When on his BoxBox: the seat on which the driver, here coachman, of a horse-drawn coach sits, elevated at the
front of the carriage. the nodding Coachman snores,
And dreams of fancy’d Fares;fancy’d Fares: delusive imagination of large sums of money/or lengthy travel paid to the
coachman for his services.
when Tavern Doors
The ChairmenChairmen: presidents or heads of an assembly/congregation. This can also mean those whose humble
trade it is to carry a chair, notably through the streets of London.
idly croud;Croud: crowd. then ne’er refuse
To trust thy busy Steps in thinner Shoes.
Signs of rainy Weather.
Good Huswives all the Winter’s Rage despise,
But when the swinging Signs your Ears offend
With creaking Noise, then rainy Floods impend;
Soon shall the Kennels swell with rapid Streams,
And rush in muddy Torrents to the
Thames.
The Bookseller, whose Shop’s an open Square,
Foresees the Tempest, and with early Care
Of Learning strips the Rails;Rails: bars of wood or metal fixed in a horizontal position for hanging things on, here books
and other printed material.
the rowing Crew
To tempt a Fare, cloath all their TiltsTilts: awnings or covers over a boat.
in blue:
On Hosier’s PolesHosier’s Poles: the poles on which hosiers hung their wares.
dependingdepending: hanging from. stockings ty’d,
Flag with the slacken’d Gale,Gale: a wind not tempestuous, yet stronger than a breeze (Johnson). from side to side;
Church-Monuments foretell the changing Air;
Then NiobeNiobe: in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Niobe was transformed to stone, inconsolably
weeping for her children who were killed by the gods because of her boastfulness. From Virgil’s, Georgics I, ll. 646-48 (trans. Dryden): “The yawning Earth disclos’d th’Abyss of Hell: / The weeping Statues did the Wars foretell; / And Holy Sweat from Brazen Idols fell.”
dissolves into a Tear,
And
And sweats with secret Grief; you’ll hear the Sounds
Of whistling Winds, e’er KennelsKennels: gutters. break their Bounds;
Ungrateful Odours Common-shoresCommon-shores: sewers. diffuse,
And dropping Vaults distil unwholesom Dews,
E’er the Tiles rattle with the smoaking Show’r,
And Spouts on heedless Men their Torrents pour.
Supersition to be avoided.
All Superstition from thy Breast repel.
Let cred’lous Boys, and prattling Nurses tell,
How, if the Festival of
PaulFestival of Paul: the weather on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, held on the 25th of January, was believed to foretell certain events of the upcoming year. be clear,
Plenty from lib’ral Horn shall strow the Year;lib’ral Horn shall strow the Year: if the weather is good, the horn of plenty will provide abundantly through the year.
When the dark Skies dissolve in Snows or Rain,
The lab’ring Hind shall yoke the Steer in vain;lab’ring Hind ... in vain: if it snows or rains, the labourer who drives the yoked ox to do his seeding will not produce a successful crop.
But if the threatning Winds in Tempests roar,
Then War shall bathe her wasteful Sword in Gore.Gore: if there are tempests, there will be war.
How, if on
Swithin’s feastSwithin’s feast: Swithun’s or Swithin’s Feast, held on the 15th of July, was believed to determine the weather for the following forty days. It was popularly held that if it
rained on St. Swithin’s Day, forty days of rain would follow, but if it was fair, forty days of fair weather would follow.
the Welkin lours,Welkin lours: dark airs or clouds signalling bad weather.
And ev’ry PenthousePenthouse: an inclined shed sloping from the main wall of a building.
streams with hasty Show’rs,
Twice