[…] he feared no enemies but the Sea and the Earth; the one yeelding no safe harbour for such a Navie; the other not yeelding sufficient sustenance for so multitudinous an Armie.

I could have sworn that as we connected in that final moment, there were unmouthed words that passed between us. But the words were in a language I didn't speak.

The affection for ſongs in the vulgar tongue began firſt to ſhew itsſelf in the provinces. […] All the old Lais were not, however, of this caſt, nor, indeed, is the etymology itsſelf to be haſtily admitted, the term being frequently applied to ſongs on the moſt light and joyous ſubjects. […] The ſong will ſpeak for itsſelf: […] The French tongue alone was uſed at court, and in the houſeholds of the Norman barons (who deſpiſed the Saxon manners and language), for many centuries after the Conqueſt, and continued till, at leaſt, the reign of Henry VIII. the polite language of both court and country, and as well known as the Engliſh itsſelf: […]

What gusts of weather from that gathering cloud / My thoughts presage!