Line 67: “Verities” – from the Latin word ‘veritas;’ truths (OED).
Line 68: “Dynamos” – Dynamo; a machine for converting energy in the form of mechanical power into energy in the form of electric currents (OED).
Line 71: “Bouillon” – broth or soup (OED).
Line 73: “Armatures” – Arms, armour, or military accoutrement (OED).
Line 82: “Kill Devil Hills” – The Wright brothers’ first airplane flew here at Kill Devil Hills. This small town contains huge areas of sand dunes on the outer banks of North Caroline. These dunes are nearby the town of Kitty Hawk, the place often mistaken thought to be the site of the first airplane flight.
'Wright Brothers 1903 Flying Machine on Launching Track,' photographed by Anonymous. One of the Wright Brothers' flying machines on the dunes at Kill Devil Hills. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Video of the Wright Brothers’ first airplane flight
'Wright Brothers' Glider Tests,' photographed by Anonymous. A snapshot of the historic third glider test at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Line 83: “Brothers” – Likely a reference to the Wright Brothers’.
Line 85: “Blading” – A plant’s act of shooting into a blade, or sprouting (OED).
Line 86: “Ciphers” – A code or enigma, usually made up of arithmetic or symbolic characters (OED).
'Masonic Cipher,' by Peter Ellis. The key to a cipher code used by the Masonic Brotherhood. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Line 88: “Naphtha” – Liquid petroleum of a highly volatile nature (OED).
Line 91: “Rife” – Of common or frequent occurrence; prevalent; widespread (OED).
Line 92: “Dragon’s Covey” – Covey; a brood or hatch, a family usually referring to partridges or grouse. Also a small cove or inlet (OED).
Line 95: “the Iliad” – An epic poem set in the Trojan War by Homer. The plot covers the last few weeks of the final year of the war but also alludes to many other Greek legends about the battle. Courtesy of Wikipedia
'Briseis taken Iliad,' by Anonymous. An illustration of Briseis being taken to Achilles, a famous scene from the Iliad, drawn in 1805. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Line 101: “Rancorous” – Of a disposition of exhibiting ‘Rancour;’ deep-rooted and bitter ill feeling (OED).