LITMIR.BIZ

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Cloth-yard shaft: an arrow a yard in length.

[5] Cressy and Agincourt: English victories over the French in 1346 and 1415.

[6] Bill: a combined spear and battle-axe.

[7] Culverin and demi-culverin: ancient forms of cannon.

[8] Hand-grenade: a kind of bomb or shell thrown by hand.

[9] Rodney, etc.: famous English naval and military commanders.

[10] Talbots, etc.: noted family names of the English nobility.

[11] "Sacer vates": inspired bard or poet.

[12] Throw his stone, etc.: help to build their cairn or monument.

[13] Clanship: here, the holding together of a class, tribe, or family.

[14] Bout: contest.

[15] Curacy: parish.

[16] Chambers: law offices.

[17] Quixotic: romantic or visionary

[18] Crotchet: whim, notion, "hobby."

[19] Old man with a scythe: Father Time.

[20] Treadmill: a wheel on which prisoners were formerly compelled to work.

[21] Berks: Berkshire, a county west of London. It is called "Royal" because it is the seat of Windsor Castle. The Vale of the White Horse gets its name from the gigantic image of a horse cut through the turf in the side of a chalk hill. Tradition says it was done over a thousand year ago, to commemorate a great victory over the Danes by Alfred.

[22] Three pound ten (shillings): the English shilling is about twenty five cents, and the pound may be called five dollars.

[23] Dresden: a city of Germany, noted for its treasures of art.

[24] The Louvre: an ancient palace in Paris, containing vast collections of sculptures and paintings.

[25] Sauer-kraut: a German dish, prepared from cabbage.

[26] Bee-orchis (orkis): a wild-flower resembling a bee.

[27] Down: a barren hill of chalk or sand.

[28] Civil wars: those between Parliament and King Charles I., in the seventeenth century.

[29] Butts: targets for archery practice. Before the invention of gunpowder they were set up by law in every parish.

[30] Laid: dispelled by religious ceremonies.

[31] Dulce domum: sweet home.

[32] Black Monday: the end of the holidays.

[33] Cosmopolites: citizens of the world at large, familiar with all countries.

[34] Backsword play: the game of single-stick, or fencing with cudgels.

[35] Gorse: a thick, prickly, evergreen shrub, which grows wild and bears beautiful yellow flowers.

[36] Spinney: a small grove filled with undergrowth.

[37] Charley: a fox.

[38] Cover: a retreat, or hiding-place.

[39] Old Berkshire: an association of hunters.

[40] Thatched: roofed with straw or reeds.

[41] Richard Swiveller: a jolly character who lives by his wits. See Dickens's "Old Curiosity Shop."

[42] Mr. Stiggins: a hypocritical parson. See Dickens's "Pickwick Papers."

[43] Roman camp: the Romans, when they conquered England, about 78 A.D., built a stronghold here.

[44] Eyrie: the nest of a bird of prey; here, a gathering-place for Roman soldiers.

[45] Cairn: a heap of stones set up to mark a spot.

[46] Sappers and miners: usually, soldiers employed in working on trenches and fortifications or

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