l. [210]. glutinous, referring to the sticky substance which oozes from the pine-trunk. Cf. Comus, l. 917, 'smeared with gums of glutinous heat.'
l. [212]. Mulciber, Vulcan, the smith of the Gods. His fall from Heaven is described by Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 739-42.
piazzian, forming covered walks supported by pillars, a word coined by Keats.
[Page 16]. l. [236]. In the calm'd . . . shades. In consideration of Plato's mystic and imaginative philosophy.
[Page 17]. l. [248]. Refers to the story of Orpheus' attempt to rescue his wife Eurydice from Hades. With his exquisite music he charmed Cerberus, the fierce dog who guarded hell-gates, into submission, and won Pluto's consent that he should lead Eurydice back to the upper world on one condition—that he would not look back to see that she was following. When he was almost at the gates, love and curiosity overpowered him, and he looked back—to see Eurydice fall back into Hades whence he now might never win her.
[Page 18]. l. [262]. thy far wishes, your wishes when you are far off.
l. [265]. Pleiad. The Pleiades are seven stars making a constellation. Cf. Walt Whitman, 'On the beach at night.'
ll. [266-7]. keep in tune Thy spheres. Refers to the music which the heavenly bodies were supposed to make as they moved round the earth. Cf. Merchant of Venice, v. i. 60.