104. _Flanders._ Allusion to Cæsar’s campaign against the Nervii, who occupied that part of the Netherlands known as Flanders. 113. This battle is depicted in Cæsar’s Commentaries, Book II, chapter 25. 136. _Since Rose Standish died._ See note on line 61. 140. The loss of her father, mother and brother is mentioned in Bradford’s _History of the Plymouth Plantation_. See note, line 85. 206. _Astaroth_, _Baal_. Divinities of ancient Syria, mentioned in the Old Testament. Milton refers to them: “With these came they, who, from the bordering flood Of old Euphrates to the brook that parts Egypt from Syrian ground, had general names Of Baalim and Ashtaroth,--those male, These feminine.” --_Paradise Lost_, Bk. I, 419-423. 210. _Mayflowers._ In England this name is applied to the hawthorn; in America to a trailing plant “having white or rose-colored flowers.” “The trailing arbutus or mayflower grows abundantly in the vicinity of Plymouth, and was the first flower that greeted the Pilgrims after their fearful winter.” (_Whittier._) 212. _Children lost in the woods._ The pathetic story of the cruel destruction of two children by exposure and desertion is told in an ancient English ballad: “No burial this pretty pair Of any man receives, Till Robin-red-breast piously Did cover them with leaves.” --From Percy’s _Reliques of Ancient English Poetry_. 224. _The hundredth Psalm._ The music to which the words were being sung was the same as “Old Hundred.” 232. Many English books and translations were printed by the early Dutch printers of Amsterdam and Leyden, notably by the Elzivirs of the latter place. 245. Compare Luke ix: 62. 248. Jeremiah xxxiii: 11. 321. In Young’s _Chronicles of the Pilgrims_ we read that the ancestors of Miles Standish were of a warlike spirit, and that the family record can be traced back as far as to Ralph de Standish, 1221. 324. _Crest._ The distinguishing mark worn by a knight, usually upon the helmet or above the shield. _Argent._ Silver, or resembling silver. 325. _Gules._ Of a red color. 344. Reference to Revelation xxi. 362. The account is given in 2 Samuel, xi and xii. 415. _Wat Tyler._ The leader of an insurrection in London, slain by Jean Standuich. This happened under Richard II., about 1381. 421. _You too, Brutus!_ Notwithstanding the friendship existing between them, Brutus conspired against the life of Cæsar. It is stated that when Brutus advanced to strike him, Cæsar said, “And you too, my son!” 442. _Elder of Plymouth._ William Brewster (1560-1644). 481. In this dramatic incident the poet has used the facts as they occurred, with very little change. The incident of the rattlesnake-skin and the challenge is historic; it took place in 1622.