12. Refers to Genesis 28: 10-21.
39. Rabbinical: pertaining to Jewish rabbis or teachers of law.
44. welkin: poetical term for the sky.
48. nebulous: indistinct.
THE LANDLORD'S TALE
The "Tales of a Wayside Inn" were series of stories told on three separate days by the travelers at the Inn at Sudbury, Mass. It is the same device used by writers since the days of Chaucer, but cleverly handled furnishes an interesting setting for a variety of tales. Some of Longfellow's best-known narratives are in these series, among them the following selections.
The story is self-explanatory. It is probably the best example of the simple poetic narrative of an historic event.
107-110. The reference is to one of the seven men who were killed at Lexington—possibly to Jonathan Harrington, Jr., who dragged himself to his own door-step before he died. Many books tell the story, but the following are the most interesting; Gettemy, Chas. F. True "Story of Paul Revere:" Colburn, F., The Battle of April 19, 1775.
THE SICILIAN'S TALE
This story of King Robert of Sicily is very old, as it is found among the short stories of the Gesta Romanorum written in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.