The following annotations to Life and Adventures of Robert, the Hermit of Massachusetts were compiled in the fall 2013 by Brady Blackburn and Gemma Herrera, first-year students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a class project in Professor William L. Andrews's First-Year Seminar on Slavery and Freedom in African American Literature and Film. We welcome any corrections, additions, or suggested revisions of these annotations. Send feedback to docsouth@listserv.unc.edu.
Cover
Picture and Page
Drawing of Robert the Hermit
—
Print taken from the original Robert the Hermit
pamphlet.
Probably a carved wooden ink stamp
(http://www.hermitary.com/articles/robert.html).
Cover Page —
Cover page of the original Robert
the Hermit pamphlet.
Page verso
Rhode Island — A small state bordering
Massachusetts and Connecticut on the Atlantic coast of the United
States. Robert lived in Massachusetts along the
Massachusetts-Rhode Island border.
To wit. — idiom for "that is to say . . ."
Henry Trumbull — Clergyman and renowned author from
Stonington, Connecticut. Author/editor of this pamphlet.
Massachusetts — A state in the New England region of the
United States. Massachusetts was the destination of many fugitive
slaves
seeking to escape the southern slave-holding states.
Page
5
Rods — Unit of measurement used by surveyors
equal to 5 1/2 yards.
Seekonk River — A 5-mile long tidal extension of the
Providence River.
Providence Bridge — Most likely either a small bridge in that
would have been in Providence or where a Providence Street may have
crossed the Seekonk River.
Providence — The capital city of Rhode Island.
Page 6
"Strange and mysterious being"
—
Most likely a Rhode Islander's
quoted description of Robert.
The Literary Cadet — A bi-weekly newspaper
published from 1826-1829 in Rhode Island.
"Beneath a mountain's brow . . ."
— The poem "Beneath a Mountain's
Brow" by John Trumbull, despite being cited to Homes
Douglass. John Trumbull was not related to Henry Trumbull.
Page 7
"But from the mountain's . . ."
—
From the poem "The Hermit" by Oliver Goldsmith, part of his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766).
Page 8
Delf ware — Also spelled "delft ware" or "delftware."
Pottery generally made in the Netherlands, and typically colored blue
and white.
Misanthrope — A person who does not trust mankind.
The Editor — Edwin Bryant, famous 1800s newspaper
editor and
founder/editor of the Literary Cadet.
Page 9
Leathern — Made out of leather.
Page 10
Princeton
(New Jersey) —
City
in New Jersey, about 40 miles northeast of Philadelphia.
Georgetown
— One of
the oldest neighborhoods in Washington DC.; It runs along the
Potomac River and served as a major port during colonial times.
Page 11
Goarding — probably a
printer's error; intended word was likely goading, meaning provoking or
annoying.
Fifty pounds —
British currency still in use in the United States at this time.
Page 12
Pinioned — to
restrain by binding the arms together.
Page 14
Mouldy — Alternate spelling of "moldy."
Charleston,
S.C. — A major
South Carolina port city, important to the transatlantic as
well as national slave trade.
Page 15
Divine providence — Intervention or delivery by God.
Spirits — Distilled beverage. Includes most hard
liquors.
Viol — Alternate spelling of "vial," a small
container for liquids, usually
medicines.
Quakers — Popular name for members of the Society
of Friends, a radical Protestant sect in England and the
Americas.
Page 16
Jocosly — Jocosely, in a happy, joking manner.
Gaoler — British
variant of "jailer," one who operates a jail.
Ironed — Put in shackles or handcuffs.
Page 17
Supreme Being — Term for God.
Page 18
Hallooing — To catch someone's attention.
Page 19
Trifiling — Trifling. Lacking in significance or
solid worth.
Page 20
Draugh — misspelling of draught, a swallow of a
liquid.
Boston — Located in North America, capital of the
state of Massachusetts.
Whither — To which specified place or position
(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/whither).
Page 21
Neptune — Roman god of the sea.
Page 24
Wharves — Flat
structure that is built along the shore of a river or ocean so that
ships
can unload cargo or passengers.
Page 25
Tarry — To delay or be tardy in acting or doing;
to linger in expectation.
birth — printer's error, berth -- a bed or bunk
on a ship.
Thence — From that circumstance or source.
Page 26
Dwelt — Alternate of dwelled; resided in a
particular place.
Hon. Tristam Brugiss — Tristam Burges, Chief Justice of the
Rhode Island Supreme Court and former member of the U.S. House
of Representatives.
Page 27
Twin — Printer's error: twine, a thin string.
Surtout Coat — A man's overcoat resembling a frock coat.
Page 29
Hovel — Small, poorly built house.
Page 30
Peck — Unit of capacity equal to 1/4 bushel.
Supreme Author — God.
Redeemer — For Christians, Jesus Christ.
Page 31
'ere — Previous to, before.
Page 32
Rights of Man — The Rights of Man (1791) by U.S.
revolutionary Thomas Paine.
I would not have . . . fasten them on
him — From "The
Time-Piece" a section of The Task (1785), by William Cowper.
Page 34
Burthen — Old form of the word burden; something
that is emotionally difficult to bear and or a source of great worry or
stress.
Patridge — Printer's error; a partridge, brown bird
often hunted for food and sport.