[48] “And death, beyond renewal, lay hold upon their life.”

[49] Sending, message: “whatever varying decree God sends thee.”

[50] “Receives his message;” “accepts his will.”

[51] Recently published by the Early English Text Society.  S.L.  IV.

[52] “Child born of a bright lady.” Bird, berd, brid, burd, means lady originally:  thence comes our bride.

[53] In Chalmers’ English Poets, from which I quote, it is selly-worme; but I think this must be a mistake. Silly would here mean weak.

[54] The first poem he wrote, a very fine one, The Shepheard’s Calender, is so full of old and provincial words, that the educated people of his own time required a glossary to assist them in the reading of it.

[55] Eyas is a young hawk, whose wings are not fully fledged.

[56] “What less than that is fitting?”

[57] For, even in Collier’s edition, but certainly a blunder.

[58] Was, in the editions; clearly wrong.

[59] “Of the same mould and hand as we.”

[60] There was no contempt in the use of this word then.

[61] Simple-hearted, therefore blessed; like the German selig.

[62] A shell plentiful on the coast of Palestine, and worn by pilgrims to show that they had visited that country.

[63] Evil was pronounced almost as a monosyllable, and was at last contracted to ill.

[64] “Come to find a place.”  The transitive verb stow means to put in a place:  here it is used intransitively.

[65] The list of servants then kept in large houses, the number of such being far greater than it is now.

[66] There has been some blundering in the transcription of the last two lines of this stanza.  In the former of the two I have substituted doth for dost, evidently wrong.  In the latter, the word cradle is doubtful.  I suggest cradled, but am not satisfied with it.  The meaning is, however, plain enough.

[67] “The very blessing the soul needed.”

[68] An old English game, still in use in Scotland and America, but vanishing before cricket.

[69] Silly means innocent, and therefore blessed; ignorant of evil, and in so far helpless.  It is easy to see how affection came to apply it to idiots.  It is applied to the ox and ass in the next stanza, and is often an epithet of shepherds.

[70] See Poems by Sir Henry Wotton and others.  Edited by the Rev. John Hannah.

[71] “Know thyself.”

[72] “And I have grown their map.”

[73] The guilt of Adam’s first sin, supposed by the theologians of Dr. Donne’s time to be imputed to Adam’s descendants.

[74] The past tense:  ran.

[75] Their door to enter into sin—­by his example.