442. Elder of Plymouth. William Brewster (1560-1644).
481. In this dramatic incident the poet has used the facts as they occurred, with very little change. The incident of the rattlesnake-skin and the challenge is historic; it took place in 1622.
496. The plot requires that the choleric Captain should at this stage be removed from the presence of Alden and Priscilla, leaving the issue in a state of suspense. For this purpose the author finds the material of the annals almost ready shaped. The only alteration required was to change the time when the expedition under Standish started to relieve the threatened Weymouth Colony. This took place in March, 1623, but in the poem it is made to happen in April, 1621.
559. Alden’s position with one foot on the gunwale and one on the rock is a striking visualization of a mood.
572. Adamantine. “By him forbidden to unlock these adamantine gates.” (Paradise Lost, Book II, 853.)
597. The shipmaster, like Standish, is not a devout Puritan.
601. Songs. Not songs, but rather a series of rhythmic sounds accompanying their work.
605. Gurnet Point. A headland at the entrance to Plymouth harbor, on the north side.
606. Before landing at Plymouth the Pilgrims had spent some time in looking for a suitable locality. A party of them had gone on shore and examined the environs here. They had then met some Indians; hence the name, “First Encounter.”
607. Took the wind on her quarter. Holding a course such that the wind struck the vessel at a point “between abeam and astern.” What must have been the exact course of the vessel?