[L. 3.] Désille. See the above introductory notice.
[L. 6.] The body of Mirabeau was transferred to the Pantheon on April 5, 1791.
[L. 10.] Voltaire died in Paris in 1778, but as the clergy had not been called upon to assist him at his last moments his body was denied sepulture in Paris, and was buried at the Abbey of Scellières, of which a nephew of his was commendator. His remains, however, re-entered Paris solemnly on July 11 of the same year, where they lie in the crypt of the Pantheon.
[L. 15.] tu conduiras Jourdan. Tu refers to divin triomphe. Jourdan, nicknamed Coupe-tête, was at the head of the brigands of Vaucluse during the disturbances in the South of France in October, 1791.
[L. 17.] Coblentz. The general quarters of the Émigrés.
[L. 27.] An allusion to a meal taken in common by Pétion and his colleagues of the Commune of Paris at a tavern, at La Râpée-Bercy, which they had caused to be mentioned in newspapers belonging to their party as something to be proud of.
[L. 34.] Persans. The appellation Persans is generally reserved for the Persians of to-day, the ancient Persians being designated as les Perses.
[L. 45.] Eudoxus and Hipparchus, two celebrated ancient astronomers.
[Ll. 46-8.] Berenice's hair, a small northern constellation near the tail of Leo. Berenice was the wife of Ptolemy Energetes, king of Egypt, c. 248 B. C.
[L. 49.] Argo, a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere.