592 qs that Serbonian bog. A bog or marsh, in inferior Egypt, 593 Damietta. 593 An ancient town in Egypt. Mount Cassius old. Cassius, a mountain in Asia. 593 Thither by harpy-footed furies hal'd. The Furies were three in number; the daughters of Acheron and Nox: their names were Alecto, Megara, and Tisiphone. They were supposed to be the ministers of vengeance of the gods; and therefore represented stern and inexorable, always employed in punishing the guilty, on earth as well as in the infernal regions. 611 Medusa with gorgonian terror guards. 614 The Gorgans were three celebrated sisters, whose names were Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno. They dwelt near the gardens of the Hesperides, and had the power of transforming those into stones who looked at them. as once it fled The lips of Tantalus. A king of Lydia: he is represented, by the poets, as punished in the lower regions, with an insatiable thirst, and placed to the chin in water, which flows away as soon as he attempts to taste; There hangs above his head, a bough richly laden with fruit, which, as soon as he attempts to seize, is carried by a sudden blast away. The causes of this punishment are variously explained. Some say, he stole a favourite dog which Jupiter entrusted to his care to keep his temple in Crete. Others say, that he stole the nectar and ambrosia from the gods. Another, that it proceeds from his cruelty to his son Pelops. Gorgons, explained in line 611. 628 Hydras. 628 637 A monster which infested the lake, Lerna, in Peloponnesus, to destroy which, formed one of the twelve labours of Hercules. and Chimeras dire. A monster, with three heads, that of a lion, a goat, and a dragon. It infested Lycia, in the reign of Jobates, by whose command, Bellerophon mounted the horse, Pagasus, and overcame it. by equinoctial winds. The monsoons or shifting trade winds, which blow six months in one direction, and, the other six months, in the opposite. These are mostly in the Indian or Eastern Ocean, and do not extend above two hundred leagues from the land. Their change is at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, and is accompanied with terrible storms of thunder, lightning and rain. 636 Close sailing from Bengala. A country of the hither peninsula of India. 639 Of Ternate and Tidore. The Molucco or Spice, or Clove Islands, are not out of sight of each other, and lie all within the compass of twenty-five leagues to the south of the Philipines, in one hundred and twenty-five degrees of east longitude, and between one degree south, and two north latitude. They are five in number; that is, Bachian, Machian, 640 Motyr, Ternate, and Tidore. These islands produce neither corn nor rice, so that the inhabitants live upon bread made of sago. Their chief produce consists of cloves, mace and nutmegs, in vast quantities, which are monopolized by the Dutch. These islands, after being subject to various powers, are now governed by three kings, subordinate to the Dutch. Ternate is the largest of them, though not more than thirty miles in circumference. they on the trading flvod. The general trade winds, which extend to nearly thirty degrees of latitude, on each side of the equator, in the Atlantic, Ethiopic, and Pacific seas. to the Cape. The Cape of Good Hope, south of Africa. 655 With wide Cerberean mouths. Cerberus, a dog with three heads, that guarded the gates of the infernal regions: it was one of the labours of Hercules to bring him from thence, and considered as the most wonderful of his exploits. 660 Vex'd Scylla. Scylla was greatly loved by Glaucus, a sea god, whose addresses she scorned; but the god, to render her more propitious, applied to Circe, whose knowledge of herbs and incantations was universally admired: Circe attempted to make him forget Scylla, in vain. To punish her rival, Circe poured the juice of some poisonous herbs into the waters of the fountain where Scylla bathed ; when she found her body, below the G 660 waist, changed into frightful monsters like dogs, always barking: this sudden metamorphosis so terrified her, that she threw herself into that part of the sea which separates the coast of Italy from Sicily, where she was changed into rocks, which bear her name, and are very dangerous to navigators, as well as the whirlpool of Charybdis, on the coast of Sicily. in the sea that parts. The Straits of Messina, between Sicily and Italy. 661 Calabria. 661 A province of the kingdom of Naples in Italy. The name Trinacria was given to the Island of Sicily, from its triangular figure, and its three capes, which are Capo di Baco, Cape Pasaro, and Cape Pelorus. 665 With Lapland witches. Lapland, a country in the north of Europe. The people were formerly addicted to magical superstition, and supposed to deal with familiar spirits; but now forbidden by their laws, since they embraced christianity. A. D. 1275. 692 Drew after him the third part of heaven's sons. His cruelty, his subtilty, his experience in all the arts of destruction, are pointed out with dreadful propriety, in the old serpent, the great dragon; but, formidable as his violence, or artful and potent as the confederacy of infernal spirits may be, here is a victory gained over him, which calls for the congratulation of all the armies of the Lord: the dragon and his angels are cast out; the saints are enabled to triumph over him, feeble and impotent as they are: however persecution may attack and harrass them, let them be courageous and undaunted, not loving their lives, even to the death, in the cause of Christ; for, though they fall, they shall rise again to certain victory and glory; nor shall death bring down their heads so low, as to render them unworthy of wearing a crown of eternal life. 1 701 Lest, with a whip of scorpions, I pursue. For, whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 2 Chron. x. 11. 709 That fires the length of Ophiuchus huge. A northern constellation, called the serpent, consisting of twenty-nine stars. The fable is taken from Hercules, who squeezed two serpents to death in his cradle; or, from Esculapius, whom they worshipped under the form of a serpent. Here it means the dragon, a northern constellation, which astronomers call Hercules, Esculapius, and Serpentarius. 716 Over the Caspian. The Caspian Sea, in Asia, is, properly, an immense lake, having no connection with any other portion of water. 722 For never, but once more, was either like To meet so great a foe. He will swallow up death in victory: and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away |