De Quincey's Revolt of the TartarsDe Quincey, Thomas
History
De Quincey's Revolt of the Tartars
De Quincey, Thomas
Kalmyks; Tatars
15 1. a pitched battle. "It will be difficult, I think, to find
record, in the history of the Russo-Turkish war of 1768, of any battle
answering to this."--MASSON.
15 10. Paladins. A term used especially to designate the famous
knightly champions who served the Frankish Charlemagne. Look up the
etymology of the word and trace its present meaning.
15 24. ukase. "An edict or order, legislative or administrative,
emanating from the Russian government."--_Century Dictionary_.
16 9. mummeries. Find the original meaning of this word.
16 22. Catharine II. "Elizabeth had been succeeded in 1762 by her
nephew Peter III., who had reigned but a few months when he was
dethroned by a conspiracy of Russian nobles headed by his German wife
Catharine. She became Empress in his stead, and reigned from 1762 to
1796 as Catharine II."--MASSON.
17 10. doubtful suspicion and indirect presumption. Note the
additional force given to the nouns by the adjectives.
17 18. Weseloff. This gentleman is referred to again at more length
in pages 45-50.
17 31. sanctions. Compare the note on p. 2, l. 12. The sense in
which the word is used justifies the use of _violate_ in the next line.
18 24. first of all. Again see how, by use of this phrase, followed
later by _secondly_, _thirdly,_ etc., De Quincey gains greater
clearness for his various points.
19 29. But the time, etc. Here is the first general division point
in the main narrative. The genesis of the plot has been described; now
follow the active preliminaries to the flight.
19 33. one vast conflagration. Compare the account, p. 25.
20 12, 13. But where or how, etc. Note again the effective use of
interrogation. How does it stimulate interest?
20 17. Kirghises. The spelling _Kirghiz_ is more familiar. Like the
Bashkirs, nomads of the Mongolian-Tartar race, perhaps the least
civilized of those inhabiting the steppes.
20 26. _rhetoric._ In what sense used here? Is this use correct?
21 5. _Sarepta._ Locate this town; it is on a small river that empties
into the Volga. "The point of the reference to this particular town is
that it was a colony of industrious Germans, having been founded in
1764 or 1765 by the Moravian Brothers."--BALDWIN.
22 11. Temba. The Jemba.
22 28. Kichinskoi. Notice the vividness of the character portrait
that follows; compare it with the portraitures of Zebek and Oubacha
previously given.
23 1. surveillant. Here used for watchman or spy. What derivatives
have we from this French expression?
23 34. Christmas arrived. Another division point in the analysis.
24 5. Astrachan. Also spelled _Astrakhan_. The name of a large and
somewhat barren district comprising more than 90,000 square miles of
territory in southeastern Europe; its capital city, having the same
name, is situated on the Volga near its mouth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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