"Glittering lances are the loom, Where the dusky warp we strain,-- Shafts for shuttles, dipt in gore, Shoot the trembling cords along; Swords that once a monarch bore, Keep the tissue close and strong." --_The Fatal Sisters_, translated by Gray, from the Norse. 19. "Edward the Second, cruelly butchered in Berkeley Castle."--_Gray._ The murder of the king occurred on the night of September 21, 1327. Berkeley Castle stands at the southeast end of the town of Berkeley, about one and one-half miles from the Severn River. It was built before the time of Henry II., and is still inhabited by a descendant of its founders. 20. =She-wolf of France.= Isabel of France, the wife of Edward II. Shakespeare applies this epithet to Margaret, the queen of Henry VI.: "She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France." --_3 Henry VI._, Act i, sc. 4. 21. Edward III., the son of Queen Isabel, proved indeed to be a scourge to France. 22. "Death of that king (Edward III.), abandoned by his children, and even robbed in his last moments by his courtiers and his mistress."--_Gray._ 23. =sable warrior.= "Edward the Black Prince, dead some time before his father."--_Gray._ 24. The magnificence of the first years of Richard II.'s reign is figured in this and the following lines. 25. =Thirst and Famine scowl.= When Richard II. died in prison, his body was brought to St. Paul's, and "the face was left uncovered, to meet rumors that he had been assassinated by his keeper, Sir Piers Exon." But the older writers assert that he was starved to death. 26. =din of battle.= "Ruinous wars of York and Lancaster."--_Gray._ =bray.= From Gr. _bracho_, to clash. 27. =towers of Julius.= "The oldest part of that structure (the Tower of London) is vulgarly attributed to Julius Cæsar."--_Gray._ 28. =meek usurper.= "Henry the Sixth, very near being canonized. The line of Lancaster had no right of inheritance to the crown."--_Gray._ The references in the preceding line are to Henry's "consort," Queen Margaret, and his father, Henry V. 29. =The rose of snow, twined with her blushing foe.= The reference is to the union of the houses of York and Lancaster after the War of the Roses. 30. =bristled boar.= Richard III., so called from his badge of a silver boar. So Shakespeare: "In the sty of the most deadly boar." --_Richard III._, Act iv, sc. 5. "The wretched, bloody, and usurping boar That spoiled your summer fields and fruitful vines, Swills your warm blood like wash." --_Ibid._ Act v, sc. 2. 31. The bard's vision of the future has come to an end, and he again addresses the king.