<span> "I never couldn't see into it; young uns is heaps of trouble to 'em; one would think, now, they'd be glad to get clar on 'em; but they aren't." </span>
If he continued northwest across the Arabian Sea from Kalhat, Marco Polo would most likely describe Hormuz.
The city of Hormuz is located in current-day Iran, and it is located northwest from Kalhat - also known as Qalhat - which is located north of Sur, in Oman. This is the route that Polo took in his returning trip from China.
On the other hand, both Dhofar and Socotra are southwest from Kalhat, also in Oman. Also, while Venetia is northeast from Kalhat, it would be the last city he would have described after visiting Kalhat.
Yeats states that he was not closely acquainted with the people in the Easter Rising. He acknowledges that he only exchanged pleasantries with them before the uprising. He also indicates that he has personal reasons for disliking one person. So he is writing about the cause for which they stood, which, by inference, is important.
The comparison of the rebels to "stone" suggests that Yeats may have viewed the rebels' attitude as inflexible or not adapted to the changing times. Yeats also acknowledges the possibility that their deaths may have been "needless" because the British might keep their promises.
However, his reference to the "sacrifice" (of all who had supported Irish independence) and the rebels' "excess of love" suggest that he views their cause in a positive light. Moreover, Yeats's repeated description of the kind of change that the uprising has brought about as "a terrible beauty" suggests that his sympathies lie with the rebels.
To summarize, Yeats places a certain distance between the rebels and himself, but he supports the rebels' cause.
Alcott most likely begin the chapter with character dialogue to keep the momentum of the story going. In order to preserve the set pace of the story, author decided to continue dialogue that started in previous chapter. When dividing the story on chapters, she wanted to hide this 'gap', that readers usualy feel between them.
