e under
which poetry in a living language labours. No knowledge of the meaning
which a word bore in 1631 can wholly banish the later and vulgar
associations which may have gathered round it since. Apart from direct
parody and burlesque, the tendency of living speech is gradually to
degrade the noble; so that as time goes on the range of poetical
expression grows from generation to generation more and more
restricted." The origin of the word _spruce_ is disputed: Skeat holds
that it is a corruption of Pruce (old Fr. _Pruce_, mod. Fr. _Prusse_) =
Prussia; we read in the 14th century of persons dressed after the
fashion of Prussia or Spruce, and Prussia was called Sprussia by some
English writers up to the beginning of the 17th century. See also
Trench, _Select Glossary_.

986. ~The Graces~. The three Graces of classical mythology were
Euphrosyne (the light-hearted one), Aglaia (the bright one), and Thalia
(the blooming one). See _L'Alleg._ 12: "Euphrosyne ... Whom lovely
Venus, at a birth, With two sister Graces more, To ivy-crowned Bacchus
bore." They were sometimes represented as daughters of Zeus, and as the
goddesses who purified and enhanced all the innocent pleasures of life.
~rosy-bosomed Hours~. The Hours (Horae) of classical mythology were the
goddesses of the Seasons, whose course was described as the dance of the
Horae. The Hora of Spring accompanied Persephone every year on her ascent
from the lower world, and the expression "The chamber of the Horae opens"
is equivalent to "The Spring is coming." 'Rosy-bosomed'; the Gk.
+rhodokolpos+: compare the epithets 'rosy-fingered' (applied by Homer to
the dawn), 'rosy-armed,' etc.

989. ~musky ... fling~. Compare _Par. Lost_, viii. 515: "Fresh gales and
gentle airs Whispered it to the woods, and from their wings Flung rose,
flung odours from the spicy shrub." In this passage the verb _fling_ is
similarly used. 'Musky' = fragrant: comp. 'musk-rose,' l. 496.

990. ~cedarn alleys~, _i.e._ alleys of cedar trees. For 'alley,' comp. l.
311. For the form of 'cedarn,' see note on 'azurn,' l. 893. Tennyson
uses the word 'cedarn' in _Recoll. of Arab. Nights_, 115.

991. ~Nard and cassia~; two aromatic plants. Cassia is a name sometimes
applied to the wild cinnamon: nard is also called _spike-nard_; see
allusion in the Bible, _Mark_, xiv. 3; _Exod._ xxx. 24, etc.

992. ~Iris ... humid bow~: see note, l. 83. The allusion is, of course, to
the rainbow.

993. ~blow~, here use