Chapter 39: 391-398
Page 391
Squire Haligast predicts an end...
Which indeed does seem to be what happens; see pages 389, 373 & 366.
mephitic
of, relating to, or resembling mephitis : foul-smelling <mephitic vapors>
Page 392
Henry the Eighth
Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII. Henry VIII was a significant figure in the history of the English monarchy. Although in the great part of his reign he brutally suppressed the influence of the Protestant Reformation in England, a movement having some roots with John Wycliffe in the 14th century, he is more popularly known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. From WIKI
Page 393
Annapolis
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, 26 miles (42 km) south of Baltimore and about 29 miles (47 km) east of Washington D.C. Annapolis is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The city was the temporary capital of the United States in 1783–1784. From WIKI
York
York, Pennsylvania is one of many cities that lay claim to the title of First Capital of the United States, although historians generally consider it to be the fourth capital, after Philadelphia, Baltimore and Lancaster. The claim arises from the assertion that the Articles of Confederation was the first legal document to refer to the colonies as "the United States of America". The argument depends on whether the Declaration of Independence, which also uses the term, would be considered a true legal document of the United States, being drafted under and in opposition to British rule. From WIKI
Baltimore
The Maryland colonial General Assembly created the Port of Baltimore at Locust Point in 1706 for the tobacco trade. The Town of Baltimore was founded on July 30, 1729, and is named after Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert), who was the first Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. Cecilius Calvert was a son of George Calvert, who became the First Lord Baltimore of County Cork, Ireland in 1625. Baltimore grew swiftly in the 18th century as a granary for sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean. The profit from sugar encouraged the cultivation of cane and the importation of food. From WIKI
Calvert Connections
See pages 225 & 301
Hogsheads of Tobacco
A tobacco hogshead was used in American colonial times to transport and store tobacco. It was a very large wooden barrel. A standardized hogshead measured 48 inches (1220 mm) long and 30 inches (760 mm) in diameter at the head (at least 550 L, depending on the width in the middle). Fully packed with tobacco, it weighed about 1000 pounds (450 kg). From WIKI
Page 394
my own Surveillor might be secreted anywhere
Armand is crossing into some Kafkaesque territory here...
Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is the historic district of the independent city of Williamsburg, Virginia. It consists of many of the buildings that, from 1699 to 1780, formed colonial Virginia's capital. The capital straddled the boundary of two of the original shires of Virginia, James City Shire (now James City County), and Charles River Shire (now York County). For most of the 18th century, Williamsburg was the center of government, education and culture in the Colony of Virginia. It was here that Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Monroe, James Madison, George Wythe, Peyton Randolph, and dozens more helped mold democracy in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States. From WIKI
Williamsburg is now also the place where you will hear this phrase more times than you can count: "This isnt the original... but this is the way that it would have looked."
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian, which is also the name of the local dialect. Glasgow grew from the medieval Bishopric of Glasgow and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow, which contributed to the Scottish Enlightenment. From the 18th century the city became one of Europe's main hubs of transatlantic trade with the Americas. From WIKI
Page 395
Tom
This is Thomas Jefferson. Dixon toasts "to the pursuit of Happiness" and a young man named Tom asks if can use that phrase some time, which Thomas Jefferson did in the Declaration of Independence. The passage continues to confirm that this is Jefferson by discussing his interest in surveying, which was a very real interest of Jefferson's.
Colonel Byrd
William, 1674-1744 GoogleBooks Google
Page 397
Quoiting
A game similar to horseshoes played with quoits (from the middle english coyte, flat stone) particular to the Northeast.
(source: thefreedictionary.com)
Is there a significance to the choice of quoiting over a pistol dual between Dixon and Fabian, which is independent of Dixon's religious pacifism?
Superficially, the game resembles the West Line: an invisible line defined by staked points along which objects (stones) fly. One could note the same, of course, about a duel -- so perhaps there is some other significance in the choice of quoit?
Ah, perhaps one point is that quoiting might be more 'civilized' a resolution since no one can be killed? MKOHUT 11:55, 16 September 2007 (PDT)
