contains two reprehensible liberties, because clung in its original proper sense means congealed or shrivelled; to cling was an intransitive verb meaning to adhere together: its modern use is to stick fast [to something]—and secondly, heapen is not a grammatical form; the p.p. is heaped.
Again, in the line
'He well may come with baits and trolls', (11)
we do not know whether trolls has something to do with pike-fishing, or merely means the reel on the rod. In that sense it lacks authority(?), moreover it is a homophone, used by our poet in
'And trolls and pixies unbeknown'. (18)
Finally, there are a good many English country names for common plants, for example, Esau's-hands, Rabbits'-meat, Bee's balsams, Pepper-gourds, Brandy-flowers, Flannel-weed, and Shepherd's rose; and some of these are excellent, and we very much wish that more of our good English plant-names could be distinctively attached.
We will not open the discussion here, except to say that the casual employment of local names is of no service because so many of these names are common to so many different plants. Our author's Rabbits'-meat, for instance, is applied to Anthriscus sylvestris, Heracleum Spondylium, Oxalis Acetosella and Lamium purpureum; all of which may be suitable rabbits' food. But each one of these plants has also a very wide choice of other names: thus Anthriscus sylvestris, besides being Rabbits-meat may be familiarly introduced as Dill, Keck, Ha-ho, or Bun, and by some score of other names showing it to be disputed for by the ass, cow, dog, pig and even by the devil himself to make his oatmeal.
Heracleum Spondylium, alias Old Rot or Lumper-scrump, provides provender for cow, pig, swine, and hog, and also material for Bear's breeches.
Oxalis Acetosella is even richer in pet-names. After Rabbits'-meat, sheep-sorrel, cuckoo-spice, we find Hallelujah! Lady's cakes, and God Almighty's bread-and-cheese. These are selected from fifty names.
Lamium purpureum is not so polyonymous. With Tormentil, Archangel, and various forms of Dead-nettle, we find only Badman's Posies and Rabbits'-meat.