De Quincey's Revolt of the TartarsDe Quincey, Thomas
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De Quincey's Revolt of the Tartars
De Quincey, Thomas
Kalmyks; Tatars
41 29. untread. A dictionary word, but uncommon. Recall similar
words used by De Quincey which add picturesqueness in part because of
their novelty.
41 31. their old allegiance. 1616. See the close of this paragraph.
41 33. scapegoat. _Leviticus_, xvi, 7-10; 20-22.
42 32, 33. land of promise ... house, etc. _Deuteronomy_, viii, 14;
ix, 28.
43 8. Orsk. Upon the river Or.
43 9. Oriembourg. A fort.
43 23. sinister. Etymology?
43 29. transpiring. Like _aggravate_ and _liable_, a word often
misused. What does it mean?
44 10. were dispersed. Note the variety of phrases in the following
ten lines used to indicate separation.
46 16. Hetman. Chief. Compare Germ. _Hauptmann_, Eng. _captain_, Fr.
_chef_.
47 1. evasion. See previous note on p. 33, l. 7.
48 2. carabines. Old-fashioned spelling. Short rifles adapted to the
use of mounted troops.
49 13. without a parallel. As has been seen, De Quincey is fond of
superlative statements. A writer may or may not be true in his claims;
the habitual assumption, however, predisposes his reader to doubt his
judgment.
49 16. Desultors. This word is not in common use, but _desultory_
is. Look up the derivation and note the metaphor concealed in the
latter word.
49 19. at the rate of 200 miles. Compare preceding note on p. 24, 1. 26.
50 27. "more fell," etc. From the last speech in Shakespeare's
Othello, addressed to Iago:
O Spartan dog,
More fell than anguish, hunger, or the sea!
Look on the tragic loading of this bed;
This is thy work.
51 17. "fierce varieties." Misquoted. See _Paradise Lost_, II, 599;
VII, 272.
51 19. post equitem, etc.:
Behind the horseman sits black care.
--Horace's _Odes_, III, 1, 40.
51 20. undying worm. _Isaiah_, lxvi, 24.
51 29. "from morn till dewy eve." Paradise Lost, I, 742.
52 33. On a fine morning. Study this paragraph carefully with
reference to the rhetorical effect. The entire scene is the product of
De Quincey's imagination; do you consider it truthful?
53 24. yagers. German _Jaeger_; used of a huntsman or a forester,
also in parts of Germany and Austria used to indicate light infantry
or cavalry. Compare with _Polish dragoons_, p. 38, l. 10.
54 21. indorsed. Look up the etymology. Has De Quincey, in his note,
quoted Milton accurately? See _Paradise Regained_, III, 329.
56 13. rather in a diagonal. This is another characteristic of De
Quincey; he is sometimes tediously exact in his details; perhaps the
minuteness is justifiable in this instance, as the statement increases
the realistic effect of an imaginary scene.
56 18. a large fresh-water lake. The Lake of Tengis here referred
to, mentioned by name in the paragraph following this, is evidently
Lake Balkash, into which flows the river Ily. It is one of the largest
lakes in the steppes, but its water is really _salt_.
59 21. globes and turms. Latinisms. Milton uses _globe_ in _Paradise
Lost_, II, 512, and _turms_ in _Paradise Regained_, IV, 66.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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