De Quincey's Revolt of the Tartars Part 4

7 28. Thus far, etc. Notice the care with which De Quincey a.n.a.lyzes the situation.

8 19. mercenary. Look up origin of the word. How is it appropriate here?

8 29. romantic. What are the qualities indicated by this adjective?

How did the word, derived from _Roman_, get its present significance?

8 34. A triple vengeance. Compare with the similar a.n.a.lysis p. 2, l. 13.

9 11. behemoth. A Hebrew word meaning "great beast." It was used probably of the hippopotamus. See _Job_, xl, 15-24. In the work by Bergmann, which furnished De Quincey with much of his material, the figure used is that of a giant and a dwarf.--Muscovy. An old name of Russia, derived from Moscow.

9 13. "lion ramp." Quoted from Milton:

The bold Ascalonite Fled from his lion ramp.

--_Samson Agonistes_, 139.

"_Baptized and infidel_" and "_barbaric East_" are also borrowings from Milton.

9 16. unnumbered numbers. Notice how effectively in this and the following sentences De Quincey utilizes _suggested_ words: _monstrous, monstrosity_; _hopelessness, hope_.

9 22. fable. Here used for plot; the idea being that the story of the Revolt has all the compactness and unity of design to be found in the plot of a cla.s.sic tragedy, which could admit the introduction of no external incidents or episodes to confuse the thread of the main action.

10 8. translation. Note the etymology of this word, which is here used in its literal sense.

10 17. But what, etc. See with what art, as well as with what evident interest, De Quincey catches the very spirit of the plot. How does the interrogation add strength?

10 25, 26. Kien Long. "Emperor of China from 1735 to 1796, was the fourth Chinese emperor of the Mantchoo-Tartar dynasty, and a man of the highest reputation for ability and accomplishment."--Ma.s.sON.

10 28. religion. Lamaism. "A corrupted form of Buddhism prevailing in Tibet and Mongolia, which combines the ethical and metaphysical ideas of Buddhism with an organized hierarchy under two semi-political sovereign pontiffs, an elaborate ritual, and the wors.h.i.+p of a host of deities and saints."--_Century Dictionary_.

10 29. Chinese Wall. This famous wall was built for defence against the northern Mongols in the third century. It is 1400 miles in length and of varying height. In what sense is the phrase used figuratively?

11 17. great Lama. "Lama, a celibate priest or ecclesiastic belonging to that variety of Buddhism known as Lamaism. There are several grades of lamas, both male and female. The dalai-lama and the tesho- or bogdo-lama are regarded as supreme pontiffs. They are of equal authority in their respective territories, but the former is much the more important, and is known to Europeans as the Grand Lama,"--_Century Dictionary._

The Dalai-Lama (p. 12, l. 11) resides at La.s.sa in Tibet.

12 34. With respect to the month. Notice the extreme care with which the author develops the following details, and the touch of sympathy with which this paragraph closes.

13 28. war raged. "The war was begun in 1768 when Mustapha III. was Sultan of Turkey; and it was continued till 1774."--Ma.s.sON.

13 33. Human experience, etc. It is a favorite device of this writer to develop a concrete fact into an abstraction of general application.

Do you believe that this is true? Can you give any ill.u.s.tration?

15 1. a pitched battle. "It will be difficult, I think, to find record, in the history of the Russo-Turkish war of 1768, of any battle answering to this."--Ma.s.sON.

15 10. Paladins. A term used especially to designate the famous knightly champions who served the Frankish Charlemagne. Look up the etymology of the word and trace its present meaning.

15 24. ukase. "An edict or order, legislative or administrative, emanating from the Russian government."--_Century Dictionary_.

16 9. mummeries. Find the original meaning of this word.

16 22. Catharine II. "Elizabeth had been succeeded in 1762 by her nephew Peter III., who had reigned but a few months when he was dethroned by a conspiracy of Russian n.o.bles headed by his German wife Catharine. She became Empress in his stead, and reigned from 1762 to 1796 as Catharine II."--Ma.s.sON.

17 10. doubtful suspicion and indirect presumption. Note the additional force given to the nouns by the adjectives.

17 18. Weseloff. This gentleman is referred to again at more length in pages 45-50.

17 31. sanctions. Compare the note on p. 2, l. 12. The sense in which the word is used justifies the use of _violate_ in the next line.

18 24. first of all. Again see how, by use of this phrase, followed later by _secondly_, _thirdly,_ etc., De Quincey gains greater clearness for his various points.

19 29. But the time, etc. Here is the first general division point in the main narrative. The genesis of the plot has been described; now follow the active preliminaries to the flight.

19 33. one vast conflagration. Compare the account, p. 25.

20 12, 13. But where or how, etc. Note again the effective use of interrogation. How does it stimulate interest?

20 17. Kirghises. The spelling _Kirghiz_ is more familiar. Like the Bashkirs, nomads of the Mongolian-Tartar race, perhaps the least civilized of those inhabiting the steppes.

20 26. _rhetoric._ In what sense used here? Is this use correct?

21 5. _Sarepta._ Locate this town; it is on a small river that empties into the Volga. "The point of the reference to this particular town is that it was a colony of industrious Germans, having been founded in 1764 or 1765 by the Moravian Brothers."--BALDWIN.

22 11. Temba. The Jemba.

22 28. Kichinskoi. Notice the vividness of the character portrait that follows; compare it with the portraitures of Zebek and Oubacha previously given.

23 1. surveillant. Here used for watchman or spy. What derivatives have we from this French expression?

23 34. Christmas arrived. Another division point in the a.n.a.lysis.

24 5. Astrachan. Also spelled _Astrakhan_. The name of a large and somewhat barren district comprising more than 90,000 square miles of territory in southeastern Europe; its capital city, having the same name, is situated on the Volga near its mouth.

24 26. at the rate of 300 miles a day. By no means an incredible speed; in Russia such sledge flights are not uncommon. Compare what De Quincey has to say of the glory of motion in _The English Mail-Coach_,--"running at the least twelve miles an hour."

25 26. malignant counsels. What is the full effect of this epithet?

26 10. valedictory vengeance. Note again the force of the epithet.

26 28. aggravate. What is the literal significance of this word? As synonymous with what words is it often incorrectly used?

28 11. For now began to unroll. Does this paragraph const.i.tute a digression, or is it a useful amplification of the narrative? Does De Quincey exaggerate when he terms these experiences of the Tartars "the most awful series of calamities anywhere recorded"?

28 14. sudden inroads. "The inroads of the Huns into Europe extended from the third century into the fifth; those of the Avars from the sixth century to the eighth or ninth; the first great conquests of the Mongol Tartars were by Genghis-Khan, the founder of a Mongol empire which stretched, in the beginning of the thirteenth century, from China to Poland."--Ma.s.sON.

28 18. volleying lightning. Compare p. 2, l. 1, where De Quincey uses a somewhat similar phrase. Why is the phrase varied, do you suppose?

28 21. the French retreat. It would be interesting to compare the incidents and figures of this retreat, as furnished by biographers and historians. Sloane's _Life of Napoleon_ is a recent authority.

28 26. vials of wrath. Compare _Revelation_, xv, 7, and xvi, 1. If De Quincey had used the Revised Version he would have written _bowls_ instead of _vials_. Such borrowings of phrase or incident are called "allusions." Make a list of the scriptural allusions found in the essay,--of those suggested by Milton.