[52]. long boat: "The largest and strongest boat belonging to a sailing ship."—Century Dictionary.
[54]. aqua regia: (Latin) royal water. A chemical compound so called from its power of dissolving gold. regulus of cobalt: early chemical term referring to the metallic mass of an ore.
[55]. Captain Kidd: William Kidd, about whose early life nothing is positively known, was commissioned by the Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1695 to put down piracy. With a good ship under him, however, he himself turned pirate. On his return he was arrested, sent to England, tried, and executed in London in 1701. Some of his buried treasure was recovered by the colonial authorities in 1699.
[58]. Golconda: a place near Hyderabad, India, noted for its diamonds. cryptographs: from two Greek words meaning hidden and write. The commoner term is "cryptogram."
[59]. Spanish main: the ocean near the coast of South America and the adjacent parts of the Caribbean Sea over which the Spaniards exercised power.
[67]. insignium: (Latin) a sign.
NOTES TO "THE PURLOINED LETTER"
This detective story was published in "The Gift" for 1845.
Page [69]. Nil sapientiæ, etc.: (Latin) Nothing is more hateful to wisdom than too great acuteness. C. Auguste Dupin: clever amateur who solves the mysteries which baffle the police. Most writers of detective stories follow this example set by Poe. au troisième: (French) on the third floor. Faubourg: (French) section of a city. Saint Germain: a section of Paris on the south bank of the Seine, once the abode of the French nobility. affair of the Rue Morgue: a reference to the detective story, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." the murder of Marie Rogêt: a reference to another detective story, "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt." The writer is playing the same part as does Dr. Watson in the various Sherlock Holmes stories by Conan Doyle. Prefect: (French) chief.
[71]. cant of diplomacy: set phrases used in intercourse between representatives of governments by which they hint at their meaning.