, Ben
Jonson).

28. ~greatest and the best~. Comp. Shakespeare's eulogy in _Rich. II._ ii.
1: also Ben Jonson's "Albion, Prince of all his Isles," _Neptune's
Triumph, Apollo's Song_.

29. ~quarters~, divides into distinct regions. Comp. Dryden, _Georg. I._
208:

"Sailors _quarter'd_ Heaven, and found a name
For every fixt and ev'ry wandering star."

Some would take the word as strictly denoting division into _four_
parts: "at that time the island was actually divided into four separate
governments: for besides those at London and Edinburgh, there were Lords
President of the North and of Wales." (Keightley). ~blue-haired deities~.
These must be distinct from the tributary gods who wield their little
tridents (line 27), otherwise the thought would ill accord with the
complimentary nature of lines 30-36. Regarding the epithet 'blue-haired'
Masson asks: "Can there be a recollection of blue as the British colour,
inherited from the old times of blue-stained Britons who fought with
Caesar? Green-haired is the usual epithet for Neptune and his
subordinates": in Spenser, for example, the sea-nymphs have long green
hair. But Ovid expressly calls the sea-deities _caerulei dii_, and
Neptune _caeruleus deus_, thus associating blue with the sea.

30. 'And all this region that looks towards the West (_i.e._ Wales) is
entrusted to a noble peer of great integrity and power.' The peer
referred to is the Earl of Bridgewater. As Lord President he was
entrusted with the civil and military administration of Wales and the
four English counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, and
Shropshire. That he was a nobleman of high character is shown by the
fact that from 1617, when he was nominated one of "his Majestie's
Counsellors," he had continued to serve in various important public and
private offices. On his monument there is the following: "He was a
profound Scholar, an able Statesman, and a good Christian: he was a
dutiful Son to his Mother the Church of England in her persecution, as
well as in her great splendour; a loyal Subject to his Sovereign in
those worst of times, when it was accounted treason not to be a traitor.
As he lived 70 years a pattern of virtue, so he died an example of
patience and piety." ~falling sun~: Lat. _sol occidens_. Orient and
occident (lit. 'rising' and 'falling') are frequently used to denote the
East and the West.

31. ~mickle~ (A.S. _micel_) great. From this word comes _much_. 'Mickle'
and