[16.] Awful form. Notice how effective awful is when properly used.
[17.] Cypher, do sums in arithmetic; not often used now.
[18.] Terms and tides presage, i.e. the schoolmaster could tell when courts were to be held and when certain tides (times), such as Whitsuntide or Easter, would come.
[19.] Gauge, measure. The word is applied especially to determining the capacity of casks and other vessels containing alcoholic liquors. These had to be carefully measured, so that the government should receive the specified tax.
[20.] The twelve good rules. Among these are: "Reveal no secrets," "Keep no bad company." They can be found in Hales' Longer English Poems, p. 353.
[24.] Participate, share.
[25.] Altama, the Altamaha, a river in Georgia.
[26.] Crouching tigers. It is evident that the poet is indulging his imagination. The people of Georgia doubtless find this description of their country amusing if not accurate.
[27.] Torno's cliffs. Perhaps the poet refers to some region near the river Torneo, or Tornea, which flows into the Gulf of Bothnia.
[28.] Pambamarca's side. Pambamarca is a mountain in Ecuador.