of Lord Loughborough. In the beginning of Pitt's administration he was leader of the opposition in the House of Lords. When the king became deranged in 1789, Lord Loughborough advised the Prince of Wales to proclaim himself regent. Four years later, having seceded from the Whig party, Loughborough was appointed lord chancellor. 211 19 managers' box: mention the managers of the impeachment as named by Macaulay, and tell what he says about each. 212 31 cuddy: in the eighteenth century the word meant the small cabin of a boat.' "A New English Dictionary," however, cites this passage as an example of the use of "cuddyfull" as a noun. 213 11 doctors: eminently learned men, especially in theology and law. 213 19 apotheosis: the act of ranking among the gods; transformation into a god. 213 27 a Pantheon: a group of all the deities, or a building erected for the worship not of one particular god but of all the gods. 214 14 Pasquin: a sixteenth-century Roman tailor who enjoyed local celebrity for his jests, and whose name gave rise to the word "pasquinade," meaning lampoon or satire of specific persons. The man whom Macaulay brusquely calls "that malignant and filthy baboon" simply adopted the name Anthony Pasquin as a pen name. 214 23 alienated: compare "in the following generation it was sold to a merchant of London," 95 33. 2154 Mr. Dundas: for his part in the troubles of Hastings see page 194, lines 2-19. 215 24 a red riband: light on this allusion will be found on page 194, line 27, "decorated with the star of the Bath:" The members of this order of knighthood wore a red sash as well as a star. 2161 Mr. Addington: Henry Addington (1756–1844) succeeded Pitt as chancellor of the exchequer and first lord of the treasury, that is, as prime minister, in March, 1801; but remained at the head of the ministry only until May, 1804, when Pitt again became prime minister. Pitt had resigned ostensibly because the king objected to the measures which the administration proposed for the relief of the Roman Catholics. 216 27 Covent Garden: London fruit and flower market. 217 1 his conservatories and his menagerie: note that these have been described in the preceding paragraph. As is so often the case, Macaulay's transition sentence makes the paragraph connection obvious. 2176 Trissotin: an allusion to a character in one of Molière's comedies. Trissotin combined the man of fashion with the man of letters, as Hastings's biographer, Mr. Gleig, assures us Hastings did. Macaulay politely ridicules this phase of Hastings's character, ending by a comparison of Hastings the author with the insignificant poets William Hayley and Thomas Seward (line 31). 217 29 bluestockings: compare 203 8. Bluestockings were ladies who showed a taste for learning. This sense of the word, according to "A New English Dictionary," originated in connection with the reunions held about 1750 at the houses of Mrs. Montague, Mrs. Vesey, and Mrs. Ord, who exerted themselves to substitute for the card playing, which then formed the chief recreation at evening parties, more intellectual modes of spending the time, including conversation on literary subjects, in which eminent men of letters, such as Burke, Johnson, and Goldsmith, often took part. Many of those who attended would not "full dress." One of these habitually wore gray or blue worsted instead of black silk stockings. Hence somebody derisively referred to the coterie as the "Blue Stocking Society." Then the ladies came to be called Blue Stockingers, Blue Stocking Ladies, and finally" Blue Stockings." wear 218 15 rose and uncovered: note the similar expression at the beginning of the essay, 94 12, "uncovered and stood up to receive him." 218 29 the Sheldonian Theater: honorary degrees are still conferred on distinguished men in this Oxford building. Baedeker's "Great Britain" explains that the undergraduates occupy the upper gallery and express their opinions frankly as to the different recipients of degrees. 219 20 only one cemetery: what feature of Macaulay's style appears in the first few sentences of the next to the last paragraph of the essay? 220 25 his noble equanimity: in what crises of his life did Hastings show remarkable poise? In what respects does the conclusion of the essay seem to you like an oration? What opinion have you formed regarding Macaulay's powers in writing summaries ? SUBJECTS FOR ORAL AND WRITTEN COMPOSITIONS GENERAL 1. In looking through the Notes what do you observe regarding the nature of Macaulay's allusions? Do you find any comparisons drawn from the outdoor world or from scientific discovery? 2. Should Englishmen take pride in the careers of both Clive and Hastings? 3. Compare Clive and Hastings with regard to their personal appearance and talents. 4. Which parts of the two essays do you most enjoy reading aloud? Give your reasons. 5. What are your reasons for disliking to read aloud some parts of the essays? 6. Tell what you know about the following topics and persons : The Black Hole, East India Company, Lord Clive, Warren Hastings, Nuncomar, Impey, Hyder Ali, Sujah Dowlah, Francis, the Pitts, Moguls, the Junius Letters, the British in India. 7. Which essay holds your interest more absorbingly, Clive or Hastings? Why? 8. Compare Macaulay's vocabulary, sentences, and paragraphs with your own in the longest piece of writing that you have ever done. 9. Digressions in the essays. 10. Contemporary essayists, novelists, and poets in England and America at the height of their powers about 1850. II. What was happening in America during the time of Clive and Hastings? 12. With page and line references for each heading and subheading, write a topical outline for each essay. In selecting the main headings consider the suggestions in this regard made here and there in the Notes. 13. Do you admire Macaulay's manner of writing? What seem to you its merits and defects? 14. Gather together all the rhetorical references of the Notes, arrange them according to some systematic scheme, and then prepare to talk for five minutes on the vocabulary, sentence formation, paragraph construction, structural form, figures of speech, clearness, coherence, force, elegance, rhythm, or other qualities of Macaulay`s style. Give examples freely. 15. Describe a native of India whom you have seen. 16. From your childhood reading or elementary-school study what do you remember about India, - its climate, products, people, religions, cities, mountains, rivers, or government? 17. What further information on any of these subjects have you gained from Macaulay? 18. What have you learned recently from returned missionaries or travelers or from newspaper dispatches regarding the present condition of India? 19. Which do you find better reading, Macaulay's Indian essays or Kipling's Indian stories? Give your reasons. 20. What novels have you read dealing with life in India, and how did you like them? 21. In contents and method of expression compare the essays by Macaulay with any other sixteenth-, seventeenth-, eighteenth-, or nineteenth-century essays that you have read. 22. Reference books available for the life of Macaulay, Clive, and Hastings, for the history of the British in India, and for biographical and geographical allusions in the essays. [Consult librarian and card catalogue in the nearest public library.] CLIVE 1. Clive's three periods of residence in India. 2. Indian history with which Clive was directly and indirectly concerned. 3. Describe the appearance of Clive. 4. It has been said that at the age of thirty-two Clive established British power in India. If this is true, how did he do it? If untrue, what would be an accurate statement of Clive's work? 5. Give a detailed account of the military career of Clive. How much space, proportionally, does Macaulay give to this part of Clive's life? 6. Was Clive both a great and a good man? |