153. =corse.= Corpse; a poetical form of the word. 172-3. He had shown thus far a high spirit, whether natural to him, or something seemingly inspired. 181. The face swollen and working convulsively in the struggle for life. 208. =admonished.= Reproved. The knowledge that it was hopeless did not prevent his fear. 214. =dungeon-dew.= The dampness of the dungeon. 230. =a selfish death.= Suicide. 237. =scarce conscious what I wist.= Scarcely conscious of what I knew. _Conscious_ is an appositive, not a predicate adjective. The line following is the completion of _was_. =wist.= See High School Grammar, page 176. 238. Quite shut off from everything else. 243. He saw nothing. Vacancy absorbed all space. 244. =fixedness, without a place.= His attention was not fixed on any definite thing; but yet his mind stood still, was inactive. 247-8. His breath was almost motionless. He seemed to have no life, yet was not dead. 249-50. He compares his mind in this state of trance to a stagnant sea, without light, limit, sound or movement. 256. =Ran over.= Shed tears. 257-8. Because filled with tears. 281. =thine.= Thy captivity. 284. Distinguish _visitant_ and _visitor_. 317. =fell blind.= Became suddenly blind. 327. =had made.= Past subjunctive. 330. =the mountains.= The Alps. 335. =wide long lake.= Lake Geneva is about forty-five miles long and its greatest width is about nine miles. 336. =Rhone.= Where it enters Lake Geneva. 339. =town.= Vevay or Villeneuve, about six miles distant. 341. =a little isle.= Byron in a note speaks of this small island as between the entrances of the Rhone and the Villeneuve. 354. =Methought.= See High School Grammar, page 272. 364. =too much oppressed.= By the brightness of the world outside at which he had been looking. 368. =no hope my eyes to raise.= No hope, which would make me raise my eyes. 369. =their dreary mote.= Their dulness. A mote is a particle of dust. 378. =a hermitage.= A hermit’s cave or cell; a retreat. 382. =sullen=. Gloomy. 390. =communion=. Association with our surroundings. * * * * * ELEGY, WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD. First published in 1751. An Elegy is a poem or song expressing the writer’s feelings of sorrow or mourning. The churchyard referred to in the poem is that of Stoke Pogis in Buckinghamshire, where Gray’s mother lived during the latter part of her life. Gray is buried in this churchyard. 9. =yonder ivy-mantled tower.= The tower of the village church at Stoke Poges. 13. =that yew-tree’s shade.= It has been suggested that this should read, “that yew-trees shade,” because the yew is not a large tree. In that case the meaning would be “those rugged elms that shade the yew-trees of the churchyard.” 16. =rude.= Lacking refinement, unpolished. 17. =incense-breathing.= Breathing fragrance. 26. =glebe.= Sod, turf.