I. a versailles. – André Chénier

L. 9. Mes pénates secrets. Chénier, in 1792, after the death of the
king, in whose defence he had written, almost despairing of the future
of his country, fallen into the hands of Robespierre, Collot d’Herbois
and Saint-Just, left Paris for Versailles, where his grief was somewhat
alleviated by his love for Fanny, Mme Laurent Lecoulteux. See note to p.
75, Sur la mort d’un enfant, l. 1.

Ll. 11. Vont dirigeant. See note to p. 27, l. 29.

L. 13. Les chars. See note to p. 56, l. 15.

L. 37. rivage. Not in the precise sense ‘shore,’ but, more vaguely,
‘country,’ ‘place.’ Thus F. climat and E. climate (or clime) have
had their meaning extended to that of ‘region.’

L. 48. Langage d’amour si des dieux. Expressed archaically for
langage de l’amour.

L. 60. An allusion to the massacres of prisoners at Versailles in
September, 1792.