[48.] Decayed, fallen as to social condition.

[49.] Forced from their homes. Many Englishmen came to America
willingly. The poet fails to understand the adventurous spirit of the
emigrant.

[50.] Oswego; Niagara. At this time the regions named were in the
wilderness. Note the poet's pronunciation of _Niagara_.

[51.] A good each government bestows. It would not be easy to mention
the special good bestowed by certain governments; by that of Turkey,
for instance.

[52.] Luke's iron crown. George Dosia, with his brother Luke, headed
an unsuccessful revolt in Hungary in the sixteenth century.
George--not Luke--was put to death by means of a red-hot iron crown.
In the Middle Ages this punishment was sometimes employed in the case
of persons who had attempted to seize the royal power.

[53.] Damiens' bed of steel. Robert Francois Damiens attempted to
assassinate Louis XV in 1757. Before being put to death he was cruelly
tortured, but the "bed of steel" was not used.




THE DESERTED VILLAGE

Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain;