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Gambrill, J. Montgomery

"Selections from Poe"

Jan Swammerdamm (1637-1680), a Dutch naturalist, who
devoted most of his time to the study of insects.
122. 7. scarab?¦us: Latin for "beetle," and the scientific term in
entomology. While there are various golden beetles, Poe's was a
creation of his own.
122. 26. This is one of the early attempts to use negro dialect. Poe's
efforts are rather clumsy, considering his long residence in the
South. The reader will notice a number of improbable expressions of
Jupiter's, introduced for humorous effect, but the general character
of the old negro is portrayed, in the main, very well.
124. 5. scarab?¦us caput bominis: man's-head beetle.
127. 17. brusquerie: brusqueness, abruptness.
127. 20. solus: Latin for "alone." The Latin word is
altogether unnecessary. Poe was often rather affected in the use of
foreign words and phrases.
128. 22. empressement: French for "eagerness," cordiality.
132. 31. Liriodendron Tulipifera: the scientific name for the
tulip tree, which sometimes attains a height of 140 feet and a
diameter of 9 feet.
138. 25-26. curvets and caracoles: rare terms belonging to
horsemanship; the first is a low leap, the second a sudden wheel.
142. 13. counters: pieces of money, coins; or the meaning may
be imitation coins for reckoning or for counting in games.
142. 16. No American money.


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