9 11. behemoth. A Hebrew word meaning "great beast." It was used
probably of the hippopotamus. See _Job_, xl, 15-24. In the work by
Bergmann, which furnished De Quincey with much of his material, the
figure used is that of a giant and a dwarf.--Muscovy. An old name of
Russia, derived from Moscow.

9 13. "lion ramp." Quoted from Milton:

The bold Ascalonite
Fled from his lion ramp.
--_Samson Agonistes_, 139.

"_Baptized and infidel_" and "_barbaric East_" are also borrowings
from Milton.

9 16. unnumbered numbers. Notice how effectively in this and the
following sentences De Quincey utilizes _suggested_ words: _monstrous,
monstrosity_; _hopelessness, hope_.

9 22. fable. Here used for plot; the idea being that the story of
the Revolt has all the compactness and unity of design to be found in
the plot of a classic tragedy, which could admit the introduction of
no external incidents or episodes to confuse the thread of the main
action.

10 8. translation. Note the etymology of this word, which is here
used in its literal sense.

10 17. But what, etc. See with what art, as well as with what
evident interest, De Quincey catches the very spirit of the plot. How