297. wave-subjected soil. This soil in its natural condition is under control of the sea.
305-6. These lines probably refer to the political struggles and intrigues which long disturbed the Netherlands.
313. Belgic sires. The tribes known as the Belgae who inhabited the Netherlands in the time of Caesar.
317. the sound. The sound of the name ‘Britain.’
genius. The poetic muse.
318. Britain receives the warm winds from the west, and Spring is earlier here than in other European countries.
319. lawns. Stretches of meadow land.
Arcadian. Arcadia was a division of Greece. Because of the simple pastoral life of its people the name Arcadia came to stand in poetry for any imaginary country of ideal beauty and simplicity.
320. Hydaspes. A river of India (now called Jelum) flowing into the Indus. It was the eastern boundary of the kingdom of Alexander the Great.
323-4. Extremes are not found in the climate, but only in the minds of the people.