"Zanoni", Book 1, Chapter IX, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Chapter IX:

Come si presso e l'Ippogrifo a terra -
Che non vuol che 'l destrier piu vada in alto,
Poi lo lega nel margine marino
A un verde mirto in mezzo un lauro e un pino.
"Orlando Furioso," c. vi. xxiii.

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Sultana - interestingly enough, that first 'a' is pronounced extremely differently in Italian (or Spanish) versus English. I went with the Italian pronunciation, not because this novel or chapter or character has to do with Italy, but because it is just the way I naturally wanted to pronounce the word and it sounds infinitely better to my ear then the English way.

Philomel: Philomela was the younger of two daughters of Pandion I, King of Athens, and Zeuxippe. Her sister, Procne, was the wife of King Tereus of Thrace. Philomela's other siblings were Erechtheus, Butes, and possibly Teuthras. While the myth has several variations, the general depiction is that Philomela, after being raped and mutilated by her sister's husband, Tereus, obtains her revenge and is transformed into a nightingale.

anodyne: a painkilling drug or medicine

San Gennaro: Bishop of Benevento and martyr and saint of the Catholic Church. He is the patron saint of Naples. Noted for protecting his fellow Christians during the persecutions of Diocletian, he was arrested while visiting Sossius in jail and executed by beheading.

Mantilla: traditional Spanish liturgical lace or silk veil or shawl worn over the head and shoulders, often over a high comb called a peineta

The picture used is "Death of a musician" (1859) by Octave Tassaert

To follow along: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2664/2664-h/2664-h.htm#link2HCH0009