On His Deceased Wife
P. 91. 1. my late espoused saint: his second wife, Catherine Woodcock, whom he married November 12, 1656; she died in February, 1658.
P. 91. 2. Alcestis: brought back to life by Herakles (Hercules). her glad husband: Admetus, King of Pheræ in Thessaly. See Browning’s ‘Balaustion’s Adventure, including a Transcript from [the Alkestis of] Euripides.’
P. 91. 5. as whom: as one whom.
P. 91. 6. Purification: Leviticus xii.
P. 91. 10. her face was veiled: Alcestis was still in his mind. In Browning’s ‘Balaustion’s Adventure,’ when Hercules returns with her:
‘Under the great guard of one arm, there leant
A shrouded something, live and woman-like,
Propped by the heart-beats ’neath the lion coat....
There is no telling how the hero twitched
The veil off: and there stood, with such fixed eyes
And such slow smile, Alkestis’ silent self!’