Read Peter Pan Online

Authors: J. M. Barrie,Jack Zipes

Peter Pan (34 page)

  
5
.
dozen:
A dozen lashes.

  
6
.
jaggy things:
Barbs or prickly things.

CHAPTER XVII: WHEN WENDY GREW UP

  
1
.
When Wendy Grew Up:
This chapter is based very closely on
An Afterthought,
a dramatic epilogue to
Peter Pan,
performed only once, on February 22, 1908. Barrie was constantly endeavoring to improve the play and made numerous changes after the premiere on December 27, 1904. He did not keep the epilogue.

  
2
.
splash:
A quantity of fluid used for ostentatious display.

PETER PAN IN KENSINGTON GARDENS

CHAPTER I
:
THE GRAND TOUR OF THE GARDENS

  
1
.
David:
The major protagonist of
The Little White Bird
and
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens,
which includes the five pertinent chapters about Peter from
The Little White Bird.
In both books, the narrator records his pleasant encounters with a boy modeled after George Llewelyn Davies, who was about four years old when Barrie met him. The following chapters were intended by Barrie to introduce David and adult readers to Peter Pan.

  
2
.
Figs:
A children’s playground in Kensington Gardens.

  
3
.
Miss Mabel Grey’s Gate:
The Palace Gate, which opened into Kensington Road and Hyde Park Gate.

  
4
.
Broad Walk:
The large promenade that separated Kensington Gardens from the Round Pond.

  
5
.
Big Penny:
The statue of Queen Victoria. The coins or pennies in David’s pocket have the image of Queen Victoria stamped on them. Hence, the statue is the Big Penny.

  
6
.
Baby’s Palace:
Kensington Palace.

  
7
.
pattern-child:
Model child.

  
8
.
mad-dog:
Rabid, wild.

  
9
.
perambulators:
Baby carriages.

10
.
yorkers:
Balls, in cricket, that are bowled so effectively that they clean off the wicket.

11
.
Porthos:
Barrie’s own dog, a St. Bernard, who served as a model for Nana in the play and in
Peter and Wendy.

12
.
Dog’s Cemetery:
From 1800 until the end of the century dogs were permitted to be buried at this spot. The cemetery is still marked by Upper Dog Gate and Lower Dog Gate.

CHAPTER III
:
THE THRUSH’S NEST

  
1
.
competency:
A sufficient amount of funds for living.

  
2
.
Master Francis Pretty:
One of Sir Francis Drake’s officers and author of
The Famous Voyage of Sir Francis Drake into the South Sea
(1577), included in Richard Hakluyt’s
The Principle Navigations, Voyages, Traffics, and Discoveries of the English Nation
(1598–1600). Peter’s “heroic” voyage is likened to the exploits of Sir Francis Drake.

  
3
.
roomer of the shadows:
A nautical term that means to turn a ship from one tack to the other.

  
4
.
pretending:
Venturing.

  
5
.
to mischief him to stand to their harms:
If the fairies cause Peter any trouble, he declares that they will pay for it.

CHAPTER IV
:
LOCK-OUT TIME

  
1
.
basinette:
A wicker cradle sometimes placed on wheels and used as a baby carriage.

  
2
.
linkmen:
Attendants in Kensington Gardens hired to carry torches.

  
3
.
Solomon’s seals:
Perennial flowers with blue-black berries.

CHAPTER V
:
THE LITTLE HOUSE

  
1
.
combinations:
An undergarment consisting of a combined undershirt and underpants.

  
2
.
ayah:
A nurse or lady’s maid in India during the colonial period.

CHAPTER VI
:
PETER’S GOAT

  
1
.
tombstones:
These tombstones were actually boundary stones discovered by George Llewelyn Davies on a walk with Barrie. They mark the boundary between the Parish of St. Mary’s and the Parish of Paddington, and can still be found today.

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