[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;
Where health and plenty cheered the laboring swain,
Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid,
And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed:
Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease, 5
Seats of my youth, when every sport could please,
How often have I loitered o'er thy green,
Where humble happiness endeared each scene!
How often have I paused on every charm,
The sheltered cot, the cultivated farm, 10
The never-failing brook, the busy mill,
The decent[1] church that topped the neighboring hill,
The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade,
For talking age and whispering lovers made!
How often have I blessed the coming day, 15
When toil remitting lent its turn to play,
And all the village train, from labor free,
Led up their sports beneath the spreading tree,
While many a pastime circled in the shade,
The young contending as the old surveyed; 20
And many a gambol frolicked o'er the ground,
And sleights of art and feats of strength went round.
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