[12.] Her ancient solitary reign. Cf. Virgil, Geo. iii. 476: "desertaque regna pastorum." A MS. variation of this line mentioned by Mitford is, "Molest and pry into her ancient reign."
[13.] "As he stands in the churchyard, he thinks only of the poorer people, because the better-to-do lay interred inside the church. Tennyson (In Mem. x.) speaks of resting
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'beneath the clover sod That takes the sunshine and the rains, Or where the kneeling hamlet drains The chalice of the grapes of God.' |
In Gray's time, and long before, and some time after it, the former resting-place was for the poor, the latter for the rich. It was so in the first instance, for two reasons: (i.) the interior of the church was regarded as of great sanctity, and all who could sought a place in it, the most dearly coveted spot being near the high altar; (ii.) when elaborate tombs were the fashion, they were built inside the church for the sake of security, 'gay tombs' being liable to be 'robb'd' (see the funeral dirge in Webster's White Devil). As these two considerations gradually ceased to have power, and other considerations of an opposite tendency began to prevail, the inside of the church became comparatively deserted, except when ancestral reasons gave no choice" (Hales).
[17.] Cf. Milton, Arcades, 56: "the odorous breath of morn;" P. L. ix. 192:
| "Now when as sacred light began to dawn In Eden on the humid flowers that breath'd Their morning incense," etc. |
[18.] Hesiod ([Greek: Erg.] 568) calls the swallow [Greek: orthogoê chelidôn.] Cf. Virgil, Æn. viii. 455:
| "Evandrum ex humili tecto lux suscitat alma, Et matutini volucrum sub culmine cantus." |
[19.] The cock's shrill clarion. Cf. Philips, Cyder, i. 753:
| "When chanticleer with clarion shrill recalls The tardy day;" |