76. Cotton Mather (1663-1728). This precocious boy entered Harvard College at eleven and graduated at fifteen. At seventeen he preached his first sermon and all his life was a zealous divine. He was undoubtedly sincere in his judgments in the cases of witchcraft and was not thoughtlessly cruel. He was a great writer and politician and a public- minded citizen. 85. Wonder-Book of Cotton Mather is his story of early New England life called Magnalia Christi Americana. MAUD MULLER 94. astral: a lamp with peculiar construction so that the shadow is not cast directly below it. BURNS Burns. In connection with this poem may well be read the following poems by Robert Burns (1759-1796): "The Twa Dogs," "A Man's a Man for A' That," "Cotter's Saturday Night" (Selections), "Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon," "Highland Mary." 40. allegory: the expression of an idea indirectly by means of a story or narrative. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is probably the best-known allegory. What others can you name? 67. Craigie-burn and Devon were favorite Scotch streams. 71. Ayr: a river in Scotland. This whole region is full of associations with Burns. Near it he was born and there is the Auld Brig of Doon of Tam o' Shanter fame. Near the river is a Burns monument. Doon: a river of Scotland 30 miles long and running through wild and picturesque country. Burns has made it famous. 91-92. The unpleasant facts of Burns's life, due to weakness of character, should not be allowed to destroy our appreciation of what he accomplished when he was his better self. 99. Magdalen. See John 8:3-11 and many other instances in the Gospels. 103. The mournful Tuscan: Dante, who wrote "The Divine Comedy." THE HERO 1. Bayard, Pierre Terrail (1473-1524): a French soldier who, on account of his heroism, piety, and magnanimity was called "le chevalier sans noun et sans reproche," the fearless and faultless knight. By his contemporaries he was more often called "le bon chevalier," the good knight. 6. Zutphen: an old town in Holland, which was often besieged, especially during the wars of freedom waged by the Dutch. The most celebtated fight under its walls was in September, 1586, when Sir Philip Sidney was mortally wounded. 12. See John 16: 21. 28. Sidney. See note on line 6 and Proem, note on line 4. 31. Cyllenian ranges: Mount Cyllene, in southern Greece, the fabled birthplace of Hermes. 36. Suliote. See Fitz-Greene Halleck, "Marco Bozzaris," note on line 13 42. The reference is to Samuel G. Howe, who fought as a young man for the independence of Greece. 46. Albanian: pertaining to Albania, a province of western Turkey. 78. Cadmus: mythological king of Phoenicia; was regarded as the introducer of the alphabet from Phoenicia into Greece. 86. Lancelot stands for most of us as the example of a brave knight whose life was ruined by a great weakness. Malory writes of him in "Mort d'Arthur," and Tennyson has made him well known to us.