supernatural influence,
which causes their own troubles to disappear
for the time being.

Give, then, the meaning of "o'ertaken as by
some spell divine". They are brought, as it
were, under the influence of some magician,
who, by the exercise of his power, transports
them from their own world to that in which
"Nell" lives and moves.

Show the beauty of the comparison in the last
two lines of this stanza. As the needles of the
pine, through the action of the wind, fall
silently and almost unperceived, so the cares
of the miners were forgotten in the
all-compelling interest of the story.

Compare Longfellow:

The cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

Why is this comparison more appropriate than,
for example, like the leaves from the trees in
autumn, or, like snow-flakes from the clouds in
winter? Because it is drawn from the objects at
hand, not from more remote things--an example
of local colour.

Explain "gusty pine". A pine exposed to the
mountain blasts.

Stanza VIII

Who is referred to by "he" in the second line?
Dickens--not the reader of the story.

What is meant by "wrought that spell"? Produced
that magic influence.

State the question in full. Is "he who wrought
that spell" lost, too?

What tale has the "towering pine" to tell? That
the mining camp has disappeared.

And what the "stately Kentish spire"? That
Dickens has gone. (Dickens' home was at
Gadshill, in Kent.)

What is the one tale that both have to tell? A
tale of disappearance and death.

Is the question asked in the second line
answered? Not directly, though the answer is
implied.

State the substantial meaning of the stanza.
The "towering pine" of the Sierras tells of the
disappearance of the mining camp; the "stately
spire" of Kent tells of the death of Dickens;
both bear witness to the potent influence of
Dickens.

Stanza IX

What is the "fragrant story" of the Western
mining camp? The tribute that the incident
related in the poem pays to the magical power