seventy-four—the number of guns on a medium-sized battleship.
frigates—smaller, lighter warships used for reconnaissance more than heavy fighting.
Spithead—a strait between the Isle of Wight and southern England near Portsmouth.
the Nore—the mouth of the Thames River.
the bluejackets—slang term for English sailors.
strains of Dibdin—songs composed by Charles Dibdin (1745–1814).
tars—a slang term for sailors.
a coronet for Nelson at the Nile . . . crowns for him at Trafalgar—rewards which Nelson earned for his victories.
became obsolete with their wooden walls—the refinements in cannons greatly affected the design of warships.
Benthamites—Utilitarians who, like Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), believed that pleasure is a major criterion of happiness.
Wellington—the famed soldier who brought about Napoleon’s downfall at Waterloo.
Alfred in his funeral ode—Alfred, Lord Tennyson, England’s poet laureate, wrote “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington.”
fustian—pompous, extravagant speech.
