[1] Gradus ad Parnassum: a dictionary specially designed to aid pupils in writing Greek and Latin verses.
[2] Rum: queer.
[3] Magpie: a bird which can be taught to speak like the parrot.
[4] Amateur nest: here, a nest made by himself.
[5] Callow: unfledged; without feathers.
[6] Cogitation: thought.
[7] Sebastopol: a fortified town in the Crimea; the scene of a siege in the Crimean War.
[8] Ensconce: to place in a protected place.
[9] Ambrosial: here, delicious, in an ironical sense.
[10] Normal: usual; regular.