First of all there is an explanatory paragraph.
"As you don't ask any questions about 'The Demon of the Pit,' I suppose you understand it all. So please answer these questions just as you would do if a younger child (say Mollie) asked them."
_Mollie._ Please, Ethel, will you explain this poem to me. There are some very hard words in it.
_Mollie._ Well, in the first line, "If you chance to make a sally." What does "sally" mean?
_Ethel._ Dear Mollie, I believe sally means to take a chance work.[2]
_Mollie._ Then, near the end of the first verse--"Whereupon she'll call her cronies"--what does "whereupon" mean? And what are cronies?
_Ethel._ I think whereupon means at the same time, and cronies means her favourite playfellows.
_Mollie._ "And invest in proud polonies." What's to "invest?"
_Ethel._ To invest means to spend money in anything you fancy.
_Mollie._ And what's "A woman of the day?"
_Ethel._ A woman of the day means a wonder of the time with the general public.
_Mollie._ "Pyrotechnic blaze of wit." What's pyrotechnic?
_Ethel._ Mollie, I think you will find that pyrotechnic means quick, with flashes of lightning.
_Mollie._ Then the 8 lines that begin "The astounding infant wonder"--please explain "rôle" and "mise" and "tout ensemble" and "grit."
_Ethel._ Well, Mollie, "rôle" means so many different things, but in "The Demon of the Pit" I should think it meant the leading part of the piece, and "mise" means something extra good introduced, and "tout" means to seek for applause, but "ensemble" means the whole of the parts taken together, and grit means something good.
_Mollie._ "And the Goblins prostrate tumble." What's "prostrate"?
_Ethel._ I believe prostrate means to be cast down and unhappy.
_Mollie._ "And his accents shake a bit." What are "accents"?
_Ethel._ To accent is to lay stress upon a word.
_Mollie._ "Waits resignedly behind." What's "resignedly"?
_Ethel._ Resignedly means giving up, yielding.
_Mollie._ "They have tripe as light to dream on." What does "as" mean here? and what does "to dream on" mean?
_Ethel._ Mollie, dear, your last question is very funny. In the first place, I have always been told that hot suppers are not good for any one, and I should think that tripe would _not be light_ to dream on but VERY heavy.