105 Diana’s law Diana was the goddess of chastity.
113 drops diamond ear-rings.
119 seven-fold fence Shields in epic are invariably
sevenfold.
128 bodkin needle or hairpin.
129 pomatums ointments.
131 styptics astringents which stop bleeding.
132 rivelled shrivelled.
133 Ixion punished by Zeus for making advances to his
wife Hera by being fixed to an eternally revolving
wheel in Tartarus.
Canto III
1 Close by those meads For discussion of the opening
see Critical commentary, p. 231.
12 visit a formal call.
27 ombre a game with three players and a pack of forty
cards. The player taking the most tricks wins. Belinda
wins the first four, and then the Baron the next four,
so that the final trick decides the game.
30 sacred nine each player has nine cards.
33 Matador one of three cards of high value including
the ace of spades and ace of clubs and one other ace
depending upon what were trumps.
42 halberts a combination of spear and battle-axe.
44 velvet plain describing the green cloth-covered card
table but reminiscent of the Trojan plain.
46 Let Spades be trumps Compare the divine fiat in
Genesis, ‘Let there be light.’
49 Spadillio the ace of spades. Belinda, perhaps
imprudently, plays her winning cards first.
51 Manillio the two of spades, the second-highest card.
53 Basto the ace of clubs.
61 Pam the knave of clubs, which in the game of Lu (or
Loo) was the chief trump.
67 Amazon the queen of spades.
92 Codille The winner was said to have given codille to
the loser.