From the lesson"Journey to Niagara"
Annotate the following :
1. I merely mention these traits as characteristic of the country.
2. The captain coming up to have a little conversation and to introduce a friend, seated himself astride of one of these barrels, like a Bacchus of private life.
3.Great Heavens, on what a fall of bright-green water.
Answers
Dickens, during his 1842 trip to the United States and Canada, was moved by the dominance of Niagara Falls. Dickens proceeds to effuse over the majesty and beauty of the falls in a passage which forms the major part of his description of his experience
Explanation:
1. I merely mention these traits as characteristic of the country
Here Charles (when he put up in the hotel) is talking about his host,a middle-aged man whose native was New England, and who was very anxious and attentive to make Charles feel comfortable kept constantly walking in and out of the hotel room with his hat on and stopped every now and then to make a conversation freely and easily. Moreover, the host then lay down on the hotel room sofa and pulled his newspaper and began to read. For Charles he says such behaviour/traits of the host was the characteristics of the host country (where Charles went) and had it been in his own nation such traits would be considered insolent and impertinent
2. The captain coming up to have a little conversation and to introduce a friend, seated himself astride of one of these barrels, like a Bacchus of private life.
Charles was in the steamer boat and he describes the captain of the vessel who came up to him to have a little conversation and introduce a friend and seated himself with a leg on each side on one of these barrels and looked like Bacchus, character, who sat similarly (symbolized and glorified Roman attitudes (from A History of Private Life: From pagan Rome to Byzantium)
3.Great Heavens, on what a fall of bright-green water
This Charles says when he is standing next to the Niagara falls and his excitement was enormous and he felt that he was standing close to God seeing the gigantic Niagara Falls. Charles says that there was a huge rainbow near his feet and from there the view of the Niagara Falls water was like a fall of bright-green water. Charles felt that the deep broad, mighty stream of water appears to die on the act of falling and it looked like from its unfathomable grave arises the tremendous ghost of mist and spray.