In the Arabian Nights one of the Barmecides, a wealthy family, served a beggar a pretended feast on beautiful dishes that were empty.
19. About a merry flame were simmering etc.
The appeal to the sense of hunger is powerful. Compare Vergil, Æneid, Book I, 210–215.
21. And tender tongues that never tasted snow,
Why “never tasted snow”?
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2. So sounds a freshet when the banks are full etc.
Note comparison of the movement of the herd to a swollen river clogged by débris.
8. Through which the wolves in doleful tenson tossed
Tenson: among the troubadours a contest between two singers.