament. In the Indian tribes there is a great similarity in their colour, stature, &c. They are all, except the Snake Indians, tall in stature, straight and robust. It is very seldom they are deformed, which has given rise to the supposition that they put to death their deformed children. Their skin is of a copper colour; their eyes large, bright black, and sparkling, indicative of a subtle and discerning mind: their hair is of the same colour, and prone to be long, seldom or never curled. Their teeth are large and white; I never observed any decayed among them, which makes their breath as sweet as the air they inhale. -Travels through America by Captains Lewis and Clarke, in 1804-5-6. Stanza 14. 1. 6. Peace be to thee-my words this belt approve. The Indians of North America accompany every for. mal address to strangers, with whom they form or recognize a treaty of amity, with a present of a string, or belt, of wampum. Wampum (says Cadwallader Colden) is made of the large whelk shell, Briccinium, and shaped like long beads: it is the current money of the Indians. History of the five Indian Nations, page 34. New-York ⚫dition. The paths of peace my steps have hither led. In relating an interview of Mohawk Indians with the the governor of New-York, Colden quotes the following passage as a specimen of their metaphorical manner: "Where shall I seek the chair of peace? Where shall I find it but upon our path? and whither doth our path lead us but unto this house?" Stanza 15. L. 2. Our wampum league thy brethren did embrace. • When they solicit the alliance, offensive or defensive, of a whole nation, they send an embassy with a large belt of wampum and a bloody hatchet, inviting them to come and drink the blood of their enemies. The wampum made use of on these and other occasions be |