NOTES.
1.
I have sent for thee, holy friar.
OF the history of Tamerlane little is known; and with that little I have taken the full liberty of a poet.—That he was descended from the family of Zinghis Khan is more than probable—but he is vulgarly supposed to have been the son of a shepherd, and to have raised himself to the throne by his own address. He died in the year 1405, in the time of Pope Innocent VII.
How I shall account for giving him "a friar," as a death-bed confessor—I cannot exactly determine. He wanted some one to listen to his tale—and why not a friar? It does not pass the bounds of possibility— quite sufficient for my purpose—and I have at least good authority on my side for such innovations.
2.
The mists of the Taglay have shed, &c.
The mountains of Belur Taglay are a branch of the Imaus, in the southern part of Independent Tartary. They are celebrated for the singular wildness and beauty of their valleys.
