NOTES TO THE POEMS
P. 62, 1. 14. Julius Caesar . . . commentary: this took place
at Alexandria.
1. 30. Nuncheon : literally, noon-draught : a light re-
freshment taken at or after noon ; luncheon.
1. 32. Puncheon : a large cask (72-120 gallons).
P. 63, 1. 13. Claret, etc. ; four well-known varieties of wine.
1. 15. Rhenish: Rhine wine. •
1. 34. Caliph: the chief ruler in a Mohammedan
country.
P. 64, 1. 2. Stiver : any small coin.
1. 5. Brook : endure.
P. 66, 1. 7. A text: " It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter
into th£ kingdom of God."—ST. MATT. xix. 24.
P. 67, 1. 3. Transylvania : a province, formerly in Hun-
gary, now in Rumania.
1. 9. Trepan : to trap, ensnare, decoy.
Goblin Market.
Christina G. Rossetti (1830-1894), sister of Dante
Gabriel, was born in London. " Goblin Market"
(1862) and "The Prince's Progress" (1866) haveagrace
and sweetness • partly due to the writer's acquaintance
with Italian, and a colour that calls to mind her
association with the Pre-Raphaelite group of painters.
Her later poetry is devoted to religious themes.
The formation of the narrative is as follows:—the
goblins tempt women to eat their luscious but un-
canny fruits; a first taste produces a rabid craving
for a second taste ; but the second taste is never
accorded, and, in default of it, the woman pines away
and dies. Laura having tasted the fruits once, and
being at death's door through inability to get a second
taste, her sister Lizzie determines to save her at all
hazards ; so she goes to the goblins, refuses to eat
their fruits, and beguiles them into forcing the fruits
upon her with so much insistency that her face is
all smeared and steeped with the juices; she gets
Laura to kiss and suck these juices off her face, and
Laura, having thus obtained the otherwise impossible
second taste, rapidly recovers.
From W. M. Rossetti's Notes to the " Poems."
P. 67, 1. 21. Quince: a hard, acid, yellowish fruit used for
flavouring.
P. 68, 1. 8. Bullace: a small wild plum, allied to the
damson.