688. ~That~. The antecedent of this relative is _you_, l. 682. See note,
l. 2.
689. ~timely~, seasonable. So 'timeless' = unseasonable (Scott's
_Marmion_, iii. 223, "gambol rude and _timeless_ joke"): comp. _Son._
ii. 8, "_timely_-happy spirits"; and l. 970.
693. ~Was this ... abode~? The verb is singular, because 'cottage' and
'safe abode' convey one idea: see Comus's words, l. 320. Notice also
that the past tense is used as referring to the past act of telling.