_, a Turk).
895. ~That ... strays~. Milton does not imply that these stones were
found in the Severn, nor does he in lines 932-937 imply that cinnamon
grows on its banks.
897. ~printless feet~. Comp. _Temp._ v. i. 34: "Ye that on the sands with
_printless foot_ Do chase the ebbing Neptune"; also _Arc._ 85: "Where no
print of step hath been."
902. It will be noticed that the Spirit takes up the rhymes of Sabrina's
song ('here,' 'dear'; 'request,' 'distressed'), and again Sabrina
continues the rhymes of the Spirit's song ('distressed,' 'best').
913. ~of precious cure~, of curative power. See note on this use of 'of,'
l. 155.
914. References to the efficacy of sprinkling are frequent, _e.g._ in
the English Bible, in Spenser, in Virgil (_Aen._ vi. 229), in Ovid
(_Met._ iv. 479), in _Par. Lost_, xi. 416.
916. ~Next~: an adverb modifying 'touch.'
917. ~glutinous~, sticky, viscous. The epithet is transferred from the
effect to the cause.
921. ~Amphitrite~: the wife of Neptune (Poseidon) and goddess of the Sea.
923. ~Anchises line~: see note, l. 827. Locrine was the son of Brutus, who
was the son of Silvius, who was the grandson of the great Aeneas, who
was the son of old Anchises.
924. ~may ... miss~. This verb is optative: so are '(may) scorch,' '(may)
fill,' 'may roll,' and 'may be crowned.'
925. ~brimmed~. The passive participle is so often used where we now use
the active that 'brimmed' may mean 'brimming' = full to the brim. On the
other hand, 'brim' is frequent in the sense of _bank_ (comp. l. 119), so
that some regard 'brimmed' as = enclosed within banks.
928. ~singed~, scorched. We should rather say 'scorching.' On the good
wishes expressed in lines 924-937 Masson's comment is: "The whole of
this poetic blessing on the Severn and its neighbourhood, involving the
wish of what we should call 'solid commercial prosperity,' would go to
the heart of the assemblage at Ludlow."
933. ~beryl~: in the Bible (_Rev._ xxi. 20) this precious stone forms one
of the foundations of the New Jerusalem. The word is of Eastern origin:
comp. Arab, _billaur_, crystal. ~golden ore~. As a matter of fact gold has
been found in the Welsh mountains.
934. ~May thy lofty head~, etc. The grammatical construction is: 'May
thy lofty head be crowned round with many a tower and terrace, and here
and there (may thy lofty head be crowned) with groves of myrrh and
cinnamon (growing) upon thy banks.' This makes 'banks' objecti
|