Title: Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1
Author: Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
Editor: Marion Harland
Release date: March 1, 2004 [eBook #11431]
Most recently updated: October 28, 2024
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Bradley Norton and PG Distributed
Proofreaders
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOLUME I.
PHOTOGRAVURES AND ETCHINGS.
Illustration..................Artist
ICHABOD CRANE (colored).......E.A. ABBEY
CONSTANCE DE BEVERLEY................TOBY ROSENTHAL
LADY BOUNTIFUL.......................ROB. W. MACBETH
SYDNEY CARTON........................FREDERICK BARNARD
BERNHARDT AS CLEOPATRA...............From a Photograph from Life
ABBÉ CONSTANTIN......................MADELEINE LEMAIRE
CAPTAIN CUTTLE.......................FREDERICK BARNARD
THE TRUSTY ECKART....................JULIUS ADAM
ELAINE...............................TOBY ROSENTHAL
WOOD ENGRAVINGS AND TYPOGRAVURES.
ABELARD..............................A. GUILLEMINOT
ÆNEAS RELATING HIS STORY TO DIDO....P. GUÉRIN
ALBERICH'S PURSUIT OF THE NIBELUNGEN RING...HANS MAKART
ALETHE, PRIESTESS OF ISIS............EDWIN LONG
ALEXIS AND DORA......................W. VON KAULBACH
ALICE, THE MILLER'S DAUGHTER.........DAVIDSON KNOWLES
ANCIENT MARINER (THE)................GUSTAVE DORÉ
ANDROMEDA............................
ANGÉLIQUE AND MONSEIGNEUR DE HAUTECOEUR...JEANNIOT
ANGUS AND DONALD.....................W.B. DAVIS
ANTIGONE AND ISMENE..................EMIL TESCHENDORFF
ANTONY AND THE DEAD CÆSAR...........
ARCHIMEDES...........................NIC BARABINO
ARGAN AND DOCTOR DIAFOIRUS...........A. SOLOMON
ASHTON (LUCY) AND RAVENSWOOD.........SIR EVERETT MILLAIS
ATALA (BURIAL OF)....................GUSTAVE COURTOIS
AUGUSTA IN COURT.....................A. FORESTIER
AUTOMEDON............................HENRI REGNAULT
BALAUSTION...........................F.H. LUNGREN
BALDERSTONE (CALEB) AND MYSIE.......GEORGE HAY
BAREFOOT (LITTLE)....................F. VON THELEN-RÜDEN
BARKIS IS WILLIN'....................C.J. STANILAND
BAUDIN (THE DEATH OF)................J.-P. LAURENS
BAYARD (THE CHEVALIER)...............LARIVIÈRE
BEDREDEEN HASSAN (MARRIAGE OF) AND NOUREDEEN...F. CORMON
BELLENDEN (LADY) AND MAUSE HEADRIGG..WM. DOUGLAS
BENEDICK AND BEATRICE................HUGHES MERLE
BIRCH (HARVEY), THE PEDDLER-SPY.....
BLANCHELYS (QUEEN) AND THE PILGRIM...J. NOEL PATON
BOABDIL-EL-CHICO'S FAREWELL TO GRENADA...E. CORBOULD
BOADICEA.............................THOS. STOTHARD
BONNICASTLE (ARTHUR) AND MILLIE BRADFORD...
BOTTOM AND TITANIA...................SIR EDWIN LANDSEER
BRABANT (GENEVIÈVE DE)...............ERNST BOSCH
BRÄSIG, LINING AND MINING............CONRAD BECKMANN
BROOKING'S (JOHN) STUDIO.............A. FORESTIER
CÆSAR (THE DEATH OF).................J.L. GÉRÔME
CANTERBURY PILGRIMS (THE)............THOS. STOTHARD; WM. BLAKE
CAREW (FRANCIS) FINDING THE BODY OF DERRICK...HAL LUDLOW
CARMEN...............................J. KOPPAY
CATARINA.............................
CHARLES IX. ON THE EVE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW...P. GROTJOHANN
CHARLOTTE CORDAY AND MARAT..........JULES AVIAT
CHATTERTON'S HOLIDAY AFTERNOON.......W.B. MORRIS
CHILDREN (THE) IN THE WOOD...........J. SANT
CHILLON (THE PRISONER OF)............
CHRISTIAN ENTERING THE VALLEY OF HUMILIATION...F.R. PICKERSGILL
CINDERELLA AND THE FAIRY GOD-MOTHER..GUSTAVE DORÉ
CIRCE AND HER SWINE..................BRITON RIVIÈRE
CLARA (DONNA) AND ALMANZOR...........
CLARA, JACQUES AND ARISTIDE..........ADRIEN MARIE
CLAUDIO AND ISABELLA.................HOLMAN HUNT
COLUMBUS AND HIS EGG.................LEO. REIFFENSTEIN
CONSUELO.............................
COSETTE..............................G. GUAY
COSTIGAN (CAPTAIN)...................F. BARNARD
COVERLEY (SIR ROGER DE) COMING FROM CHURCH...CHAS. R. LESLIE
CYMON AND IPHIGENIA..................SIR FREDERICK LEIGHTON
DAPHNIS AND CHLOE....................GÉRARD
DARBY AND JOAN IN HIGH-LIFE..........C. DENDY SADLER
D'ARTAGNAN...........................
DEANS (EFFIE) AND HER SISTER IN THE PRISON...R. HERDMAN
DERBLAY (MADAME) STOPS THE DUEL......EMILE BAYARD
DIDO ON THE FUNERAL PYRE.............E. KELLER
DOMBEY (PAUL AND FLORENCE)..........
EGMONT AND CLÄRCHEN..................C. HUEBERLIN
ELECTRA..............................E. TESCHENDORFF
ELIZABETH AND MARY STUART............W. VON KAULBACH
ELIZABETH, THE LANDGRAVINE...........THEODOR PIXIS
ELLEN, THE LADY OF THE LAKE..........J. ADAMS-ACTON
ELLIE (LITTLE).......................
ERMINIA AND THE SHEPHERDS............DOMENICHINO
ESMERALDA............................G. BRION
ESTE (LEONORA D') AND TASSO..........W. VON KAULBACH
EVANGELINE...........................EDWIN DOUGLAS
EVE'S FAREWELL TO PARADISE...........E. WESTALL
CHARACTER SKETCHES OF ROMANCE, FICTION, AND THE DRAMA.
A'RON, a Moor, beloved by Tam'ora, queen of the Goths, in the tragedy of Titus Andron'icus, published among the plays of Shakespeare (1593).
(The classic name is Andronicus, but the character of this play is purely fictitious.)
Aaron (St.), a British martyr of the City of Legions (Newport, in South Wales). He was torn limb from limb by order of Maximian'us Hercu'lius, general in Britain, of the army of Diocle'tian. Two churches were founded in the City of Legions, one in honor of St. Aaron and one in honor of his fellow-martyr, St. Julius. Newport was called Caerleon by the British.
Aaz'iz (3 syl.), so the queen of Sheba or Saba is sometimes called; but in the Koran she is called Balkis (ch. xxvii.).
Abad'don, an angel of the bottomless pit (Rev. ix. 11). The word is derived from the Hebrew, abad, "lost," and means the lost one. There are two other angels introduced by Klopstock in The Messiah with similar names, but must not be confounded with the angel referred to in Rev.; one is Obaddon, the angel of death, and the other Abbad'ona, the repentant devil.
Ab'aris, to whom Apollo gave a golden arrow, on which to ride through the air.—See Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
Abbad'ona, once the friend of Ab'diel, was drawn into the rebellion of Satan half unwillingly. In hell he constantly bewailed his fall, and reproved Satan for his pride and blasphemy. He openly declared to the internals that he would take no part or lot in Satan's scheme for the death of the Messiah, and during the crucifixion lingered about the cross with repentance, hope, and fear. His ultimate fate we are not told, but when Satan and Adramelech are driven back to hell, Obaddon, the angel of death, says—
"For thee, Abbadona, I have no orders. How long thou art permitted to remain on earth I know not, nor whether thou wilt be allowed to see the resurrection of the Lord of glory ... but be not deceived, thou canst not view Him with the joy of the redeemed." "Yet let me see Him, let me see him!"—Klopstock, The Messiah, xiii.
Abberville (Lord), a young nobleman, 23 years of age, who has for travelling tutor a Welshman of 65, called Dr. Druid, an antiquary, wholly ignorant of his real duties as a guide of youth. The young man runs wantonly wild, squanders his money, and gives loose to his passions almost to the verge of ruin, but he is arrested and reclaimed by his honest Scotch bailiff or financier, and the vigilance of his father's executor, Mr. Mortimer. This "fashionable lover" promises marriage to a vulgar, malicious city minx named Lucinda Bridgemore, but is saved from this pitfall also.—Cumberland, The Fashionable Lover (1780).
Abbot (The), the complacent churchman in Aldrich's poem of The Jew's Gift, who hanged a Jew "just for no crime," and pondered and smiled and gave consent to the heretic's burial—
"Since he gave his beard to the birds." (1881.)
Abdal-azis, the Moorish governor of Spain after the overthrow of king Roderick. When the Moor assumed regal state and affected Gothic sovereignty, his subjects were so offended that they revolted and murdered him. He married Egilona, formerly the wife of Roderick.— Southey, Roderick, etc., xxii. (1814).
Ab'dalaz'iz (Omar ben), a caliph raised to "Mahomet's bosom" in reward of his great abstinence and self-denial.—Herbelot, 690.
He was by no means scrupulous; nor did he think with the caliph Omar ben Abdalaziz that it was necessary to make a hell of this world to enjoy paradise in the next.—W. Beckford, Vathek (1786).
Abdal'dar, one of the magicians in the Domdaniel caverns, "under the roots of the ocean." These spirits were destined to be destroyed by one of the race of Hodei'rah (3 syl.), so they persecuted the race even to death. Only one survived, named Thal'aba, and Abdaldar was appointed by lot to find him out and kill him. He discovered the stripling in an Arab's tent, and while in prayer was about to stab him to the heart with a dagger, when the angel of death breathed on him, and he fell dead with the dagger in his hand. Thalaba drew from the magician's finger a ring which gave him command over the spirits. —Southey, Thalaba the Destroyer, ii. iii. (1797).
Abdalla, one of sir Brian de Bois Guilbert's slaves.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Abdal'lah, brother and predecessor of Giaf'fer (2 syl.), pacha of Aby'dos. He was murdered by the pacha.—Byron, Bride of Abydos.
Abdallah el Hadgi, Saladin's envoy.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).
Abdals or Santons, a class of religionists who pretend to be inspired with the most ravishing raptures of divine love. Regarded with great veneration by the vulgar.—Olearius, i. 971.
Ab'diel, the faithful seraph who withstood Satan when he urged those under him to revolt.
Abelard and Eloise, unhappy lovers, whose illicit love was succeeded by years of penitence and remorse. Abelard was the tutor of Heloise (or Eloise), and, although vowed to the church, won and returned her passion. They were violently separated by her uncle. Abelard entered a monastery and Eloise became a nun. Their love survived the passage of years, and they were buried together at Père la Chaise.—Eloise and Abelard. By Alexander Pope (1688-1744).
Abensberg (Count), the father of thirty-two children. When Heinrich II. made his progress through Germany, and other courtiers presented their offerings, the count brought forward his thirty-two children, "as the most valuable offering he could make to his king and country."
Abes'sa, the impersonation of abbeys and convents in Spenser's Faëry Queen, i. 3. She is the paramour of Kirkrapine, who used to rob churches and poor-boxes, and bring his plunder to Abessa, daughter of Corceca (Blindness of Heart).
Abigail, typical name of a maid.—See Beaumont and Fletcher, Swift, Fielding, and many modern writers.
Abney, called Young Abney, the friend of colonel Albert Lee, a royalist.—Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, the Commonwealth).
Abon Hassan, a young merchant of Bag dad, and hero of the tale called "The Sleeper Awakened," in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. While Abon Hassan is asleep he is conveyed to the palace of Haroun-al-Raschid, and the attendants are ordered to do everything they can to make him fancy himself the caliph. He subsequently becomes the caliph's chief favorite.
Shakespeare, in the induction of Taming of the Shrew, befouls "Christopher Sly" in a similar way, but Sly thinks it was "nothing but a dream."
Philippe le Bon, duke of Burgundy, on his marriage with Eleonora, tried the same trick.—Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, ii. 2,4.
Abou Ben Adhem, "awakening one night from a deep dream of peace," sees an angel writing the names of those who love the Lord. Ben Adhem's name is registered as "one who loves his fellow-men." A second vision shows his name at the head of the list.
Abou Ben Adhem. By Leigh Hunt (1784-1859).
Abra, the most beloved of Solomon's
concubines.
Fruits their odor lost and meats their taste,
If gentle Abra had not decked the feast;
Dishonored did the sparkling goblet stand,
Unless received from gentle Abra's hand; ...
Nor could my soul approve the music's tone
Till all was hushed, and Abra sang alone.
M. Prior, Solomon (1664-1721).
Ab'radas, the great Macedonian pirate.
Abradas, the great Macedonian pirate, thought every one had a letter of mart that bare sayles in the ocean.—Greene, Penelope's Web (1601).
Abroc'omas, the lover of An'thia in the Greek romance of Ephesi'aca, by Xenophon of Ephesus (not the historian).
Ab'salom, in Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel, is meant for the duke of Monmouth, natural son of Charles II. (David). Like Absalom, the duke was handsome; like Absalom, he was beloved and rebellious; and like Absalom, his rebellion ended in his death (1649-1685).
Ab'solon, a priggish parish clerk in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. His hair was curled, his shoes slashed, his hose red. He could let blood, cut hair, and shave, could dance, and play either on the ribible or the gittern. This gay spark paid his addresses to Mistress Alison, the young wife of John, a rich but aged carpenter: but Alison herself loved a poor scholar named Nicholas, a lodger in the house.—The Miller's Tale (1388).
Absolute (Sir Anthony), a testy but warm-hearted old gentleman, who imagines that he possesses a most angelic temper, and when he quarrels with his son, the captain, fancies it is the son who is out of temper, and not himself. Smollett's "Matthew Bramble" evidently suggested this character. William Dowton (1764-1851) was the best actor of this part.
Captain Absolute, son of sir Anthony, in love with Lydia Languish, the heiress, to whom he is known only as ensign Beverley. Bob Acres, his neighbor, is his rival, and sends a challenge to the unknown ensign; but when he finds that ensign Beverley is captain Absolute, he declines to fight, and resigns all further claim to the lady's hand.—Sheridan, The Rivals (1775).
Absyrtus, brother of Medea and companion of her flight from Colchis. To elude or delay her pursuers, she cut him into pieces and strewed the fragments in the road, that her father might be detained by gathering up the remains of his son.
Abu'dah, in the drama called The Siege of Damascus, by John Hughes (1720), is the next in command to Caled in the Arabian army set down before Damascus. Though undoubtedly brave, he prefers peace to war; and when, at the death of Caled, he succeeds to the chief command, he makes peace with the Syrians on honorable terms.
Abu'dah, in the Tales of the Genii, by H. Ridley, is a wealthy merchant of Bag dad, who goes in quest of the talisman of Oroma'nes, which he is driven to seek by a little old hag, who haunts him every night and makes his life wretched. He finds at last that the talisman which is to free him of this hag [conscience] is to "fear God and keep his commandments."
Acade'mus, an Attic hero, whose garden was selected by Plato for the place of his lectures. Hence his disciples were called the "Academic sect."
The green retreats of Academus. Akenside, Pleasures of Imagination, i (1721-1770).
Acas'to (Lord), father of Seri'no, Casta'lio, and Polydore; and guardian of Monimia "the orphan." He lived to see the death of his sons and his ward. Polydore ran on his brother's sword, Castalio stabbed himself, and Monimia took poison.—Otway, The Orphan (1680).
Aces'tes (3 syl.). In a trial of skill, Acestes, the Sicilian, discharged his arrow with such force that it took fire from the friction of the air.—The Æneid, Bk. V.
Longfellow, To a Child.
Achates [A-ka'-teze], called by Virgil "fidus Achates." The name has become a synonym for a bosom friend, a crony, but is generally used laughingly.—The Æneid.
Byron, Don Juan, i. 159.
Acher'ia, the fox, went partnership with a bear in a bowl of: milk. Before the bear arrived, the fox skimmed off the cream and drank the milk; then, filling the bowl with mud, replaced the cream atop. Says the fox, "Here is the bowl; one shall have the cream, and the other all the rest: choose, friend, which you like." The bear told the fox to take the cream, and thus bruin had only the mud.—A Basque Tale.
A similar tale occurs in Campbell's Popular Tales of the West Highlands (iii. 98), called "The Keg of Butter." The wolf chooses the bottom when "oats" were the object of choice, and the top when "potatoes" were the sowing.
Rabelais tells the same tale about a farmer and the devil. Each was to have on alternate years what grew under and over the soil. The farmer sowed turnips and carrots when the under-soil produce came to his lot, and barley or wheat when his turn was the over-soil produce.
Achille Grandissime, "A rather poor specimen of the Grandissime type, deficient in stature, but not in stage manner."—The Grandissimes, by George W. Cable (1880).
Achil'les (3 syl.), the hero of the allied Greek army in the siege of Troy, and king of the Myr'midons.—See Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
The English Achilles, John Talbot, first earl of Shrewsbury (1373-1453).
The duke of Wellington is so called sometimes, and is represented by a statue of Achilles of gigantic size in Hyde Park, London, close to Apsley House (1769-1852).
The Achilles of Germany, Albert, elector of Brandenburg (1414-1486).
Achilles of Rome, Sicin'ius Denta'tus (put to death B.C. 450).
Achit'ophel, "Him who drew Achitophel," Dryden, author of the famous political satire of Absalom and Achitophel. "David" is Charles II.; his rebellious son "Absalom" is the king's natural son, the handsome but rebellious James duke of Monmouth; and "Achitophel," the traitorous counsellor, is the earl of Shaftesbury, "for close designs and crooked counsels fit."
There is a portrait of the first earl of Shaftesbury (Dryden's "Achitophel") as lord chancellor of England, clad in ash-colored robes, because he had never been called to the bar.—E. Yates, Celebrities, xviii.
A'cis, a Sicilian shepherd, loved by the nymph Galate'a. The monster Polypheme (3 syl.), a Cyclops, was his rival, and crushed him under a huge rock. The blood of Acis was changed into a river of the same name at the foot of mount Etna.
Not such a pipe, good reader, as that which Acis did sweetly tune in praise of his Galatea, but one of true Delft manufacture.—W. Irving (1783-1859).
Ack'land (Sir Thomas), a royalist.—Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, the Commonwealth).
Ac'oe (3 syl.), "hearing," in the New Testament sense (Rom. x. 17), "Faith cometh by hearing." The nurse of Fido [faith]. Her daughter is Meditation. (Greek,, "hearing.")
Acras'ia, Intemperance personified. Spenser says she is an enchantress living in the "Bower of Bliss," in "Wandering Island." She had the power of transforming her lovers into monstrous shapes; but sir Guyon (temperance), having caught her in a net and bound her, broke down her bower and burnt it to ashes.—Faëry Queen, ii. 12 (1590).
Acra'tes (3 syl.), Incontinence personified in The Purple Island, by Phineas Fletcher. He had two sons (twins) by Caro, viz., Methos (drunkenness) and Gluttony, both fully described in canto vii. (Greek, akrates, "incontinent.")
Acra'tes (3 syl.), Incontinence personified in The Faëry Queen, by Spenser. He is the father of Cymoch'lês and Pyroch'lês.—Bk. ii. 4 (1590).
Acres (Bob), a country gentleman, the rival of ensign Beverley, alias captain Absolute, for the hand and heart of Lydia Languish, the heiress. He tries to ape the man of fashion, gets himself up as a loud swell, and uses "sentimental oaths," i.e. oaths bearing on the subject. Thus if duels are spoken of he says, ods triggers and flints; if clothes, ods frogs and tambours; if music, ods minnums [minims] and crotchets; if ladies, ods blushes and blooms. This he learnt from a militia officer, who told him the ancients swore by Jove, Bacchus, Mars, Venus, Minerva, etc., according to the sentiment. Bob Acres is a great blusterer, and talks big of his daring, but when put to the push "his courage always oozed out of his fingers' ends." J. Quick was the original Bob Acres.—Sheridan, The Rivals (1775).
Byron, Don Juan.
Joseph Jefferson's impersonation of Bob Acres is inimitable for fidelity to the spirit of the original, and informed throughout with exquisite humor that never degenerates into coarseness.
Acris'ius, father of Dan'aê. An oracle declared that Danaê would give birth to a son who would kill him, so Acrisius kept his daughter shut up in an apartment under ground, or (as some say) in a brazen tower. Here she became the mother of Per'seus (2 syl.), by Jupiter in the form of a shower of gold. The king of Argos now ordered his daughter and her infant to be put into a chest, and cast adrift on the sea, but they were rescued by Dictys, a fisherman. When grown to manhood, Perseus accidentally struck the foot of Acrisius with a quoit, and the blow caused his death. This tale is told by Mr. Morris in The Earthly Paradise (April).
Actae'on, a hunter, changed by Diana into a stag. A synonym for a cuckold.
Shakespeare, Merry Wives, etc., act iii. sc. 2 (1596).
Acte'a, a female slave faithful to Nero in his fall. It was this hetæra who wrapped the dead body in cerements, and saw it decently interred.
Actors and Actresses. The last male actor that took a woman's character on the stage was Edward Kynaston, noted for his beauty (1619-1687). The first female actor for hire was Mrs. Saunderson, afterwards Mrs. Betterton, who died in 1712.
Ad, Ad'ites (2 syl.). Ad is a tribe descended from Ad, son of Uz, son of Irem, son of Shem, son of Noah. The tribe, at the Confusion of Babel, went and settled on Al-Ahkâf [the Winding Sands], in the province of Hadramant. Shedâd was their first king, but in consequence of his pride, both he and all the tribe perished, either from drought or the Sarsar (an icy wind).—Sale's Koran, 1.
A'dah, wife of Cain. After Cain had been conducted by Lucifer through the realms of space, he is restored to the home of his wife and child, where all is beauty, gentleness, and love. Full of faith and fervent in gratitude, Adah loves her infant with a sublime maternal affection. She sees him sleeping, and says to Cain—
Adam. In Greek this word is compounded of the four initial letters of the cardinal quarters:
The Hebrew word ADM forms the anagram of A [dam], D [avid], M [essiah].
Adam, how made. God created the body of Adam of Salzal, i.e. dry, unbaked clay, and left it forty nights without a soul. The clay was collected by Azrael from the four quarters of the earth, and God, to show His approval of Azrael's choice, constituted him the angel of death.—Rabadan.
Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. After the fall Adam was placed on mount Vassem in the east; Eve was banished to Djidda (now Gedda, on the Arabian coast); and the Serpent was exiled to the coast of Eblehh.
After the lapse of 100 years Adam rejoined Eve on mount Arafaith [place of Remembrance], near Mecca.—D'Ohsson.
Death of Adam. Adam died on Friday, April 7, at the age of 930 years. Michael swathed his body, and Gabriel discharged the funeral rites. The body was buried at Ghar'ul-Kenz [the grotto of treasure], which overlooks Mecca.
His descendants at death amounted to 40,000 souls.—D'Ohsson.
When Noah, entered the ark (the same writer says) he took the body of Adam in a coffin with him, and when he left the ark restored it to the place he had taken it from.
Adam, a bailiff, a jailer.
Not that Adam that kept the paradise, but that Adam that keeps the prison.—Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors, act iv. sc. 3 (1593).
Adam, a faithful retainer in the family of sir Eowland de Boys. At the age of fourscore, he voluntarily accompanied his young master Orlando into exile, and offered to give him his little savings. He has given birth to the phrase, "A Faithful Adam" [or man-servant].—Shakespeare, As You Like It (1598).
Adam Bell, a northern outlaw, noted for his archery. The name, like those of Clym of the Clough, William of Cloudesly, Robin Hood, and Little John, is synonymous with a good archer.
Adamastor, the Spirit of the Cape, a hideous phantom, of unearthly pallor; "erect his hair uprose of withered red, his lips were black, his teeth blue and disjointed, his beard haggard, his face scarred by lightning, his eyes shot livid fire, his voice roared." The sailors trembled at sight of him, and the fiend demanded how they dared to trespass "where never hero braved his rage before?" He then told them "that every year the shipwrecked should be made to deplore their foolhardiness."—Camöens, The Lusiad, v. (1569).
Adam'ida, a planet on which reside the unborn spirits of saints, martyrs, and believers. U'riel, the angel of the sun, was ordered at the crucifixion to interpose this planet between the sun and the earth, so as to produce a total eclipse.
Adamida, in obedience to the divine command, flew amidst overwhelming storms, rushing clouds, falling mountains, and swelling seas. Uriel stood on the pole of the star, but so lost in deep contemplation on Golgotha, that he heard not the wild uproar. On coming to the region of the sun, Adamida slackened her course, and advancing before the sun, covered its face and intercepted all its rays.—Klopstock, The Messiah, viii. (1771).
Adams (John), one of the mutineers of the Bounty (1790), who settled in Tahiti. In 1814 he was discovered as the patriarch of a colony, brought up with a high sense of religion and strict regard to morals. In 1839 the colony was voluntarily placed under the protection of the British Government.
Adams (Parson), the beau-ideal of a simple-minded, benevolent, but eccentric country clergyman, of unswerving integrity, solid learning, and genuine piety; bold as a lion in the cause of truth, but modest as a girl in all personal matters; wholly ignorant of the world, being "in it but not of of it."—Fielding, Joseph Andrews (1742).
His learning, his simplicity, his evangelical purity of mind are so admirably mingled with pedantry, absence of mind, and the habit of athletic ... exercise ... that he may be safely termed one of the richest productions of the muse of fiction. Like Don Quixote, parson Adams is beaten a little too much and too often, but the cudgel lights upon his shoulders ... without the slightest stain to his reputation.—Sir W. Scott.
Ad'dison of the North, Henry Mackenzie, author of The Man of Feeling (1745-1831).
Adelaide, daughter of the count of Narbonne, in love with Theodore. She is killed by her father in mistake for another.—Robt. Jephson, Count of Narbonne (1782).
Adelaide Fisher, daughter-in-law of Grandpa and Grandma Fisher in Sallie Pratt McLean Greene's Cape Cod Folks. She has a sweet voice and an edged temper, and it would seem from certain cynical remarks of her own, and Grandma's "Thar, daughter, I wouldn't mind!" has a history she does not care to reveal (1881).
Adelaide Yates, the wife of Steve Yates and mother of Little Moses in Charles Egbert Craddock's In the "Stranger People's" Country. Her husband has been seized and detained by the "moonshiners" in the mountains, and the impression is that he has wilfully deserted her. She cannot discredit it, but "She's goin' ter stay thar in her cabin an' wait fur him," said Mrs. Pettengill. "Sorter seems de-stressin', I do declar'. A purty, young, good, r'ligious 'oman a-settin' herself ter spen' a empty life a-waitin' fur Steve Yates ter kum back!" (1890.)
Adeline (Lady), the wife of lord Henry Amun'deville (4 syl.), a highly educated aristocratic lady, with all the virtues and weaknesses of the upper ten. After the parliamentary sessions this noble pair filled their house with guests, amongst which were the duchess of Fitz-Fulke, the duke of D----, Aurora Raby, and don Juan, "the Russian envoy." The tale not being finished, no key to these names is given. (For the lady's character, see xiv. 54-56.)—Byron, Don Juan, xiii. to the end.
Ad'emar or Adema'ro, archbishop of Poggio, an ecclesiastical warrior in Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered.—See Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
Adic'ia, wife of the soldan, who incites him to distress the kingdom of Mercilla. When Mercilla sends her ambassador, Samient, to negotiate peace, Adicia, in violation of international law, thrusts her Samient out of doors like a dog, and sets two knights upon her. Sir Artegal comes to her rescue, attacks the two knights, and knocks one of them from his saddle with such force that he breaks his neck. After the discomfiture of the soldan, Adicia rushes forth with a knife to stab Samient, but, being intercepted by sir Artegal, is changed into a tigress.—Spenser, Faery Queen, v. 8 (1596).
The "soldan" is king Philip II. of Spain; "Mercilla" is queen Elizabeth; "Adicia" is Injustice personified, or the bigotry of popery; and "Samient" the ambassadors of Holland, who went to Philip for redress of grievances, and were most iniquitously detained by him as prisoners.
Ad'icus, Unrighteousness personified in canto vii. of The Purple Island (1633), by Phineas Fletcher. He has eight sons and daughters, viz., Ec'thros (hatred), Eris (variance), a daughter, Zelos (emulation), Thumos (wrath), Erith'ius (strife), Dichos'tasis (sedition), Envy, and Phon'os (murder); all fully described by the poet. (Greek, adikos, "an unjust man.")
Adie of Aikenshaw, a neighbor of the Glendinnings.—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
Adme'tus, a king of Thessaly, husband of Alcestis. Apollo, being condemned by Jupiter to serve a mortal for twelve months for slaying a Cyclops, entered the service of Admetus. James R. Lowell has a poem on the subject, called The Shepherd of King Admetus (1819-1891).
Ad'mirable (The): (1) Aben-Ezra, a Spanish rabbin, born at Tole'do (1119-1174). (2) James Crichton (Kry-ton), the Scotchman (1551-1573). (3) Roger Bacon, called "The Admirable Doctor" (1214-1292).
Adolf, bishop of Cologne, was devoured by mice or rats in 1112. (See HATTO.)
Ad'ona, a seraph, the tutelar spirit of James, the "first martyr of the twelve."—Klopstock, The Messiah, iii. (1748).
Adonai, the mysterious spirit of pure mind, love, and beauty that inspires Zanoni, in Bulwer's novel of that name.
Adonais, title of Percy Bysshe Shelley's elegy upon John Keats, written in 1821.
A'donbec el Hakim, the physician, a disguise assumed by Saladin, who visits sir Kenneth's sick squire, and cures him of a fever.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).
Ado'nis, a beautiful youth, beloved by Venus and Proser'pina, who quarrelled about the possession of him. Jupiter, to settle the dispute, decided that the boy should spend six months with Venus in the upper world and six with Proserpina in the lower. Adonis was gored to death by a wild boar in a hunt.
Shakespeare has a poem called Venus and Adonis. Shelley calls his elegy on the poet Keats Adona'is, under the idea that the untimely death of Keats resembled that of Adonis.
(Adonis is an allegory of the sun, which is six months north of the horizon, and six months south. Thammuz is the same as Adonis, and so is Osiris).
Adoniram Penn, the obstinate and well-to-do farmer in Mary E. Wilkins's Revolt of "Mother". He persists in building a new barn which the cattle do not need instead of the much-needed dwelling for his family. In his absence, "Mother," who was wont to "stand before her husband in the humble fashion of a Scripture woman," moves household and furniture into the commodious barn.
"Adoniram was like a fortress whose walls had no active resistance, and went down the instant the right besieging tools were used" (1890).
Ad'oram, a seraph, who had charge of James the son of Alphe'us.—Klopstock, The Messiah, iii. (1748).
Adosinda, daughter of the Gothic governor of Auria, in Spain. The Moors having slaughtered her parents, husband, and child, preserved her alive for the captain of Alcahman's regiment. She went to his tent without the least resistance, but implored the captain to give her one night to mourn the death of those so near and dear to her. To this he complied, but during sleep she murdered him with his own scymitar. Roderick, disguised as a monk, helped her to bury the dead bodies of her house, and then she vowed to live for only one object, vengeance. In the great battle, when the Moors were overthrown, she it was who gave the word of attack, "Victory and Vengeance!"—Southey, Roderick, etc., iii. (1814).
Adram'elech (ch=k), one of the fallen angels. Milton makes him overthrown by U'riel and Raphael (Paradise Lost, vi. 365). According to Scripture, he was one of the idols of Sepharvaim, and Shalmane'ser introduced his worship into Samaria. [The word means "the mighty magnificent king."]
The Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adramelech.—2 Kings xvii. 31.
Klopstock introduces him into The Messiah, and represents him as surpassing Satan in malice and guile, ambition and mischief. He is made to hate every one, even Satan, of whose rank he is jealous, and whom he hoped to overthrow, that by putting an end to his servitude he might become the supreme god of all the created worlds. At the crucifixion he and Satan are both driven back to hell by Obad'don, the angel of death.
Adraste' (2 syl.), a French gentleman, who inveigles a Greek slave named Isidore from don Pèdre. His plan is this: He gets introduced as a portrait-painter, and thus imparts to Isidore his love, and obtains her consent to elope with him. He then sends his slave Zaïde (2 syl.) to don Pèdre, to crave protection for ill treatment, and Pèdre promises to befriend her. At this moment Adraste appears, and demands that Zaïde be given up to him to punish as he thinks proper. Pèdre intercedes; Adraste seems to relent; and Pèdre calls for Zaïde. Out comes Isidore instead, with Zaïde's veil. "There," says Pèdre, "take her and use her well." "I will do so," says the Frenchman, and leads off the Greek slave.—Molière, Le Sicilien, ou L'Amour Peintre (1667).
Adrian'a, a wealthy Ephesian lady, who marries Antiph'olus, twin-brother of Antipholus of Syracuse. The abbess Aemilia is her mother-in-law, but she knows it not; and one day when she accuses her husband of infidelity, she says to the abbess, if he is unfaithful it is not from want of remonstrance, "for it is the one subject of our conversation. In bed I will not let him sleep for speaking of it; at table I will not let him eat for speaking of it; when alone with him I talk of nothing else, and in company I give him frequent hints of it. In a word, all my talk is how vile and bad it is in him to love another better than he loves his wife" (act v. sc. 1).—Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors (1593).
Adria'no de Arma'do (Don), a pompous, fantastical Spaniard, a military braggart in a state of peace, as Parolles (3 syl.) was in war. Boastful but poor; a coiner of words, but very ignorant; solemnly grave, but ridiculously awkward; majestical in gait, but of very low propensities.—Shakespeare, Love's Labour Lost (1594).
(Said to be designed for John Florio, surnamed "The Resolute," a philologist. Holofernes, the pedantic schoolmaster, in the same play, is also meant in ridicule of the same lexicographer.)
T. Otway, Venice Preserved, i. 1 (1682).
Ad'riel, in Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel, the earl of Mulgrave, a royalist.
Part i.
(John Sheffield, earl of Mulgrave (1649-1721) wrote an Essay on Poetry.)
Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress, said to have been poisoned by flowers sent to her by a rival. Died in 1730.
AE'acus, king of Oeno'pia, a man of such integrity and piety, that he was made at death one of the three judges of hell. The other two were Minos and Rhadaman'thus.
Aege'on a huge monster with 100 arms and 50 heads, who with his brothers, Cottus and Gygês, conquered the Titans by hurling at them 300 rocks at once. Homer says men call him "Aege'on," but by the gods he is called Bri'areus (3 syl.).
—Milton, Paradise Lost, I. 199.
Aege'on, a merchant of Syracuse, in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors (1593).
Aemylia, a lady of high degree, in love with Am'yas, a squire of inferior rank. Going to meet her lover at a trysting-place, she was caught up by a hideous monster, and thrust into his den for future food. Belphoebê (3 syl.) slew "the caitiff" and released the maid (canto vii.). Prince Arthur, having slain Corflambo, released Amyas from the durance of Paea'na, Corflambo's daughter, and brought the lovers together "in peace and joyous blis" (canto ix.).—Spencer, Faëry Queen, iv. (1596).
Aemil'ia, wife of Aege'on the Syracusian merchant, and mother of the twins called Antiph'olus. When the boys were shipwrecked, she was parted from them and taken to Ephesus. Here she entered a convent, and rose to be the abbess. Without her knowing it, one of her twins also settled in Ephesus, and rose to be one of its greatest and richest citizens. The other son and her husband Ægeon both set foot in Ephesus the same day without the knowledge of each other, and all met together in the duke's court, when the story of their lives was told, and they became again united to each other.—Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors (1593).
Aene'as, a Trojan prince, the hero of Virgil's epic called Aeneid. He was the son of Anchi'ses and Venus. His first wife was Creu'sa (3 syl.), by whom he had a son named Asca'nius; his second wife was Lavinia, daughter of Latinus king of Italy, by whom he had a posthumous son called Aene'as Sylvius. He succeeded his father-in-law in the kingdom, and the Romans called him their founder.
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth "Brutus," the first king of Britain (from whom the island was called Britain), was a descendant of Æneas.
Aene'id, the epic poem of Virgil, in twelve books. When Troy was taken by the Greeks and set on fire, Aene'as, with his father, son, and wife, took flight, with the intention of going to Italy, the original birthplace of the family. The wife was lost, and the old father died on the way; but after numerous perils by sea and land, Æneas and his son Asca'nius reached Italy. Here Latïnus, the reigning king, received the exiles hospitably, and promised his daughter Lavin'ia in marriage to Æneas; but she had been already betrothed by her mother to prince Turnus, son of Daunus, king of Ru'tuli, and Turnus would not forego his claim. Latinus, in this dilemma, said the rivals must settle the dispute by an appeal to arms. Turnus being slain, Æneas married Lavinia, and ere long succeeded his father-in-law on the throne.
Book I. The escape from Troy; Æneas and his son, driven by a tempest on the shores of Carthage, are hospitably entertained by queen Dido.
II. Æneas tells Dido the tale of the wooden horse, the burning of Troy, and his flight with his father, wife, and son. The wife was lost and died.
III. The narrative continued. The perils he met with on the way, and the death of his father.
IV. Dido falls in love with Æneas; but he steals away from Carthage, and Dido, on a funeral pyre, puts an end to her life.
V. Æneas reaches Sicily, and celebrates there the games in honor of Anchises. This book corresponds to the Iliad, xxiii.
VI. Æneas visits the infernal regions. This book corresponds to Odyssey, xi.
VII. Latinus king of Italy entertains Æneas, and promises to him Lavinia (his daughter) in marriage, but prince Turnus had been already betrothed to her by the mother, and raises an army to resist Æneas.
VIII. Preparations on both sides for a general war.
IX. Turnus, during the absence of Æneas, fires the ships and assaults the camp. The episode of Nisus and Eury'alus.
X. The war between Turnus and Æneas. Episode of Mezentius and Lausus.
XI. The battle continued.
XII. Turnus challenges Æneas to single combat, and is killed.
N.B.—1. The story of Sinon and taking of Troy is borrowed from Pisander, as Macrobius informs us.
2. The loves of Dido and Æneas are copied from those of Medea and Jason, in Apollonius.
3. The story of the wooden horse and the burning of Troy are from Arcti'nus of Miletus.
Ae'olus, god of the winds, which he keeps imprisoned in a cave in the Æolian Islands, and lets free as he wishes or as the over-gods command.
Aescula'pius, in Greek, Askle'pios, the god of healing.
Ae'son, the father of Jason. He was restored to youth by Medea, who infused into his veins the juice of certain herbs.
Æsop, the fabulist, said to be humpbacked; hence, "an Æsop" means a humpbacked man. The young son of Henry VI. calls his uncle Richard of Gloster "Æsop."—3 Henry VI. act v. sc. 5.
Aesop of Arabia, Lokman; and Nasser (fifth century).
Aesop of England, John Gay (1688-1732).
Aesop of France, Jean de la Fontaine (1621-1695).
Aesop of Germany, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781).
Aesop of India, Bidpay or Pilpay (third century B.C.).
Afer, the south-west wind; Notus, the full south.
Notus and Afer, black with thundrous clouds. Milton, Paradise Lost, x. 702 (1665).
African Magician (The), pretended to Aladdin to be his uncle, and sent the lad to fetch the "wonderful lamp" from an underground cavern. As Aladdin refused to hand it to the magician, he shut him in the cavern and left him there. Aladdin contrived to get out by virtue of a magic ring, and learning the secret of the lamp, became immensely rich, built a superb palace, and married the sultan's daughter. Several years after, the African resolved to make himself master of the lamp, and accordingly walked up and down before the palace, crying incessantly, "Who will change old lamps for new!" Aladdin being on a hunting excursion, his wife sent a eunuch to exchange the "wonderful lamp" for a new one; and forthwith the magician commanded "the slaves of the lamp" to transport the palace and all it contained into Africa. Aladdin caused him to be poisoned in a draught of wine.—Arabian Nights ("Aladdin or The Wonderful Lamp").
Af'rit or Afreet, a kind of Medusa or Lamia, the most terrible and cruel of all the orders of the deevs.—Herbelot, 66.
Longfellow, The Golden Milestone.
Agag, in Dryden's satire of Absalom and Achit'ophel, is sir Edmondbury Godfrey, the magistrate, who was found murdered in a ditch near Primrose Hill. Dr. Oates, in the same satire, is called "Corah."
Part i.
Agamemnon, king of the Argives and commander-in-chief of the allied Greeks in the siege of Troy. Introduced by Shakespeare in his Troilus and Cres'sida.
Vixere fortes ante Agamem'nona, "There were brave men before Agamemnon;" we are not to suppose that there were no great and good men in former times. A similar proverb is, "There are hills beyond Pentland and fields beyond Forth."
Agandecca, daughter of Starno king of Lochlin [Scandinavia], promised in marriage to Fingal king of Morven [north-west of Scotland]. The maid told Fingal to beware of her father, who had set an ambush to kill him. Fingal, being thus forewarned, slew the men in ambush; and Starno, in rage, murdered his daughter, who was buried by Fingal in Ardven [Argyll].
Aganip'pe (4 syl.), fountain of the Muses, at the foot of mount Helicon, in Boeo'tia.
Gray, Progress of Poetry.
Ag'ape (3 syl.) the fay. She had three sons at a birth, Primond, Diamond, and Triamond. Being anxious to know the future lot of her sons, she went to the abyss of Demogorgon, to consult the "Three Fatal Sisters." Clotho showed her the threads, which "were thin as those spun by a spider." She begged the fates to lengthen the life-threads, but they said this could not be; they consented, however, to this agreement—
Agapi'da (Fray Antonio), the imaginary chronicler of The Conquest of Granada, written by Washington Irving (1829).
Agast'ya (3 syl.), a dwarf who drank the sea dry. As he was walking one day with Vishnoo, the insolent ocean asked the god who the pigmy was that strutted by his side. Vishnoo replied it was the patriarch Agastya, who was going to restore earth to its true balance. Ocean, in contempt, spat its spray in the pigmy's face, and the sage, in revenge of this affront, drank the waters of the ocean, leaving the bed quite dry.—Maurice.
Ag'atha, daughter of Cuno, and the betrothed of Max, in Weber's opera of Der Freischütz.—See Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
Agath'ocles (4 syl.) tyrant of Sicily. He was the son of a potter, and raised himself from the ranks to become general of the army. He reduced all Sicily under his power. When he attacked the Carthaginians, he burnt his ships that his soldiers might feel assured they must either conquer or die. Agathoclês died of poison administered by his grandson (B.C. 361-289).
Voltaire has a tragedy called Agathocle, and Caroline Pichler has an excellent German novel entitled Agathoclés.
Agathon, the hero and title of a philosophic romance, by C. M. Wieland (1733-1813). This is considered the best of his novels, though some prefer his Don Sylvia de Rosalva.
Agdistes, the name given by Spenser to our individual consciousness or self. Personified in the being who presided over the Acrasian "bowre of blis."
Agdistis, a genius of human form, uniting the two senses and born of an accidental union between Jupiter and Tellus. The story of Agdistis and Atys is apparently a myth of the generative powers of nature.
Aged (The), so Wemmick's father is called. He lived in "the castle at Walworth." Wemmick at "the castle" and Wemmick in business are two "different beings."
Ag'elastes (Michael), the cynic philosopher.—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).
Agesila'us (5 syl.). Plutarch tells us that Agesilaus, king of Sparta, was one day discovered riding cock-horse on a long stick, to please and amuse his children.
A'gib (King), "The Third Calender" (Arabian Nights' Entertainments). He was wrecked on the loadstone mountain, which drew all the nails and iron bolts from his ship; but he overthrew the bronze statue on the mountain-top, which was the cause of the mischief. Agib visited the ten young men, each of whom had lost the right eye, and was carried by a roc to the palace of the forty princesses, with whom he tarried a year. The princesses were then obliged to leave for forty days, but entrusted him with the keys of the palace, with free permission to enter every room but one. On the fortieth day curiosity induced him to open this room, where he saw a horse, which he mounted, and was carried through the air to Bag dad. The horse then deposited him, and knocked out his right eye with a whisk of its tail, as it had done the ten "young men" above referred to.
Agitator (The Irish), Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847).
Aglae, the unwedded sister in T. B. Aldrich's poem, The Sisters' Tragedy (1891).
Agnei'a (3 syl.), wifely chastity, sister of Parthen'ia or maiden chastity. Agneia is the spouse of Encra'tês or temperance. Fully described in canto x. of The Purple Island, by Phineas Fletcher (1633). (Greek, agneia, "chastity.")
Ag'nes, daughter of Mr. Wickfield the solicitor, and David Copperfield's second wife (after the death of Dora, "his child wife"). Agnes is a very pure, self-sacrificing girl, accomplished, yet domestic.—C. Dickens, David Copperfield (1849).
Agnes, in Molière's L'École des Femmes, the girl on whom Arnolphe tries his pet experiment of education, so as to turn out for himself a "model wife." She is brought up in a country convent, where she is kept in entire ignorance of the difference of sex, conventional proprieties, the difference between the love of men and women, and that of girls for girls, the mysteries of marriage, and so on. When grown to womanhood she quits the convent, and standing one evening on a balcony a young man passes and takes off his hat to her, she returns the salute; he bows a second and third time, she does the same; he passes and repasses several times, bowing each time, and she does as she has been taught to do by acknowledging the salute. Of course, the young man (Horace) becomes her lover, whom she marries, and M. Arnolphe loses his "model wife." (See PINCH-WIFE.)
Elle fait l'Agnès. She pretends to be wholly unsophisticated and verdantly ingenuous.—French Proverb (from the "Agnes" of Molière, L'École des Femmes, 1662).
Agnes (Black), the countess of March, noted for her defence of Dunbar against the English.
Black Agnes, the palfry of Mary queen of Scots, the gift of her brother Moray, and so called from the noted countess of March, who was countess of Moray (Murray) in her own right.
Agnes (St.), a young virgin of Palermo, who at the age of thirteen was martyred at Rome during the Diocletian persecution of A.D. 304. Prudence (Aurelius Prudentius Clemens), a Latin Christian poet of the fourth century, has a poem on the subject. Tintoret and Domenichi'no have both made her the subject of a painting.—The Martyrdom of St. Agnes.
St. Agnes and the Devil. St. Agnes, having escaped from the prison at Rome, took shipping and landed at St. Piran Arwothall. The devil dogged her, but she rebuked him, and the large moor-stones between St. Piran and St. Agnes, in Cornwall, mark the places where the devils were turned into stone by the looks of the indignant saint.—Polwhele, History of Cornwall.
Agnes of Sorrento, heroine of novel of same name, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The scene of the story is laid in Sorrento, Italy.
Agraman'te (4 syl.) or Ag'ramant, king of the Moors, in Orlando Innamorato, by Bojardo, and Orlando Furioso, by Ariosto.
Agrawain (Sir) or Sir Agravain, surnamed "The Desirous," and also "The Haughty." He was son of Lot (king of Orkney) and Margawse half-sister of king Arthur. His brothers were sir Gaw'ain, sir Ga'heris, and sir Gareth. Mordred was his half-brother, being the son of king Arthur and Margawse. Sir Agravain and sir Mordred hated sir Launcelot, and told the king he was too familiar with the queen; so they asked the king to spend the day in hunting, and kept watch. The queen sent for sir Launcelot to her private chamber, and sir Agravain, sir Mordred, and twelve others assailed the door, but sir Launcelot slew them all except sir Mordred, who escaped.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, iii. 142-145 (1470).
Agrica'ne (4 syl.), king of Tartary, in the Orlando Innamorato, of Bojardo. He besieges Angelica in the castle of Albracca, and is slain in single combat by Orlando. He brought into the field 2,200,000 troops.
Agricola Fusilier, a pompous old creole, a conserver of family traditions, and patriot who figures in George W. Cable's Grandissimes (1880).
Ag'rios, Lumpishness personified; a "sullen swain, all mirth that in himself and others hated; dull, dead, and leaden." Described in canto viii. of The Purple Island, by Phineas Fletcher (1635). (Greek, agrios; "a savage.")
Agrippina was granddaughter, wife, sister, and mother of an emperor. She was granddaughter of Augustus, wife of Claudius, sister of Caligula, and mother of Nero.
Lam'pedo of Lacedaemon was daughter, wife, sister, and mother of a king.
Agripy'na or Ag'ripyne (3 syl.), a princess beloved by the "king of Cyprus'son, and madly loved by Orleans."—Thomas Dekker, Old Fortunatus (a comedy, 1600).
Ague-cheek (Sir Andrew), a silly old fop with "3000 ducats a year," very fond of the table, but with a shrewd understanding that "beef had done harm to his wit." Sir Andrew thinks himself "old in nothing but in understanding," and boasts that he can cut a caper, dance the coranto, walk a jig, and take delight in masques, like a young man.—Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (1614).
Woodward (1737-1777) always sustained "sir Andrew Ague-cheek" with infinite drollery, assisted by that expression of "rueful dismay," which gave so peculiar a zest to his Marplot.—Boaden, Life of Siddons Charles Lamb says that "Jem White saw James Dodd one evening in Ague-cheek, and recognizing him next day in Fleet Street, took off his hat, and saluted him with 'Save you, sir Andrew!' Dodd simply waved his hand and exclaimed, 'Away, fool!'"
A'haback and Des'ra, two enchanters, who aided Ahu'bal in his rebellion against his brother Misnar, sultan of Delhi. Ahu'bal had a magnificent tent built, and Horam the vizier had one built for the sultan still more magnificent. When the rebels made their attack, the sultan and the best of the troops were drawn off, and the sultan's tent was taken. The enchanters, delighted with their prize, slept therein, but at night the vizier led the sultan to a cave, and asked him to cut a rope. Next morning he heard that a huge stone had fallen on the enchanters and crushed them to a mummy. In fact, this stone formed the head of the bed, where it was suspended by the rope which the sultan had severed in the night.—James Ridley, Tales of the Genii ("The Enchanters' Tale," vi.).
Ahasue'rus, the cobbler who pushed away Jesus when, on the way to execution. He rested a moment or two at his door. "Get off! Away with you!" cried the cobbler. "Truly, I go away," returned Jesus, "and that quickly; but tarry thou till I come." And from that time Ahasuerus became the "wandering Jew," who still roams the earth, and will continue so to do till the "second coming of the Lord." This is the legend given by Paul von Eitzen, bishop of Schleswig (1547).—Greve, Memoir of Paul von Eitzen (1744).
Aher'man and Ar'gen, the former a fortress, and the latter a suite of immense halls, in the realm of Eblis, where are lodged all creatures of human intelligence before the creation of Adam, and all the animals that inhabited the earth before the present races existed.—W. Beckford, Vathek (1786).
Ah'med (Prince), noted for the tent given him by the fairy Pari-banou, which would cover a whole army, and yet would fold up so small that it might be carried in one's pocket. The same good fairy also gave him the apple of Samarcand', a panacea for all diseases.—Arabian Nights' Entertainments ("Prince Ahmed, etc.").
Aholiba'mah, granddaughter of Cain, and sister of Anah. She was loved by the seraph Samias'a, and like her sister was carried off to another planet when the Flood came.—Byron, Heaven and Earth.
Ah'riman or Ahrima'nes (4 syl.), the angel of darkness and of evil in the Magian system, slain by Mithra.
Aikwood (Ringan), the forester of sir Arthur Wardour, of Knockwinnock Castle.—Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary.
Aimee, the prudent sister, familiarly known as "the wise one" in the Bohemian household described by Francis Hodgson Burnett in Vagabondia (1889).
Aim'well (Thomas, viscount), a gentleman of broken fortune, who pays his addresses to Dorin'da, daughter of Lady Bountiful. He is very handsome and fascinating, but quite "a man of the world." He and Archer are the two beaux of The Beaux' Stratagem, a comedy by George Farquhar (1705).
I thought it rather odd that Holland should be the only "mister" of the party, and I said to myself, as Gibbet said when he heard that "Aimwell" had gone to church, "That looks suspicions" (act ii. sc. 2).—James Smith, Memoirs, Letters, etc. (1840).
Aircastle, in the Cozeners, by S. Foote. The original of this rambling talker was Gahagan, whose method of conversation is thus burlesqued:
Aircastle: "Did I not tell you what parson Prunello said? I remember, Mrs. Lightfoot was by. She had-been brought to bed that day was a month of a very fine boy—a bad birth; for Dr. Seeton, who served his time with Luke Lancet, of Guise's.—There was also a talk about him and Nancy the daughter. She afterwards married Will Whitlow, another apprentice, who had great expectations from an old uncle in the Grenadiers; but he left all to a distant relation, Kit Cable, a midshipman aboard the Torbay. She was lost coming home in the channel. The captain was taken up by a coaster from Eye, loaded with cheese—" [Now, pray, what did parson Prunello say? This is a pattern of Mrs. Nickleby's rambling gossip.]
Air'lie (The earl of), a royalist in the service of king Charles I.—Sir W. Scott, Legend of Montrose.
Airy (Sir George), a man of fortune, in love with Miran'da, the ward of sir Francis Gripe.—Mrs. Centlivre, The Busylody (1709).
A'jax, son of Oïleus [O.i'.luce], generally called "the less." In conseqnence of his insolence to Cassan'dra, the prophetic daughter of Priam, his ship was driven on a rock, and he perished at sea.—Homer, Odyssey, iv. 507; Virgil, Æneid, i. 41.
A'jax Tel'amon. Sophoclês has a tragedy called Ajax, in which "the madman" scourges a ram he mistakes for Ulysses. His encounter with a flock of sheep, which he fancied in his madness to be the sons of Atreus, has been mentioned at greater or less length by several Greek and Roman poets. Don Quixote had a similar adventure. This Ajax is introduced by Shakespeare in his drama called Troilus and Cressida. (See ALIFANFARON).
M. Drayton, Nymphidia (1536-1631).
Ajut and Anningait, in The Rambler.
Ala'ciel, the genius who went on a voyage to the two islands, Taciturnia and Merry land [London and Paris].—De la Dixmerie L'isle Taciturne et l'isle Enjouée, ou Voyage du Génie Alaciel dans les deux Iles (1759).
Aladdin, son of Mustafa, a poor tailor, of China, "obstinate, disobedent, and mischievous," wholly abandoned "to indolence and licentiousness." One day an African magician accosted him, pretending to be his uncle, and sent him to bring up the "wonderful lamp," at the same time giving him a "ring of safety." Aladdin secured the lamp, but would not hand it to the magician till he was out of the cave, whereupon the magician shut him up in the cave, and departed for Africa. Aladdin, wringing his hands in despair, happened to rub the magic ring, when the genius of the ring appeared before him, and asked him his commands. Aladdin requested to be delivered from the cave, and he returned home. By means of his lamp, he obtained untold wealth, built a superb palace, and married Badroul'boudour, the sultan's daughter. After a time, the African magician got possession of the lamp, and caused the palace, with all its contents, to be transported into Africa. Aladdin was absent at the time, was arrested and ordered to execution, but was rescued by the populace, with whom he was an immense favorite, and started to discover what had become of his palace. Happening to slip, he rubbed his ring, and when the genius of the ring appeared and asked his orders, was instantly posted to the place where his palace was in Africa. He poisoned the magician, regained the lamp, and had his palace restored to its original place in China.
Yes, ready money is Aladdin's lamp.
Byron, Don Juan, xii. 12.
Aladdin's Lamp, a lamp brought from an underground cavern in "the middle of China." Being in want of food, the mother of Aladdin began to scrub it, intending to sell it, when the genius of the lamp appeared, and asked her what were her commands. Aladdin answered, "I am hungry; bring me food;" and immediately a banquet was set before him. Having thus become acquainted with the merits of the lamp, he became enormously rich, and married the sultan's daughter. By artifice the African magician got possession of the lamp, and transported the palace with its contents to Africa. Aladdin poisoned the magician, recovered the lamp, and retranslated the palace to its original site.
Aladdin's Palace Windows. At the top of the palace was a saloon, containing tweny-four windows (six on each side), and all but one enriched with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. One was left for the sultan to complete, but all the jewellers in the empire were unable to make one to match the others, so Aladdin commanded "the slaves of the lamp" to complete their work.
Aladdin's Ring, given him by the African magician, "a preservative against every evil."—Arabian Nights ("Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp").
Al'adine, the sagacious but cruel king of Jerusalem, slain by Raymond.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Al'adine (3 syl.), son of Aldus, "a lusty knight."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, vi. 3 (1596).
Alaff, Anlaf, or Olaf, son of Sihtric, Danish king of Northumberland (died 927). When Aethelstan [Athelstan] took possession of Northumberland, Alaff fled to Ireland, and his brother Guthfrith or Godfrey to Scotland.
Drayton, Potyolbion, xii. (1612).
Alain, cousin of Eos, the artist's wife, in Desert Sands, by Harriet Prescott Spofford (1863).
Alar'con, king of Barca, who joined the armament of Egypt against the crusaders, but his men were only half armed.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Alaric Cottin. Frederick the Great of Prussia was so called by Voltaire. "Alaric" because, like Alaric, he was a great warrior, and "Cottin" because, like Cottin, satirized by Boileau, he was a very indifferent poet.
Alas'co, alias DR. DEMETRIUS DOBOOBIE, an old astrologer, consulted by the earl of Leicester.—Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).
Alas'nam (Prince Zeyn) possessed eight statues, each a single diamond on a gold pedestal, but had to go in search of a ninth, more valuable than them all. This ninth was a lady, the most beautiful and virtuous of women, "more precious than rubies," who became his wife.
One pure and perfect [woman] is ... like Alasnam's lady, worth them all.—Sir Walter Scott.
Alasnam's Mirror. When Alasnam was in search of his ninth statue, the king of the Genii gave him a test mirror, in which he was to look when he saw a beautiful girl; "if the glass remained pure and unsullied, the damsel would be the same, but if not, the damsel would not be wholly pure in body and in mind." This mirror was called "the touchstone of virtue."—Arabian Nights ("Prince Zeyn Alasnam").
Alas'tor, a surname of Zeus as "the Avenger." Or, in general, any deity or demon who avenges wrong done by man. Shelley wrote a poem, Alastor, or the Spirit of Solitude.
Cicero says he meditated killing himself that he might become the Alastor of Augustus, whom he hated.—Plutarch, Cicero, etc. ("Parallel Lives.")
God Almighty mustered up an army of mice against the archbishop [Hatto], and sent them to persecute him as his furious Alastors.—Coryat, Crudities, 571.
Al'ban (St.) of Ver'ulam, hid his confessor, St. Am'phibal, and changing clothes with him, suffered death in his stead. This was during the frightful persecution of Maximia'nus Hercu'lius, general of Diocle'tian's army in Britain, when 1000 Christians fell at Lichfield.
Al'berick of Mortemar, the same as Theodorick the hermit of Engaddi, an exiled nobleman. He tells king Richard the history of his life, and tries to dissuade him from sending a letter of defiance to the archduke of Austria.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).
Al' berick, the squire of prince Richard, one of the sons of Henry II. of England.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Albert, commander of the Britannia. Brave, liberal, and just, softened and refined by domestic ties and superior information. His ship was dashed against the projecting verge of Cape Colonna, the most southern point of Attica, and he perished in the sea because Rodmond (second in command) grasped one of his legs and could not be shaken off.
Falconer, The Shipwreck, i. 2 (1756).
Albert, father of Gertrude, patriarch and judge of Wyo'ming (called by Campbell Wy'oming). Both Albert and his daughter were shot by a mixed force of British and Indian troops, led by one Brandt, who made an attack on the settlement, put all the inhabitants to the sword, set fire to the fort, and destroyed all the houses.—Campbell, Gertrude of Wyoming (1809).
Albert, in Goethe's romance called The Sorrows of Werther, is meant for his friend Kestner. He is a young German farmer, who married Charlotte Buff (called "Lotte" in the novel), with whom Goethe was in love. Goethe represents himself under the name of Werther (q. v.).
Albert of Gei'erstein (Count), brother of Arnold Biederman, and president of the "Secret Tribunal." He sometimes appears as a "black priest of St. Paul's," and sometimes as the "monk of St. Victoire."—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Albertaz'zo married Alda, daughter of Otho, duke of Saxony. His sons were Ugo and Fulco. From this stem springs the Royal Family of England.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Albia'zar, an Arab chief, who joins the Egyptian armament against the crusaders.
A chief in rapine, not in knighthood bred. Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xvii. (1575).
Al'bion. In legendary history this word is variously accounted for. One derivation is from Albion, a giant, son of Neptune, its first discoverer, who ruled over the island for forty-four years.
Another derivation is Al'bia, eldest of the fifty daughters of Diocle'sian king of Syria. These fifty ladies all married on the same day, and all murdered their husbands on the wedding night. By way of punishment, they were cast adrift in a ship, unmanned, but the wind drove the vessel to our coast, where these Syrian damsels disembarked. Here they lived the rest of their lives, and married with the aborigines, "a lawless crew of devils." Milton mentions this legend, and naïvely adds, "it is too absurd and unconscionably gross to be believed." Its resemblance to the fifty daughters of Dan'aos is palpable.
Drayton, in his Polyolbion, says that Albion came from Rome, was "the first martyr of the land," and dying for the faith's sake, left his name to the country, where Offa subsequently reared to him "a rich and sumptuous shrine, with a monastery attached."—Song xvi.
Albion, king of Briton, when O'beron held his court in what is now called "Kensington Gardens." T. Tickell has a poem upon this subject.
Albion wars with Jove's Son. Albion, son of Neptune, wars with Her'culês, son of Jove. Neptune, dissatisfied with the share of his father's kingdom, awarded to him by Jupiter, aspired to dethrone his brother, but Hercules took his father's part, and Albion was discomfited.
M. Drayton, Polyolbion, iv. (1612).
Albo'rak, the animal brought by Gabriel to convey Mahomet to the seventh heaven. It had the face of a man, the cheeks of a horse, the wings of an eagle, and spoke with a human voice.
Albuma'zar, Arabian astronomer (776-885).
Alcestis or Alcestes, daughter of Pelias and wife of Admetus (q. v.) On his wedding-day Admetus neglected to offer sacrifice to Diana and was condemned to die, but Apollo induced the Fates to spare his life if he could find a voluntary substitute. His wife offered to give her life for his, and went away with death; but Hercules fought with Death and restored Alcestes to her husband. This story is the subject of a tragedy Alcestes, by Euripides. Milton alludes to the incident in one of his sonnets:
John Milton, Sonnet On his deceased Wife.
William Morris has made Alcestes the subject of one of the tales in his Earthly Paradise.
A variation of the story is found in Longfellow's The Golden Legend, Henry of Hoheneck when dying was promised his life if a maiden could be found who would give up her life for his. Elsie, the daughter of Gottlieb, a tenant-farmer of the prince offered herself as a sacrifice, and followed her lord to Sorrento to give herself up to Lucifer; but Henry heard of it, and, moved by gratitude, saved Elsie and made her his wife.
Alceste, the hero of Molière's comedy Le Misanthrope. He has a pure and noble mind that has been soured and disgusted by intercourse with the world. Courtesy he holds to be the vice of fops, and the manners of society mere hypocrisy. He courts Célmène, a coquette and her treatment of his love confirms his bad opinion of mankind.
Al'chemist (The), the last of the three great comedies of Ben Jonson (1610). The other two are Vol'pone (2 syl.), (1605), and The Silent Woman (1609). The object of The Alchemist is to ridicule the belief in the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life. The alchemist is "Subtle," a mere quack; and "sir Epicure Mammon" is the chief dupe, who supplies money, etc., for the "transmutation of metal." "Abel Drugger" a tobacconist, and "Dapper" a lawyer's clerk, are two other dupes. "Captain Face," alias "Jeremy," the house-servant of "Lovewit," and "Dol Common" are his allies. The whole thing is blown up by the unexpected return of "Lovewit."
Alcib'ades (5 syl.), the Athenian general. Being banished by the senate, he marches against the city, and the senate, being unable to offer resistance, open the gates to him (B.C. 450-404). This incident is introduced by Shakespeare in Timon of Athens.
Alcibi'ades' Tables represented a god or goddess outwardly, and a Sile'nus, or deformed piper, within. Erasmus has a "curious dissertation on these tables" (Adage, 667, edit. R. Stephens); hence emblematic of falsehood and dissimulation.
Wm. Browne, Britannia's Pastorals, i. (1613).
Alci'des, a name sometimes given to Hercules as the descendent of the hero Alcoeus through his son Amphitryon (q. v.) The name is applied to any valiant hero.
M. Drayton, Nymphidia (1563-1631).
Shakespeare, 1 Henry VI. act. iv. sc. 7 (1589).
Alci'na, Carnal Pleasure personified. In Bojardo's Orlando Innamorato she is a fairy, who carries off Astolfo. In Ariosto's Orlando Furioso she is a kind of Circê, whose garden is a scene of enchantment. Alcina enjoys her lovers for a season, and then converts them into trees, stones, wild beasts, and so on, as her fancy dictates.
Al'ciphron, or The Minute Philosopher, the title of a work by bishop Berkeley, so called from the name of the chief speaker, a freethinker. The object of this work is to expose the weakness of infidelity.
Al'ciphron, "the epicurean," the hero of T. Moore's romance entitled The Epicurean.
—Putnam's Magazine.
Alcme'na (in Molière, Alcmène), the wife of Amphitryon, general of the Theban army. While her husband is absent warring against the Telebo'ans, Jupiter assumes the form of Amphitryon; but Amphitryon himself returns home the next day, and great confusion arises between the false and true Amphitryon, which is augmented by Mercury, who personates Sos'ia, the slave of Amphitryon. By this amour of Jupiter, Alcmena becomes the mother of Her'culês. Plautus, Molière, and Dryden have all taken this plot for a comedy entitled Amphitryon.
Alcofri'bas, the name by which Rabelais was called, after he came out of the prince's mouth, where he resided for six months, taking toll of every morsel of food that the prince ate. Pantag'ruel gave "the merry fellow the lairdship of Salmigondin."—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. 32 (1533).
Al'colomb, "subduer of hearts," daughter of Abou Aibou of Damascus, and sister of Ganem. The caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, in a fit of jealousy, commanded Ganem to be put to death, and his mother and sister to do penance for three days in Damascus, and then to be banished from Syria. The two ladies came to Bag dad, and were taken in by the charitable syndic of the jewellers. When the jealous fit of the caliph was over he sent for the two exiles. Alcolomb he made his wife, and her mother he married to his vizier.—Arabian Nights ("Ganem, the Slave of Love ").
Alcy'on "the wofullest man alive," but once "the jolly shepherd swain that wont full merrily to pipe and dance," near where the Severn flows. One day he saw a lion's cub, and brought it up till it followed him about like a dog; but a cruel satyr shot it in mere wantonness. By the lion's cub he means Daphne, who died in her prime, and the cruel satyr is death. He said he hated everything—the heaven, the earth, fire, air, and sea, the day, the night; he hated to speak, to hear, to taste food, to see objects, to smell, to feel; he hated man and woman too, for his Daphne lived no longer. What became of this doleful shepherd the poet could never ween. Alcyon is sir Arthur Gorges.—Spencer, Daphnaida (in seven fyttes, 1590).
Spenser, Colin Clout's Come Home Again (1591).
Alcy'one or Halcyone (4 syl.), daughter of Aeolus, who, on hearing of her husband's death by shipwreck, threw herself into the sea, and was changed to a kingfisher. (See HALCYON DAYS.)
Aldabel'la, wife of Orlando, sister of Oliver, and daughter of Monodan'tês.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, etc. (1516).
Aldabella, a marchioness of Florence, very beautiful and fascinating, but arrogant and heartless. She used to give entertainments to the magnates of Florence, and Fazio was one who spent most of his time in her society. Bian'ca his wife, being jealous of the marchioness, accused him to the duke of being privy to the death of Bartoldo, and for this offence Fazio was executed. Bianca died broken-hearted, and Aldabella was condemned to spend the rest of her life in a nunnery.—Dean Milman, Fazio (a tragedy, 1815).
Alden (John), one of the sons of the Pilgrim fathers, in love with Priscilla, the beautiful puritan. Miles Standish, a bluff old soldier, wishing to marry Priscilla, asked John Alden to go and plead for him; but the maiden answered archly, "Why don't you speak for yourself, John!" Soon after this, Standish being reported killed by a poisoned arrow, John spoke for himself, and the maiden consented. Standish, however, was not killed, but only wounded; he made his reappearance at the wedding, where, seeing how matters stood, he accepted the situation with the good-natured remark:
Longfellow, Courtship of Miles Standish (1858).
Aldiborontephoscophornio [Al'diboron'te-fos'co-for'nio], a character in Chrononhotonthologos, by H. Carey.
(Sir Walter Scott used to call James Ballantyne, the printer, this nickname, from his pomposity and formality of speech.)
Al'diger, son of Buo'vo, of the house of Clarmont, brother of Malagi'gi and Vivian.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Al'dine (2 syl.), leader of the second squadron of Arabs which joined the Egyptian armament against the crusaders. Tasso says of the Arabs, "Their accents were female and their stature diminutive" (xvii.).—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Al'dingar (Sir), steward of queen Eleanor, wife of Henry II. He impeached the queen's fidelity, and agreed to prove his charge by single combat; but an angel (in the shape of a little child) established the queen's innocence. This is probably a blundering version of the story of Gunhilda and the emperor Henry.—Percy, Reliques, ii. 9.
Aldo, a Caledonian, was not invited by Fingal to his banquet on his return to Morven, after the overthrow of Swaran. To resent this affront, he went over to Fingal's avowed enemy, Erragon king of Sora (in Scandinavia), and here Lorma, the king's wife, fell in love with him. The guilty pair fled to Morven, which Erragon immediately invaded. Aldo fell in single combat with Erragon, Lorma died of grief, and Erragon was slain in battle by Graul, son of Morni.—Ossian ("The Battle of Lora").
Aldrick the Jesuit, confessor of Charlotte countess of Derby.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Aldrovand (Father), chaplain of sir Raymond Berenger, the old Norman warrior.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Aldus, father of Al'adine (3 syl), the "lusty knight."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, vi. 3 (1596).
Alea, a warrior who invented dice at the siege of Troy; at least so Isidore of Seville says. Suidas ascribes the invention to Palamëdês.
Alea est ludus tabulae inventa a Graecis, in otio Trojani belli, a quodam milite, nomine ALEA, a quo et ars nomen accepit.—Isidorus, Orig. xviii. 57.
Alec'tryon, a youth set by Mars to guard against surprises, but he fell asleep, and Apollo thus surprised Mars and Venus in each others' embrace. Mars in anger changed the boy into a cock.
Alec Yeaton, the Gloucester skipper in T. B. Aldrich's ballad, Alec Yeaton's Son.
Ale'ria, one of the Amazons, and the best beloved of the ten wives of Guido the Savage.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Alessandro, husband of the Indian girl Ramona, in Helen Hunt Jackson's novel Ramona. The story of the young couple is a series of oppressions and deceits practised by U. S. officials (1884). Alessio, the young man with whom Lisa was living in concubinage, when Elvi'no promised to marry her. Elvino made the promise out of pique, because he thought Ami'na was not faithful to him, but when he discovered his error he returned to his first love, and left Lisa to marry Alessio, with whom she had been previously cohabiting.—Bellini's opera, La Sonnamlula (1831).
Ale'thes (3 syl.), an ambassador from Egypt to king Al'adine (3 syl.); subtle, false, deceitful, and full of wiles.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Alexander Patoff, brother of the young Russian who figures most prominently in F. Marion Crawford's novel Paul Patoff. Alexander's mysterious disappearance in a mosque leads to suspicions involving his brother, even the mother of the two brothers accusing Paul of fratricide (1887).
Alex. Walton, physician and suitor of Margaret Kent in The Story of Margaret Kent, by Henry Hayes (Ellen Olney Kirke) (1886).
Alexander the Great, a tragedy by Nathaniel Lee (1678). In French we have a novel called Roman d'Alexandre, by Lambert-li-cors (twelfth century), and a tragedy by Racine (1665).
Alexander an Athlete. Alexander, being asked if he would run a course at the Olympic games, replied, "Yes, if my competitors are all kings."
The Albanian Alexander, George Castriot (Scanderbeg or Iscander beg, 1404-1467).
The Persian Alexander, Sandjar (1117-1158).
Alexander of the North, Charles XII. of Sweden (1682-1718).
Alexander deformed.
Pope, Prologue to the Satires, 117.
Alexander and Homer. When Alexander invaded Asia Minor, he offered up sacrifice to Priam, and then went to visit the tomb of Achilles. Here he exclaimed, "O most enviable of men, who had Homer to sing thy deeds!"
Which made the Eastern conqueror to cry,
Spenser, The Ruins of Time (1591).
Alexander and Parme'nio. When Darius, king of Persia, offered Alexander his daughter Stati'ra in marriage, with a dowry of 10,000 talents of gold, Parmenio said, "I would accept the offer, if I were Alexander." To this Alexander rejoined, "So would I, if I were Parmenio."
On another occasion the general thought the king somewhat too lavish in his gifts, whereupon Alexander made answer, "I consider not what Parmenio ought to receive, but what Alexander ought to give."
Alexander and Perdiccas. When Alexander started for Asia he divided his possessions among his friends. Perdiccas asked what he had left for himself. "Hope," said Alexander. "If hope is enough for Alexander," replied the friend, "it is enough for Perdiccas also;" and declined to accept anything.
Alexander and Raphael. Alexander encountered Raphael in a cave in the mountain of Kaf, and being asked what he was in search of, replied, "The water of immortality." Whereupon Raphael gave him a stone, and told him when he found another of the same weight he would gain his wish. "And how long," said Alexander, "have I to live?" The angel replied, "Till the heaven above thee and the earth beneath thee are of iron." Alexander now went forth and found a stone almost of the weight required, and in order to complete the balance, added a little earth; falling from his horse at Ghur he was laid in his armor on the ground, and his shield was set up over him to ward off the sun. Then understood he that he would gain immortality when, like the stone, he was buried in the earth, and that his hour was come, for the earth beneath him was iron, and his iron buckler was his vault of heaven above. So he died.
Alexander and the Robber. When Dion'idês, a pirate, was brought before Alexander, he exclaimed, "Vile brigand! How dare you infest the seas with your misdeeds?" "And you," replied the pirate, "by what right do you ravage the world? Because I have only one ship, I am called a brigand, but you who have a whole fleet are termed a conqueror." Alexander admired the man's boldness, and commanded him to be set at liberty.
Alexander's Beard, a smooth chin, or a very small beard. It is said that Alexander the Great had scarcely any beard at all.
G. Gascoigne, The Steele Glas (died 1577).
Alexander's Runner, Ladas.
Alexan'dra, daughter of Oronthea, queen of the Am'azons, and one of the ten wives of Elba'nio. It is from this person that the land of the Amazons was called Alexandra.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Alex'is, the wanton shepherd in The Faithful Shepherdess, a pastoral drama by John Fletcher (1610).
Alfa'der, the father of all the Asen (deities) of Scandinavia, creator and governor of the universe, patron of arts and magic, etc.
Alfonso, father of Leono'ra d'Este, and duke of Ferrara, Tasso the poet fell in love with Leonora. The duke confined him as a lunatic for seven years in the asylum of Santa Anna, but at the expiration of that period he was released through the intercession of Vincenzo Gonzago, duke of Mantua. Byron refers to this in his Childe Harold, iv. 36.
Alfonso XI of Castile, whose "favorite" was Leonora de Guzman.—Donizetti, La Favorita (an opera, 1842).
Alfon'so (Don), of Seville, a man of fifty and husband of donna Julia (twenty-seven years his junior), of whom he was jealous without cause.—Byron, Don Juan, i.
Alfon'so, in Walpole's tale called The Castle of Otranto, appears as an apparition in the moonlight, dilated to a gigantic form (1769).
Alfred as a Gleeman. Alfred, wishing to know the strength of the Danish camp, assumed the disguise of a minstrel, and stayed in the Danish camp for several days, amusing the soldiers with his harping and singing. After he had made himself master of all he required, he returned back to his own place.—William of Malmesbury (twelfth century).
William of Malmesbury tells a similar story of Anlaf, a Danish king, who, he says, just before the battle of Brunanburh, in Northumberland, entered the camp of king Athelstan as a gleeman, harp in hand; and so pleased was the English king that he gave him gold. Anlaf would not keep the gold, but buried it in the earth.
Algarsife (3 syl.), and Cam'ballo, sons of Cambuscan' king of Tartary, and Elfêta his wife. Algarsife married Theodora.
Chaucer, The Squire's Tale Al'gebar' ("the giant"). So the Arabians call the constellation Orion.
Al'i, cousin and son-in-law of Mahomet. The beauty of his eyes is proverbial in Persia. Ayn Hali ("eyes of Ali") is the highest compliment a Persian can pay to beauty.—Chardin.
Ali Baba, a poor Persian wood-carrier, who accidentally learns the magic words, "Open Sesamê!" "Shut Sesamê!" by which he gains entrance into a vast cavern, the repository of stolen wealth and the lair of forty thieves. He makes himself rich by plundering from these stores; and by the shrewd cunning of Morgiana, his female slave, the captain and his whole band of thieves are extirpated. In reward of these services, Ali Baba gives Morgiana her freedom, and marries her to his own son.—Arabian Nights ("Ali Baba or the Forty Thieves").
Al'ice (2 syl.), sister of Valentine, in Mons. Thomas, a comedy by Beaumont and Fletcher (1619).
Al'ice (2 syl.), foster-sister of Robert le Diable, and bride of Rambaldo, the Norman troubadour, in Meyerbeer's opera of Roberto il Diavolo. She comes to Palermo to place in the duke's hand his mother's "will," which he is enjoined not to read till he is a virtuous man. She is Robert's good genius, and when Bertram, the fiend, claims his soul as the price of his ill deeds, Alice, by reading the will, reclaims him.
Al'ice (2 syl.), the servant-girl of dame Whitecraft, wife of the innkeeper at Altringham.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Al'ice, the miller's daughter, a story of happy first love told in later years by an old man who had married the rustic beauty. He was a dreamy lad when he first loved Alice, and the passion roused him into manhood. (See ROSE.)—Tennyson, The Miller's Daughter.
Al'ice (The Lady), widow of Walter, knight of Avenel (2 syl).—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
Al'ice [GRAY], called "Old Alice Gray," a quondam tenant of the lord of Ravenswood. Lucy Ashton visits her after the funeral of the old lord.—Sir W. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Alice Munro, one of the sisters taken captive by Indians in Cooper's Last of the Mohicans (1821).
Alichi'no. a devil in Dante's Inferno.
Alicia gave her heart to Mosby, but married Arden for his position. As a wife, she played falsely with her husband, and even joined Mosby in a plot to murder him. Vacillating between love for Mosby and respect for Arden, she repents, and goes on sinning; wishes to get disentangled, but is overmastered by Mosby's stronger will. Alicia's passions impel her to evil, but her judgment accuses her and prompts her to the right course. She halts, and parleys with sin, like Balaam, and of course is lost. —Anon., Arden of Feversham (1592).
Alic'ia, "a laughing, toying, wheedling, whimpering she," who once held lord Hastings under her distaff, but her annoying jealousy, "vexatious days, and jarring, joyless nights," drove him away from her. Being jealous of Jane Shore, she accused her to the duke of Gloster of alluring lord Hastings from his allegiance, and the lord protector soon trumped up a charge against both; the lord chamberlain he ordered to execution for treason, and Jane Shore he persecuted for witchcraft. Alicia goes raving mad.—Rowe, Jane Shore (1713).
Alic'ia (The lady), daughter of lord Waldemar Fitzurse.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Alick [POLWORTH], one of the servants of Waverley.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Alifan'faron, emperor of the island Trap'oban, a Mahometan, the suitor of Pentap'olin's daughter, a Christian. Pentapolin refused to sanction this alliance, and the emperor raised a vast army to enforce his suit. This is don Quixote's solution of two flocks of sheep coming in opposite directions, which he told Sancho were the armies of Alifanfaron and Pentapolin.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. iii. 4 (1605).
Ajax the Greater had a similar encounter. (See AJAX.)
Alin'da, daughter of Alphonso, an irascible old lord of Sego'via.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Pilgrim (1621).
(Alinda is the name assumed by young Archas when he dresses in woman's attire. This young man is the son of general Archas, "the loyal subject" of the great duke of Moscovia, in the drama by Beaumont and Fletcher, called The Loyal Subject, 1618.)
Aliprando, a Christian knight, who discovered the armor of Rinaldo, and took it to Godfrey. Both inferred that Rinaldo had been slain, but were mistaken.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Al'iris, sultan of Lower Buchar'ia, who, under the assumed name of Fer'amorz, accompanies Lalla Rookh from Delhi, on her way to be married to the sultan. He wins her love, and amuses the tedium of the journey by telling her tales. When introduced to the sultan, her joy is unbounded on discovering that Feramorz the poet, who has won her heart, is the sultan to whom she is betrothed.—T. Moore, Lalla Rookh.
Alisaunder (Sir), surnamed LORFELIN, son of the good prince Boudwine and his wife An'glides (3 syl.). Sir Mark, king of Cornwall, murdered sir Boudwine, who was his brother, while Alisaunder was a mere child. When Alisaunder was knighted, his mother gave him his father's doublet, "bebled with old blood," and charged him to revenge his father's death. Alisaunder married Alis la Beale Pilgrim, and had one son called Bellen'gerus le Beuse. Instead of fulfilling his mother's charge, he was himself "falsely and feloniously slain" by king Mark.—Sir T. Malory, History of King Arthur, ii. 119-125 (1470).
Al'ison, the young wife of John, a rich old miserly carpenter. Absolon, a priggish parish clerk, paid her attention, but she herself loved a poor scholar named Nicholas, lodging in her husband's house. Fair she was, and her body lithe as a weasel. She had a rouguish eye, small eyebrows, was "long as a mast and upright as a bolt," more "pleasant to look on than a flowering pear tree," and her skin "was softer than the wool of a wether."—Chaucer, "The Miller's Tale," Canterbury Tales, (1388).
Al'ison, in sir W. Scott's Kenilworth, is an old domestic in the service of the earl of Leicester at Cumnor Place.
Al'ken, an old shepherd, who instructs Robin Hood's men how to find a witch, and how she is to be hunted.—Ben Jonson, The Sad Shepherd (1637).
All's Well that Ends Well, a comedy by Shakespeare (1598). The hero and heroine are Bertram of Rousillon, and Hel'ena a physician's daughter, who are married by the command of the king of France, but part because Bertram thought the lady not sufficiently well-born for him. Ultimately, however, all ends well.—(See HELENA.)
The story of this play is from Painter's Gilletta of Narbon.
All the Talents Administration, formed by lord Grenville, in 1806, on the death of William Pitt. The members were lord Grenville, the earl Fitzwilliam, viscount Sidmouth, Charles James Fox, earl Spencer, William Windham, lord Erskine, sir Charles Grey, lord Minto, lord Auckland, lord Moira, Sheridan, Richard Fitzpatrick, and lord Ellenborough. It was dissolved in 1807.
Byron, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers.
Allan, lord of Ravenswood, a decayed Scotch nobleman.—Sir W. Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Al'lan (Mrs.), colonel Mannering's housekeeper at Woodburne.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Al'lan [Breck Cameron], the sergeant sent to arrest Hamish Bean McTavish, by whom he is shot. Sir W. Scott, The Highland Widow (time, George II.).
Allan-a-Dale, one of Robin Hood's men, introduced by sir W. Scott in Ivanhoe. (See ALLIN-A-DALE.)
Allan Quartermain, hunter and traveller whose adventures are recorded in She, King Solomon's Mines, and Allan Quartermain, by W. Rider Haggard (1886-1891).
Alle'gre (3 syl.), the faithful servant of Philip Chabot. When Chabot was accused of treason, Allegre was put to the rack to make him confess something to his master's damage, but the brave fellow was true as steel, and it was afterwards shown that the accusation had no foundation but jealousy.—G. Chapman and J. Shirley, The Tragedy of Philip Chabot.
Allen (Ralph), the friend of Pope, and benefactor of Fielding.
Pope.
Allen (Long), a soldier in the "guards" of king Richard I.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman.
Allen (Major), an officer in the duke of Monmouth's army.—Sir W. Scott, Old Mortality (time, Charles II.).
All-Fair, a princess, who was saved from the two lions (which guarded the Desert Fairy) by the Yellow Dwarf, on condition that she would become his wife. On her return home she hoped to evade this promise by marrying the brave king of the Gold Mines, but on the wedding day Yellow Dwarf carried her off on a Spanish cat, and confined her in Steel Castle. Here Gold Mine came to her rescue with a magic sword, but in his joy at finding her, he dropped his sword, and was stabbed to the heart with it by Yellow Dwarf. All-Fair, falling on the body of her lover, died of a broken heart. The syren changed the dead lovers into two palm trees.—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("The Yellow Dwarf," 1682). Allin-a-Dale or Allen-a-Dale, of Nottinghamshire, was to be married to a lady who returned his love, but her parents compelled her to forego young Allin for an old knight of wealth. Allin told his tale to Robin Hood, and the bold forester, in the disguise of a harper, went to the church where the wedding ceremony was to take place. When the wedding party stepped in, Robin Hood exclaimed, "This is no fit match; the bride shall be married only to the man of her choice." Then, sounding his horn, Allin-a-Dale with four and twenty bowmen entered the church. The bishop refused to marry the woman to Allin till the banns had been asked three times, whereupon Robin pulled off the bishop's gown, and invested Little John in it, who asked the banns seven times, and performed the ceremony.—Robin Hood and Allin-a-Dale (a ballad).
All'it. Captain of Nebuchadrezzar's guards in The Master of the Magicians, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward. He is flattered and content to be the queen's favorite until he meets Lalitha, a Jewish damsel. He braves death to save her from runaway horses attached to a chariot, is captivated by her beauty, and forgets his royal mistress in an honorable love (1890).
Allnut (Noll), landlord of the Swan, Lambythe Ferry (1625).
Grace Allnut, his wife.
Oliver Allnut, the landlord's son.—Sterling, John Felton (1852).
Allworth (Lady), stepmother to Tom Allworth. Sir Giles Overreach thought she would marry his nephew Wellborn, but she married lord Lovel.
Tom Allworth, stepson of lady Allworth, in love with Margaret Overreach, whom he marries.—Massinger, A New Way to pay Old Debts (1625).
All'worthy, in Fielding's Tom Jones, a man of sturdy rectitude, large charity, infinite modesty, independent spirit, and untiring philanthropy, with an utter disregard of money or fame. Fielding's friend, Ralph Allen, was the academy figure of this character.
Alma (the human soul) queen of a Castle, which for seven years was beset by a rabble rout. Arthur and sir Guyon were conducted by Alma over this castle, which though not named is intended to represent the human body.—Spenser, The Faërie Queene, ii. 9 (1590).
Almansor ("the invincible"), a title assumed by several Mussulman princes, as by the second caliph of the Abbasside dynasty, named Abou Giafar Abdallah (the invincible, or al mansor). Also by the famous captain of the Moors in Spain, named Mohammed. In Africa, Yacoubal-Modjahed was entitled "al mansor," a royal name of dignity given to the kings of Fez, Morocco, and Algiers.
Almanzor, the caliph, wishing to found a city in a certain spot, was told by a hermit named Bag dad that a man called Moclas was destined to be its founder. "I am that man," said the caliph, and he then told the hermit how in his boyhood he once stole a bracelet and pawned it, whereupon his nurse ever after called him "Moclas" (thief). Almanzor founded the city, and called it Bag dad, the name of the hermit.—Marigny.
Alman'zor, in Dryden's tragedy of The Conquest of Grana'da.
Alman'zor, lackey of Madelon and her cousin Cathos, the affected fine ladies in Molière's comedy of Les Précieuses Ridicules (1659).
Almavi'va, (Count), in The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais. The Follies of a Day by T. Holcroft (1745-1809) is borrowed from Beaumarchais.
Alme'ria, daughter of Manuel king of Grana'da. While captive of Valentia, prince Alphonso fell in love with her, and being compelled to fight, married her; but on the very day of espousal the ship in which they were sailing was wrecked, and each thought the other had perished. Both, however, were saved, and met unexpectedly on the coast of Granada, to which Alphonso was brought as a captive. Here Alphonso, under the assumed name of Osmyn, was imprisoned, but made his escape, and at the head of an army invaded Granada, found Manuel dead, and "the mournful bride" became converted into the joyful wife.—W. Congreve, The Mourning Bride (1697).
Almes'bury (3 syl.). It was in a sanctuary of Almesbury that queen Guenever took refuge, after her adulterous passion for sir Lancelot was made known to the king. Here she died, but her body was buried at Glastonbury.
Almey'da, the Portuguese governor of India. In his engagement with the united fleets of Cambaya and Egypt, he had his legs and thighs shattered by chain-shot, but instead of retreating to the back, he had himself bound to the shipmast, where he "waved his sword to cheer on the combatants," till he died from loss of blood.
Similar stories are told of admiral Benbow, Cynaegeros brother of the poet Æschylos, Jaafer who carried the sacred banner of "the prophet" in the battle of Muta, and of some others.
Almirods (The), a rebellions people, who refused to submit to prince Pantag'ruel after his subjugation of Anarchus king of the Dipsodes (2 syl). It was while Pantagruel was marching against these rebels that a tremendous shower of rain fell, and the prince, putting out his tongue "halfway," sheltered his whole army.—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. 32 (1533).
Alnas'char, the dreamer, the "barber's fifth brother." He invested all his money in a basket of glassware, on which he was to gain so much, and then to invest again and again, till he grew so rich that he would marry the vizier's daughter and live in grandeur; but being angry with his supposed wife, he gave a kick with his foot and smashed all the ware which had given birth to his dream of wealth.—The Arabian Nights' Entertainments.
The Alnaschar of Modern Literature, S.T. Coleridge, so called because he was constantly planning magnificent literary enterprises which he never carried out (1772-1834).
Aloa'din (4 syl.), a sorcerer, who made for himself a palace and garden in Arabia called "The Earthly Paradise." Thalaba slew him with a club, and the scene of enchantment disappeared.—Southey, Thalaba the Destroyer, vii. (1797).
Alon'so, king of Naples, father of Ferdinand and brother of Sebastian, in The Tempest, by Shakespeare (1609).
Alonzo the brave, the name of a ballad by M.G. Lewis. The fair Imogene was betrothed to Alonzo, but during his absence in the wars became the bride of another. At the wedding-feast Alonzo's ghost sat beside the bride, and, after rebuking her for her infidelity, carried her off to the grave.
Alon'zo, a Portuguese gentleman, the sworn enemy of the vainglorious Duarte (3 syl.), in the drama called The Custom of the Country, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1647).
Alonzo, the husband of Cora. He is a brave Peruvian knight, the friend of Rolla, and beloved by king Atali'ba. Alonzo, being taken prisoner of war, is set at liberty by Rolla, who changes clothes with him. At the end he fights with Pizarro and kills him.—Sheridan, Pizarro (altered from Kotzebue).
Alonzo (Don), "the conqueror of Afric," friend of don Carlos, and husband of Leonora. Don Carlos had been betrothed to Leonora, but out of friendship resigned her to the conqueror. Zanga, the Moor, out of revenge, persuaded Alonzo that his wife and don Carlos still entertained for each other their former love, and out of jealousy Alonzo has his friend put to death, while Leonora makes away with herself. Zanga now informs Alonzo that his jealousy was groundless, and mad with grief he kills himself.—Edw. Young, The Revenge (1721).
Alonzo Fernandez de Avellaneda, author of a spurious Don Quixote, who makes a third sally. This was published during the lifetime of Cervantes, and caused him great annoyance.
Alp, a Venetian renegade, who was commander of the Turkish army in the siege of Corinth. He loved Francesca, daughter of old Minotti, governor of Corinth, but she refused to marry a renegade and apostate. Alp was shot in the siege, and Francesca died of a broken heart.—Byron, Siege of Corinth.
Alphe'us (3 syl.), a magician and prophet in the army of Charlemagne, slain in sleep by Clorida'no.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Alphe'us (3 syl.), of classic story, being passionately in love with Arethu'sa, pursued her, but she fled from him in a fright, and was changed by Diana into a fountain, which bears her name.
Alphon'so, an irascible old lord in The Pilgrim, a comedy by Beaumont and Fletcher (1621).
Alphon'so, king of Naples, deposed by his brother Frederick. Sora'no tried to poison him, but did not succeed. Ultimately he recovered his crown, and Frederick and Sorano were sent to a monastery for the rest of their lives.—Beaumont and Fletcher, A Wife for a Month (1624).
Alphonso, son of count Pedro of Cantabria, afterwards king of Spain. He was plighted to Hermesind, daughter of lord Pelayo.
Alqui'fe (3 syl.), a famous enchanter in Amadis of Gaul, by Vasco de Lobeira, of Oporto, who died 1403.
La Noue denounces such beneficent enchanters as Alquife and Urganda, because they serve "as a vindication of those who traffic with the powers of darkness."—Francis de la Noue, Discourses, 87 (1587).
Alrinach, the demon who causes shipwrecks, and presides over storms and earthquakes. When visible it is always in the form and dress of a woman.—Eastern Mythology.
Alscrip (Miss), "the heiress," a vulgar parvenue, affected, conceited, ill-natured, and ignorant. Having had a fortune left her, she assumes the airs of a woman of fashion, and exhibits the follies without possessing the merits of the upper ten.
Mr. Alscrip, the vulgar father of "the heiress," who finds the grandeur of sudden wealth a great bore, and in his new mansion, Berkeley Square, sighs for the snug comforts he once enjoyed as scrivener in Furnival's Inn.—General Burgoyne, The Heiress (1781).
Al'tamont, a young Genoese lord, who marries Calista, daughter of lord Sciol'to (3 syl). On his wedding day he discovers that his bride has been seduced by Lotha'rio, and a duel ensues, in which Lothario is killed, whereupon Calista stabs herself.—N. Rowe, The Fair Penitent (1703). (Rowe makes Sciolto three syllables always.)
Altamo'rus, king of Samarcand', who joined the Egyptian armament against the crusaders. He surrendered himself to Godfrey (bk. xx.).—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Altascar (Señor). A courtly old Spaniard in Bret Harte's Notes by Flood and Field. He is dispossessed of his corral in the Sacramento Valley by a party of government surveyors, who have come to correct boundaries (1878).
Altemera. Typical far-southern girl, with a lovely face, creamy skin, and a "lazy sweet voice," who takes the leading part in Annie Eliot's An Hour's Promise (1888).
Althaea's Brand. The Fates told Althaea that her son Melea'ger would live just as long as a log of wood then on the fire remained unconsumed. Althaea contrived to keep the log unconsumed for many years, but when her son killed her two brothers, she threw it angrily into the fire, where it was quickly consumed, and Meleager expired at the same time.—Ovid, Metaph. viii. 4.
Althe'a (The divine), of Richard Lovelace, was Lucy Saeheverell, also called by the poet, Lucasta.
(The "grates" here referred to were those of a prison in which Lovelace was confined by the Long Parliament, for his petition from Kent in favor of the king.)
Altheetar, one of the seven bridegrooms of Lopluël, condemned to die successively, by a malignant spirit. He is young, beautiful, and endowed with rare gifts of soul and mind. While singing to her, his lyre falls from his hand and he dies in her arms, her loosened hair falling about him as a shroud.
Lopluel, or the Bride of Seven, by Maria del Occidente (Maria Gowen Brooks) (1833).
Altisido'ra, one of the duchess's servants, who pretends to be in love with don Quixote, and serenades him. The don sings his response that he has no other love than what he gives to his Dulcin'ea, and while he is still singing he is assailed by a string of cats, let into the room by a rope. As the knight is leaving the mansion, Altisidora accuses him of having stolen her garters, but when the knight denies the charge, the damsel protests that she said so in her distraction, for her garters were not stolen. "I am like the man looking for his mule at the time he was astride its back."—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. iii. 9, etc.; iv. 5 (1615).
Al'ton (Miss), alias Miss CLIFFORD, a sweet, modest young lady, the companion of Miss Alscrip, "the heiress," a vulgar, conceited parvenue. Lord Gayville is expected to marry "the heiress," but detests her, and loves Miss Alton, her humble companion. It turns out that £2000 a year of "the heiress's" fortune belongs to Mr. Clifford (Miss Alton's brother), and is by him settled on his sister. Sir Clement Flint destroys this bond, whereby the money returns to Clifford, who marries lady Emily Gayville, and sir Clement settles the same on his nephew, lord Gayville, who marries Miss Alton.—General Burgoyne, The Heiress (1781).
Al'ton Locke, tailor and poet, a novel by the Rev. Charles Kingsley (1850). This novel won for the author the title of "The Chartist Clergyman."
Alvira Roberts, hired "girl" and faithful retainer of the Fairchild family. For many years she and Milton Squires, the hired man, have "kept company." In his prosperity he deserts her. When he is convicted of murder, she kisses him. "Ef 'twas the last thing I ever done in my life, I'd dew it. We was—engaged—once't on a time!"—Seth's Brother's Wife, by Harold Frederic (1886).
Alzir'do, king of Trem'izen, in Africa, overthrown by Orlando in his march to join the allied army of Ag'ramant.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Am'adis of Gaul, a love-child of king Per'ion and the princess Elize'na. He is the hero of a famous prose romance of chivalry, the first four books of which are attributed to Lobeira, of Portugal (died 1403). These books were translated into Spanish in 1460 by Montal'vo, who added the fifth book. The five were rendered into French by Herberay, who increased the series to twenty-four books. Lastly, Gilbert Saunier added seven more volumes, and called the entire series Le Roman des Romans.
Whether Amadis was French or British is disputed. Some maintain that "Gaul" means Wales, not France; that Elizena was princess of Brittany (Bretagne), and that Perion was king of Gaul (Wales), not Gaul (France).
As Arthur is the central figure of British romance, Charlemagne of French, and Diderick of German, so Amadis is the central figure of Spanish and Portuguese romance; but there is this difference—the tale of Amadis is a connected whole, terminating with his marriage with Oria'na, the intervening parts being only the obstacles he encountered and overcame in obtaining this consummation. In the Arthurian romances, and those of the Charlemagne series, we have a number of adventures of different heroes, but there is no unity of purpose; each set of adventures is complete in itself.
Ama'dis of Greece, a supplemental part of Amadis of Gaul, by Felicia'no de Silva. There are also several other Amadises—as Amadis of Colchis, Amadis of Trebisond, Amadis of Cathay, but all these are very inferior to the original Amadis of Gaul.
The ancient fables, whose relickes doe yet remain, namely, Lancelot of the Lake, Pierceforest, Tristram, Giron the Courteous, etc., doe beare witnesse of this odde vanitie. Herewith were men fed for the space of 500 yeeres, untill our language growing more polished, and our minds more ticklish, they were driven to invent some novelties wherewith to delight us. Thus came ye bookes of Amadis into light among us in this last age.—Francis de la Noue, Discourses, 87 (1587).
Amai'mon (3 syl.), one of the principal devils. Asmode'us is one of his lieutenants. Shakespeare twice refers to him, in 1 Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4, and in The Merry Wives of Windsor, act ii. sc. 2.
Amal'ahta, son of Erill'yab the deposed queen of the Hoamen (2 syl.), an Indian tribe settled on the south of the Missouri. He is described as a brutal savage, wily, deceitful, and cruel. Amalahta wished to marry the princess Goer'vyl, Madoc's sister, and even seized her by force, but was killed in his flight.—Southey, Madoc, ii. 16 (1805).
Amalthae'a, the sibyl who offered to sell to Tarquin nine books of prophetic oracles. When the king refused to give her the price demanded, she went away, burnt three of them, and returning to the king, demanded the same price for the remaining six. Again the king declined the purchase. The sibyl, after burning three more of the volumes, demanded the original sum for the remaining three. Tarquin paid the money, and Amalthaea was never more seen. Aulus Gellius says that Amalthaea burnt the books in the king's presence. Pliny affirms that the original number of volumes was only three, two of which the sibyl burnt, and the third was purchased by king Tarquin.
Amalthe'a, a mistress of Ammon and mother of Bacchus. Ammon hid his mistress in the island Nysa (in Africa), in order to elude the vigilance and jealousy of his wife Rhea. This account (given by Diodorus Sic'ulus, bk. iii., and by sir Walter Raleigh in his History of the World, I. vi. 5) differs from the ordinary story, which makes Sem'elê the mother of Bacchus, and Rhea his nurse. (Ammon is Ham or Cham, the son of Noah, founder of the African race.)
Milton, Paradise Lost, iv. 275 (1665).
Amanda, wife of Loveless. Lord Foppington pays her amorous attentions, but she utterly despises the conceited coxcomb, and treats him with contumely. Colonel Townly, in order to pique his lady-love, also pays attention to Loveless's wife, but she repels his advances with indignation, and Loveless, who overhears her, conscious of his own shortcomings, resolves to reform his ways, and, "forsaking all other," to remain true to Amanda, "so long as they both should live."—Sheridan, A Trip to Scarborough.
Aman'da, in Thomson's Seasons, is meant for Miss Young, who married admiral Campbell.
"Spring," 480, 481 (1728).
Amanda, the victim of Peregrine Pickle's seduction, in Smollett's novel of Peregrine Pickle (1751).
Amanda, worldly woman in Julia Ward Howe's poem, Amanda's Inventory, who sums up her wealth and honors, and is forced to conclude the list with death (1866).
Amaran'ta, wife of Bar'tolus, the covetous lawyer. She was wantonly loved by Leandro, a Spanish gentleman.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Spanish Curate (1622).
Am'aranth (Lady), in Wild Oats, by John O'Keefe, a famous part of Mrs. Pope (1740-1797).
Amaril'lis, a shepherdess in love with Per'igot (t sounded), but Perigot loved Am'oret. In order to break off this affection, Amarillis induced "the sullen shepherd" to dip her in "the magic well," whereby she became transformed into the perfect resemblance of her rival, and soon effectually disgusted Perigot with her bold and wanton conduct. When afterwards he met the true Amoret, he repulsed her, and even wounded her with intent to kill. Ultimately, the trick was discovered by Cor'in, "the faithful shepherdess," and Perigot was married to his true love.—John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherd (1610).
Amaryllis, in Spenser's pastoral Colin Clout's Come Home Again, was the countess of Derby. Her name was Alice, and she was the youngest of the six daughters of sir John Spenser, of Althorpe, ancestor of the noble houses of Spenser and Marlborough. After the death of the earl, the widow married sir Thomas Egerton, keeper of the Great Seal (afterwards baron of Ellesmere and viscount Brackley). It was for this very lady, during her widowhood, that Milton wrote his Ar'cades (3 syl.).
Spenser, Colin Clout's Come Home Again (1594).
Am'asisi, Amosis, or Aah'mes (3 syl.), founder of the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty (B.C. 1610). Lord Brooke attributes to him one of the pyramids. The three chief pyramids are usually ascribed to Suphis (or Cheops), Sen-Suphis (or Cephrenês), and Mencherês, all of the fourth dynasty.
Lord Brooke, Peace.
Amateur (An), Pierce Egan the younger published under this pseudonym his Real Life in London, or The Rambles and Adventures of Rob Tally-ho, Esq., and his Cousin, the Hon. Tom Dashall, through the Metropolis (1821-2).
Amaurots (The), a people whose kingdom was invaded by the Dipsodes (2 syl.), but Pantag'ruel, coming to their defence, utterly routed the invaders.—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. (1533).
Ama'via, the personification of Intemperance in grief. Hearing that her husband, sir Mordant, had been enticed to the Bower of Bliss by the enchantress Acra'sia, she went in quest of him, and found him so changed in mind and body she could scarcely recognize him; however, she managed by tact to bring him away, but he died on the road, and Amavia stabbed herself from excessive grief.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, ii. 1 (1590).
Amazo'na, a fairy, who freed a certain country from the Ogri and the Blue Centaur. When she sounded her trumpet, the sick were recovered and became both young and strong. She gave the princess Carpil'lona a bunch of gilly-flowers, which enabled her to pass unrecognized before those who knew her well.—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("The Princess Carpillona," 1682).
Amazons, a fabled race of women-warriors. It was said that in order to use the bow, they cut off one of their breasts.
Amber, said to be a concretion of birds' tears, but the birds were the sisters of Melea'ger, called Meleag'ridês, who never ceased weeping for their dead brother.—Pliny, Natural History, xxxvii. 2, 11.
T. Moore, Fire-Worshippers.
Am'brose (2 syl.), a sharper, who assumed in the presence of Gil Blas the character of a devotee. He was in league with a fellow who assumed the name of don Raphael, and a young woman who called herself Camilla, cousin of donna Mencia. These three sharpers allure Gil Blas to a house which Camilla says is hers, fleece him of his ring, his portmanteau, and his money, decamp, and leave him to find out that the house is only a hired lodging.—Lesage, Gil Blas, i. 15, 16 (1715).
(This incident is borrowed from Espinel's romance entitled Vida de Escudero, marcos de Obregon, 1618.)
Am'brose (2 syl.), a male domestic servant waiting on Miss Seraphine and Miss Angelica Arthuret.—Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George II.).
Ambrose (Brother), a monk who attended the prior Aymer, of Jorvaulx Abbey.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Am'brosius (Father), abbot of Kennaquhair, is Edward Glendinning, brother of sir Halbert Glendinning (the knight of Avenel). He appears at Kinross, disguised as a nobleman's retainer.—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).
Ame'lia, heroine of novel of same name. Young daughter of a German inn-keeper, who rises to a high position in society, through native merit, graces of mind and person.—Eliza Leslie (1843).
Ame'lia, a model of conjugal affection, in Fielding's novel so called. It is said that the character was modelled from his own wife. Dr. Johnson read this novel from beginning to end without once stopping.
Amelia is perhaps the only book of which, being printed off betimes one morning, a new edition was called for before night. The character of Amelia is the most pleasing heroine of all the romances.—Dr. Johnson.
Ame'lia, in Thomson's Seasons, a beautiful, innocent young woman, overtaken by a storm while walking with her troth-plight lover, Cel'adon, "with equal virtue formed, and equal grace. Hers the mild lustre of the blooming morn, and his the radiance of the risen day." Amelia grew frightened, but Celadon said, "'Tis safety to be near thee, sure;" when a flash of lightning struck her dead in his arms.—"Summer" (1727).
Amelia, in Schiller's tragedy of The Robbers.
Campbell, Pleasures of Hope, ii. (1799).
Amelia Bailey, ambitious woman with "literary tastes," who in pursuit of a suitable sphere, marries a rich Californian, and "shines with the diamonds her husband has bought, and makes a noise, but it is the blare of vulgar ostentation,"—William Henry Rideing, A Little Upstart (1885).
Amelot (2 syl.), the page of sir Damian de Lacy.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Am'giad, son of Camaralzaman and Badoura, and half-brother of Assad (son of Camaralzaman and Haiatal'nefous). Each of the two mothers conceived a base passion for the other's son, and when the young princes revolted at their advances, accused them to their father of designs upon their honor. Camaralzaman ordered his emir Giondar to put them both to death, but as the young men had saved him from a lion he laid no hand on them, but told them not to return to their father's dominions. They wandered on for a time, and then parted, but both reached the same place, which was a city of the Magi. Here, by a strange adventure Amgiad was made vizier, while Assad was thrown into a dungeon, where he was designed as a sacrifice to the fire-god. Bosta'na, a daughter of the old man who imprisoned Assad, released him, and Amgiad out of gratitude made her his wife. After which, the king, who was greatly advanced in years, appointed him his successor, and Amgiad used his best efforts to abolish the worship of fire and establish "the true faith."—Arabian Nights ("Amgiad and Assad").
Am'yas, a squire of low degree, beloved by Aemylia. They agreed to meet at a given spot, but on their way thither both were taken captives—Amyas by Corflambo, and Aemylia by a man monster. Aemylia was released by Belphoebê (3 syl.), who slew "the caitiff;" and Amyas by prince Arthur, who slew Corflambo. The two lovers were then brought together by the prince "in peace and joyous blis."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 7, 9 (1596).
Ami'das, the younger brother of Brac'idas, sons of Mile'sio; the former in love with the dowerless Lucy, and the latter with the wealthy Philtra. The two brothers had each an island of equal size and value left them by their father, but the sea daily added to the island of the younger brother, and encroached on that belonging to Bracidas. When Philtra saw that the property of Amidas was daily increasing, she forsook the elder brother and married the wealthier; while Lucy, seeing herself jilted, threw herself into the sea. A floating chest attracted her attention, she clung to it, and was drifted to the wasted island. It was found to contain great riches, and Lucy gave its contents and herself to Bracidas. Amidas claimed the chest as his own by right, and the question in dispute was submitted to sir Ar'tegal. The wise arbiter decided, that whereas Armidas claimed as his own all the additions given to his island by the sea, Lucy might claim as her own the chest, because the sea had given it to her.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. 4 (1596).
Am'iel, in Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel, is meant for sir Edward Seymour, Speaker of the House of Commons.
Part i.
A'min (Prince), son of the caliph Haroun-al-Raschid; he married Am'inê, sister of Zobeide (3 syl.), the caliph's wife.—Arabian Nights' Entertainments ("The History of Amine").
Am'ina, an orphan, who walked in her sleep. She was betrothed to Elvi'no, a rich farmer, but being found the night before the wedding in the chamber of count Rodolpho, Elvino rightly refused to marry her. The count remonstrated with the young farmer, and while they were talking, the orphan was seen to get out of a window and walk along the narrow edge of a mill-roof while the great wheel was rapidly revolving; she then crossed a crazy old bridge, and came into the same chamber. Here she awoke, and, seeing Elvino, threw her arms around him so lovingly, that all his doubts vanished, and he married her.—Bellini, La Sonnambula (an opera, 1831).
Am'ine (3 syl.), half-sister of Zobei'dè (3 syl.), and wife of Amin, the caliph's son. One day she went to purchase a robe, and the seller told her he would charge nothing if she would suffer him to kiss her cheek. Instead of kissing he bit it, and Amine, being asked by her husband how she came by the wound, so shuffled in her answers that he commanded her to be put to death, a sentence he afterwards commuted to scourging. One day she and her sister told the stories of their lives to the caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, when Amin became reconciled to his wife, and the caliph married her half-sister.—Arabian Nights'Entertainments ("History of Zobeide and History of Amine").
Am'ine (3 syl.) or Am'ines (3 syl.), the beautiful wife of Sidi Nouman. Instead of eating her rice with a spoon, she used a bodkin for the purpose, and carried it to her mouth in infinitesimal portions. This went on for some time, till Sidi Nouman determined to ascertain on what his wife really fed, and to his horror discovered that she was a ghoul, who went stealthily by night to the cemetery, and feasted on the freshly-buried dead.—Arabian Nights ("History of Sidi Nouman").
Amin'tor, a young nobleman, the troth-plight husband of Aspatia, but by the king's command he marries Evad'ne (3 syl.). This is the great event of the tragedy of which Amintor is the hero. The sad story of Evadne, the heroine, gives name to the play.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Maid's Tragedy (1610).
(Till the reign of Charles II., the kings of England claimed the feudal right of disposing in marriage any one who owed them feudal allegiance. In All's Well that Ends Well, Shakespeare makes the king of France exercise a similar right, when he commands Bertram, count of Rousillon, to marry against his will Hel'ena, the physician's daughter.)
Amis the Priest, the hero of a comic German epic of the 13th century, represented as an Englishman, a man of great wit and humor, but ignorant and hypocritical. His popularity excites the envy of the superior clergy, who seek to depose him from the priesthood by making public exposition of his ignorance, but by his quickness at repartee he always manages to turn the laugh against them.—Ascribed to Stricker of Austria.
Am'let (Richard), the gamester in Vanbrugh's Confederacy (1695). He is usually called "Dick."
I saw Miss Pope for the second time, in the year 1790, in the character of "Flippanta," John Palmer being "Dick Amlet," and Mrs. Jordan "Corinna."—James Smith.
Mrs. Amlet, a rich, vulgar tradeswoman, mother of Dick, of whom she is very proud, although she calls him a "sad scapegrace," and swears "he will be hanged." At last she settles on him £10,000, and he marries Corinna, daughter of Gripe the rich scrivener.
Ammo'nian Horn (The), the cornucopia. Ammon king of Lib'ya gave to his mistress Amalthe'a (mother of Bacchus) a tract of land resembling a ram's horn in shape, and hence called the "Ammonian horn" (from the giver), the "Amalthe'an horn" (from the receiver), and the "Hesperian horn" (from its locality). Amalthea also personifies fertility. (Ammon is Ham, son of Noah, founder of the African race.) (See AMALTHEA.)
Am'mon's Son. Alexander the Great called himself the son of the god Ammon, but others call him the son of Philip of Macedon.
(Alluding to the tale that when Alexander had conquered the whole world, he wept that there was no other world to conquer.)
A'mon's Son is Rinaldo, eldest son of Amon or Aymon marquis d'Este, and nephew of Charlemagne.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Am'oret, a modest, faithful shepherdess, who plighted her troth to Per'igot (t sounded) at the "Virtuous Well." The wanton shepherdess Amarillis, having by enchantment assumed her appearance and dress, so disgusted Perigot with her bold ways, that he lost his love for the true Amoret, repulsed her with indignation, and tried to kill her. The deception was revealed by Cor'in, "the faithful shepherdess," and the lovers being reconciled, were happily married.—John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess (before 1611).
Amoret'ta or Am'oret, twin-born with Belphoebê (3 syl.), their mother being Chrysog'onê (4 syl.). While the mother and her two babes were asleep, Diana took one (Belphoebê) to bring up, and Venus the other. Venus committed Amoretta to the charge of Psychê (2 syl.), and Psychê tended her as lovingly as she tended her own daughter Pleasure, "to whom she became the companion." When grown to marriageable estate, Amoretta was brought to Fairyland, and wounded many a heart, but gave her own only to sir Scudamore (bk. iii. 6). Being seized by Bu'sirane, an enchanter, she was kept in durance by him because she would not "her true love deny;" but Britomart delivered her and bound the enchanter (bk. iii. 11, 12), after which she became the tender, loving wife of sir Scudamore.
Amoret is the type of female loveliness and wifely affection, soft, warm, chaste, gentle, and ardent; not sensual nor yet platonic, but that living, breathing, warm-hearted love which fits woman for the fond mother and faithful wife.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. (1590).
Amour'y (Sir Giles), the Grand-Master of the Knights Templars, who conspires with the marquis of Montserrat against Richard I. Saladin cuts off the Templar's head while in the act of drinking.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).
Am'phibal (St.), confessor of St. Alban of Verulam. When Maximia'nus Hercu'lius, general of Diocle'tian's army in Britain, pulled down the Christian churches, burnt the Holy Scriptures, and put to death the Christians with unflagging zeal, Alban hid his confessor, and offered to die for him.
Drayton, Polyolbion, xxiv. (1622).
Amphi'on is said to have built Thebes by the music of his lute. Tennyson has a poem called Amphion, a skit and rhyming jeu d'esprit.
Pope, Temple of Fame.
Amphis-baena, a reptile which could go head foremost either way, because it had a head at each extremity. Milton uses the word in Paradise Lost, x. 524. (Greek, ampi baino, "I go both ways.")
Rowe, Pharsalia, ix. 696, etc. (by Lucan).
Amphitryon, a Theban general, husband of Alcme'nê (3 syl.). While Amphitryon was absent at war with Pter'elas, king of the Tel'eboans, Jupiter assumed his form, and visited Alcmenê, who in due time became the mother of Her'culês. Next day Amphitryon returned, having slain Pterelas, and Alcmenê was surprised to see him so soon again. Here a great entanglement arose, Alcmenê telling her husband he visited her last night, and showing him the ring he gave her, and Amphitryon declaring he was with the army. This confusion is still further increased by his slave Sos'ia, who went to take to Alcmenê the news of victory, but was stopped at the door of the house by Mercury, who had assumed for the nonce Sosia's form, and the slave could not make out whether he was himself or not. This plot has been made a comedy by Plautus, Molière, and Dryden.
As an Amphitryon chez qui l'on dine, no one knows better than Ouidà the uses of a recherché dinner.—E. Yates, Celebrities, xix.
"Amphitryon": Le véritable Amphitryon est l'Amphitryon où l'on dine ("The master of the feast is the master of the house"). While the confusion was at its height between the false and true Amphitryon, Socie [Sosia] the slave is requested to decide which was which, and replied—
Amrah, the faithful woman-servant of the household of Ben-Hur in Lew Wallace's novel, Ben-Hur. Through her heroic services, Judah, the son, finds the mother and sister from whom he has been so long separated (1880).
Am'ri, in Absalom and Achitophel, by Dryden and Tate, is Heneage Finch, earl of Nottingham and lord chancellor. He is called "The Father of Equity" (1621-1682).
Part ii.
Amun'deville (Lord Henry), one of the "British privy council." After the sessions of parliament he retired to his country seat, where he entertained a select and numerous party, among which were the duchess of Fitz-Fulke, Aurora Raby, and don Juan, "the Russian envoy." His wife was lady Adeline. (His character is given in xiv. 70, 71.)—Byron, Don Juan, xiii. to end.
Am'urath III., sixth emperor of the Turks. He succeeded his father, Selim II., and reigned 1574-1595. His first act was to invite all his brothers to a banquet, and strangle them. Henry IV. alludes to this when he says—
Shakespeare, 2 Henry IV. act v. sc. 2 (1598).
Amusements of Kings. The great amusement of Ardeltas of Arabia Petraea, was currying horses; of Artaba'nus of Persia, was mole-catching; of Domitian of Rome, was catching flies; of Ferdinand VII., of Spain, was embroidering petticoats; of Louis XVI., clock and lock making; of George IV., the game of patience.
Amy March, the artist sister in Louisa M. Alcott's Little Women (1868).
Amy Wentworth, the high-born but contented wife of the "Brown Viking of the Fishing-smack," in John Greenleaf Whittier's poem, Amy Wentworth.
Amyn'tas, in Colin Clout's Come Home Again, by Spenser, is Ferdinando earl of Derby, who died 1594.
Spenser, Colin Clout's Come Home Again (1591).
Amyn'tor. (See AMINTOR.)
A'mys and Amy'lion, the Damon and Pythias of mediaeval romance.—See Ellis's Specimens of Early English Metrical Romances.
Amytis, the Median queen of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Beautiful, passionate, and conscienceless, she condemns an innocent rival to the worst of fates, without a pang of conscience, and dies a violent death at the hands of one who was once her lover.
The gardens were well-watered and dripped luxuriantly.... At this time of the morning, Amytis amused herself alone, or with a few favored slaves. She dipped through artificial dew and pollen, bloom and fountain, like one of the butterflies that circled above her small head, or one of the bright cold lizards that crept about her feet. She bathed, she ran, she sang, and curled to sleep, and stirred and bathed again.—The Master of the Magicians, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward (1890).
Anacharsis [Clootz]. Baron Jean Baptiste Clootz assumed the prenome of Anacharsis, from the Scythian so called, who travelled about Greece and other countries to gather knowledge and improve his own countrymen. The baron wished by the name to intimate that his own object in life was like that of Anacharsis (1755-1794).
Anachronisms. (See ERRORS.)
CHAUCER, in his tale of Troilus, at the siege of Troy, makes Pandarus refer to Robin Hood.
Book v.
GILES FLETCHER, in Christ's Victory, pt. ii. makes the Tempter seem to be "a good old hermit or palmer, travelling to see some saint, and telling his beads!!"
LODGE, in The True Tragedies of Marius and Sylla (1594), mentions "the razor of Palermo" and "St. Paul's steeple," and introduces Frenchmen who "for forty crowns" undertake to poison the Roman consul.
MORGLAY makes Dido tell Æneas that she should have been contented with a son, even "if he had been a cockney dandiprat" (1582).
SCHILLER, in his Piccolomini, speaks of lightning conductors. This was about 150 years before they were invented.
SHAKESPEAKE, in his Coriolanus (act ii. sc. 1), makes Menenius refer to Galen above 600 years before he was born.
Cominius alludes to Roman Plays, but no such things were known for 250 years after the death of Cominius.—Coriolanus, act ii. sc. 2.
Brutus refers to the "Marcian Waters brought to Rome by Censorinus." This was not done till 300 years afterwards.
In Hamlet, the prince Hamlet was educated at Wittemberg School, which was not founded till 1502; whereas Saxo-Germanicus, from whom Shakespeare borrowed the tale, died in 1204. Hamlet was thirty years old when his mother talks of his going back to school (act i. sc. 2).
In 1 Henry IV., the carrier complains that "the turkeys in his pannier are quite starved" (act ii. sc. 5), whereas turkeys came from America, and the New World was not even discovered for a century after. Again in Henry V., Grower is made to say to Fluellen, "Here comes Pistol, swelling like a turkey-cock" (act v. sc. 1).
In Julius Cæsar, Brutus says to Cassius, "Peace, count the clock." To which Cassius replies, "The clock has stricken three."
Clocks were not known to the Romans, and striking-clocks were not invented till some 1400 years after the death of Cæsar.
VIRGIL places Æneas in the port Velinus, which was made by Curius Dentatus.
This list, with very little trouble, might be greatly multiplied. The hotbed of anachronisms is mediaeval romance; there nations, times and places, are most recklessly disregarded. This may be instanced by a few examples from Ariosto's great poem, Orlando Furioso.
Here we have Charlemagne and his paladins joined by Edward king of England, Richard earl of Warwick, Henry duke of Clarence, and the dukes of York and Gloucester (bk. vi.). We have cannons employed by Cymosco king of Friza (bk. iv.), and also in the siege of Paris (bk. vi.). We have the Moors established in Spain, whereas they were not invited over by the Saracens for nearly 300 years after Charlemagne's death. In bk. xvii. we have Prester John, who died in 1202; and in the last three books we have Constantine the Great, who died in 337.
Anac'reon, the prince of erotic and bacchanalian poets, insomuch that songs on these subjects are still called Anacreon'tic (B.C. 563-478).
Anacreon of Painters, Francesco Albano or Alba'ni (1578-1660).
Anacreon of the Guillotine, Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac (1755-1841).
Anacreon of the Temple, Guillaume Amfrye, abbé de Chaulieu (1639-1720).
Anacreon of the Twelfth Century, Walter Mapes, "The Jovial Toper." His famous drinking song, "Meum est prepositum ..." has been translated by Leigh Hunt (1150-1196).
The French Anacreon. 1. Pontus de Thiard, one of the "Pleiad poets" (1521-1605). 2. P. Laujon, perpetual president of the Caveau Moderne, a Paris club, noted for its good dinners, but every member was of necessity a poet (1727-1811).
The Persian Anacreon, Mahommed Hafiz. The collection of his poems is called The Divan (1310-1389).
The Sicilian Anacreon, Giovanni Meli (1740-1815).
Anacreon Moore, Thomas Moore of Dublin (1780-1852), poet, called "Anacreon," from his translation of that Greek poet, and his own original anacreontic songs.
Byron, Don Juan, i. 104.
Anagnus, Inchastity personified in The Purple Island, by Phineas Fletcher (canto vii.). He had four sons by Caro, named Maechus (adultery), Pornei'us (fornication), Acath'arus, and Asel'gês (lasciviousness), all of whom are fully described by the poet. In the battle of Mansoul (canto xi.) Anagnus is slain by Agnei'a (wifely chastity), the spouse of Encra'tes (temperance) and sister of Parthen'ia (maidenly chastity). (Greek, anagnos, "impure.") (1633.)
Anagrams.
CHARLES JAMES STUART (James I.). Claims Arthur's Seat.
DAME ELEANOR DAVIES (prophetess in the reign of Charles I.). Never so mad a ladie.
HORATIO NELSON. Honor est a Nilo.
MARIE TOUCHET (mistress of Charles IX.). Je charme tout (made by Henri IV.).
Pilate's question, QUID EST VERITAS? Est vir qui adest.
SIR ROGER CHARLES DOUGHTY TICHBORNE, BARONET. You horrid butcher, Orton, biggest rascal here.
A'nah, granddaughter of Cain and sister of Aholiba'mah. Japhet loved her, but she had set her heart on the seraph Azaz'iel, who carried her off to another planet when the Flood came.—Byron, Heaven and Earth.
Anak of Publishers, so John Murray was called by lord Byron (1778-1843).
An'akim or Anak, a giant of Palestine, whose descendants were terrible for their gigantic stature. The Hebrew spies said that they themselves were mere grasshoppers in comparison of them.
Tennyson, In Memoriam, iii.
(The Titans were giants, who, according to classic fable, made war with Jupiter or Zeus, 1 syl.)
Anamnes'tes (4 syl), the boy who waited on Eumnestês (Memory). Eumnestês was a very old man, decrepit and half blind, a "man of infinite remembrance, who things foregone through many ages held," but when unable to "fet" what he wanted, was helped by a little boy yclept Anamnestês, who sought out for him what "was lost or laid amiss." (Greek, eumnêstis, "good memory;" anamne'stis, "research or calling up to mind.")
Spenser, Faëry Queen, ii. 9 (1590).
Anani'as, in The Alchemist, a comedy by Ben Jonson (1610).
("Wasp" in Bartholomew Fair, "Corbaccio" in The Fox, "Morose" in The Silent Woman, all by B. Jonson.)
Anarchus, king of the Dipsodes (2 syl.), defeated by Pantag'ruel, who dressed him in a ragged doublet, a cap with a cock's feather, and married him to "an old lantern-carrying hag." The prince gave the wedding-feast, which consisted of garlic and sour cider. His wife, being a regular termagant, "did beat him like plaster, and the ex-tyrant did not dare call his soul his own."—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. 31 (1533).
Anasta'sius, the hero of a novel called Memoirs of Anastasius, by Thomas Hope (1770-1831), a most brilliant and powerful book. It is the autobiography of a Greek, who, to escape the consequences of his crimes and villainies, becomes a renegade, and passes through a long series of adventures.
Anastasius Grün, the nom de plume of Anton Alexander von Auersperg, a German poet (1806-1876).
Anasterax, brother of Niquee [ne.kay], with whom he lives in incestuous intercourse. The fairy Zorphee, in order to withdraw her god-daughter from this alliance, enchanted her.—Amadis de Gaul.
An'cho, a Spanish brownie, who haunts the shepherds' huts, warms himself at their fires, tastes their clotted milk and cheese, converses with the family, and is treated with familiarity mixed with terror. The Ancho hates church bells.
Ancient Mariner (The), by Coleridge. For the crime of having shot an albatross (a bird of good omen to seamen) terrible sufferings are visited upon him, which are finally remitted through his repentance; but he is doomed to wander over the earth and repeat his story to others as a warning lesson.
An'derson (Eppie), a servant at the inn of St. Ronan's Well, held by Meg Dods.—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, George III.).
André (2 syl.). Petit-André and Trois Echelles are the executioners of Louis XI. of France. They are introduced by sir W. Scott, both in Quentin Durward and in Anne of Geierstein.
André, the hero and title of a novel by George Sand (Mde. Dudevant). This novel and that called Consuelo (4 syl.) are considered her best (1804-1876).
Andre'os, Fortitude personified in The Purple Island, by Phineas Fletcher (canto x.). "None fiercer to a stubborn enemy, but to the yielding none more sweetly kind." (Greek, andria or andreia, "manliness.")
Andrew, gardener, at Ellangowan, to Godfrey Bertram the laird.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Andrews, a private in the royal army of the duke of Monmouth.—Sir W. Scott, Old Mortality (time, Charles II.).
Andrews (Joseph), the hero and title of a novel by Fielding. He is a footman who marries a maid-servant. Joseph Andrews is a brother of [Richardson's] "Pamela," a handsome, model young man.
Androclus and the Lion. Androclus was a runaway Roman slave, who took refuge in a cavern. A lion entered, and instead of tearing him to pieces, lifted up its fore-paw that Androclus might extract from it a thorn. The fugitive, being subsequently captured, was doomed to fight with a lion in the Roman arena, and it so happened that the very same lion was let out against him; it instantly recognized its benefactor, and began to fawn upon him with every token of gratitude and joy. The story being told of this strange behavior, Androclus was forthwith set free.
A somewhat similar anecdote is told of sir George Davis, English consul at Florence at the beginning of the present century. One day he went to see the lions of the great duke of Tuscany. There was one which the keepers could not tame, but no sooner did sir George appear, than the beast manifested every symptom of joy. Sir George entered the cage, when the creature leaped on his shoulder, licked his face, wagged its tail, and fawned like a dog. Sir George told the great duke that he had brought up this lion, but as it grew older it became dangerous, and he sold it to a Barbary captain. The duke said he bought it of the same man, and the mystery was cleared up.
Andromache [An. drom'. a. ky], widow of Hector. At the downfall of Troy both she and her son Asty'anax were allotted to Pyrrhus king of Epirus, and Pyrrhus fell in love with her, but she repelled his advances. At length a Grecian embassy, led by Orestês son of Agamemnon, arrived, and demanded that Astyanax should be given up and put to death, lest in manhood he should attempt to avenge his father's death. Pyrrhus told Andromachê that he would protect her son in defiance of all Greece if she would become his wife, and she reluctantly consented thereto. While the marriage ceremonies were going on, the ambassadors rushed on Pyrrhus and slew him, but as he fell he placed the crown on the head of Andromachê, who thus became the queen of Epirus, and the ambassadors hastened to their ships in flight.—Ambrose Philips, The Distressed Mother (1712).
Andromeda, beautiful daughter of the king of Ethiopia. To appease Neptune, she was bound to a rock to be devoured by Neptune. Perseus slew the monster and made the maiden his wife.
Androni'ca, one of Logistilla's handmaids, noted for her beauty.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Androni'cus (Titus), a noble Roman general against the Goths, father of Lavin'ia. In the play so called, published among those of Shakespeare, the word all through is called Andron'icus (1593).
Marcus Andronicus, brother of Titus, and tribune of the people.
Androph'ilus, Philanthropy personified in The Purple Island, by Phineas Fletcher (1633). Fully described in canto x. (Greek, Andro-philos, "a lover of mankind.")
Andy (Handy), Irish lad in the employ of Squire Egan. He has boundless capacity for bulls and blunders.—Samuel Lover, Handy Andy.
Aneal (2 syl.), daughter of Maä'ni, who loves Djabal, and believes him to be "hakeem'" (the incarnate god and founder of the Druses) returned to life for the restoration of the people and their return to Syria from exile in the Spo'radês. When, however, she discovers his imposture, she dies in the bitterness of her disappointment.—Robert Browning, The Return of the Druses.
L'ange de Dieu, Isabeau la belle, the "inspired prophet-child" of the Camisards.
Angela Messenger, heiress to Messenger's Brewery and an enormous fortune. In order to know the people of the East End she lives among them as a dressmaker. She sees their needs, and to supply these in part, builds The People's Palace—or Palace of Delights.—All Sorts and Conditions of Men, by Walter Besant (1889).
Angel'ica, in Bojardo's Orlando Innamorato (1495), is daughter of Gal'aphron king of Cathay. She goes to Paris, and Orlando falls in love with her, forgetful of wife, sovereign, country, and glory. Angelica, on the other hand, disregards Orlando, but passionately loves Rinaldo, who positively dislikes her. Angelica and Rinaldo drink of certain fountains, when the opposite effects are produced in their hearts, for then Rinaldo loves Angelica, while Angelica loses all love for Rinaldo.
Angelica, in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1516), is the same lady, who marries Medoro, a young Moore, and returns to Cathay, where Medoro succeeds to the crown. As for Orlando, he is driven mad by jealousy and pride.
Milton, Paradise Regained, iii. (1671).
Angelica (The Princess), called "The Lady of the Golden Tower." The loves of Parisme'nos and Angelica form an important feature of the second part of Parismus Prince of Bohemia, by Emanuel Foord (1598).
Angelica, an heiress with whom Valentine Legend is in love. For a time he is unwilling to declare himself because of his debts; but Angelica gets possession of a bond for £4000, and tears it. The money difficulty being adjusted, the marriage is arranged amicably.—W. Congreve, Love for Love (1695).
Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle equally delighted in melting tenderness and playful coquetry, in "Statira" or "Millamant;" and even at an advanced age, when she played "Angelica."—C. Dibden.
Angelica, the troth-plight wife of Valère, "the gamester." She gives him a picture, and enjoins him not to part with it on pain of forfeiting her hand. However, he loses it in play, and Angelica in disguise is the winner of it. After much tribulation, Valère is cured of his vice, and the two are happily united by marriage.—Mrs. Centlivre, The Gamester (1705).
Angeli'na, daughter of lord Lewis, in the comedy called The Elder Brother, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1637).
Angelina, daughter of don Charino. Her father wanted her to marry Clodio, a coxcomb, but she preferred his elder brother Carlos, a bookworm, with whom she eloped. They were taken captives and carried to Lisbon. Here in due time they met, the fathers who went in search of them came to the same spot, and as Clodio had engaged himself to Elvira of Lisbon, the testy old gentlemen agreed to the marriage of Angelina with Carlos.—C. Cibber, Love Makes a Man.
Angelique' (3 syl.), daughter of Argan the malade imaginaire. Her lover is Cléante (2 syl.). In order to prove whether his wife or daughter loved him the better, Argan pretended to be dead, whereupon the wife rejoiced greatly that she was relieved of a "disgusting creature," hated by every one; but the daughter grieved as if her heart would break, rebuked herself for her shortcomings, and vowed to devote the rest of her life in prayer for the repose of his soul. Argan, being assured of his daughter's love, gave his free consent to her marriage with Cléante.—Molière, Malade Imaginaire (1673).
Angelique, the aristocratic wife of George Dandin, a French commoner. She has a liaison with a M. Clitandre, but always contrives to turn the tables on her husband. George Dandin first hears of a rendezvous from one Lubin, a foolish servant of Clitandre, and lays the affair before M. and Mde. Sotenville, his wife's parents. The baron with George Dandin call on the lover, who denies the accusation, and George Dandin has to beg pardon. Subsequently, he catches his wife and Clitandre together, and sends at once for M. and Mde. Sotenville; but Angelique, aware of their presence, pretends to denounce her lover, and even takes up a stick to beat him for the "insult offered to a virtuous wife;" so again the parents declare their daughter to be the very paragon of women. Lastly, George Dandin detects his wife and Clitandre together at night-time, and succeeds in shutting his wife out of her room; but Angelique now pretends to kill herself, and when George goes for a light to look for the body, she rushes into her room and shuts him out. At this crisis the parents arrive, when Angelique accuses her husband of being out all night in a debauch; and he is made to beg her pardon on his knees.—Molière, George Dandin (1668).
An'gelo, in Measure for Measure, lord deputy of Vienna in the absence of Vincentio the duke. His betrothed lady is Maria'na. Lord Angelo conceived a base passion for Isabella, sister of Claudio, but his designs were foiled by the duke, who compelled him to marry Mariana.—Shakespeare (1603).
An'gelo, a gentleman friend to Julio in The Captain, a drama by Beaumont and Fletcher (1613).
Angels (Orders of). According to Dionysius the Areop'agite, the angels are divided into nine orders: Seraphim and Cherubim, in the first circle; Thrones and Dominions, in the second circle; Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels, in the third circle.
(See Hymns Ancient and Modern, No. 253, ver. 2, 3.)
Anger ... the Alphabet. It was Athenodo'rus the Stoic who advised Augustus to repeat the alphabet when he felt inclined to give way to anger.
Molière, L'École des Femmes, ii. 4 (1662).
Angioli'na (4 syl.), daughter of Loreda'no, and the young wife of Mari'no Faliero, the doge of Venice. A patrician named Michel Steno, having behaved indecently to some of the women assembled at the great civic banquet given by the doge, was kicked out of the house by order of the doge, and in revenge wrote some scurrilous lines against the dogaressa. This insult was referred to "The Forty," and Steno was sentenced to two months' imprisonment, which the doge considered a very inadequate punishment for the offence.—Byron, Marino Faliero.
Anglan'te's Lord, Orlando, who was lord of Anglantê and knight of Brava.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
An'glides (3 syl.), wife of good prince Boud'wine (2 syl.), brother to sir Mark king of Cornwall ("the falsest traitor that ever was born"). When king Mark slew her husband, Anglides and her son Alisaunder made their escape to Magounce (i.e. Arundel), where she lived in peace, and brought up her son till he received the honor of knighthood.—Sir T. Malory, Hist, of Pr. Arthur, ii. 117, 118 (1470).
An'guisant, king of Erin (Ireland), subdued by king Arthur fighting in behalf of Leod'ogran king of Cam'eliard (3 syl.).— Tennyson, Coming of King Arthur.
Angule (St.), bishop of London, put to death by Maximia'nus Hercu'lius, Roman general in Britain in the reign of Diocletian.
Drayton, Polyolbion, xxiv. (1622).
Angurva'del, Frithiof's sword, inscribed with Runic characters, which blazed in time of war, but gleamed dimly in time of peace.
Anice, the woman who steals Fenn's fancy, rather than his heart, from his wife, in George Parsons Lathrop's story, An Echo of Passion (1882).
Animula, beauteous being revealed in a drop of water by a microscope of extraordinary and inconceivable power.—The Diamond Lens, by Fitz-James O'Brien (1854).
Anjou (The Fair Maid of), lady Edith Plantagenet, who married David earl of Huntingdon (a royal prince of Scotland). Edith was a kinswoman of Richard Coeur de Lion, and an attendant on queen Berengaria.
[Illustration: symbol] Sir Walter Scott has introduced her in The Talisman (1825).
Ann (The princess), lady of Beaujeu.—Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward (time, Edward IV.).
Ann (The Lady), the wife who, in John G. Saxe's ballad, The Lady Ann, goes mad at the news of the death of sir John, her husband (1868).
Anna (Donna), the lady beloved by don Otta'vio, but seduced by don Giovanni.—Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni (1787).
An'nabel, in Absalom and Achitophel, by
Dryden, is the duchess of Monmouth, whose maiden name was Anne Scott (countess of Buccleuch). She married again after the execution of her faithless husband.
Annabel Lee. Edgar A. Poe's poem of this name is supposed to be a loving memorial to his young wife, Virginia Clemm, who died of consumption at Fordham, N.Y., in 1847.
Anna Pastorius, wife of Pastorius in Whittier's poem, The Pennsylvania Pilgrim. At his cry "Help! for the good man faileth!" she points to her aloe-tree, and reminds him that as surely as "the century-moulded bud shall burst in bloom," love and patience will soon or late conquer wrong (1872).
An'naple [BAILZOU], Effie Dean's "monthly" nurse.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
An'naple, nurse of Hobbie Elliot of the Heugh-foot, a young farmer.—Sir W. Scott, The Black Dwarf (time, Anne).
Anne (Sister), the sister of Fat'ima, the seventh and last wife of Blue Beard. Fatima, having disobeyed her lord by looking into the locked chamber, is allowed a short respite before execution. Sister Anne ascends the high tower of the castle, with the hope of seeing her brothers, who are expected to arrive every moment. Fatima, in her agony, keeps asking "sister Anne" if she can see them, and Blue Beard keeps crying out for Fatima to use greater despatch. As the patience of both is exhausted, the brothers arrive, and Fatima is rescued from death.—Charles Perrault, La Barbe Bleue.
Anne, own sister of king Arthur. Her father was Uther the pendragon, and her mother Ygerna, widow of Gorloïs. She was given by her brother in marriage to Lot, consul of Londonesia, and afterwards king of Norway.—Geoffrey, British History, viii. 20, 21.
In Arthurian romance this Anne is called Margawse (History of Prince Arthur, i. 2); Tennyson calls her Bellicent (Gareth and Lynette). In Arthurian romance Lot is always called king of Orkney.
Anne Catherick, half-witted girl, the natural sister of Laura Fairlie, to whom she bears a strong resemblance. This circumstance suggests to the villain of the book the deception of showing her dead body as that of Laura, as a step toward securing the fortune of the latter.—The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins (1865).
Anne Douglas, heroine of Anne, a novel by Constance Fenimore Woolson (1882). The scene laid on the Island of Mackinac, Mich.
Annette, daughter of Mathis and Catherine, the bride of Christian, captain of the patrol.—J.E. Ware, The Polish Jew.
Annette and Lublin, by Marmontel, imitated from the Daphnis and Chloe of Longos (q.v.).
Annie Kilburn, the conscientious heiress who returns to a New England homestead after long residence abroad, and endeavors to do her duty in the station to which Providence has called her. Prim, pale, pretty, and not youthful except in heart.—Annie Kilburn, by William Dean Howells (1888).
An'nie Lau'rie, eldest of the three daughters of sir Robert Laurie, of Maxwelton. In 1709 she married James Fergusson, of Craigdarroch, and was the mother of Alexander Fergusson, the hero of Burns's song The Whistle. The song of Annie Laurie was written by William Douglas, of Fingland, in the stewardry of Kirkcud'bright, hero of the song Willie was a Wanton Wag. (See WHISTLE.)
Bayard Taylor has used the ballad with thrilling effect in his poem The Song of the Camp.
An'nie Win'nie, one of the old sibyls at Alice Gray's death; the other was Ailsie Gourlay.—Sir W. Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Annir, king of Inis-thona (an island of Scandinavia). He had two sons (Argon and Ruro) and one daughter. One day Cor'malo, a neighboring chief, came and begged the honor of a tournament. Argon granted the request, and overthrew him, which so vexed Cormalo that during a hunt he shot both the brothers secretly with his bow. Their dog Runa ran to the palace, and howled so as to attract attention; whereupon Annir followed the hound, and found both his sons dead, and on his return he further found that Cormalo had carried off his daughter. Oscar, son of Ossian, led an army against the villain, and slew him; then liberating the young lady, he took her back to Inis-thona, and delivered her to her father.—Ossian ("The War of Inis-thona").
An'nophel, daughter of Cas'silane (3 syl.) general of Candy.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Laws of Candy (1647).
Anselm, prior of St. Dominic, the confessor of king Henry IV.—Sir W. Scott, The Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Anselme (2 syl.), father of Valère (2 syl.) and Mariane (3 syl.). In reality he is don Thomas d'Alburci, of Naples. The family were exiled from Naples for political reasons, and being shipwrecked were all parted. Valère was picked up by a Spanish captain, who adopted him; Mariane fell into the hands of a corsair, who kept her a captive for ten years, when she effected her escape; and Anselme wandered from place to place for ten years, when he settled in Paris, and intended to marry. At the expiration of sixteen years they all met in Paris at the house of Har'pagon, the miser. Valère was in love with Elise (2 syl.), the miser's daughter, promised by Harpagon in marriage to Anselme; and Mariane, affianced to the miser's son Cléante (2 syl.), was sought in marriage by Harpagon, the old father. As soon as Anselme discovered that Valère and Mariane were his own children, matters were soon amicably arranged, the young people married, and the old ones retired from the unequal contest.—Molière, L'Avare (1667).
Anselmo, a noble cavalier of Florence, the friend of Lothario. Anselmo married Camilla, and induced his friend to try to corrupt her, that he might rejoice in her incorruptible fidelity. Lothario unwillingly undertook the task, and succeeded but too well. For a time Anselmo was deceived, but at length Camilla eloped, and the end of the silly affair was that Anselmo died of grief, Lothario was slain in battle, and Camilla died in a convent.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. iv. 5, 6; Fatal Curiosity (1605).
An'ster (Hob), a constable at Kinross village.—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).
Anstiss Dolbeare, heroine of Mrs. A.D.T. Whitney's novel, Hitherto, a sensitive, imaginative, morbid, motherless girl who is "all the time holding up her soul ... with a thorn in it" (1872).
Antae'os, a gigantic wrestler of Libya (or Irassa). His strength was inexhaustible so long as he touched the earth, and was renewed every time he did touch it. Her'culés killed him by lifting him up from the earth and squeezing him to death. (See MALEGER.)
Milton, Paradise Regained, iv. (563).
Similarly, when Bernardo del Carpio assailed Orlando or Rolando at Roncesvallês, as he found his body was not to be pierced by any instrument of war, he took him up in his arms and squeezed him to death.
N.B.—The only vulnerable part of Orlando was the sole of his foot.
Ante'nor, a traitorous Trojan prince, related to Priam. He advised Ulyssês to carry away the palladium from Troy, and when the wooden horse was built it was Antenor who urged the Trojans to make a breach in the wall and drag the horse into the city.—Shakespeare has introduced him in Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Anthea, beautiful woman to whom Herrick addresses several poems.
Anthi'a, the lady beloved by Abroc'omas in the Greek romance called De Amoribus Anthiae et Abrocomae, by Xenophon of Ephesus, who lived in the fourth Christian century. (This is not Xenophon the historian, who lived B.C. 444-359.)
Anthonio, "the merchant of Venice," in Shakespeare's drama so called (1598). Anthonio borrows of Shylock, a Jew, 3000 ducats for three months, to lend to his friend Bassanio. The conditions of the loan were these: if the money was paid within the time, only the principal should be returned; but if not, the Jew should be allowed to cut from Anthonio's body "a pound of flesh." As the ships of Anthonio were delayed by contrary winds, he was unable to pay within the three months, and Shylock demanded the forfeiture according to the bond. Portia, in the dress of a law-doctor, conducted the case, and when the Jew was about to cut the flesh, stopped him, saying—(1) the bond gave him no drop of blood; and (2) he must take neither more nor less than an exact pound. If he shed one drop of blood or if he cut more or less than an exact pound, his life would be forfeit. As it was quite impossible to comply with these restrictions, the Jew was nonsuited, and had to pay a heavy fine for seeking the life of a citizen.
Antho'nio, the ursuping duke of Milan, and brother of Pros'pero (the rightful duke, and father of Miranda).—Shakespeare, The Tempest (1609).
Antho'nio, father of Protheus, and suitor of Julia.—Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
An'thony, an English archer in the cottage of farmer Dickson, of Douglasdale.—Sir W. Scott, Castle Dangerous (time, Henry I.).
An'thony, the old postillion at Meg Dods's, the landlady of the inn at St. Ronan's Well.—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, George III.).
Antid'ius, bishop of Jaen, martyred by the Vandals in 411. One day, seeing the devil writing in his pocket-book some sin committed by the pope, he jumped upon his back and commanded his Satanic majesty to carry him to Rome. The devil tried to make the bishop pronounce the name of Jesus, which would break the spell, and then the devil would have tossed his unwelcome burden into the sea, but the bishop only cried, "Gee up, devil!" and when he reached Rome he was covered with Alpine snow. The chronicler naïvely adds, "the hat is still shown at Rome in confirmation of this miracle."—General Chronicle of King Alphonso the Wise.
Antig'one (4 syl.), daughter of Oe'dipos and Jocas'tê, a noble maiden, with a truly heroic attachment to her father and brothers. When Oedipos had blinded himself, and was obliged to quit Thebes, Antigonê accompanied him, and remained with him till his death, when she returned to Thebes. Creon, the king, had forbidden any one to bury Polyni'cês, her brother, who had been slain by his elder brother in battle; but Antigonê, in defiance of this prohibition, buried the dead body, and Creon shut her up in a vault under ground, where she killed herself. Haemon, her lover, killed himself also by her side. Sophoclês has a Greek tragedy on the subject, and it has been dramatized for the English stage.
The Modern Antigonê, Mariè Therèse Charlotte duchesse d'Angouleme, daughter of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette (1778-1851).
Antig'onus, a Sicilian lord, commanded by king Leontês to take his infant daughter to a desert shore and leave her to perish. Antigonus was driven by a storm to the coast of Bohemia, where he left the babe; but on his way back to the ship, he was torn to pieces by a bear.—Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale (1604).
Antig'onus (King), an old man with a young man's amorous passions. He is one of the four kings who succeeded to the divided empire of Alexander the Great.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Humorous Lieutenant (1647).
Antin'ous (4 syl.), a page of Hadrian, the Roman emperor, noted for his beauty.
Antin'ous (4 syl.), son of Cas'silane (3 syl.) general of Candy, and brother of An'no-phel, in The Laws of Candy a drama by Beaumont and Fletcher (1647).
Anti'ochus, emperor of Greece, who sought the life of Per'iclês prince of Tyre, but died without effecting his desire.—Shakespeare, Pericles Prince of Tyre (1608).
Anti'ope (4 syl.), daughter of Idom'e-neus (4 syl.), for whom Telem'achus had a tendresse. Mentor approved his choice, and assured Telemachus that the lady was designed for him by the gods. Her charms were "the glowing modesty of her countenance, her silent diffidence, and her sweet reserve; her constant attention to tapestry or to some other useful and elegant employment; her diligence in household affairs, her contempt of finery in dress, and her ignorance of her own beauty," Telemachus says, "She encourages to industry by her example, sweetens labor by the melody of her voice, and excels the best of painters in the elegance of her embroidery."—Fénelon, Télémaque, xxii. (1700).
He [Paul] fancied he had found in Virginia the wisdom of Antiope with the misfortunes and the tenderness of Eucharis.—Bernardin de St. Pierre, Paul and Virginia (1788).
Antiph'olus, the name of two brothers, twins, the sons of Aege'on, a merchant of Syracuse. The two brothers were shipwrecked in infancy, and, being picked up by different cruisers, one was carried to Syracuse, and the other to Ephesus. The Ephesian entered the service of the duke, and, being fortunate enough to save the duke's life, became a great man and married well. The Syracusian Antipholus, going in search of his brother, came to Ephesus, where a series of blunders occurs from the wonderful likeness of the two brothers and their two servants called Dromio. The confusion becomes so great that the Ephesian is taken up as a madman. It so happened that both brothers appeared before the duke at the same time; and the extraordinary likeness being seen by all, the cause of the blunders was evident, and everything was satisfactorily explained.—Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors (1593).
Anton (Sir). Tennyson says that Merlin gave Arthur, when an infant, to sir Anton and his lady to bring up, and they brought him up as their own son. This does not correspond with the History of Prince Arthur, which states that he was committed to the care of sir Ector and his lady, whose son, sir Key, is over and over again called the prince's foster-brother. The History furthermore states that Arthur made sir Key his seneschal because he was his foster-brother.
Anton, one of Henry Smith's men in The Fair Maid of Perth, by sir W. Scott (time, Henry IV.).
Anto'nio, a sea captain who saved Sebastian, the brother of Vi'ola, when wrecked off the coast of Illyria.—Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (1614).
Anto'nio, the Swiss lad who acts as the guide from Lucern, in sir W. Scott's Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Anto'nio, a stout old gentleman, kinsman of Petruccio, governor of Bologna.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Chances (a comedy, before 1621).
Antonio (Don), father of Carlos, a bookworm, and Clodio, a coxcomb; a testy, headstrong old man. He wants Carlos to sign away his birthright in favor of his younger brother, to whom he intends Angelina to be married; but Carlos declines to give his signature, and elopes with Angelina, whom he marries, while Clodio engages his troth to Elvira of Lisbon.—C. Cibber, Love Makes a Man.
Antonio (Don), in love with Louisa, the daughter of don Jerome of Seville. A poor nobleman of ancient family.—Sheridan, The Duenna (1778).
Antonomas'ia (The princess), daughter of Archipiela, king of Candaya, and his wife Maguncia. She married don Clavijo, but the giant Malambru'no, by enchantment, changed the bride into a brass monkey, and her spouse into a crocodile of some unknown metal. Don Quixote mounted the wooden horse Clavileno the Winged, to disenchant the lady and her husband, and this he effected "simply by making the attempt."—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II iii. 4, 5 (1615).
Antony (Saint) lived in a cavern on the summit of Cavadonga, in Spain, and was perpetually annoyed by devils.
An'tony and Cæsar. Macbeth says that "under Banquo his own genius was rebuked [or snubbed], as it is said Mark Antony's was by Cæsar" (act iii. sc. 1), and in Antony and Cleopatra this passage is elucidated thus—
Anvil (The Literary). Dr. Mayo was so called, because he bore the hardest blows of Dr. Johnson without flinching.
Aodh, last of the Culdees, or primitive clergy of Io'na, an island south of Staffa. His wife was Reullu'ra. Ulvfa'gre the Dane, having landed on the island and put many to the sword, bound Aodh in chains of iron, then dragging him to the church, demanded where the "treasures were concealed." A mysterious figure now appeared, which not only released the priest, but took the Dane by the arm to the statue of St. Columb, which fell on him and crushed him to death. After this the "saint" gathered the remnant of the islanders together, and went to Ireland.—Campbell, Reullura.
Ape (1 syl.), the pseudonym of M. Pellegrini, the caricaturist of Vanity Fair. Dr. Johnson says "to ape is to imitate ludicrously;" whence the adoption of the name.
Apel'les and the Cobbler. A cobbler found fault with the shoe-latchet of one of Apelles' paintings, and the artist rectified the fault. The cobbler, thinking himself very wise, next ventured to criticise the legs; but Apelles said, Ne sutor ultra crepidam ("Let not the cobbler go beyond his last").
Within that range of criticism where all are equally judges, and where Crispin is entitled to dictate to Apelles.—Encyc. Brit., Art. "Romance."
Apelles. When his famous painting of Venus rising out of the sea (hung by Augustus in the temple of Julius Cæsar) was greatly injured by time, Nero replaced it by a copy done by Dorotheus. This Venus by Apelles is called "Venus Anadyom'-enê," his model (according to tradition) being Campaspê (afterwards his wife).
Apeman'tus, a churlish Athenian philosopher, who snarled at men systematically, but showed his cynicism to be mere affectation, when Timon attacked him with his own weapons.—Shakespeare, Timon of Athens (1600).
Their affected melancholy showed like the cynicism of Apemantus, contrasted with the real misanthropy of Timon.—Sir W. Scott.
Apic'ius, an epicure in the time of Tiberius. He wrote a book on the ways of provoking an appetite. Having spent £800,000 in supplying the delicacies of the table, and having only £80,000 left, he hanged himself, not thinking it possible to exist on such a wretched pittance. Apicia, however, became a stock name for certain cakes and sauces, and his name is still proverbial in all matters of gastronomy.
There was another of the name in the reign of Trajan, who wrote a cooking book and manual of sauces.
No Brahmin could abominate your meal more than I do. Hirtius and Apicius would have blushed for it. Mark Antony, who roasted eight whole boars for supper, never massacred more at a meal than you have done.—Cumberland, The Fashionable Lover, i. 1 (1780).
Apollo, son of Jupiter and Latona, and model of masculine beauty. He is the sun, in Homeric mythology, the embodiment of practical wisdom and foresight, of swift and far-reaching intelligence, and hence of poetry, music, etc.
The Apollo Belvidere, that is, the Apollo preserved in the Belvidere gallery of the Vatican, discovered in 1503 amid the ruins of An'tium, and purchased by pope Julius II. It is supposed to be the work of Cal'amis, a Greek sculptor of the fifth century B.C.
The Apollo of Actium was a gigantic statue, which served for a beacon.
The Apollo of Rhodes, usually called the colossus, was a gigantic bronze statue, 150 feet high, made by Charês, a pupil of Lysippus, and set up B.C. 300.
Animals consecrated to Apollo, the cock, the crow, the grasshopper, the hawk, the raven, the swan, and the wolf.
Apoll'yon, king of the bottomless pit; introduced by Bnnyan in his Pilgrim's Progress. Apollyon encounters Christian, by whom, after a severe contest, he is foiled (1678).
Apostle or Patron Saint of—
Padua, St. Anthony (1195-1231). His day, June 13. Paris, St. Genevieve (419-512). Her day, January 3. Peak, W. Bagshaw, so called from his missionary labors in Derbyshire (1628-1702). Picts, St. Ninian. Scottish Reformers, John Knox (1505-1572). Sicily (the tutelary deity is) Cerês. Slaves, St. Cyril (died 868). His day, February 14. Spain, St. James the Greater (died 44.) His day, July 24. Temperance, Father Mathew (1790-1856). Venice, St. Mark; St. Pantaleon; St. Andrew Justiniani. St. Mark's day, April 25; St. Pantaleon's, July 27. Wales, St. David (480-544). His day, March 1. Yorkshire, St. Pauli'nus, bishop of York (597-644).
Apostolic Fathers (The Five): Clement of Rome, Barnabas, Hermas, Igna'tius, and Polycarp. All contemporary with the Apostles.
Ap'petizer. A Scotchman being told that the birds called kittiewiaks were admirable appetizers, ate six of them, and then complained "he was no hungrier than he was before."
Aquarius, Sagittarius. Mrs. Browning says that "Aquarius" is a symbol of man bearing, and "Sagittarius" of man combatting. The passive and active forms of human labor.
E. B. Browning, A Drama of Exile (1851).
A'quilant, son of Olive'ro and Sigismunda; a knight in Charlemagne's army. He was called "black," and his brother Gryphon "white" from the color of their armor.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
A'quiline (3 syl.), Raymond's steed, whose sire was the wind.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, vii. (1575).
(Solinus, Columella, and Varro relate how the Lusitanian mares "with open mouth against the breezes held, receive the gales with warmth prolific filled, and thus inspired, their swelling wombs produce the wondrous offspring."—See also Virgil, Georgics, in. 266-283.)
Aquin'ian Sage. Juvenal is so called, because he was born at Aqui'num, in Latium (fl. A.D. 100).
Arabel'la, an heiress left under the guardianship of justice Day. Abel Day, the son of justice Day, aspires to her hand and fortune, but she confers both with right good will on captain Manly.—T. Knight, The Honest Thieves.
Ara'bia Fe'lix ("Araby the blest"). This name is a blunder made by British merchants, who supposed that the precious commodities of India bought of Arab traders were the produce of Arabia.
Ara'bian Bird (The), the phoenix, a marvellous man, one sui generis.
Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, act iii. sc. 2.
Arach'ne (3 syl.), a spider, a weaver. "Arachnê's labors," spinning or weaving. Arachnê was a Lydian maiden, who challenged Minerva to compete with her in needle tapestry, and Minerva changed her into a spider.
Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, act v. sc. 2 (1602).
Aragnol, the son of Arachnê (the "most fine-fingered of all workmen," turned into a spider for presuming to challenge Minerva to a contest in needlework). Aragnol entertained a secret and deadly hatred against prince Clarion, son of Muscarol the fly-king; and weaving a curious net, soon caught the gay young flutterer, and gave him his death-wound by piercing him under the left wing.—Spenser, Muiopotmos or The Butterfly's Fate (1590).
Aramin'ta, the wife of Moneytrap, and friend of Clarissa (wife of Gripe the scrivener).—Sir John Vanbrugh, The Confederacy (1695).
Aranza (The duke of). He marries Juliana, eldest daughter of Balthazar. She is so haughty, arrogant, and overbearing, that after the marriage he takes her to a mean hut, which he calls his home, and pretends to be only a peasant who must work for his living, and gives his bride the household duties to perform. She chafes for a time, but firmness, manliness, and affection win the day; and when the duke sees that she loves him for himself, he leads her to his castle, and reveals to her that the peasant husband is after all the duke of Aranza.—J. Tobin, The Honeymoon (1804).
Ar'aphil or Ar'aphill, the poetic pseudonym of Win. Habington. His lady-love, Miss Lucy Herbert, he calls Castara.
Aras'pes (3 syl.), king of Alexandria, who joined the Egyptian armament against the crusaders.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Arba'ces (3 syl.), king of Ibe'ria, in the drama called A King or no King, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1619).
Arbate (2 syl.), governor of the prince of Ithaca, in Molière's comedy La Princesse d'Elide (1664). In his speech to "Euryle" prince of Ithaca, persuading him to love, he is supposed to refer to Louis XIV., then 26 years of age.
Arbate, in Racine's drama of Mithridate (1673).
Ar'biter El'igantiæ. C. Petro'nius was appointed dictator-in-chief of the imperial pleasures at the court of Nero, and nothing was considered comme il faut till it had received the sanction of this Roman beau Brummel.
Arbre Sol foretold, with audible voice, the place and manner of Alexander's death. It figures in all the fabulous legends of Alexander.
Arbutus, sturdy yeoman usually known as "Bute," in Bayard Taylor's novel Hannah Thurston. Rugged and sound as the New England granite underlying the farm he tills.
Arc (Joan of), or Jeanne la Pucelle, the "Maid of Orleans," daughter of a rustic of Domrémy, near Vaucouleurs, in France. She was servant at an inn when she conceived the idea of liberating France from the English. Having gained admission to Charles VII., she was sent by him to raise the siege of Orleans, and actually succeeded in so doing. Schiller has a tragedy on the subject, Casimir Delavigne an elegy on her, Southey an epic poem on her life and death, and Voltaire a burlesque.
In regard to her death, M. Octave Delepière, in his Doute Historique, denies the tradition of her having been burnt to death at Rouen; and Vignier discovered in a family muniment chest the "contract of marriage between" Robert des Armoise, knight, and Jeanne d'Arc, surnamed "The Maid of Orleans."
Ar'cades Ambo, both fools alike; both "sweet innocents;" both alike eccentric. There is nothing in the character of Corydon and Thyrsis (Virgil's Eclogue, vii. 4) to justify this disparaging application of the phrase. All Virgil says is they were both "in the flower of their youth," and both Arcadians, both equal in setting a theme for song or capping it epigrammatically; but as Arcadia was the least intellectual part of Greece, an "Arcadian" came to signify a dunce, and hence "Arcades ambo" received its present acceptation.
Arcala'us (4 syl.), an enchanter who bound Am'adis de Gaul to a pillar in his courtyard, and administered to him 200 stripes with his horse's bridle.—Amadis de Gaul (fifteenth century).
Arca'nes (3 syl.), a noble soldier, friend of Cas'silane (3 syl.) general of Candy.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Laws of Candy (1647).
Archan'gel. Burroughs, the puritan preacher, called Cromwell "the archangel that did battle with the devil."
Archas, "the loyal subject" of the great duke of Moscovia, and general of the Moscovites. His son is colonel Theodore.
Young Archas, son of the general. Disguised as a woman, he assumes the name of Alinda.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Loyal Subject (1618).
Archbsh'op of Grana'da told his secretary, Gil Blas, when he hired him,
"Whenever thou shalt perceive my pen smack of old age and my genius flag, don't fail to advertise me of it, for I don't trust to my own judgment, which may be seduced by self-love." After a fit of apoplexy, Gil Blas ventured in the most delicate manner to hint to his grace that "his last discourse had not altogether the energy of his former ones." To this the archbishop replied, "You are yet too raw to make proper distinctions. Know, child, that I never composed a better homily than that which you disapprove. Go, tell my treasurer to give you 100 ducats. Adieu, Mr. Gil Blas; I wish you all manner of prosperity, with a little more taste."—Le-sage, Gil Blas, vii. 3 (1715).
Ar'cher (Francis), friend of Aimwell, who joins him in fortune-hunting. These are the two "beaux." Thomas viscount Aimwell marries Dorinda, the daughter of lady Bountiful. Archer hands the deeds and property taken from the highwaymen to sir Charles Freeman, who takes his sister, Mrs. Sullen, under his charge again.—George Farquhar, The Beaux' Stratagem (1707).
Archibald (John), attendant on the duke of Argyle.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Archima'go, the reverse of holiness, and therefore Satan the father of lies and all deception. Assuming the guise of the Red Cross Knight, he deceived Una; and under the guise of a hermit, he deceived the knight himself. Archimago is introduced in bks. i. and ii. of Spenser's Faëry Queen. The poet says:
Spenser, The Faëry Queen, I. ii. 10 (1590).
Archimedes, Syracusan philosopher, who discovered, among other great scientific facts, the functions of the lever. The solution of an abstruse problem having occurred to him while in the bath, he leaped out of the water, and ran naked through the city, shouting, "Eureka!"
Ar'chy M'Sar'casm (Sir), "a proud Caledonian knight, whose tongue, like the dart of death, spares neither sex nor age ... His insolence of family and licentiousness of wit gained him the contempt of every one" (i. 1). Sir Archy tells Charlotte, "In the house of M'Sarcasm are two barons, three viscounts, six earls, one marquisate, and two dukes, besides baronets and lairds oot o' a' reckoning" (i. 1). He makes love to Charlotte Goodchild, but supposing it to be true that she has lost her fortune, declares to her that he has just received letters "frae the dukes, the marquis, and a' the dignitaries of the family ... expressly prohibiting his contaminating the blood of M'Sarcasm wi' onything sprung from a hogshead or a coonting-house" (ii. 1).
The man has something droll, something ridiculous in him. His abominable Scotch accent, his grotesque visage almost buried in snuff, the roll of his eyes and twist of his mouth, his strange inhuman laugh, his tremendous periwig, and his manners altogether—why, one might take him for a mountebank doctor at a Dutch fair.—C. Macklin, Love à-la-mode, i. 1 (1779).
Sir Archy's Great-grandmother. Sir Archy M'Sarcasm insisted on fighting Sir Callaghan O'Brallaghan on a point of ancestry. The Scotchman said that the Irish are a colony from Scotland, "an ootcast, a mere ootcast." The Irishman retorted by saying that "one Mac Fergus O'Brallaghan went from Carrickfergus, and peopled all Scotland with his own hands." Charlotte [Goodchild] interposed, and asked the cause of the contention, whereupon Sir Callaghan replied, "Madam, it is about sir Archy's great-grandmother."—C. Macklin, Love à-la-mode, i. I (1779).
We shall not now stay to quarrel about sir Archy's great-grandmother.—Maepherson, Dissertation upon Ossian.
Archy'tas of Tarentum made a wooden pigeon that could fly; and Regiomonta'nus, a German, made a wooden eagle that flew from Koenigsberg to meet the emperor, and, having saluted him, returned whence it set out (1436-1476).
This engine may be contrived from the same principles by which Archytas made a wooden dove, and Regiomontanus a wooden eagle.—Dr. John Wilkins (1614-1672).
Ar'cite (2 syl.) and Pal'amon, two Theban knights, captives of duke Theseus, who used to see from their dungeon window the duke's sister-in-law, Emily, taking her airing in the palace garden, and fell in love with her. Both captives having gained their liberty, contended for the lady by single combat. Arcite was victor, but being thrown from his horse was killed, and Emily became the bride of Palamon.—Chaucer, Canterbury Tales ("The Knight's Tale," 1388).
Richard Edwards in 1566 produced a drama entitled Palamon and Arcite.
Ar'den (Enoch), the hero of a poetic tale by Tennyson. He is a seaman wrecked on a desert island, who returns home after the absence of several years, and finds his wife married to another. Seeing her both happy and prosperous, Enoch resolves not to mar her domestic peace, so leaves her undisturbed, and dies of a broken heart.
Ar'den of Fev'ersliam, a noble character, honorable, forgiving, affectionate, and modest. His wife Alicia in her sleep reveals to him her guilty love for Mosby, but he pardons her on condition that she will never see the seducer again. Scarcely has she made the promise when she plots with Mosby her husband's murder. In a planned street-scuffle, Mosby pretends to take Arden's part, and thus throws him off his guard. Arden thinks he has wronged him, and invites him to his house, but Mosby conspires with two hired ruffians to fall on his host during a game of draughts, the right moment being signified by Mosby's saying, "Now I take you." Arden is murdered; but the whole gang is apprehended and brought to justice.
(This drama is based on a murder which took place in 1551. Ludwig Tieck has translated the play into German, as a genuine production of Shakespeare. Some ascribe the play to George Lillo, but Charles Lamb gives 1592 as the date of its production, and says the author is unknown.)
Areous'ki, the Indian war-god, war, tumult.
A cry of Areouski broke our sleep. Campbell, Gertrude of Wyoming, i, 16 (1809).
Arethu'sa, daughter of the king Messi'na, in the drama called Philaster or Love Lies a-bleeding, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1638).
Arethusa, a nymph pursued by Alpheos the river-god, and changed into a fountain in the island of Ortygia; but the river-god still pursued her, and mingled his stream with the fountain, and now, "like friends once parted grown single-hearted," they leap and flow and slumber together, "like spirits that love but live no more."
This fable has been exquisitely turned into poetry by Percy B. Shelley (Arethusa, 1820).
Argali'a, brother of Angel'ica, in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1516).
Ar'gan, the malade imaginaire and father of Angelique. He is introduced taxing his apothecary's bills, under the conviction that he cannot afford to be sick at the prices charged, but then he notices that he has already reduced his bills during the current month, and is not so well. He first hits upon the plan of marrying Angelique to a young doctor, but to this the lady objects. His brother suggests that Argan himself should be his own doctor, and when the invalid replies he has not studied either diseases, drugs, or Latin, the objection is overruled by investing the "malade" in a doctor's cap and robe. The piece concludes with the ceremonial in macaronic Latin.
When Argan asks his doctor how many grains of salt he ought to eat with an egg, the doctor answers, "Six, huit, dix, etc., par les nombres pairs, comme dans les médicaments par les nombres impairs."—Molière, Le Malade Imaginaire, ii. 9 (1673).
Argan'te (3 syl.), a giantess called "the very monster and miracle of lust." She and her twin-brother Ollyphant or Oliphant were the children of Typhoe'us and Earth. Argantè used to carry off young men as her captives, and seized "the Squire of Dames" as one of her victims. The squire, who was in fact Britomart (the heroine of chastity), was delivered by sir Sat'yrane (3 syl.).—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. 7 (1590).
Argante' (2 syl.), father of Octave (2 syl.) and Zerbinette (3 syl.). He promises to give his daughter Zerbinette to Leandre (2 syl.), the son of his friend Géronte (2 syl.); but during his absence abroad the young people fall in love unknown to their respective fathers. Both fathers storm, and threaten to break off the engagement, but are delighted beyond measure when they discover that the choice of the young people has unknowingly coincided with their own.—Molière, Les Fourteries de Scapin (1671).
(Thomas Otway has adapted this play to the English stage, and called it The Cheats of Scapin. "Argante" he calls Thrifty; "Géronte" is Gripe; "Zerbinette" he calls Lucia; and "Leandre" he Anglicizes into Leander.)
Argan'tes (3 syl.), a Circassian of high rank and undoubted courage, but fierce and a great detester of the Nazarenes. Argantês and Solyman were undoubtedly the bravest heroes of the infidel host. Argantês was slain by Rinaldo, and Solyman by Tancred.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Bonaparte stood before the deputies like the Argantês of Italy's heroic poet.—Sir Walter Scott.
Ar'genis, a political romance by Barclay (1621).
Ar'gentile (3 syl.), daughter of king Adelbright, and ward of Edel. Curan, a Danish prince, in order to woo her, became a drudge in her house, but being obliged to quit her service, became a shepherd. Edel, the guardian, forcing his suit on Argentile, compelled her to flight, and she became a neatherd's maid. In this capacity Curan wooed and won her. Edel was forced to restore the possessions of his ward, and Curan became king of Northumberland. As for Edel, he was put to death.—William Warner, Albion's England (1586).
Ar'gentin (Le sieur d'), one of the officers of the duke of Burgundy.—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geiersiein (time, Edward IV.).
Arge'o, baron of Servia and husband of Gabrina. (See Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.)—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Arges'tes (3 syl.), the west wind.
Wm. Browne, Britannia's Pastorals, ii. 5 (1613).
Arges'tes (3 syl.), the north-east wind; Cæ'cias, the north-west; Bo'reas, the full north.
Milton, Paradise Lost, x. 699, etc. (1665).
Ar'gillan, a haughty, turbulent knight, born on the banks of the Trent. He induced the Latians to revolt, was arrested, made his escape, but was ultimately slain in battle by Solyman.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, viii. ix. (1575).
Argon and Ruro, the two sons of Annir, king of Inis-thona, an island of Scandinavia. Cor'malo, a neighboring chief, came to the island, and asked for the honor of a tournament. Argon granted the request, and overthrew him, and this so vexed Cormalo that during a hunt he shot both the brothers with his bow. Their dog Runo, running to the hall, howled so as to attract attention, and Annir, following the hound, found his two sons both dead. On his return he discovered that Cormalo had run off with his daughter. Oscar, son of Ossian, slew Cormalo in fight, and restored the daughter to her father.—Ossian ("The War of Inis-thona").
Argonauts, heroes and demi-gods, who sailed to Colchis in quest of the golden fleece, guarded by a sleepless dragon. Jason was their leader.
Argonauts (The). Title applied to adventurers who, in 1849, sought gold in California. Bret Harte has seized upon the name as the theme of tales and ballads of the "Forty-niners."
Ar'gus, the turf-writer, was Irwin Willes, who died in 1871.
Argyle (Mac Callum More, duke of), in the reign of George I.—Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (1818).
Mac Callum More, marquis of Argyle, in the reign of Charles I., was commander of the parliamentary forces, and is called "Gillespie Grumach;" he disguises himself, and assumes the name of Murdoch Campbell.—Sir W. Scott, Legend of Montrose (1819).
(Duke and duchess of Argyle are introduced also in the Heart of Midlothian, by Sir W. Scott, 1818.)
Ariad'ne (4 syl.), daughter of Minos king of Crete. She gave Theseus a clew of thread to guide him out of the Cretan labyrinth. Theseus married his deliverer, but when he arrived at Naxos (Dia) forsook her, and she hung herself.
Surely it is an Ariadnê.... There is dawning womanhood in every line; but she knows nothing of Naxos.—Ouidà, Ariadnê, i. 1.
Ar'ibert, king of the Lombards (653-661), left "no male pledge behind," but only a daughter named Rhodalind, whom he wished duke Gondibert to marry, but the duke fell in love with Bertha, daughter of As'tragon, the sage. The tale being unfinished, the sequel is not known.—Sir W. Davenant, Gondibert (died 1668).
Arideus [A.ree'.de.us], a herald in the Christian army.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
A'riel, in The Tempest, an airy spirit, able to assume any shape, or even to become invisible. He was enslaved to the witch Syc'orax, mother of Caliban, who overtasked the little thing, and in punishment for not doing what was beyond his strength, imprisoned him for twelve years in the rift of a pine tree, where Caliban delighted to torture him with impish cruelty. Prospero, duke of Milan and father of Miranda, liberated Ariel from the pine-rift, and the grateful spirit served the duke for sixteen years, when he was set free.
Longfellow, The Golden Milestone.
A'riel, the sylph in Pope's Rape of the Lock. The impersonation of "fine life" in the abstract, the nice adjuster of hearts and necklaces. When disobedient he is punished by being kept hovering over the fumes of the chocolate, or is transfixed with pins, clogged with pomatums, or wedged in the eyes of bodkins.
A'riel, one of the rebel angels. The word means "the Lion of God." Abdiel encountered him, and overthrew him.—Milton, Paradise Lost, vi. 371 (1665).
Ariella, an invalid girl, the daughter of Malachi and Hagar his wife, in Come Forth, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward. Her name signifies STRENGTH OF GOD. She has lain a helpless cripple for nine years, when she is healed by a word from The Christ (1891).
Ariman'es (4 syl.), the prince of the powers of evil, introduced by Byron in his drama called Manfred. The Persians recognized a power of good and a power of evil: the former Yezad, and the latter Ahriman (in Greek, Oroma'zes and Ariman'nis). These two spirits are ever at war with each other. Oromazes created twenty-four good spirits, and enclosed them in an egg to be out of the power of Arimanês; but Arimanês pierced the shell, and thus mixed evil with every good. However, a time will come when Arimanês shall be subjected, and the earth will become a perfect paradise.
Arimas'pians, a one-eyed people of Scythia, who adorned their hair with gold. As gold mines were guarded by Gryphons, there were perpetual contentions between the Arimaspians and the Gryphons. (See GRYPHON.)
Ar'ioch ("a fierce lion"), one of the fallen angels overthrown by Abdiel.—Milton, Paradise Lost, vi. 371 (1665).
Ariodan'tes (5 syl.), the beloved of Geneu'ra, a Scotch princess. Geneura being accused of incontinence, Ariodantês stood forth her champion, vindicated her innocence, and married her.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Ari'on. William Falconer, author of The Shipwreck, speaks of himself under this nom de plume (canto iii). He was sent to sea when a lad, and says he was eager to investigate the "antiquities of foreign states." He was junior officer in the Britannia, which was wrecked against the projecting verge of cape Colonna, the most southern point of Attica, and was the only officer who survived.
Ari'on, a Greek musician, who, to avoid being murdered for his wealth, threw himself into the sea, and was carried to Tæ'naros on the back of a dolphin.
Ari'on, the wonderful horse which Herculês gave to Adrastos. It had the gift of human speech, and the feet on the right side were the feet of a man.
(One of the masques in Sir W. Scott's Kenilworth is called "Arion.")
Ario'sto of the North, Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832).
Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 40.
Aristæ'us, protector of vines and olives, huntsmen and herdsmen. He instructed man also in the management of bees, taught him by his mother Cyrenê.
Aristar'chus, any critic. Aristarchus of Samothrace was the greatest critic of antiquity. His labors were chiefly directed to the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer. He divided them into twenty-four books each, marked every doubtful line with an obelos, and every one he considered especially beautiful with an asterisk. (Fl. B.C. 156; died aged 72.)
The whole region of belle lettres fell under my inspection.... There, sirs, like another Aristarch, I dealt out fame and damnation at pleasure.—Samuel Foote, The Liar, i. 1.
"How, friend," replied the archbishop, "has it [the homily] met with any Aristarchus [severe critic]?"—Lesage, Gil Blas, vii. 4 (1715).
Ariste (2 syl.), brother of Chrysale (2 syl.), not a savant, but a practical tradesman. He sympathizes with Henriette, his womanly niece, against his sister-in-law Philaminte (3 syl.) and her daughter Armande (2 syl.), who femmes savantes.—Molière, Les Femmes Savantes (1672).
Ariste'as, a poet who continued to appear and disappear alternately for above 400 years, and who visited all the mythical nations of the earth. When not in the human form, he took the form of a stag.—Greek Legend.
Aristi'des (The British), Andrew Marvell, an influential member of the House of Commons in the reign of Charles II. He refused every offer of promotion, and a direct bribe tendered to him by the lord treasurer. Dying in great poverty, he was buried, like Aristidês, at the public expense (1620-1678).
Aristip'pos, a Greek philosopher of Cyre'nê, who studied under Soc'ratês, and set up a philosophic school of his own, called "he'donism" ([Greek: aedonae] "pleasure").
C. M. Wieland has an historic novel in German, called Aristippus, in which he sets forth the philosophical dogmas of this Cyrenian (1733-1813).
An axiom of Aristippos was Omnis Aristippum decuit color, et status, et res (Horace, Epist. i. 17, 23); and his great precept was Mihi res, non me rebus subjungere (Horace, Epist. i. I, 18).
I am a sort of Aristippus, and can equally accommodate myself to company and solitude, to affluence and frugality.—Lesage, Gil Blas, v. 12 (1715).
Aristobu'lus, called by Drayton Aristob'ulus (Rom. xvi. 10), and said to be the first that brought to England the "glad tidings of salvation." He was murdered by the Britons.
Drayton, Polyolbion, xxiv. (1622).
Aristom'enes (5 syl.), a young Messenian of the royal line, the "Cid" of ancient Messe'nia. On one occasion he entered Sparta by night to suspend a shield from the temple of Pallas. On the shield were inscribed these words: "Aristomenês from the Spartan spoils dedicates this to the goddess."
A similar tale is told of Fernando Perez del Pulgar, when serving under Ferdinand of Castile at the siege of Grana'da. With fifteen companions he entered Granada, then in the power of the Moors, and nailed to the door of the principal mosque with his dagger a tablet inscribed "Ave Maria!" then galloped back, before the guards recovered from their amazement.—Washington Irving, Conquest of Granada, 91.
Aristoph'anes (5 syl.), a Greek who wrote fifty-four comedies, eleven of which have survived to the present day (B.C. 444-380). He is called "The Prince of Ancient Comedy," and Menander "The Prince of New Comedy" (B.C. 342-291).
The English or Modern Aristophanes, Samuel Foote (1722-1777).
The French Aristophanes, J. Baptiste Poquelin de Molière (1622-1673).
Aristotle. The mistress of this philosopher was Hepyllis; of Plato, Archionassa; and of Epicurus, Leontium.
Aristotle of China, Tehuhe, who died A.D. 1200, called "The Prince of Science."
Aristotle of Christianity, Thomas Aqui'nas, who tried to reduce the doctrines of faith to syllogistic formulæ (1224-1274).
Aristotle of the Nineteenth Century, George Cuvier, the naturalist (1769-1832).
Ar'istotle in Love. Godfrey Gobilyve told sir Graunde Amoure that Aristotle the philosopher was once in love, and the lady promised to listen to his prayer if he would grant her request. The terms being readily accepted, she commanded him to go on all fours, and then, putting a bridle into his mouth, mounted on his back, and drove him about the room till he was so angry, weary, and disgusted, that he was quite cured of his foolish attachment.—Stephen Hawes, The Pastime of Plesure, xxix. (1555).
Armadale (Allan), bluff young Englishman, devoted to the sea and ship-building, and prone to fall in love. He is betrothed, first to Miss Milroy, a winning lass of sixteen, then to Miss Gwilt, her governess, again and lastly to Miss Milroy, whom he marries.—Wilkie Collins, Armadale.
Armado (Don Adriano de), a pompous, affected Spaniard, called "a refined traveller, in all the world's new fashion planted, that had a mint of phrases in his brain. One whom the music of his own vain tongue did ravish." This man was chosen by Ferdinand, the king of Navarre, when he resolved to spend three years in study with three companions, to relate in the interim of his studies "in high-born words the worth of many a knight from tawny Spain lost in the world's debate."
His humor is lofty, his discourse peremptory, his tongue filed, his eye ambitious, his gait majestical, and his general behavior vain, ridiculous, and thrasonical.... He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument.—Shakespeare, Love's Labor's Lost, act v. sc. 1 (1594).
Armande (2 syl.), daughter of Chrysale (2 syl.), and sister of Henriette. Armande is a femme savante, and Henriette a "thorough woman." Both love Clitandre, but Armande loves him platonically, while Henriette loves him with womanly affection. Clitandre prefers the younger sister, and after surmounting the usual obstacles, marries her.—Molière, Les Femmes Savantes (1672).
Armi'da, a sorceress, who seduces Rinaldo and other crusaders from the siege of Jerusalem. Rinaldo is conducted by her to her splendid palace, where he forgets his vows, and abandons himself to sensual joys. Carlo and Ubaldo are sent to bring him back, and he escapes from Armida; but she follows him, and not being able to allure him back again, sets fire to her palace, rushes into the midst of the fight, and is slain.
When the young queen of Frederick William of Prussia rode about in military costume to incite the Prussians to arms against Napoleon, the latter wittily said, "She is Armida in her distraction setting fire to her own palace."
(Both Glück and Rossini have taken the story of Armida as the subject of an opera.)
Armida's Girdle. Armida had an enchanted girdle, which, "in price and beauty," surpassed all her other ornaments; even the cestus of Venus was less costly. It told her everything; "and when she would be loved, she wore the same."—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Arm'strong (John), called "The Laird's Jock." He is the laird of Mangerton. This old warrior witnesses a national combat in the valley of Liddesdale, between his son (the Scotch chieftain) and Foster (the English champion), in which young Armstrong is overthrown.—Sir W. Scott, The Laird's Jock (time, Elizabeth).
Armstrong (Grace), the bride-elect of Hobbie Elliot of the heugh-foot, a young farmer.—Sir W. Scott, The Black Dwarf (time, Anne).
Armstrong (Archie), court jester to James I., introduced in The Fortunes of Nigel, by Sir Walter Scott (1822).
Ar'naut, an Albanian mountaineer. The word means "a brave man."
Stained with the best of Arnaut blood. Byron, The Giaour, 526.
Arnheim (2 syl.). The baron Herman von Arnheim, Anne of Geierstein's grandfather.
Sibilla of Arnheim, Anne's mother.
The baroness of Arnheim, Anne of Geierstein.—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Arnold, the deformed son of Bertha, who hates him for his ugliness. Weary of life, he is about to make away with himself, when a stranger accosts him, and promises to transform him into any shape he likes best. He chooses that of Achilles, and then goes to Rome, where he joins the besieging army of Bourbon. During the siege, Arnold enters St. Peter's of Rome just in time to rescue Olimpia, but the proud beauty, to prevent being taken captive by him, flings herself from the high altar on the pavement, and is taken up apparently lifeless. As the drama was never completed, the sequel is not known.—Byron, The Deformed Transformed.
Ar'nold, the torch-bearer at Rotherwood.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Ar'nold of Benthuysen, disguised as a beggar, and called "Ginks."—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Beggar's Bush (1622).
Arnold Brinkworth, frank, whole-souled sailor, in love with and betrothed to Blanche Lundie. Through his friendship for the man who has betrayed Anne Silvestre, and desire to serve the hapless woman, he is the bearer of a message to her from Geoffrey Delamayne, and is mistaken for her husband. Through this blunder he finds himself married by Scotch law to Anne, while he is engaged to Blanche.—Wilkie Collins, Man and Wife.
Arnol'do, son of Melchtal, patriot of the forest cantons of Switzerland. He was in love with Mathilde (3 syl.), sister of Gessler, the Austrian governor of the district. When the tyranny of Gessler drove the Swiss into rebellion, Arnoldo joined the insurgents, but after the death of Gessler he married Mathilde, whose life he had saved when it was imperilled by an avalanche.—Rossini, Guglielmo Tell (1829).
Arnol'do, a gentleman contracted to Zeno'cia, a chaste lady, dishonorably pursued by the governor, count Clodio.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Custom of the Country (1647).
Ar'nolphe (2 syl.), a man of wealth, who has a crotchet about the proper training of girls to make good wives, and tries his scheme on Agnes, whom he adopts from a peasant's hut, and intends in time to make his wife. She is brought up, from the age of four years, in a country convent, where difference of sex and the conventions of society are wholly ignored; but when removed from the convent Agnes treats men like school-girls, nods to them familiarly, kisses them, and plays with them. Being told by her guardian that married women have more freedom than maidens, she asks him to marry her; however, a young man named Horace falls in love with her, and makes her his wife, so Arnolphe, after all, profits nothing by his pains.—Molière, L'École des Femmes (1662).
Ar'not (Andrew), one of the yeomen of the Balafre [Ludovic Lesly].—Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward (time, Edward IV.).
Aron'teus (4 syl.), an Asiatic king, who joined the Egyptian armament against the crusaders.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Arpa'sia, the betrothed of Mone'sês, a Greek, but made by constraint the bride of Baj'azet sultan of Turkey. Bajazet commanded Monesês to be bow-strung in the presence of Arpasia, to frighten her into subjection, but she died at the sight.—N. Eowe, Tamerlane (1702).
Ar'rot, the weasel in the beast-epic of Reynard the Fox (1498).
Arrow-head, Indian warrior in Cooper's Pathfinder, the husband of Dew-in-June (1840).
Arrow-maker, father of Minnehaha, in Longfellow's Hiawatha (1855).
Ar'saces (3 syl.), the patronymic name of the Persian kings, from Arsaces, their great monarch. It was generally added to some distinctive name or appellation, as the Roman emperors added the name of Cæsar to their own.
Arse'tes (3 syl.), the aged eunuch who brought up Clorinda, and attended on her.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Arsinoë, prude in Molière's comedy Le Misanthrope.
Ar'tamenes (3 syl.) or Le Grand Cyrus, a "long-winded romance," by Mdlle. Scudéri (1607-1701).
Artaxam'inous, king of Utopia, married to Griskinissa, whom he wishes to divorce for Distaffi'na. But Distaffina is betrothed to general Bombastês, and when the general finds that his "fond one" prefers "half a crown" to himself, he hates all the world, and challenges the whole race of man by hanging his boots on a tree, and daring any one to displace them. The king, coming to the spot, reads the challenge, and cuts the boots down, whereupon Bombastês falls on his majesty, and "kills him," in a theatrical sense, for the dead monarch, at the close of the burletta, joins in the dance, and promises, if the audience likes, "to die again to-morrow."—W. B. Rhodes, Bombastes Furioso.
Ar'tegal or Arthegal (Sir), son of Gorloïs prince of Cornwall, stolen in infancy by the fairies, and brought up in Fairyland. Brit'omart saw him in Venus's looking-glass, and fell in love with him. She married him, and became the mother of Aurelius Conan, from whom (through Cadwallader) the Tudor dynasty derives descent. The wanderings of Britomart, as a lady knight-errant and the impersonation of chastity, is the subject of bk. iii. of the Faëry Queen; and the achievements of sir Artegal, as the impersonation of justice, is the subject of bk. v.
Sir Artegal's first exploit was to decide to which claimant a living woman belonged. This he decided according to Solomon's famous judgment respecting "the living and dead child" (canto 1). His next was to destroy the corrupt practice of bribery and toll (canto 2). His third was the exposing of Braggadoccio and his follower Trompart (canto 3). He had then to decide to which brother a chest of money found at sea belonged, whether to Bracidas or Am'idas; he gave judgment in favor of the former (canto 4). He then fell into the hands of Rad'igund queen of the Amazons, and was released by Britomart (cantos 5 and 6), who killed Radigund (canto 7). His last and greatest achievement was the deliverance of Ire'na (Ireland) from Grantorto (rebellion), whom he slew (canto 12).
N.B.—This rebellion was that called the earl of Desmond's, in 1580. Before bk. iv. 6, Artegal is spelled Arthegal, but never afterwards.
"Sir Artegal" is meant for lord Gray of Wilton, Spenser's friend. He was sent in 1580 into Ireland as lord-lieutenant, and the poet was his secretary. The marriage of Artegal with Britomart means that the justice of lord Gray was united to purity of mind or perfect integrity of conduct.—Spenser's Faëry Queen, v. (1596).
Artemis'ia, daughter of Lygdamis and queen of Carlia. With five ships she accompanied Xerxes in his invasion of Greece, and greatly distinguished herself in the battle of Salamis by her prudence and courage. (This is not the Artemisia who built the Mausoleum.)
Artemis'ia, daughter of Hecatomnus and sister-wife of Mauso'lus. Artemisia was queen of Caria, and at the death of her fraternal husband raised a monument to his memory (called a mausole'um), which was one of the "Seven Wonders of the World." It was built by four different architects: Scopas, Timotheus, Leocharês, and Bruxis.
Lord Brooke, An Inquiry upon Fame, etc. (1554-1628).
Artemus Ward, travelling showman and philosopher, whose adventures and sayings as given by Charles Brown were a new departure in the history of American dialect literature (1862).
Artful Dodger, the sobriquet of John Dawkins, a young thief, up to every sort of dodge, and a most marvellous adept in villainy.—Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Arthgallo, a mythical British king, brother of Gorbonian, his predecessor on the throne, and son of Mor'vidus, the tyrant who was swallowed by a sea-monster. Arthgallo was deposed, and his brother El'idure was advanced to the throne instead.—Geoffrey, British History, iii. 17 (1142).
Arthur (King), parentage of. His father was Uther the pendragon, and his mother Ygernê (3 syl.), widow of Gorloïs duke of Cornwall. But Ygernê had been a widow only three hours, and knew not that the duke was dead (pt. i. 2), and her marriage with the pendragon was not consummated till thirteen days afterwards. When the boy was born Merlin took him, and he was brought up as the foster-son of sir Ector (Tennyson says "sir Anton"), till Merlin thought proper to announce him as the lawful successor of Uther, and had him crowned. Uther lived two years after his marriage with Ygernê.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 2, 6 (1470).
Coming of Arthur. Leod'ogran, king of Cam'eliard (3 syl.), appealed to Arthur to assist him in clearing his kingdom of robbers and wild beasts. This being done, Arthur sent three of his knights to Leodogran, to beg the hand of his daughter Guenever in marriage. To this Leodogran, after some little hesitation, agreed, and sir Lancelot was sent to escort the lady to Arthur's court.
Arthur not dead. According to tradition Arthur is not dead, but rests in Glastonbury, "till he shall come again full twice as fair, to rule over his people." (See BARBAROSSA.)
According to tradition, Arthur never died, but was converted into a raven by enchantment, and will, in the fulness of time, appear again in his original shape, to recover his throne and sceptre. For this reason there is never a raven killed in England.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I ii. 5 (1605).
Arthur's Twelve Battles (or victories over the Saxons). I. The battle of the river Glem (i.e. the glen of Northumberland). 2 to 5. The four battles of the Duglas (which falls into the estuary of the Ribble). 6. The battle of Bassa, said to be Bashall Brook, which joins the Ribble near Clithero. 7. The battle of Celidon, said to be Tweeddale. 8. The battle of Castle Gwenion (i.e. Caer Wen, in Wedale, Stow). 9. The battle of Caerleon, i.e. Carlisle; which Tennyson makes to be Caerleon-upon-Usk. 10. The battle of Trath Treroit, in Anglesey, some say the Solway Frith. 11. The battle of Agned Cathregonion (i.e. Edinburgh). 12. The battle of Badon Hill (i.e. the Hill of Bath, now Bannerdown).
Then bravely chanted they The several twelve pitched fields he [Arthur] with the Saxons fought. M. Drayton, Polyolbion, iv. (1612).
Arthur, one of the Nine Worthies. Three were Gentiles: Hector, Alexander, and Julius Cæsar; three were Jews: Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabæus; three were Christians: Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillon.
Arthur's Foster-Father and Mother, sir Ector and his lady. Their son, sir Key (his foster-brother), was his seneschal or steward.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 3, 8 (1470).
N.B.—Tennyson makes sir Anton the foster-father of Arthur.
Arthur's Butler, sir Lucas or Lucan, son of duke Corneus; but sir Griflet, son of Cardol, assisted sir Key and sir Lucas "in the rule of the service."—History of Prince Arthur, i. 8 (1470).
Arthur's Sisters [half-sisters], Morgause or Margawse (wife of king Lot); Elain (wife of king Nentres of Carlot); and Morgan le Fay, the "great clark of Nigromancy," who wedded king Vrience, of the land of Corê, father of Ewayns le Blanchemayne. Only the last had the same mother (Ygraine or Ygernê) as the king.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 2.
Arthur's Sons—Urien, Llew, and Arawn. Borre was his son by Lyonors, daughter of the earl Sanam.—History of Prince Arthur, i. 15. Mordred was his son by Elain, wife of king Nentres of Carlot. In some of the romances collated by sir T. Malory he is called the son of Morgause and Arthur; Morgause being called the wife of king Lot, and sister of Arthur. This incest is said to have been the cause of Mordred's hatred of Arthur.—Pt. i. 17, 36, etc.
Arthur's Drinking-Horn. No one could drink from this horn who was either unchaste or unfaithful.—Lai du Corn and Morte d'Arthur. (See CHASTITY.)
Arthur's Shield, Pridwin. Geoffrey calls it Priwen, and says it was adorned with the picture of the Virgin Mary.—British History, ix. 4 (1142).
Arthur's Spear, Rone. Geoffrey calls it Ron. It was made of ebony.—British History, ix. 4 (1142).
Arthur's Sword, Escal'ibur or Excal'ibur. Geoffrey calls it Caliburn, and says it was made in the isle of Avallon.—British History, ix. 4 (1142).
Drayton, Polyolbion, iv. (1612).
Arthur's Round Table. It contained seats for 150 knights. Three were reserved, two for honor, and one (called the "siege perilous") for sir Galahad, destined to achieve the quest of the sangreal. If any one else attempted to sit in it, his death was the certain penalty.
There is a table so called at Winchester, and Henry VIII. showed it to François I. as the very table made by Merlin for Uther the pendragon.
M. Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. (1612).
Arthur (King), in the burlesque opera of
Tom Thumb, has Dollallolla for his queen, and Huncamunca for his daughter. This dramatic piece, by Henry Fielding, the novelist, was produced in 1730, but was altered by Kane O'Hara, author of Midas, about half a century later.
Arthurian Romances.
King Arthur and the Round Table, a romance in verse (1096).
The Holy Graal (in verse, 1100).
Titurel, or The Guardian of the Holy Graal, by Wolfram von Eschenbach. Titurel founded the temple of Graalburg as a shrine for the holy graal.
The Romance of Parzival, prince of the race of the kings of Graalburg. By Wolfram of Eschenbach (in verse). This romance (written about 1205) was partly founded upon a French poem by Chrétien de Troyes, Parceval le Gallois (1170).
Launcelot of the Lake, by Ulrich of Zazikoven, contemporary with William Rufus.
Wigalois, or The Knight of the Wheel, by Wirnd of Graffenberg. This adventurer leaves his mother in Syria, and goes in search of his father, a knight of the Round Table.
I'wain, or The Knight of the Lion, and Ereck, by Hartmann von der Aue (thirteenth century).
Tristan and Yseult (in verse), by Master Grottfried of Strasburg (thirteenth century). This is also the subject of Luc du Grast's prose romance, which was revised by Elie de Borron, and turned into verse by Thomas the Rhymer, of Erceldoune, under the title of the Romance of Tristram.
Merlyn Ambroise, by Robert de Borron.
Roman des diverses Quétes de St. Graal, by Walter Mapes (prose).
La Morte d'Arthur, by Walter Mapes.
A Life of Joseph of Arimathea, by Robert de Borron.
The Idylls of the King, by Tennyson, in blank verse, containing "The Coming of Arthur," "Gareth and Lynette," "Geraint and Enid," "Merlin and Vivien," "Lancelot and Elaine," "The Holy Graal," "Peleas and Ettarre" (2 syl.), "The Last Tournament," "Guinevere" (3 syl.) and "The Passing of Arthur," which is the "Morte d'Arthur" with an introduction added to it.
(The old Arthurian Romances have been collated and rendered into English by sir Thomas Malory, in three parts. Part i. contains the early history of Arthur and the beautiful allegory of Gareth and Linet; part ii. contains the adventures of sir Tristram; and part iii. the adventures of sir Launcelot, with the death of Arthur and his knights. Sir Frederick Madden and J.T.K. have also contributed to the same series of legends.)
Sources of the Arthurian Romances. The prose series of romances called Arthurian, owe their origin to: 1. The legendary chronicles composed in Wales or Brittany, such as De Excidio Britanniae of Gildas. 2. The chronicles of Nennius (ninth century). 3. The Armoric collections of Walter [Cale'nius] or Gauliter, archdeacon of Oxford. 4. The Chronicon sive Historia Britonum of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 5. Floating traditions and metrical ballads and romances. (See CHARLEMAGNE.)
Ar'thuret (Miss Seraphina the papist and Miss Angelica), two sisters in sir W. Scott's novel called Redgauntlet (time, George III.).
Arthur Kavanagh, the new pastor in the Fairmeadow parish, endowed "with the zeal of Peter and the gentleness of John," who writes on his study-door Dante's injunction—
Think that To-day will never dawn again. Kavanagh. A Tale, by H.W. Longfellow (1872).
Arthur Livingston, an American traveller in Egypt who falls in love, at first leisurely, finally desperately, with the heroine of Kismet by George Fleming (Julia C. Fletcher) (1877).
Arthur Ripley, young New York lawyer employed in the criminal case that is the pivotal centre of interest in Sidney Luska's (Harry Harland) novel, Mrs. Peixada (1886).
Ar'turo (lord Arthur Talbot), a cavalier affianced to Elvi'ra "the puritan," daughter of lord Walton. On the day appointed for the wedding, Arturo has to aid Enrichetta (Henrietta, widow of Charles I.) in her escape, and Elvira, supposing he is eloping with a rival, temporarily loses her reason. On his return, Arturo explains the circumstances, and they vow never more to part. At this juncture Arturo is arrested for treason, and led away to execution; but a herald announces the defeat of the Stuarts, and free pardon of all political offenders, whereupon Arturo is released, and marries "the fair puritan."—Bellini's opera, I Puritani (1834).
Ar'turo [BUCKLAW]. So Frank Hayston is called in Donizetti's opera of Lucia di Lammermoor (1835). (See HAYSTON.)
Ar'valan, the wicked son of Keha'ma, slain by Ladur'lad for attempting to dishonor his daughter Kail'yal (2 syl.). After this, his spirit became the relentless persecutor of the holy maiden, but holiness and chastity triumphed over sin and lust. Thus when Kailyal was taken to the bower of bliss in paradise, Arvalan borrowed the dragon-car of the witch Lor'rimite (3 syl.) to carry her off; but when the dragons came in sight of the holy place they were unable to mount, and went perpetually downwards, till Arvalan was dropped into an ice-rift of perpetual snow. When he presented himself before her in the temple of Jaganaut, she set fire to the pagoda. And when he caught the maiden waiting for her father, who was gone to release the glendoveer from the submerged city of Baly, Baly himself came to her rescue.
Arvi'da (Prince), a noble friend of Gustavus Vasa. Both Arvida and Gustavus are in love with Christi'na, daughter of Christian II. king of Scandinavia. Christian employs the prince to entrap Gustavus, but when he approaches him the better instincts of old friendship and the nobleness of Gustavus prevail, so that Arvida not only refuses to betray his friend, but even abandons to him all further rivalry in the love of Christina.—H. Brooke, Gustavus Vasa (1730).
Arvir'agus, the husband of Do'rigen. Aurelius tried to win her love, but Dorigen made answer that she would never listen to his suit till the rocks that beset the coast were removed, "and there n'is no stone y-seen." By the aid of magic, Aurelius caused all the rocks of the coast to disappear, and Dorigen's husband insisted that she should keep her word. When Aurelius saw how sad she was, and was told that she had come in obedience to her husband's wishes, he said he would rather die than injure so true a wife and noble a gentleman.—Chaucer, Canterbury Tales ("The Franklin's Tale," 1388).
(This is substantially the same as Boccaccio's tale of Dianora and Gilberto, day x. 5. See DIANORA.)
Arvir'agus, younger son of Cym'beline (3 syl.) king of Britain, and brother of Guide'rius. The two in early childhood were kidnapped by Bela'rius, out of revenge for being unjustly banished, and were brought up by him in a cave. When they were grown to manhood, Belarius, having rescued the king from the Romans, was restored to favor. He then introduced the two young men to Cymbeline, and told their story, upon which the king was rejoiced to find that his two sons whom he thought dead were both living.—Shakespeare, Cymbeline (1605).
Aryan Languages (The)—
As You Like It, a comedy by Shakespeare. One of the French dukes, being driven from his dukedom by his brother, went with certain followers to the forest of Arden, where they lived a free and easy life, chiefly occupied in the chase. The deposed duke had one daughter, named Rosalind, whom the usurper kept at court as the companion of his own daughter Celia, and the two cousins were very fond of each other. At a wrestling match Rosalind fell in love with Orlando, who threw his antagonist, a giant and professional athlete. The usurping duke (Frederick) now banished her from the court, but her cousin Celia resolved to go to Arden with her; so Rosalind in boy's clothes (under the name of Ganymede), and Celia as a rustic maiden (under the name of Alie'na), started to find the deposed duke. Orlando being driven from home by his elder brother, also went to the forest of Arden, and was taken under the duke's protection. Here he met the ladies, and a double marriage was the result—Orlando married Rosalind, and his elder brother Oliver married Celia. The usurper retired to a religious house, and the deposed duke was restored to his dominions.—(1598.)
Asaph. So Tate calls Dryden in Absalom and Achitophel.
Asaph (St.) a British [i.e. Welsh] monk of the sixth century, abbot of Llan-Elvy, which changed its name to St. Asaph, in honor of him.
Ascal'aphos, son of Acheron, turned into an owl for tale-telling and trying to make mischief.—Greek Fable.
Asca'nio, son of don Henrique (2 syl.), in the comedy called The Spanish Curate, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1622).
As'capart or As'cupart, an enormous giant, thirty feet high, who carried off sir Bevis, his wife Jos'ian, his sword Morglay, and his steed Ar'undel, under his arm. Sir Bevis afterwards made Ascapart his slave, to run beside his horse. The effigy of sir Bevis is on the city gates of Southampton.—Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. (1612).
He was a man whose huge stature, thews, sinews, and bulk ... would have enabled him to enact "Colbrand," "Ascapart," or any other giant of romance, without raising himself nearer to heaven even by the altitude of a chopin.—Sir W. Scott.
Thus imitated by Pope (1688-1744)—
Ascræ'an Sage, or Ascræan poet, Hesiod, who was born at Ascra, in Boeo'tia. Virgil calls him "The Old Ascræan."
As'ebie (3 syl.), Irreligion personified in The Purple Island (1633), by Phineas Fletcher (canto vii.). He had four sons: Idol'atros (idolatry), Phar'makeus (3 syl.) (witchcraft), Hæret'icus, and Hypocrisy; all fully described by the poet. (Greek, asebeia, "impiety.")
Asel'ges (3 syl.), Lasciviousness personified. One of the four sons of Anag'nus (inchastity), his three brothers being Mæchus (adultery), Pornei'us (fornication), and Acath'arus. Seeing his brother Porneius fall by the spear of Parthen'ia (maidenly chastity), Aselgês rushes forward to avenge his death, but the martial maid caught him with her spear, and tossed him so high i' the air "that he hardly knew whither his course was bent." (Greek, aselgês, "intemperate, wanton.")—Phineas Fletcher, The Purple Island, xi. (1633).
As'en, strictly speaking, are only the three gods next in rank to the twelve male Asir; but the word is not unfrequently used for the Scandinavian deities generally.
Ashburton (Mary), heroine of Hyperion, by H.W. Longfellow (1839).
Ash'field (Farmer), a truly John Bull farmer, tender-hearted, noble-minded but homely, generous but hot-tempered. He loves his daughter Susan with the love of a woman. His favorite expression is "Behave pratty," and he himself always tries to do so. His daughter Susan marries Robert Handy, the son of sir Abel Handy.
Dame Ashfield, the farmer's wife, whose bête noire is a neighboring farmer named Grundy. What Mrs. Grundy will say, or what Mrs. Grundy will think or do, is dame Ashfield's decalogue and gospel too.
Susan Ashfield, daughter of farmer and dame Ashfield.—Thom. Morton, Speed the Plough (1764-1838).
Ash'ford (Isaac), "a wise, good man, contented to be poor."—Crabbe, Parish Register (1807).
Ashpenaz, chief of eunuchs, and majordomo to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian monarch. Wily, corpulent, and avaricious, a creature to be at once feared and despised.—The Master of the Magicians, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward (1890).
Ash'taroth, a general name for all Syrian goddesses. (See ASTORETH.)
Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 422 (1665).
Ash'ton (Sir William), the lord keeper of Scotland, and father of Lucy Ashton.
Lady Eleanor Ashton, wife of sir William.
Colonel Sholto Douglas Ashton, eldest son of sir William.
Lucy Ashton, daughter of sir William, betrothed to Edgar (the master of Ravenswood); but being compelled to marry Frank Hayston (laird of Bucklaw), she tries to murder him in the bridal chamber, and becomes insane. Lucy dies, but the laird recovers.—Sir W. Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
(This has been made the subject of an opera by Donizetti, called Lucia di Lammermoor, 1835.)
Asia, the wife of that Pharaoh who brought up Moses. She was the daughter of Mozahem. Her husband tortured her for believing in Moses; but she was taken alive into paradise.—Sale, Al Korân, xx., note, and Ixvi., note.
Mahomet says, "Among women four have been perfect: Asia, wife of Pharaoh; Mary, daughter of Imran; Khadijah, the prophet's first wife; and Fatima, his own daughter."
As'ir, the twelve chief gods of Scandinavian mythology—Odin, Thor, Baldr, Niord, Frey, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Vidar, Vali, Ullur, and Forseti.
Sometimes the goddesses—Frigga, Freyja, Idu'na, and Saga, are ranked among the Asir also.
As'madai (3 syl.) the same as As-mode'us (4 syl.) the lustful and destroying angel, who robbed Sara of her seven husbands (Tobit iii. 8). Milton makes him one of the rebellious angels overthrown by Uriel and Ra'phael. Hume says the word means "the destroyer."—Paradise Lost, vi 365 (1665).
Asmode'us (4 syl.), the demon of vanity and dress, called in the Talmud "king of the devils." As "dress" is one of the bitterest evils of modern life, it is termed "the Asmodeus of domestic peace," a phrase employed to express any "skeleton" in the house of a private family.
In the book of Tobit Asmodeus falls in love with Sara, daughter of Rag'uël, and causes the successive deaths of seven husbands each on his bridal night, but when Sara married Tobit, Asmodeus was driven into Egypt by a charm made of the heart and liver of a fish burnt on perfumed ashes.
(Milton throws the accent on the third syl., Tennyson on the second.)
Milton, Paradise Lost, iv. 168.
Tennyson, St. Simeon Stylitês.
Asmode'us, a "diable bon-homme," with more gaiety than malice; not the least like Mephistophelês. He is the companion of Cle'ofas, whom he carries through the air, and shows him the inside of houses, where they see what is being done in private or secrecy without being seen. Although Asmodeus is not malignant, yet with all his wit, acuteness, and playful malice, we never forget the fiend.—Le Sage, Le Diable Boiteux.
(Such was the popularity of the Diable Boiteux, that two young men fought a duel in a bookseller's shop over the only remaining copy, an incident worthy to be recorded by Asmodeus himself.)
Miss Austen gives us just such a picture of domestic life as Asmodeus would present could he remove the roof of many an English home.—Encyc. Brit. Art. "Romance."
Aso'tus, Prodigality personified in The Purple Island (1633), by Phineas Fletcher, fully described in canto viii. (Greek, asotos, "a profligate.")
Aspa'tia, a maiden the very ideal of ill-fortune and wretchedness. She is the troth-plight wife of Amintor, but Amintor, at the king's request, marries Evad'ne (3 syl.). "Women point with scorn at the forsaken Aspatia, but she bears it all with patience. The pathos of her speeches is most touching, and her death forms the tragical event which gives name to the drama."—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Maid's Tragedy (1610).
As'pramonte (3 syl.), in Sir W. Scott's Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).
As'rael or Az'rael, an angel of death. He is immeasurable in height, insomuch that the space between his eyes equals a 70,000 days' journey.—Mohammedan Mythology.
As'sad, son of Camaral'zaman and Haiatal'nefous (5 syl.), and half-brother of Amgiad (son of Camaralzaman and Badoura). Each of the two mothers conceived a base passion for the other's son, and when the young men repulsed their advances, accused them to their father of gross designs upon their honor. Camaralzaman commanded his vizier to put them both to death; but instead of doing so, he conducted them out of the city, and told them not to return to their father's kingdom (the island of Ebony). They wandered on for ten days, when Assad went to a city in sight to obtain provisions. Here he was entrapped by an old fire-worshipper, who offered him hospitality, but cast him into a dungeon, intending to offer him up a human victim on the "mountain of fire." The ship in which he was sent being driven on the coast of queen Margiana, Assad was sold to her as a slave, but being recaptured was carried back to his old dungeon. Here Bosta'na, one of the old man's daughters, took pity on him, and released him, and ere long Assad married queen Margiana, while Amgiad, out of gratitude, married Bostana.—Arabian Nights ("Amgiad and Assad").
Astag'oras, a female fiend, who has the power of raising storms.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Astar'te (3 syl.), the Phoenician moon-goddess, the Astoreth of the Syrians.
As'tarte (2 syl.), an attendant on the princess Anna Comne'na.—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Eufus).
Astarte a woman, beloved by Manfred.—Byron, Manfred.
We think of Astarte as young, beautiful, innocent,—guilty, lost, murdered, judged, pardoned; but still, in her permitted visit to earth, speaking in a voice of sorrow, and with a countenance yet pale with mortal trouble. We had but a glimpse of her in her beauty and innocence, but at last she rises before us in all the moral silence of a ghost, with fixed, glazed, and passionless eyes, revealing death, judgment, and eternity.—Professor Wilson.
As'tery, a nymph in the train of Venus; the lightest of foot and most active of all. One day the goddess, walking abroad with her nymphs, bade them go gather flowers. Astery gathered most of all; but Venus, in a fit of jealousy, turned her into a butterfly, and threw the flowers into the wings. Since then all butterflies have borne wings of many gay colors.—Spenser, Muiopotmos or the Butterfly's Fate (1590).
Astol'pho, the English cousin of Orlando; his father was Otho. He was a great boaster, but was generous, courteous, gay, and singularly handsome. Astolpho was carried to Alci'na's isle on the back of a whale; and when Alcina tired of him, she changed him into a myrtle tree, but Melissa disenchanted him. Astolpho descended into the infernal regions; he also went to the moon, to cure Orlando of his madness by bringing back his lost wits in a phial.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
As'ton (Sir Jacob), a cavalier during the Commonwealth; one of the partisans of the late king.—Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (period, Commonwealth).
As'ton (Enrico). So Henry Ashton is called in Donizetti's opera of Lucia di Lammermoor (1835). (See ASHTON.)
As'torax, king of Paphos and brother of the princess Calis.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (before 1618).
As'toreth, the goddess-moon of Syrian mythology; called by Jeremiah, "The Queen of Heaven," and by the Phoenicians, "Astar'tê."
(Milton does not always preserve the difference between Ashtaroth and Ashtoreth; for he speaks of the "moonèd Ashtaroth, heaven's queen and mother.")
As'tragon, the philosopher and great physician, by whom Gondibert and his friends were cured of the wounds received in the faction fight stirred up by prince Oswald. Astragon had a splendid library and museum. One room was called "Great Nature's Office," another "Nature's Nursery," and the library was called "The Monument of Vanished Mind." Astragon (the poet says) discovered the loadstone and its use in navigation. He had one child, Bertha, who loved duke Gondibert, and to whom she was promised in marriage. The tale being unfinished, the sequel is not known.—Sir W. Davenant, Gondibert (died 1668).
Astre'a (Mrs. Alphra Behn), an authoress. She published the story of Prince Oroonoka (died 1689).
The stage now loosely does Astrea tread. Pope.
Astringer, a falconer. Shakespeare introduces an astringer in All's Well that Ends Well, act v. sc. 1. (From the French austour, Latin austercus, "a goshawk.") A "gentle astringer" is a gentleman falconer.
We usually call a falconer who keeps that kind of hawk [the goshawk] an austringer.—Cowell, Law Dictionary.
As'tro-fiamman'te (5 syl.), queen of the night. The word means "flaming star."—Mozart, Die Zauberflöte (1791).
Astronomer (The), in Rasselas, an old enthusiast, who believed himself to have the control and direction of the weather. He leaves Imlac his successor, but implores him not to interfere with the constituted order.
"I have possessed," said he to Imlac, "for five years the regulation of the weather, and the distribution of the seasons: the sun has listened to my dictates, and passed from tropic to tropic by my direction; the clouds, at my call, have poured their waters, and the Nile has overflowed at my command; I have restrained the rage of the Dog-star, and mitigated the fervor of the Crab. The winds alone ... have hitherto refused my authority.... I am the first of human beings to whom this trust has been imparted."—Dr. Johnson, Rasselas, xli.—xliii. (1759).
As'trophel (Sir Philip Sidney). "Phil. Sid." may be a contraction of philos sidus, and the Latin sidus being changed to the Greek astron, we get astron philos ("star-lover"). The "star" he loved was Penelopê Devereux, whom he calls Stella ("star"), and to whom he was betrothed. Spenser wrote a poem called Astrophel, to the memory of Sir Philip Sidney.
Astyn'ome (4 syl.) or Chryseïs, daughter of Chrysês priest of Apollo. When Lyrnessus was taken, Astynomê fell to the share of Agamemnon, but the father begged to be allowed to ransom her. Agamemnon refused to comply, whereupon the priest invoked the anger of his patron god, and Apollo sent a plague into the Grecian camp. This was the cause of contention between Agamemnon and Achillês, and forms the subject of Homer's epic called The Iliad.
As'wad, son of Shedad king of Ad. He was saved alive when the angel of death destroyed Shedad and all his subjects, because he showed mercy to a camel which had been bound to a tomb to starve to death, that it might serve its master on the day of resurrection.—Southey, Thalaba the Destroyer (1797).
Ataba'lipa, the last emperor of Peru, subdued by Pizarro, the Spanish general. Milton refers to him in Paradise Lost, xi. 409 (1665).
At'ala, the name of a novel by François Auguste Chateaubriand. Atala, the daughter of a white man and a Christianized Indian, takes an oath of virginity, but subsequently falling in love with Chactas, a young Indian, she poisons herself for fear that she may be tempted to break her oath. The novel was received with extraordinary enthusiasm (1801).
(This has nothing to do with Attila, king of the Huns, nor with Atlialie (queen of Judah), the subject of Racine's great tragedy.)
Atalanta, of Arcadia, wished to remain single, and therefore gave out that she would marry no one who could not outstrip her in running; but if any challenged her and lost the race, he was to lose his life. Hippom'enês won the race by throwing down golden apples, which Atalanta kept stopping to pick up. William Morris has chosen this for one of his tales in Earthly Paradise (March).
In short, she thus appeared like another Atalanta.—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("Fortunio," 1682).
Atalanta, the central figure in Algernon Charles Swinburne's poem after Æschylus Atalanta in Calydon (1864).
Atali'ba, the inca of Peru, most dearly beloved by his subjects, on whom Pizarro makes war. An old man says of the inca—
The virtues of our monarch alike secure to him the affection of his people and the benign regard of heaven.—Sheridan, Pizarro; ii. 4 (from Kotzebue),(1799).
Atê (2 syl.), goddess of revenge.
With him along is come the mother queen. An Atê, stirring him to blood and strife. Shakespeare, King John, act ii. sc. I (1596).
Atê (2 syl.), "mother of debate and all dissension," the friend of Duessa. She squinted, lied with a false tongue, and maligned even the best of beings. Her abode, "far under ground hard by the gates of hell," is described at length in bk. iv. I. When Sir Blandamour was challenged by Braggadoccio (canto 4), the terms of the contest were that the conqueror should have "Florimel," and the other "the old hag Atê," who was always to ride beside him till he could pass her off to another.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. (1596).
Ath'alie (3 syl.), daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and wife of Joram king of Judah. She massacred all the remnant of the house of David; but Joash escaped, and six years afterwards was proclaimed king. Athalie, attracted by the shouts, went to the temple, and was killed by the mob. This forms the subject and title of Racine's chef-d'oeuvre (1691), and was Mdlle. Rachel's great part.
(Racine's tragedy of Athalie, queen of Judah, must not be confounded with Corneille's tragedy of Attila, king of the Huns.)
Atheist's Tragedy (The), by Cyril Tourneur. The "atheist" is D'Amville, who murders his brother Montferrers for his estates.—(Seventeenth century.)
Ath'elstane (3 syl.), surnamed "The Unready," thane of Coningsburgh.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
"Unready" does not mean unprepared but injudicious (from Anglo-Saxon raed, "wisdom, counsel").
Athe'na (Pallas) once meant "the air," but in Homer this goddess is the representative of civic prudence and military skill; the armed protectress of states and cities. The Romans called her Minerva.
Athe'nian Bee, Plato, so called from, the honeyed sweetness of his composition. It is said that a bee settled on his lip while he was an infant asleep in his cradle, and indicated that "honeyed words" would fall from his lips, and flow from his pen. Sophoclês is called "The Attic Bee."
Ath'liot, the most wretched of all women.
Ath'os. Dinoc'ratês, a sculptor, proposed to Alexander to hew mount Athos into a statue representing the great conqueror, with a city in his left hand, and a basin in his right to receive all the waters which flowed from the mountain. Alexander greatly approved of the suggestion, but objected to the locality.
At'imus, Baseness of Mind personified in The Purple Island (1633), by Phineas Fletcher. "A careless, idle swain ... his work to eat, drink, sleep, and purge his reins." Fully described in canto viii. (Greek, atimos, "one dishonored.")
A'tin (Strife), the squire of Pyr'ochlês.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, ii. 4, 5, 6 (1590).
Atos'sa. So Pope calls Sarah duchess of Marlborough, because she was the great friend of lady Mary Wortley Montagu, whom he calls Sappho.
(The great friend of Sappho was Atthis. By Atossa is generally understood Vashti, daughter of Cyrus and wife of Ahasuerus of the Old Testament.)
At'ropos, one of the Fates, whose office is to cut the thread of life with a pair of scissors.
Attic Bee (The), Soph'oclês (B.C. 495-405). Plato is called "The Athenian Bee."
Attic Boy (The), referred to by Milton in his Il Penseroso, is Ceph'alos, who was beloved by Aurora or Morn, but was married to Procris. He was passionately fond of hunting.
Attic Muse (The), a phrase signifying the whole body of Attic poetry.
Atticus. The surname of T. Pomponius, the intimate friend of Cicero, given to him on account of his long residence in Athens. His biography is found in Nepor.
The English Atticus. Joseph Addison.
At'tila, one of the tragedies of Pierre Corneille (1667). This king of the Huns, usually called "The Scourge of God," must not be confounded with "Athalie," daughter of Jezebel and wife of Joram, the subject and title of Racine's ches-d'oeuvre, and Mdlle. Rachel's chief character.
Aubert (Thérèse), the heroine of C. Nodier's romance of that name (1819). The story relates to the adventures of a young royalist in the French Revolutionary epoch, who had disguised himself in female apparel to escape detection.
Aubrey, a widower for eighteen years. At the death of his wife he committed his infant daughter to the care of Mr. Bridgemore, a merchant, and lived abroad. He returned to London after an absence of eighteen years, and found that Bridgemore had abused his trust, and his daughter had been obliged to quit the house and seek protection with Mr. Mortimer.
Augusta Aubrey, daughter of Mr. Aubrey, in love with Francis Tyrrel, the nephew of Mr. Mortimer. She is snubbed and persecuted by the vulgar Lucinda Bridgemore, and most wantonly persecuted by lord Abberville, but after passing through many a most painful visitation, she is happily married to the man of her choice.—Cumberland, The Fashionable Lover (1780).
Au´bri's Dog showed a most unaccountable hatred to Richard de Macaire, snarling and flying at him whenever he appeared in sight. Now Aubri had been murdered by some one in the forest of Bondy, and this animosity of the dog directed suspicion towards Richard de Macaire. Richard was taken up, and condemned to single combat with the dog, by whom he was killed. In his dying moments he confessed himself to be the murderer of Aubri. (See DOG.)
Le combat entre Macaire et le chien eut lieu à Paris, dans l'île Louviers. On place ce fait merveilleux en 1371, mais ... il est bien antérieur, car il est mentionné dès le siècle précédent par Albéric des Trois-Fontaines.—Bouillet, Dict. Universel, etc.
Auch´termuch´ty (John), the Kinross carrier.—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).
Audhum´bla, the cow created by Surt to nourish Ymir. She supplied him with four rivers of milk, and was herself nourished by licking dew from the rocks.—Scandinavian Mythology.
Au´drey, a country wench, who jilted William for Touchstone. She is an excellent specimen of a wondering she-gawky. She thanks the gods that "she is foul," and if to be poetical is not to be honest, she thanks the gods also that "she is not poetical."—Shakespeare, As You Like It (1598).
Augus´ta, mother of Gustavus Vasa. She is a prisoner of Christian II. king of Denmark, but the king promises to set her free if she will induce her son to submission. Augusta refuses, but in the war which follows, Gustavus defeats Christian, and becomes king of Sweden.—H. Brooke, Gustavus Vasa (1730).
Augusta, a title conferred by the Roman emperors on their wives, sisters, daughters, mothers, and even concubines. It had to be conferred; for even the wife of an Augustus was not an Augusta until after her coronation.
1. EMPRESSES. Livia and Julia were both Augusta; so were Julia (wife of Tiberius), Messalina, Agrippina, Octavia, Poppaea, Statilia, Sabina, Domitilla, Domitia, and Faustina. In imperials the wife of an emperor is spoken of as Augusta: Serenissima Augusta conjux nostra; Divina Augusta, etc. But the title had to be conferred; hence we read, "Domitian uxorem suam Augustam jussit nuncupari;" and "Flavia Titiana, eadem die, uxor ejus [i.e. Pertinax] Augusta est appellata."
2. MOTHERS or GRANDMOTHERS. Antonia, grandmother of Caligula, was created Augusta. Claudius made his mother Antonia Augusta after her death. Heliogab´alus had coins inscribed with "Julia Mæsa Augusta," in honor of his grandmother;
Mammaea, mother of Alexander Severus, is styled Augusta on coins; and so is Helena, mother of Constantine.
3. SISTERS. Honorius speaks of his sister as "venerabilis Augusta germananostra." Trajan has coins inscribed with "Diva Marciana Augusta."
4. DAUGHTERS. Mallia Scantilla the wife, and Didia the daughter of Didius Julianus, were both Augusta. Titus inscribed on coins his daughter as "Julia Sabina Augusta;" there are coins of the emperor Decius inscribed with "Herennia Etruscilla Augusta," and "Sallustia Augusta," sisters of the emperor Decius.
5. OTHERS. Matidia, niece of Trajan, is called Augusta on coins; Constantine Monomachus called his concubine Augusta.
Augusta Hare, a woman with a native genius for popularity, in Mrs. A.D.T. Whitney's novel Hitherto.
Augusti´na, the Maid of Saragossa. She was only twenty-two when, her lover being shot, she mounted the battery in his place. The French, after a siege of two months, were obliged to retreat, August 15, 1808.
Auld Robin Gray was written (1772) by Lady Anne Barnard, to raise a little money for an old nurse. Lady Anne's maiden name was Lindsay, and her father was earl of Balcarras.
Aullay, a monster horse with an elephant's trunk. The creature is as much bigger than an elephant as an elephant is larger than a sheep. King Baly of India rode on an aullay.
Aure´lius, a young nobleman who tried to win to himself Do´rigen, the wife of Arvir´agus, but Dorigen told him she would never yield to his suit till all the rocks of the British coast were removed, "and there n'is no stone y-seen." Aurelius by magic made all the rocks disappear, but when Dorigen went, at her husband's bidding, to keep her promise, Aurelius, seeing how sad she was, made answer, he would rather die than injure so true a wife and noble a gentleman.—Chaucer, Canterbury Tales ("The Franklin's Tale," 1388).
(This is substantially the same as Boccaccio's tale of Dimora and Gilberto, x. 5. See DIANORA.)
Aurelius, elder brother of Uther the pendragon, and uncle of Arthur, but he died before the hero was born.
Even sicke of a flixe [ill of the flux] as he was, he caused himself to be carried forth on a litter; with whose presence the people were so encouraged, that encountering with the Saxons they wan the victorie.—Holinshed, History of Scotland, 99.
Aurora Leigh, daughter of an Englishman and an Italian woman. At her father's death Aurora comes to England to live with a severe, practical aunt. In time she becomes a poet, travels far, sees much, and thinks much of life's problems. She marries her cousin Romney, a philanthropist, blinded by an accident.—Aurora Leigh, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1856).
Aurora Nuncanou, beautiful Creole widow in The Grandissimes, by George W. Cable. In her thirty-fifth year, she "is the red, red, full-blown, faultless joy of the garden. With her it will be always morning. That woman is going to last forever; ha-a-a-a!--even longer!" (1880).
Austin, the assumed name of the lord of Clarinsal, when he renounced the world and became a monk of St. Nicholas. Theodore, the grandson of Alfonso, was his son, and rightful heir to the possessions and title of the count of Narbonne.—Robert Jephson, Count of Narbonne (1782).
Austins (The). Miss Susan, old maid resident at Whiteladies, concerned in a conspiracy to introduce a false heir to the estate.
Miss Augustine, saintly sister, who tries to "turn the curse from Whiteladies, by her own prayers and those of her almsmen."—Whiteladies, by M.O.W. Oliphant.
Aus´tria and the Lion's Hide. There is an old tale that the arch-duke of Austria killed Richard I., and wore as a spoil the lion's hide which belonged to our English monarch. Hence Faulconbridge (the natural son of Richard) says jeeringly to the arch-duke:
(The point is better understood when it is borne in mind that fools and jesters were dressed in calf-skins.)
Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, a mythical personage who indites Oliver Wendell Holmes's breakfast-table conversations.
Autol´ycos, the craftiest of thieves. He stole the flocks of his neighbors, and changed their marks. Sis´yphos outwitted him by marking his sheep under their feet.
Autol´ycus, a peddler and witty rogue, in The Winter's Tale, by Shakespeare (1604).
Avare (L'). The plot of this comedy is as follows: Harpagon the miser and his son Cléante (2 syl.) both want to marry Mariane (3 syl.), daughter of Anselme, alias don Thomas d'Alburci, of Naples. Cléante gets possession of a casket of gold belonging to the miser, and hidden in the garden. When Harpagon discovers his loss he raves like a madman, and Cléante gives him the choice of Mariane or the casket. The miser chooses the casket, and leaves the young lady to his son. The second plot is connected with Elise (2 syl.), the miser's daughter, promised in marriage by the father to his friend Anselme (2 syl.); but Elise is herself in love with Valère, who, however, turns out to be the son of Anselme. As soon as Anselme discovers that Valère is his son, who he thought had been lost at sea, he resigns to him Elise, and so in both instances the young folks marry together, and the old ones give up their unnatural rivalry.—Molière, L'Avare (1667).
Ave´nel (2 syl.), Julian, the usurper of Avenel Castle.
Lady Alice, widow of sir Walter.
Mary, daughter of Lady Alice. She marries Halbert Glendinning.—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (date 1559).
Ave´nel (Sir Halbert Glendinning, knight of), same as the bridegroom in The Monastery.
The lady Mary of Avenel, same as the bride in The Monastery.—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).
The White Lady of Avenel, a spirit mysteriously connected with the Avenel family, as the Irish banshee is with true Mile´sian families. She announces good or ill fortune, and manifests a general interest in the family to which she is attached, but to others she acts with considerable caprice; thus she shows unmitigated malignity to the sacristan and the robber. Any truly virtuous mortal has commanding power over her.
Aven´ger of Blood, the man who had the birthright, according to the Jewish, polity, of taking vengeance on him who had killed one of his relatives.
Avery (Parson), a missionary "to the souls of fishers starving on the rocks of Marblehead." He is wrecked with his crew, one wintry midnight, and dies praying aloud.—J.G. Whittier, The Swan Song of Parson Avery (1850).
Av´icen or Abou-ibn-Sina, an Arabian physician and philosopher, born at Shiraz, in Persia (980-1037). He composed a treatise on logic, and another on metaphysics. Avicen is called both the Hippo´cratês and the Aristotle of the Arabs.
Avis, a New England girl, heroine of The Story of Avis, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps-Ward. She is forced by genius to be an artist, and through her art loses hope of domestic happiness (1877).
Ayl'mer (Mrs.), a neighbor of sir Henry Lee.—Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).
Ay'mer (Prior), a jovial Benedictine monk, prior of Jorvaulx Abbey.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Ay'mon, duke of Dordona (Dordogne). He had four sons, Rinaldo, Guicciardo, Alardo, and Ricciardetto (i.e. Renaud, Guiscard, Alard, and Richard), whose adventures are the subject of a French romance, entitled Les Quatre fils Aymon, by H. de Alleneuve (1165-1223).
Aza'zel, one of the ginn or jinn, all of whom were made of "smokeless fire," that is, the fire of the Simoom. These jinn inhabited the earth before man was created, but on account of their persistent disobedience were driven from it by an army of angels. When Adam was created, and God commanded all to worship him, Azâzel insolently made answer, "Me hast Thou created of fire, and him of earth; why should I worship him?" Whereupon God changed the jinnee into a devil, and called him Iblis or Despair. In hell he was made the standard-bearer of Satan's host.
Az'la, a suttee, the young widow of Ar'valan, son of Keha'ma.—Southey, Curse of Kehama, i. 10 (1809).
Az'o, husband of Parisi'na. He was marquis d'Este, of Ferrara, and had already a natural son, Hugo, by Bianca, who, "never made his bride," died of a broken heart. Hugo was betrothed to Parisina before she married the marqnis, and after she became his mother-in-law, they loved on still. One night Azo heard Parisina in sleep express her love for Hugo, and the angry marquis condemned his son to death. Although he spared his bride, no one ever knew what became of her.—Byron, Parisina.
Az´rael (3 syl.), the angel of death (called Raphael in the Gospel of Barnabas).—Al Korân.
Az´tecas, an Indian tribe, which conquered the Hoamen (2 syl.), seized their territory, and established themselves on a southern branch of the Missouri, having Az´tlan as their imperial city. When Madoc conquered the Aztecas in the twelfth century, he restored the Hoamen, and the Aztecas migrated to Mexico.—Southey, Madoc (1805).
Azuce´na, a gipsy. Manri´co is supposed to be her son, but is in reality the son of Garzia (brother of the conte di Luna).—Verdi, Il Trovato´rê (1853).
Azyoru´ca (4 syl.), queen of the snakes and dragons. She resides in Patala, or the infernal regions.—Hindû Mythology.
Southey, Curse of Kehama, xxiii 15 (1809).
aal, plu. Baalim, a general name for all the Syrian gods, as Ash´taroth was for the goddesses. The general version of the legend of Baal is the same as that of Adonis, Thammuz, Osiris, and the Arabian myth of El Khouder. All allegorize the Sun, six months above and six months below the equator. As a title of honor, the word Baal, Bal, Bel, etc., enters into a large number of Phoenician and Carthaginian proper names, as Hanni-bal, Hasdrubal, Bel-shazzar, etc.
Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 422 (1665).
Bab (Lady), a waiting maid on a lady so called, who assumes the airs with the name and address of her mistress. Her fellow-servants and other servants address her as "lady Bab," or "Your ladyship." She is a fine wench, "but by no means particular in keeping her teeth clean." She says she never reads but one "book, which is Shikspur." And she calls Lovel and Freeman, two gentlemen of fortune, "downright hottenpots."—Rev. J. Townley, High Life Below Stairs (1763).
Ba´ba, chief of the eunuchs in the court of the sultana Gulbey´az.—Byron, Don Juan, v. 82, etc. (1820).
Baba (Ali), who relates the story of the "Forty Thieves" in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. He discovered the thieves' cave while hiding in a tree, and heard the magic word "Ses´amê," at which the door of the cave opened and shut.
Cassim Baba, brother of Ali Baba, who entered the cave of the forty thieves, but forgot the pass-word, and stood crying "Open Wheat!" "Open Barley!" to the door, which obeyed to no sound but "Open Sesamê!"
Baba Mus´tapha, a cobbler who sewed together the four pieces into which Cassim's body had been cleft by the forty thieves. When the thieves discovered that the body had been taken away, they sent one of the band into the city, to ascertain who had died of late. The man happened to enter the cobbler's stall, and falling into a gossip heard about the body which the cobbler had sewed together. Mustapha pointed out to him the house of Cassim Baba's widow, and the thief marked it with a piece of white chalk. Next day the cobbler pointed out the house to another, who marked it with red chalk. And the day following he pointed it out to the captain of the band, who instead of marking the door studied the house till he felt sure of recognizing it.—Arabian Nights ("Ali Baba, or The Forty Thieves").
Bababalouk, chief of the black eunuchs, whose duty it was to wait on the sultan, to guard the sultanas, and to superintend the harem.—Habesci, State of the Ottoman Empire, 155-6.
Babes in the Wood, insurrectionary hordes that infested the mountains of Wicklow and the woods of Enniscarthy towards the close of the eighteenth century. (See CHILDREN IN THE WOOD.)
Babie, old Alice Gray's servant-girl.—Sir W. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Babie´ca (3 syl.), the Cid's horse.
The Cid (1128).
Baboon (Philip), Philippe Bourbon, duc d'Anjou.
Lewis Baboon, Louis XIV., "a false loon of a grandfather to Philip, and one that might justly be called a Jack-of-all-trades."
Baby Bell, the infant whose brief beautiful life is given in the poem that first drew the eyes of the world to the young American poet, T.B. Aldrich, then but nineteen years of age.
Bacchan'tes (3 syl.), priestesses of Bacchus.
Bacchus, in the Lusiad, an epic poem by Camoens (1569), is the personification of the evil principle which acts in opposition to Jupiter, the lord of Destiny. Mars is made by the poet the guardian power of Christianity, and Bacchus of Mohammedanism.
Backbite (Sir Benjamin), nephew of Crabtree, very conceited, and very censorious. His friends called him a great poet and wit, but he never published anything, because "'twas very vulgar to print;" besides, as he said, his little productions circulated more "by giving copies in confidence to friends."—Sheridan, School for Scandal (1777).
Bactrian Sage (The), Zoroas'ter or Zerdusht, a native of Bactria, now Balkh (B.C. 589-513).
Bade'bec (2 syl.), wife of Gargantua and mother of Pantag'ruel. She died in giving him birth, or rather in giving birth at the same time to nine dromedaries laden with ham and smoked tongues, 7 camels laden with eels, and 25 wagons full of leeks, garlic, onions, and shallots.—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. 2 (1533).
Badger (Will), sir Hugh Robsart's favorite domestic.—Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).
Bad'ger (Mr. Bayham), medical practitioner at Chelsea, under whom Richard Carstone pursues his studies. Mr. Badger is a crisp-looking gentleman, with "surprised eyes;" very proud of being Mrs. Badger's "third," and always referring to her former two husbands, captain Swosser and professor Dingo.—C. Dickens, Bleak House (1853).
Badinguet [Bad´.en.gay] one of the many nicknames of Napoleon III. It was the name of the mason in whose clothes he escaped from the fortress of Ham (1808, 1851-1873).
Badou´ra, daughter of Gaiour (2 syl.), king of China, the "most beautiful woman ever seen upon earth." The emperor Gaiour wished her to marry, but she expressed an aversion to wedlock. However, one night by fairy influence she was shown prince Camaral´zaman asleep, fell in love with him, and exchanged rings. Next day she inquired for the prince, but her inquiry was thought so absurd that she was confined as a madwoman. At length her foster-brother solved the difficulty thus: The emperor having proclaimed that whoever cured the princess of her [supposed] madness should have her for his wife, he sent Camaralzaman to play the magician, and imparted the secret to the princess by sending her the ring she had left with the sleeping prince. The cure was instantly effected, and the marriage solemnized with due pomp. When the emperor was informed that his son-in-law was a prince, whose father was sultan of the "Island of the Children of Khal´edan, some twenty days' sail from the coast of Persia," he was delighted with the alliance.—Arabian Nights ("Camaralzaman and Badoura").
Badroul´boudour, daughter of the sultan of China, a beautiful brunette. "Her eyes were large and sparkling, her expression modest, her mouth small, her lips vermilion, and her figure perfect." She became the wife of Aladdin, but twice nearly caused his death; once by exchanging "the wonderful lamp" for a new copper one, and once by giving hospitality to the false Fatima. Aladdin killed both these magicians.—Arabian Nights ("Aladdin or The Wonderful Lamp").
Bag dad. A hermit told the caliph Almanzor that one Moclas was destined to found a city on the spot where he was standing. "I am that man," said the caliph, and he then informed the hermit how in his boyhood he once stole a bracelet, and his nurse ever after called him "Moclas," the name of a well-known thief.—Marigny.
Bagshot, one of a gang of thieves who conspire to break into the house of lady Bountiful.—Farquhar, The Beaux' Stratagem (1705).
Bagstock (Major Joe), an apoplectic retired military officer, living in Princess's Place, opposite to Miss Tox. The major has a covert kindness for Miss Tox, and is jealous of Mr. Dombey. He speaks of himself as "Old Joe Bagstock," "Old Joey," "Old J.," "Old Josh," "Rough and tough old Jo," "J.B.," "Old J.B.," and so on. He is also given to over-eating, and to abusing his poor native servant.—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).
Bah´adar, master of the horse to the king of the Magi. Prince Am´giad was enticed by a collet to enter the minister's house, and when Bahadar returned, he was not a little surprised at the sight of his uninvited guest. The prince, however, explained to him in private how the matter stood, and Bahadar, entering into the fun of the thing, assumed for the nonce the place of a slave. The collet would have murdered him, but Amgiad, to save the minister, cut off her head. Bahadar, being arrested for murder, was condemned to death, but Amgiad came forward and told the whole truth, whereupon Bahadar was instantly released, and Amgiad created vizier.—Arabian Nights ("Amgiad and Assad").
Bahman (Prince), eldest son of the sultan Khrossou-schah of Persia. In infancy he was taken from the palace by the sultana's sisters, and set adrift on a canal, but being rescued by the superintendent of the sultan's gardens, he was brought up, and afterwards restored to the sultan. It was the "talking bird" that told the sultan the tale of the young prince's abduction.
Prince Bahman's Knife. When prince Bahman started on his exploits, he gave to his sister Parazadê (4 syl.) a knife, saying, "As long as you find this knife clean and bright, you may feel assured that I am alive and well; but if a drop of blood falls from it, you may know that I am no longer alive."—Arabian Nights ("The Two Sisters," the last tale).
Bailey, a sharp lad in the service of Todger's boarding-house. His ambition was to appear quite a full-grown man. On leaving Mrs. Todgers's, he became the servant of Montague Tigg, manager of the "Anglo-Bengalee Company."—C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).
Bailie (General), a parliamentary leader.—Sir W. Scott, Legend of Montrose (time, Charles I.).
Bailie (Giles), a gipsy; father of Gabrael Faa (nephew to Meg Merrilies).—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Bailly, (Henry or Harry), the host of the Tabard Inn, in Southwerk, London, where the nine and twenty companions of Chaucer put up before starting on their pilgrimage to Canterbury.
Bailiff's Daughter of Islington (in Norfolk). A squire's son loved the bailiff's daughter, but she gave him no encouragement, and his friends sent him to London "an apprentice for to binde." After the lapse of seven years, the bailiff's daughter, "in ragged attire," set out to walk to London, "her true love to inquire." The young man on horseback met her, but knew her not. "One penny, one penny, kind sir!" she said. "Where were you born?" asked the young man. "At Islington," she replied. "Then prithee, sweetheart, do you know the bailiff's daughter there?" "She's dead, sir, long ago." On hearing this the young man declared he'd live an exile in some foreign land. "Stay, oh stay, thou goodly youth," the maiden cried, "she is not really dead, for I am she." "Then farewell grief and welcome joy, for I have found my true love, whom I feared I should never see again."—Percy, Relics of English Poetry, ii. 8.
Bailzou (Ann´aple), the nurse of Effie Deans in her confinement.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Bajar´do, Rinaldo's steed.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Baja´zet, surnamed "The Thunderbolt" (ilderim), sultan of Turkey. After subjugating Bulgaria, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Asia Minor, he laid siege to Constantinople, but was taken captive by Tamerlane emperor of Tartary. He was fierce as a wolf, reckless, and indomitable. Being asked by Tamerlane how he would have treated him had their lots been reversed, "Like a dog," he cried. "I would have made you my footstool when I mounted my saddle, and when your services were not needed would have chained you in a cage like a wild beast." Tamerlane replied, "Then to show you the difference of my spirit, I shall treat you as a king." So saying, he ordered his chains to be struck off, gave him one of the royal tents, and promised to restore him to his throne if he would lay aside his hostility. Bajazet abused this noble generosity; plotted the assassination of Tamerlane; and bow-strung Mone´ses. Finding clemency of no use, Tamerlane commanded him to be used "as a dog, and to be chained in a cage like a wild beast."—N. Rowe, Tamerlane (a tragedy, 1702).
Bajazet, a black page at St. James's Palace.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Baker (The), and the "Baker's Wife." Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette were so called by the revolutionary party, because on the 6th October, 1789, they ordered a supply of bread to be given to the mob which surrounded the palace at Versailles, clamoring for bread.
Ba´laam (2 syl.), the earl of Huntingdon, one of the rebels in the army of the duke of Monmouth.
Ba´laam, a "citizen of sober fame," who lived near the monument of London. While poor he was "religious, punctual, and frugal;" but when he became rich and got knighted, he seldom went to church, became a courtier, "took a bribe from France," and was hung for treason.—Pope, Moral Essays, iii.
Balaam and Josaphat, a religious novel by Johannes Damascenus, son of Almansur. (For plot, see JOSAPHAT.)
Balack, Dr. Burnet, bishop of Salisbury, who wrote a history called Burnet's Own Time, and History of the Reformation.—Dryden and Tate, Absalom and Achitophel, ii.
Balafré (Le), alias Ludovic Lesly, an old archer of the Scottish Guard at Plessis les Tours, one of the castle palaces of Louis XI. Le Balafré is uncle to Quentin Durward.—Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward (time, Edward IV.).
¤¤¤ Henri, son of Francois second duke of Gruise, was called Le Balafré ("the gashed"), from a frightful scar in the face from a sword-cut in the battle of Dormans (1575).
Balâm´, the ox on which the faithful feed in paradise. The fish is called Nûn, the lobes of whose liver will suffice for 70,000 men.
Balan´, brother of Balyn or Balin le Savage, two of the most valiant knights that the world ever produced.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 31 (1470).
Balan, "the bravest and strongest of all the giant race." Am´adis de Gaul rescued Gabrioletta from his hands.—Vasco de Lobeira, Amadis de Gaul, iv. 129 (fourteenth century).
Balance (Justice), father of Sylvia. He had once been in the army, and as he had run the gauntlet himself, he could make excuses for the wild pranks of young men.—G. Farquhar, The Recruiting Officer (1704).
Ba´land of Spain, a man of gigantic strength, who called himself Fierabras.—Mediaeval Romance.
Balatsu-usur, the name given to the captive Jew Daniel in Babylon, meaning "May Bel protect his life!"
Balchris´tie (Jenny), housekeeper to the laird of Dumbiedikes.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Baldassa´re (4 syl.) chief of the monastery of St. Jacopo di Compostella.—Donizetti's opera, La Favorite (1842).
Bal´der, the god of light, peace, and day, was the young and beautiful son of Odin and Frigga. His palace, Briedablik ("wide-shining"), stood in the Milky Way. He was slain by Höder, the blind old god of darkness and night, but was restored to life at the general request of the gods.—Scandinavian Mythology.
(Sydney Dobell has a poem entitled Balder, published in 1854.)
Bal´derstone (Caleb), the favorite old butler of the master of Ravenswood, at Wolf's Crag Tower. Being told to provide supper for the laird of Bucklaw, he pretended that there were fat capon and good store in plenty, but all he could produce was "the hinder end of a mutton ham that had been three times on the table already, and the heel of a ewe-milk kebbuck [cheese]" (ch. vii.).—Sir W. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Baldrick, an ancestor of the lady Eveline Berenger "the betrothed." He was murdered, and lady Eveline assured Rose Flammock that she had seen his ghost frowning at her.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Bal´dringham (The lady Ermengarde of), great-aunt of lady Eveline Berenger "the betrothed."—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Baldwin, the youngest and comeliest of Charlemagne's paladins, nephew of sir Roland.
Baldwin, the restless and ambitious duke of Bologna, leader of 1200 horse in the allied Christian army. He was Godfrey's brother, and very like him, but not so tall.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
¤¤¤ He is introduced by sir Walter Scott in Count Robert of Paris.
Baldwin. So the Ass is called in the beast-epic entitled Reynard the Fox (the word means "bold friend"). In pt. iii. he is called "Dr." Baldwin (1498).
Bald´win, tutor of Rollo ("the bloody brother") and Otto, dukes of Normandy, and sons of Sophia. Baldwin was put to death by Rollo, because Hamond slew Gisbert the chancellor with an axe and not with a sword. Rollo said that Baldwin deserved death "for teaching Hamond no better."—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Bloody Brother (1639).
Baldwin (Count), a fatal example of paternal self-will. He doted on his elder son Biron, but because he married against his inclination, disinherited him, and fixed all his love on Carlos his younger son. Biron fell at the siege of Candy, and was supposed to be dead. His wife Isabella mourned for him seven years, and being on the point of starvation, applied to the count for aid, but he drove her from his house as a dog. Villeroy (2 syl.) married her, but Biron returned the following day. Carlos, hearing of his brother's return, employed ruffians to murder him, and then charged Villeroy with the crime; but one of the ruffians impeached, Carlos was arrested, and Isabella, going mad, killed herself. Thus was the wilfulness of Baldwin the source of infinite misery. It caused the death of his two sons, as well as of his daughter-in-law.—Thomas Southern, The Fatal Marriage (1692).
Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury (1184-1190), introduced by sir W. Scott in his novel called The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Baldwinde Oyley, esquire of sir Brian de Bois Guilbert (Preceptor of the Knights Templars).—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Balin (Sir), or "Balin le Savage," knight of the two swords. He was a Northumberland knight, and being taken captive, was imprisoned six months by king Arthur. It so happened that a damsel girded with a sword came to Camelot at the time of sir Balin's release, and told the king that no man could draw it who was tainted with "shame, treachery, or guile." King Arthur and all his knights failed in the attempt, but sir Balin drew it readily. The damsel begged him for the sword, but he refused to give it to any one. Whereupon the damsel said to him, "That sword shall be thy plague, for with it shall ye slay your best friend, and it shall also prove your own death." Then the Lady of the Lake came to the king, and demanded the sword, but sir Balin cut off her head with it, and was banished from the court. After various adventures he came to a castle where the custom was for every guest to joust. He was accommodated with a shield, and rode forth to meet his antagonist. So fierce was the encounter that both the combatants were slain, but Balin lived just long enough to learn that his antagonist was his dearly beloved brother Balan, and both were buried in one tomb.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 27-44 (1470).
¤¤¤ "The Book of Sir Balin le Savage" is part i. ch. 27 to 44 (both inclusive) of sir T. Malory's History of Prince Arthur.
Balinverno, one of the leaders in Agramant's allied army.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Ba´liol (Edward), usurper of Scotland, introduced in Redgauntlet, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, George II.).
Ba´liol (Mrs.), friend of Mr. Croftangry, in the introductory chapter of The Fair Maid of Perth, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, Henry IV.).
Ba´liol (Mrs. Martha Bethune), a lady of quality and fortune, who had a house called Baliol Lodging, Canongate, Edinburgh. At her death she left to her cousin Mr. Croftangry two series of tales called The Chronicles of Canongate (q.v.), which he published.—Sir W. Scott, The Highland Widow (introduction, 1827).
Balisar´da, a sword made in the garden of Orgagna by the sorceress Faleri´na; it would cut through even enchanted substances, and was given to Roge´ro for the express purpose of "dealing Orlando's death."—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, xxv. 15 (1516).
Baliverso, the basest knight in the Saracen army.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, (1516).
Balk or Balkh ("to embrace"), Omurs, surnamed Ghil-Shah ("earth's king"), founder of the Paishdadian dynasty. He travelled abroad to make himself familiar with the laws and customs of other lands. On his return he met his brother, and built on the spot of meeting a city, which he called Balk; and made it the capital of his kingdom.
Balkis, the Arabian name of the queen of Sheba, who went from the south to witness the wisdom and splendor of Solomon. According to the Koran she was a fire-worshipper. It is said that Solomon raised her to his bed and throne. She is also called queen of Saba or Aaziz.—Al Korân, xxvi. (Sale's notes).
Balkis queen of Sheba or Saba. Solomon being told that her legs were covered with hair "like those of an ass," had the presence-chamber floored with glass laid over running water filled with fish. When Balkis approached the room, supposing the floor to be water, she lifted up her robes and exposed her hairy ankles, of which the king had been rightly informed.—Jallalo'dinn.
Ballenkeiroch (Old), a Highland chief and old friend of Fergus M'Ivor.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, Greorge II.).
Balmung, the sword of Siegfried forged by Wieland the smith of the Scandinavian gods. In a trial of merit Wieland cleft Amilias (a brother smith) to the waist; but so fine was the cut that Amilias was not even conscious of it till he attempted to move, when he fell asunder into two pieces.—Niebelungen Lied.
Balrud´dery (The laird of), a relation of Godfrey Bertram, laird of Ellangowan.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Baltha´zar, a merchant, in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors (1593).
Baltha´zar, a name assumed by Portia, in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice (1598).
Baltha´zar, servant to Romeo, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1597).
Baltha´zar, servant to don Pedro, in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing (1600).
Baltha´zar, one of the three "kings" shown in Cologne Cathedral as one of the "Magi" led to Bethlehem by the guiding star. The word means "lord of treasures." The names of the other two are Melchior ("king of light"), and Gaspar or Caspar ("the white one"). Klopstock, in The Messiah, makes six "Wise Men," and none of the names are like these three.
Balthazar, father of Juliana, Volantê, and Zam´ora. A proud, peppery, and wealthy gentleman. His daughter Juliana marries the duke of Aranza; his second daughter the count Montalban; and Zamora marries signor Rinaldo.—J. Tobin, The Honeymoon (1804).
Balue (Cardinal), in the court of Louis XI. of France (1420-1491), introduced by sir W. Scott in Quentin Durward (time, Edward IV.).
Balugantes (4 syl.), leader of the men from Leon, in Spain, and in alliance with Agramant.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Balveny (Lord), kinsman of the earl of Douglas.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Balwhidder [Bal´wither], a Scotch presbyterian pastor, filled with all the old-fashioned national prejudices, but sincere, kind-hearted, and pious. He is garrulous and loves his joke, but is quite ignorant of the world, being "in it but not of it."—Galt, Annals of the Parish (1821).
Baly, one of the ancient and gigantic kings of India, who founded the city called by his name. He redressed wrongs, upheld justice, was generous and truthful, compassionate and charitable, so that at death he became one of the judges of hell. His city in time got overwhelmed with the encroaching ocean, but its walls were not overthrown, nor were the rooms encumbered with the weeds and alluvial of the sea. One day a dwarf, named Vamen, asked the mighty monarch to allow him to measure three of his own paces for a hut to dwell in. Baly smiled, and bade him measure out what he required. The first pace of the dwarf compassed the whole earth, the second the whole heavens, and the third the infernal regions. Baly at once perceived that the dwarf was Vishnû, and adored the present deity. Vishnû made the king "Governor of Pad´alon" or hell, and permitted him once a year to revisit the earth, on the first full moon of November.
Ban, king of Benwick [Brittany], father of sir Launcelot, and brother of Bors king of Gaul. This "shadowy king of a still more shadowy kingdom" came over with his royal brother to the aid of Arthur, when, at the beginning of his reign, the eleven kings leagued against him (pt. i. 8).
Banastar (Humfrey), brought up by Henry duke of Buckingham, and advanced by him to honor and wealth. He professed to love the duke as his dearest friend; but when Richard III. offered £1000 reward to any one who would deliver up the duke, Banastar betrayed him to John Mitton, sheriff of Shropshire, and he was conveyed to Salisbury, where he was beheaded. The ghost of the duke prayed that Banastar's eldest son, "reft of his wits might end his life in a pigstye;" that his second son might "be drowned in a dyke" containing less than "half a foot of water;" that his only daughter might be a leper; and that Banastar himself might "live in death and die in life."—Thomas Sackville, A Mirrour for Magistraytes ("The Complaynt," 1587).
Banberg (The Bishop of), introduced in Donnerhugel's narrative.—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Banbury Cheese. Bardolph calls Slender a "Banbury cheese" (Merry Wives of Windsor, act i. sc. 1); and in Jack Drum's Entertainment we read, "You are like a Banbury cheese, nothing but paring." The Banbury cheese alluded to was a milk cheese, about an inch in thickness.
Bandy-legged, Armand Gouffé (1775-1845), also called Le panard du dix-neuvième siecle. He was one of the founders of the "Caveau moderne."
Banks, a farmer, the great terror of old mother Sawyer, the witch of Edmonton.—The Witch of Edmonton (by Rowley, Dekker, and Ford, 1658).
Banquo, a Scotch general of royal extraction, in the time of Edward the Confessor. He was murdered at the instigation of king Macbeth, but his son Fleance escaped, and from this Fleance descended a race of kings who filled the throne of Scotland, ending with James I. of England, in whom were united the two crowns. The witches on the blasted heath hailed Banquo as—
(Historically no such person as Banquo ever existed, and therefore Fleance was not the ancestor of the house of Stuart.)
Ban´shee, a tutelary female spirit. Every chief family of Ireland has its banshee, who is supposed to give it warning of approaching death or danger.
Bantam (Angela Cyrus), grand-master of the ceremonies at "Ba-ath," and a very mighty personage in the opinion of the élite of Bath.—C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).
Bap, a contraction of Bap'liomet, i.e. Mahomet. An imaginary idol or symbol which the Templars were accused of employing in their mysterious religious rites. It was a small human figure cut in stone, with two heads, one male and the other female, but all the rest of the figure was female. Specimens still exist.
Bap'tes (2 syl.), priests of the goddess Cotytto, whose midnight orgies were so obscene as to disgust even the very goddess of obscenity. (Greek, bapto, "to baptize," because these priests bathed themselves in the most effeminate manner.)
Baptis'ta, a rich gentleman of Padua, father of Kathari'na "the shrew," and Bianca.—Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew (1594).
Baptisti Damiotti, a Paduan quack, who shows in the enchanted mirror a picture representing the clandestine marriage and infidelity of sir Philip Forester.—Sir W. Scott, Aunt Margaret's Mirror (time, William III.).
Bar'abas, the faithful servant of Ealph Lascours, captain of the Uran'ia. His favorite expression is "I am afraid;" but he always acts most bravely when he is afraid. (See BARRABAS.)—E. Stirling, The Orphan of the Frozen Sea (1856).
Bar'adas (Count), the king's favorite, first gentleman of the chamber, and one of the conspirators to dethrone Louis XIII., kill Richelieu, and place the duc d'Orleans on the throne of France. Baradas loved Julie, but Julie married the chevalier Adrien de Mauprat. When Richelieu fell into disgrace, the king made count Baradas his chief minister, but scarcely had he so done when a despatch was put into his hand revealing the conspiracy, and Richelieu ordered Baradas' instant arrest.—Lord Lytton, Richelieu (1839).
Barak el Hadgi, the fakir´, an emissary from the court of Hyder Ali.—Sir W. Scott, The Surgeon's Daughter (time, George II.).
Barbara, the widowed heroine whose vacillations of devotion to her buried husband and the living cousin who might be his twin, furnish the motif for Amelie Rives's story, The Quick or the Dead? (1888).
Barbara Floyd, lonely-hearted wife in George Fleming's (Julia C. Fletcher) novel, The Head of Medusa. The scene of the story is laid in modern Rome; Barbara, married to an Italian nobleman, has an inner and purer life with which the corruptions of the gay capital meddle not.—(1880.)
Barbara Frietchie, heroic old woman of Frederick, Maryland, who took up the flag the men had hauled down at the command of Stonewall Jackson.—John Greenleaf Whittier, Barbara Frietchie (1864).
Barbara Holabird, the rattle-pate of the Holabird sisters in A.D.T. Whitney's We Girls. She coins words and bakes lace-edged griddle-cakes and contrives rhymes, and tells on the last page of the book how it was made. "We rushed in, especially I, Barbara, and did little bits, and so it came to be a Song o' Sixpence, and at last four Holabirds were 'singing in the pie.'"—(1868.)
Barbara's History, story of young, untrained but bright and attractive girl who marries a man of the world. The conflict of two strong, wayward natures is long and fierce, resulting in temporary separation, and the discipline of sorrow and absence in reconciliation.—Amelia B. Edwards.
Barbarossa ("red beard"), surname of Frederick I. of Germany (1121-1190). It is said that he never died, but is still sleeping in Kyffhauserberg in Thuringia. There he sits at a stone table with his six knights, waiting the "fulness of time," when he will come from his cave to rescue Germany from bondage, and give her the foremost place of all the-world. His beard has already grown through the table-slab, but must wind itself thrice round the table before his second advent. (See MANSUR, CHARLEMAGNE, ABTHUR, DESMOND, SEBASTIAN I., to whom similar legends are attached.)
Barbarossa, a tragedy by John Brown. This is not Frederick Barbarossa, the emperor of Germany (1121-1190), but Horne Barbarossa, the corsair (1475-1519). He was a renegade Greek, of Mitylenê, who made himself master of Algeria, which was for a time subject to Turkey. He killed the Moorish king; tried to cut off Selim the son, but without success; and wanted to marry Zaphi'ra, the king's widow, who rejected his suit with scorn, and was kept in confinement for seven years. Selim returned unexpectedly to Algiers, and a general rising took place; Barbarossa was slain by the insurgents; Zaphira was restored to the throne; and Selim her son married Irenê the daughter of Barbarossa (1742).
Bar'bara (St.), the patron saint of arsenals. When her father was about to strike off her head, she was killed by a flash of lightning.
Barbason, the name of a demon. Amaimon sounds well; Lucifer well; Barbason well; yet they are ... the names of fiends.—Merry Wives of Windsor, ii. 2.
Bar'bason, the name of a demon mentioned in The Merry Wives of Windsor, act ii. sc. 2 (1596).
Barby Elster, sharp-tongued and sweet-hearted "help" in the Rossiter family in Susan Warner's Queechy. She considers herself her employers' more-than-equal and loses no opportunity of expressing the conviction.—(1852.)
Barclay of Ury, an Aberdeen laird, persecuted
as a "Quaker coward" by a mob
of former friends and dependents, offers
no resistance and refuses defence from the
sword of an ancient henchman.
"Is the sinful servant more
Than his gracious Lord who bore
Bonds and stripes in Jewry?"
J.G. Whittier, Barclay of Ury.
Barco'chebah, an antichrist.
Bard of Avon, Shakespeare, born and buried at Stratford-upon-Avon (1564-1616).
Bard of Ayrshire, Robert Burns, a native of Ayrshire (1759-1796).
Bard of Hope, Thomas Campbell, author of The Pleasures of Hope (1777-1844).
Bard of the Imagination, Mark Akenside, author of The Pleasures of the Imagination (1721-1770).
Bard of Memory, S. Rogers, author of The Pleasures of Memory (1762-1855).
Bard of Olney, W. Cowper [Coo'-per], who lived for many years at Olney, in Bucks (1731-1800).
Bard of Prose, Boccaccio.
Bard of Rydal Mount, William Wordsworth, who lived at Rydal Mount; also called "Poet of the Excursion," from his principal poem (1770-1850).
Bard of Twickenham, Alexander Pope, who lived at Twickenham (1688-1744).
Bardell (Mrs.), landlady of "apartments for single gentlemen" in Groswell Street. Here Mr. Pickwick lodged for a time. She persuaded herself that he would make her a good second husband, and on one occasion was seen in his arms by his three friends. Mrs. Bardell put herself in the hands of Messrs. Dodson and Fogg (two unprincipled lawyers), who vamped up a case against Mr. Pickwick of "breach of promise," and obtained a verdict against the defendant. Subsequently Messrs. Dodson and Fogg arrested their own client, and lodged her in the Fleet.—C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).
Barde'sanist (4 syl.), a follower of Barde'san, founder of a Gnostic sect in the second century.
Bardo Bardi, aged blind scholar, father of Romola. She is his colaborer in the studies he pursues despite his infirmity.—George Eliot, Romola.
Bar'dolph, corporal of captain sir John Falstaff, in 1 and 2 Henry IV. and in The Merry Wives of Windsor. In Henry V. he is promoted to lieutenant, and Nym is corporal. Both are hanged. Bardolph is a bravo, but great humorist; he is a lowbred, drunken swaggerer, wholly without principle, and always poor. His red, pimply nose is an everlasting joke with sir John and others. Sir John in allusion thereto calls Bardolph "The Knight of the Burning Lamp." He says to him, "Thou art our admiral, and bearest the lantern in the poop." Elsewhere he tells the corporal he had saved him a "thousand marks in links and torches, walking with him in the night betwixt tavern and tavern."—Shakespeare.
(The reference is to 2 Henry IV. act i. sc. 2. When Falstaff asks Page, "What said Master Dumbleton about the satin for my short cloak and slops!" Page replies, "He said, sir, you should procure him better assurance than Bardolph. He ... liked not the security.")
Bardon (Hugh), the scout-master in the troop of lieutenant Fitzurse.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Barefoot Boy, reminiscence of the author's own boyhood in Whittier's poem, The Barefoot Boy.
Barère (2 syl.), an advocate of Toulouse, called "The Anacreon of the Guillotine." He was president of the Convention, a member of the Constitutional Committee, and chief agent in the condemnation to death of Louis XVI. As member of the Committee of Public Safety, he decreed that "Terror must be the order of the day." In the first empire Barère bore no public part, but at the restoration he was banished from France, and retired to Brussels (1755-1841).
Barfüsle, pretty German child, left an orphan at a tender age, and cast upon the world. She maintains herself reputably and resists many temptations until she is happily married.—Bernard Auerbach, Barfüsle.
Bar'guest, a goblin armed with teeth and claws. It would sometimes set up in the streets a most fearful scream in the "dead waste and middle of the night." The faculty of seeing this monster was limited to a few, but those who possessed it could by the touch communicate the "gift" to others.—Fairy Mythology, North of England.
Bar'gulus, an Illyrian robber or pirate.
Baricondo, one of the leaders of the Moorish army. He was slain by the duke of Clarence.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Barker (.Mr.), friend to Sowerberry. Mrs. Barker, his wife.—W. Brough, A Phenomenon in a Smock Frock.
Bar'kis, the carrier who courted [Clara] Peggot'ty, by telling David Copperfield when he wrote home to say to his nurse "Barkis is willin'." Clara took the hint and became Mrs. Barkis.
(Mrs. Quickly says of sir John Falstaff, "'A parted even just between twelve and one, e'en at the turning o' the tide."—Henry V. act ii. sc. 3, 1599.)
Bar'laham and Josaphat, the heroes and title of a minnesong, the object of which was to show the triumph of Christian doctrines over paganism. Barlaham is a hermit who converts Josaphat, an Indian prince. This "lay" was immensely popular in the Middle Ages, and has been translated into every European language.—Rudolf of Ems (a minnesinger, thirteenth century).
Barley (Bill), Clara's father. Chiefly remarkable for drinking rum, and thumping on the floor.—C. Dickens, Great Expectations (1860).
Barleycorn (Sir John), Malt-liquor personified. His neighbors vowed that sir John should die, so they hired ruffians to "plough him with ploughs and bury him;" this they did, and afterwards "combed him with harrows and thrust clods on his head," but did not kill him. Then with hooks and sickles they "cut his legs off at the knees," bound him like a thief, and left him "to wither with the wind," but he died not. They now "rent him to the heart," and having "mowed him in a mow," sent two bravos to beat him with clubs, and they beat him so sore that "all his flesh fell from his bones," but yet he died not. To a kiln they next hauled him, and burnt him like a martyr, but he survived the burning. They crushed him between two stones, but killed him not. Sir John bore no malice for this ill-usage, but did his best to cheer the flagging spirits even of his worst persecutors.
This song, from the English Dancing-Master (1651), is generally ascribed to Robert Burns, but all that the Scotch poet did was slightly to alter parts of it. The same may be said of "Auld lang Syne," "Ca' the Yowes," "My Heart is Sair for Somebody," "Green grow the Rashes, O!" and several other songs, set down to the credit of Burns.
Barlow, the favorite archer of Henry VIII. He was jocosely created by the merry monarch "Duke of Shoreditch," and his two companions "Marquis of Islington" and "Earl of Pancras."
Barlow (Billy), a jester, who fancied himself a "mighty potentate." He was well known in the east of London, and died in Whitechapel workhouse. Some of his sayings were really witty, and some of his attitudes truly farcical.
Bar'mecide. Schacabac "the hare-lipped," a man in the greatest distress, one day called on the rich Barmecide, who in merry jest asked him to dine with him. Barmecide first washed in hypothetical water, Schacabac followed his example. Barmecide then pretended to eat of various dainties, Schacabac did the same, and praised them highly, and so the "feast" went on to the close. The story says Barmecide was so pleased that Schacabac had the good sense and good temper to enter into the spirit of the joke without resentment, that he ordered in a real banquet, at which Schacabac was a welcome guest.—Arabian Nights ("The Barber's Sixth Brother").
Bar'nabas (St.), a disciple of Gamaliel, cousin of St. Mark, and fellow-laborer with St. Paul. He was martyred at Salamis, A.D. 63. St. Barnabas' Day is June 11.—Acts iv. 36, 37.
Bar'naby (Widow), the title and chief character of a novel by Mrs. Trollope (1839). The widow is a vulgar, pretentious husband-hunter, wholly without principle. Widow Barnaby has a sequel called The Barnabys in America, or The Widow Married, a satire on America and the Americans (1840).
Barnaby Rudge, a half-witted whose companion is a raven. He is enticed into joining the Gordon rioters.—C. Dickens, Barnaby Budge (1841). (See RUDGE.)
Barnacle, brother of old Nicholas Cockney, and guardian of Priscilla Tomboy of the West Indies. Barnacle is a tradesman of the old school, who thinks the foppery and extravagance of the "Cockney" school inconsistent with prosperous shop-keeping. Though brusque and even ill-mannered, he has good sense and good discernment of character.—The Romp (altered from Bickerstaff's Love in the City).
Barnadine, malefactor, condemned to death, "who will not die that day, upon any man's persuasion."—Shakespeare, Measure for Measure.
Barnes (1 syl.), servant to colonel Mannering, at Woodburne.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Barney, a repulsive Jew, who waited on the customers at the low public-house frequented by Fagin and his associates. Barney always spoke through his nose.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Barn'stable (Lieutenant), in the British navy, in love with Kate Plowden, niece of colonel Howard of New York. The alliance not being approved of, Kate is removed from England to America, but Barnstable goes to America to discover her retreat. In this he succeeds, but being seized as a spy, is commanded by colonel Howard to be hung to the yardarm of an American frigate called the Alacrity. Scarcely is the young man led off, when the colonel is informed that Barnstable is his own son, and he arrives at the scene of execution just in time to save him. Of course after this he marries the lady of his affection.—E. Fitzball, The Pilot (a burletta).
Barnwell (George), the chief character and title of a tragedy by George Lillo. George Barnwell is a London apprentice, who falls in love with Sarah Millwood of Shoreditch, who leads him astray. He first robs his master of £200. He next robs his uncle, a rich grazier at Ludlow, and murders him. Having spent all the money of his iniquity, Sarah Millwood turns him off and informs against him. Both are executed (1732).
For many years this play was acted on boxing-night, as a useful lesson to London apprentices. Baron (The old English), a romance by Clara Reeve (1777).
Bar'rabas, the rich "Jew of Malta." He is simply a human monster, who kills in sport, poisons whole nunneries, and invents infernal machines. Shakespeare's "Shylock" has a humanity in the very whirlwind of his resentment, but Marlowe's "Barrabas" is a mere ideal of that "thing" which Christian prejudice once deemed a Jew. (See BARABAS.)—Marlowe, The Jew of Malta (1586).
Bar'rabas, the famous robber and murderer set free instead of Christ by desire of the Jews. Called in the New Testament Barab'has. Marlowe calls the word "Barrabas" in his Jew of Malta, and Shakespeare says:
Barry Cornwall, the nom de plume of Bryan Waller Procter. It is an imperfect anagram of his name (1788-1874).
Barsad (John), alias Solomon Pross, a spy.
Barsis'a (Santon), in The Guardian, the basis of the story called The Monk, by M. G. Lewis (1796).
Barston, alias captain Fenwicke, a jesuit and secret correspondent of the conntess of Derby.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Barthol'omew (Brother), guide of the two Philipsons on their way to Strasburg.
—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Bartholomew (St.). His day is August 24, and his symbol a knife, in allusion to the knife with which he is said to have been flayed alive.
Bartley Hubbard, the "smart" newspaper-man in A Modern Instance, by William Dean Howells (1883). He also plies his trade and exhibits his assurance in The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885).
Bartoldo, a rich old miser, who died of fear and want of sustenance. Fazio rifled his treasures, and on the accusation of his own wife was tried and executed.—Dean Milman, Fazio (1815).
Bartoldo, same as Bertoldo (q.v.).
Bartoli (in French Barthole, better known, however, by the Latin form of the name, Bartolus) was the most famous master of the dialectical school of jurists (1313-1356). He was born at Sasso Ferrata in Italy, and was professor of Civil Law at the University of Perugia. His reputation was at one time immense, and his works were quoted as authority in nearly every European court. Hence the French proverb, applied to a well-read lawyer, He knows his "Barthole" as well as a Cordelier his "Dormi" (an anonymous compilation of sermons for the use of the Cordelier monks). Another common French expression, Résolu comme Barthole ("as decided as Barthole"), is a sort of punning allusion to his Resolutiones Bartoli, a work in which the knottiest questions are solved with ex cathedra peremptoriness.
Bar'tolus, a covetous lawyer, husband of Amaran'ta.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Spanish Curate (1622).
Barton (Sir Andrew), a Scotch sea-officer, who had obtained in 1511 letters of marque for himself and his two sons, to make reprisals upon the subjects of Portugal. The council-board of England, at which the earl of Surrey presided, was daily pestered by complaints from British merchants and sailors against Barton, and at last it was decided to put him down. Two ships were, therefore, placed under the commands of sir Thomas and sir Edward Howard, an engagement took place, and sir Andrew Barton was slain, bravely fighting. A ballad in two parts, called "Sir Andrew Barton," is inserted in Percy's Reliques, II. ii. 12.
Bartram, the lime-burner, an obtuse, middle-aged clown in Ethan Brand by Nathaniel Hawthorne. When he finds the suicide's skeleton in the kiln, the heart whole within the ribs, he congratulates himself that "his kiln is half a bushel richer for him" (1846).
Baruch. Dites, donc, avez-vous lu Baruch? Said when a person puts an unexpected question, or makes a startling proposal. It arose thus: Lafontaine went one day with Racine to tenebrae, and was given a Bible. He turned at random to the "Prayer of the Jews," in Baruch, and was so struck with it that he said aloud to Racine, "Dites, donc, who was this Baruch? Why, do you know, man, he was a fine genius;" and for some days afterwards the first question he asked his friends was, Diles, done, Mons., avez-vous lu Baruch?
Barzil'lai (3 syl.), the duke of Ormond, a friend and firm adherent of Charles II. As Barzillai assisted David when he was expelled by Absalom from his kingdom, so Ormond assisted Charles II. when he was in exile.
Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel, i.
Basa-Andre, the wild woman, a sorceress, married to Basa-Jaun, a sort of vampire. Basa-Andre sometimes is a sort of land mermaid (a beautiful lady who sits in a cave combing her locks with a golden comb). She hates church bells. (See BASA-JAUN.)
Basa-Jaun, a wood-sprite, married to Basa-Andre, a sorceress. Both hated the sound of church bells. Three brothers and their sister agreed to serve him, but the wood-sprite used to suck blood from the finger of the girl, and the brothers resolved to kill him. This they accomplished. The Basa-Andre induced the girl to put a tooth into each of the footbaths of her brothers, and lo! they became oxen. The girl crossing a bridge saw Basa-Andre, and said if she did not restore her brothers she would put her into a red-hot oven, so Basa-Andre told the girl to give each brother three blows on the back with a hazel wand, and on so doing they were restored to their proper forms.—Rev. W. Webster, Basque Legends, 49 (1877).
Bas Bleu, nickname applied to literary women in the days succeeding the French Revolution, made familiar in America by J. K. Paulding's Azure Hose.
Bashaba, sachem in J. G.L. Whittier's poem, The Bridal of Pennacock. His beautiful daughter, scorned by the chief to whom Bashaba gave her in marriage, and detained against her will by her angry father, steals away by night in a canoe and is drowned in a vain attempt
Bashful Man (The), a comic drama by
W. T. Moncrieff. Edward Blushington, a young man just come into a large fortune, is so bashful and shy that life is a misery to him. He dines at Friendly Hall, and makes all sorts of ridiculous blunders. His college chum, Frank Friendly, sends word to say that he and his sister Dinah, with sir Thomas and lady Friendly, will dine with him at Blushington House. After a few glasses of wine, Edward loses his shyness, makes a long speech, and becomes the accepted suitor of Dinah Friendly.
Basil, the blacksmith of Grand Pré, in Acadia (now Nova Scotia), and father of Gabriel the betrothed of Evangeline. When, the colony was driven into exile in 1713 by George II., Basil settled in Louisiana, and greatly prospered; but his son led a wandering life, looking for Evangeline, and died in Pennsylvania of the plague.—Longfellow, Evangeline (1849).
Basil March, a clever, cynical, and altogether charming man of letters who takes one of the leading parts in William Dean Howells's Their Wedding Journey. A Chance Acquaintance, and A Hazard of New Fortunes.
Ba'sile (2 syl.), a calumniating, niggardly bigot in Le Mariage de Figaro, and again in Le Barbier de Séville, both by Beaumarchais. Basile and Tartuffe are the two French incarnations of religious hypocrisy. The former is the clerical humbug, and the latter the lay religious hypocrite. Both deal largely in calumny, and trade in slander.
Basilis'co, a bully and a braggart, in Solyman and Perseda (1592). Shakespeare has made Pistol the counterpart of Basilisco.
(That is, "my boasting like Basilisco has made me a knight, good mother.")
Basilisk, supposed to kill with its gaze the person who looked on it. Thus Henry VI. says to Suffolk, "Come, basilisk, and kill the innocent gazer with thy sight."
Basilius, a neighbor of Quiteria, whom he loved from childhood, but when grown up the father of the lady forbade him the house, and promised Quiteria in marriage to Camacho, the richest man of the vicinity. On their way to church they passed Basilius, who had fallen on his sword, and all thought he was at the point of death. He prayed Quiteria to marry him, "for his soul's peace," and as it was deemed a mere ceremony, they were married in due form. Up then started the wounded man, and showed that the stabbing was only a ruse, and the blood that of a sheep from the slaughter-house. Camacho gracefully accepted the defeat, and allowed the preparations for the general feast to proceed.
Basrig or Bagsecg, a Scandinavian king, who with Halden or Halfdene (2 syl.) king of Denmark, in 871, made a descent on Wessex. In this year Ethelred fought nine pitched battles with the Danes. The first was the battle of Englefield, in Berkshire, lost by the Danes; the next was the battle of Beading, won by the Danes; the third was the famous battle of Æscesdun or Ashdune (now Ashton), lost by the Danes, and in which king Bagsecg was slain.
Next year (871) the Danes for the first time entered Wessex.... The first place they came to was Reading.... Nine great battles, besides smaller skirmishes, were fought this year, in some of which the English won, and in others the Danes. First, alderman Æthelwulf fought the Danes at Englefield, and beat them. Four days after that there was another battle at Reading ... where the Danes had the better of it, and Æthelwulf was killed. Four days afterwards there was another more famous battle at Æscesdun ... and king Æthelred fought against the two kings, and slew Bagsecg with his own hand.—E. A. Freeman, Old English History (1869); see Asser, Life of Alfred (ninth century).
Bassa'nio, the lover of Portia, successful in his choice of the three caskets, which awarded her to him as wife. It was for Bassanio that his friend Antonio borrowed 3000 ducats of the Jew Shylock, on the strange condition that if he returned the loan within three months no interest should be required, but if not, the Jew might claim a pound of Antonio's flesh for forfeiture.—Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice (1598).
Bas'set (Count), a swindler and forger, who assumes the title of "count" to further his dishonest practices.—C. Cibber, The Provoked Husband (1728).
Bassia'nus, brother of Satur'nius emperor of Rome, in love with Lavin'ia daughter of Titus Andron'icus (properly Andronicus). He is stabbed by Deme'trius and Chiron, sons of Tam'ora queen of the Goths.—(?) Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus (1593).
Bassi'no (Count), the "perjured husband of Aurelia" slain by Alonzo.—Mrs. Centlivre, The Perjured Husband (1700).
Bassanio, a youth of noble birth but crippled fortunes, whose desire to win the hand of Portia, a rich heiress, is the moving spring of the action of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Portia's father has left three caskets, and has ordered in his will that his daughter is to marry only the man who chooses the casket that holds her portrait. That Bassanio may enter the list of Portia's suitors, his friend Antonio borrows money of Shylock, a Jew, who, out of hatred to the merchant, entraps him into pledging a pound of his flesh as surety for the loan. Bassanio marries Portia, but misfortune overtakes Antonio, he forfeits his bond, and his life is only saved by a quibble devised by Portia.
Bastard of Orleans, in Shakespeare's Henry VI Part 1, is Jean Dunois a natural son of Louis of Orleans, brother of Charles VI.
Bat (Dr.), naturalist in Cooper's Prairie, who mistakes his ass at night for a monster described in his note-book.
Bates (1 syl.), a soldier in the army of Henry V. He with Court and Williams are sentinals before the English camp at Agincourt, and the king disguised comes to them during the watch, and talks with them respecting the impending battle,—Shakespeare, Henry V.
Bates (Charley), generally called "Master Bates," one of Fagin's "pupils," training to be a pickpocket. He is always laughing uproariously, and is almost equal in artifice and adroitness to "The Artful Dodger" himself.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Bates (Frank), the friend of Whittle. A man of good plain sense, who tries to laugh the old beau out of his folly.—Garrick, The Irish Widow (1757).
Bath (King of), Richard Nash, generally called Beau Nash, master of-the ceremonies for fifteen years in that fashionable city (1674-1761).
Bath (The Maid of), Miss Linley, a beautiful and accomplished singer, who married Richard B. Sheridan, the statesman and dramatist.
Bath (The Wife of), one of the pilgrims travelling from Southwark to Canterbury, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. She tells her tale in turn, and chooses "Midas" for her subject (1388).
Bathsheba in Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel is Louisa de Queronailles, a young French lady brought into England by the Duchess of Orleans, and who became the mistress of Charles II. The King made her Duchess of Portsmouth.
Bathsheba Everdeiie, handsome heiress of an English farmstead, beloved by two honest men and one knave. She marries the knave in haste, and repents it at leisure for years thereafter. Released by his death, she marries Gabriel Oak.—Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd (1874).
Battar (Al), i.e. the trenchant, one of Mahomet's swords.
Battus, a shepherd of Arcadia. Having witnessed Mercury's theft of Apollo's oxen, he received a cow from the thief to ensure his secrecy; but, in order to test his fidelity, Mercury re-appeared soon afterwards, and offered him an ox and a cow if he would blab. Battus fell into the trap, and was instantly changed into a touchstone.
Lord Brooke, Treatise on Monarchie, iv.
Bau'cis and Philemon, an aged Phrygian woman and her husband, who received Jupiter and Mercury hospitably when every one else in the place had refused to entertain them. For this courtesy the gods changed the Phrygians' cottage into a magnificent temple, and appointed the pious couple over it. They both died at the same time, according to their wish, and were converted into two trees before the temple.—Greek and Roman Mythology.
Baul'die (2 syl.), stable-boy of Joshua Geddes the quaker.—Sir W. Scott, Red-gauntlet (time, George III.).
Baul'die (2 syl.), the old shepherd in the introduction of the story called The Black Dwarf, by sir W. Scott (time, Anne).
Bavian Fool (The), one of the characters in the old morris-dance. He wore a red cap faced with yellow, a yellow "slabbering-bib," a blue doublet, red hose, and black shoes. He represents an overgrown baby, but was a tumbler, and mimicked the barking of a dog. The word Bavian is derived from bavon, a "bib for a slabbering child" (see Cotgrave, French Dictionary). In modern French bave means "drivel," "slabbering," and the verb baver "to slabber," but the bib is now called bavette. (See MORRIS-DANCE.)
Bavie'ca, the Cid's horse. He survived his master two years and a half, and was buried at Valencia. No one was ever allowed to mount him after the death of the Cid.
Bavius, any vile poet. (See MÆVIUS.)
Bawtry. Like the saddler of Baivtry, who was hanged for leaving his liquor. (Yorkshire Proverb.) It was customary for criminals on their way to execution to stop at a certain tavern in York for a "parting draught." The saddler of Bawtry refused to accept the liquor, and was hanged, whereas if he had stopped a few minutes at the tavern his reprieve, which was on the road, would have arrived in time to save him.
Ba'yard, Le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche; born in France in 1475. He served under Charles VIII. and Louis XII.; bore a gallant part in the "Battle of the Spurs," and died in 1524 of wounds received while in action.
The British Bayard, sir Philip Sidney (1554-1584).
The Polish Bayard, prince Joseph Poniatowski (1763-1814).
The Bayard of India, sir James Outram (1803-1863). So called by sir Charles Napier.
Ba'yard, a horse of incredible speed, belonging to the four sons of Aymon. If only one mounted, the horse was of the ordinary size, but increased in proportion as two or more mounted. (The word means "bright bay color.")—Villeneuve, Les Quatre fils Aymon.
Bayard, the steed of Fitz-James.—Sir W. Scott, Lady of the Lake, v. 18 (1810).
Bayar'do, the famous steed of Rinaldo, which once belonged to Amadis of Gaul. It was found in a grotto by the wizard Malagigi, along with the sword Fusberta, both of which he gave to his cousin Rinaldo.
Tasso, Rinaldo, ii. 220 (1562).
Bayes (1 syl.), the chief character of The Rehearsal, a farce by George Villiers, duke of Buckingham (1671). Bayes is represented as greedy of applause, impatient of censure, meanly obsequious, regardless of plot, and only anxious for claptrap. The character is meant for John Dryden.
C. Dibdin, in his History of the Stage, states that Mrs. Mountford played "Bayes" "with more variety than had ever been thrown into the part before."
Baynard (Mr.), introduced in an episode in the novel called Humphrey Clinker, by Smollett (1771).
Bea'con (Tom), groom to Master Chiffinch (private emissary of Charles II.).—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Bea'gle (Sir Harry), a horsy country gentleman, who can talk of nothing but horses and dogs. He is wofully rustic and commonplace. Sir Harry makes a bargain with lord Trinket to give up Harriet to him in exchange for his horse. (See GOLDFINCH.)—George Colman, The Jealous Wife (1761).
Beak. Sir John Fielding was called "The Blind Beak" (died 1780). Bean Lean (Donald), alias Will Ruthven, a Highland robber-chief. He also appears disguised as a peddler on the roadside leading to Stirling. Waverley is rowed to the robber's cave and remains there all night.
Alice Bean, daughter of Donald Bean Lean, who attends on Waverley during a fever.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Bear (The Brave). Warwick is so called from his cognizance, which was a bear and ragged staff.
Bearcliff (Deacon), at the Gordon Arms or Kippletringam inn, where colonel Mannering stops on his return to England, and hears of Bertram's illness and distress.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Bearded (The). (1) Geoffrey the crusader. (2) Bouchard of the house of Montmorency. (3) Constantine IV. (648-685). (4) Master George Killingworthe of the court of Ivan the Terrible of Russia, whose beard (says Hakluyt) was five feet two inches long, yellow, thick, and broad. Sir Hugh Willoughby was allowed to take it in his hand.
The Bearded Master. Soc'ratês was so called by Persius (B.C. 468-399).
Handsome Beard, Baldwin IV. earl of Flanders (1160-1186).
John the Bearded, John Mayo, the German painter, whose beard touched the ground when he stood upright.
Bearnais (Le), Henri IV. of France, so called from his native province, Le Béarr. (1553-1610).
Beaton, the artist of Every Other Week, the story of which periodical is told in W. D. Howells's A Hazard of New Fortunes (1889).
His name was Beaton—Angus Beaton. His father was a Scotchman, but Beaton was born in Syracuse, New York, and it had taken only three years to obliterate many traces of native and ancestral manner in him. He wore his thick beard cut shorter than his moustache, and a little pointed; he stood with his shoulders well thrown back, and with a lateral curve of his person when he talked about art which would alone have carried conviction, even if he had not had a thick, dark bang coming almost to the brows of his mobile gray eyes, and had not spoken English with quick, staccato impulses, so as to give it the effect of epigrammatic and sententious French.
Be'atrice (3 syl.), a child eight years old, to whom Dantê at the age of nine was ardently attached. She was the daughter of Folco Portina'ri, a rich citizen of Florence. Beatrice married Simoni de Bardi, and died before she was twenty-four years old (1266-1290). Dantê married Gemma Donati, and his marriage was a most unhappy one. His love for Beatrice remained after her decease. She was the fountain of his poetic inspiration, and in his Divina Commedia he makes her his guide through paradise.
Dantê's Beatrice and Milton's Eve Were not drawn from their spouses you conceive. Byron, Don Juan, iii. 10 (1820).
(Milton, who married Mary Powell, of Oxfordshire, was as unfortunate in his choice as Dantê.)
Beatrice, wife of Ludov'ico Sforza.
Beatrice, daughter of Ferdinando king of Naples, sister of Leonora duchess of Ferrara, and wife of Mathias Corvi'nus of Hungary.
Beatrice, niece of Leonato governor of Messina, lively and light-hearted, affectionate and impulsive. Though wilful she is not wayward, though volatile she is not unfeeling, though teeming with wit and gaiety she is affectionate and energetic. At first she dislikes Benedick, and thinks him a flippant conceited coxcomb; but overhearing a conversation between her cousin Hero and her gentlewoman, in which Hero bewails that Beatrice should trifle with such deep love as that of Benedick, and should scorn so true and good a gentleman, she cries, "Sits the wind thus? then, farewell, contempt. Benedick, love on; I will requite you." This conversation of Hero's was a mere ruse, but Benedick had been caught by a similar trick played by Claudio, don Pedro, and Leonato. The result was they sincerely loved each other, and were married.—Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing (1600).
Beatrice Cenci, the Beautiful Parricide (q.v.).
Beatrice D'Este, canonized at Rome.
Beatrice Giorgini, an Italian contessa whose parents contract a secret marriage, an unequal match as to birth and fortune, and, dying young, one by violence, leave their child in charge of Betta, a faithful nurse, who takes her to her mother's mother, an old peasant. At her grandmother's death she becomes companion to a relative of her father; marries don Leonardo, her father's cousin and one of the witnesses to the secret marriage, and uses him to prove her legitimacy and his own treachery.—Mary Agnes Tincker, Two Coronets (1889).
Beau Brummel, George Bryan Brummel, son of a London pastry-cook, who became the fashion at the court of George III. and reigning favorite of the Prince of Wales. His story has been made the foundation of a brilliant American play by Clyde Fitch, in which Richard Mansfield takes the part of Brummel (1890).
Beau Clark, a billiard-maker at the beginning of the nineteenth century. He was called "The Bean," assumed the name of Beauelerc, and paid his addresses to a protégée of lord Fife.
Beau Fielding, called "Handsome Fielding" by Charles II., by a play on his name, which was Hendrome Fielding. He died in Scotland Yard.
Beau Hewitt was the original of sir George Etherege's "Sir Fopling Flutter," in the comedy called The Man of Mode or Sir Fopling Flutter (1676).
Beau Nash, Richard Nash, called also "King of Bath;" a Welsh gentleman, who for fifteen years managed the bath-rooms of Bath, and conducted the balls with unparalleled splendor and decorum. In his old age he sank into poverty (1674-1761).
Beau d'Orsay (Le), father of count d'Orsay, whom Byron calls "Jeune Cupidon."
Beau Seant, the Templars' banner, half white and half black; the white signified that the Templars were good to Christians, the black, that they were evil to infidels.
Beau Tibbs, in Goldsmith's Citizen of the World, a dandy noted for his finery, vanity, and poverty.
Beauclerk, Henry I. king of England (1068, 1100-1135).
Beaufort, the lover of Maria Wilding, whom he ultimately marries.—A. Murphy, The Citizen (a farce).
Beaujeu (Mons. le chevalier de), keeper of a gambling-house to which Dalgarno takes Nigel.—Sir W. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel (time, James I.).
Beaujeu (Mons. le comte de), a French officer in the army of the Chevalier Charles Edward, the Pretender.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Beaumains ("big hands"), a nickname which sir Key (Arthur's steward) gave to Gareth when he was kitchen drudge in the palace. "He had the largest hands that ever man saw." Gareth was the son of king Lot and Margawse (king Arthur's sister). His brothers were sir Gaw'ain, sir Agravain, and sir Gaheris. Mordred was his half-brother.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 120 (1470).
His achievements are given under the name "Gareth" (q.v.).
Tennyson, in his Gareth and Lynette, makes sir Key tauntingly address Lancelot thus, referring to Gareth:
Be it remembered that Key himself called Gareth "Beaumain" from the extraordinary size of the lad's hands; but the taunt put into the mouth of Key by the poet indicates that the lad prided himself on his "fine" face and "fair" hands, which is not the case. If "fair hands" is a translation of this nickname, it should be "fine hands," which bears the equivocal sense of big and beautiful.
Beau'manoir (Sir Lucas), Grand-Master of the Knights Templars.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Beaupre [Bo-pray'], son of judge Vertaigne (2 syl.) and brother of Lami'ra.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Little French Lawyer (1647).
Beauté (2 syl). La dame de Beauté. Agnes Sorel, so called from the château de Beauté, on the banks of the Marne, given to her by Charles VII. (1409-1450).
Beautiful Corisande (3 syl). Diane comtesse de Guiche et de Grammont. She was the daughter of Paul d'Andouins, and married Philibert de Grammont, who died in 1580. The widow outlived her husband for twenty-six years. Henri IV., before he was king of Navarre, was desperately smitten by La belle Corisande, and when Henri was at war with the League, she sold her diamonds to raise for him a levy of 20,000 Gascons (1554-1620).
(The letters of Henri to Corisande are still preserved in the Bibliothéque de l'Arsenal, and were published in 1769.)
Beautiful Parricide (The), Beatrice Cenci, daughter of a Roman nobleman, who plotted the death of her father because he violently defiled her. She was executed in 1605. Shelley has a tragedy on the subject, entitled The Cenci. Guido Reni's portrait of Beatrice is well known through its numberless reproductions.
Beauty (Queen of). So the daughter of Schems'edeen' Mohammed, vizier of Egypt, was called. She married her cousin, Bed'redeen' Hassan, son of Nour'edeen' Ali, vizier of Basora.—Arabian Nights ("Nouredeen Ali," etc.).
Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête'), from Les Contes Marines of Mde. Villeneuvre (1740), the most beautiful of all nursery tales. A young and lovely woman saved her father by putting herself in the power of a frightful but kind-hearted monster, whose respectful affection and melancholy overcame her aversion to his ugliness, and she consented to become his bride. Being thus freed from enchantment, the monster assumed his proper form and became a young and handsome prince.
Beauty of Buttermere (3 syl.), Mary Robinson, who married John Hatfield, a heartless impostor executed for forgery at Carlisle in 1803.
Beaux' Stratagem (The), by George Farquhar. Thomas viscount Aimwell and his friend Archer (the two beaux), having run through all their money, set out fortune-hunting, and come to Lichfield as "master and man." Aimwell pretends to be very unwell, and as lady Bountiful's hobby is tending the sick and playing the leech, she orders him to be removed to her mansion. Here he and Dorinda (daughter of lady Bountiful) fall in love with each other, and finally marry. Archer falls in love with Mrs. Sullen, the wife of squire Sullen, who had been married fourteen months but agreed to a divorce on the score of incompatibility of tastes and temper. This marriage forms no part of the play; all we are told is that she returns to the roof of her brother, sir Charles Freeman (1707).
Bede (Adam and Seth), brothers, carpenters. Seth loves the fair gospeller Dinah Morris, but she marries Adam.—George Eliot, Adam Bede.
Bede (Cuthbert), the Rev. Edward Bradley, author of The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, an Oxford Freshman (1857).
Bed'er ("the full moon"), son of Gulna'rê (3 syl.), the young king of Persia. As his mother was an under-sea princess, he was enabled to live under water as well as on land. Beder was a young man of handsome person, quick parts, agreeable manners, and amiable disposition. He fell in love with Giauha'rê, daughter of the king of Samandal, the most powerful of the under-sea empires, but Giauharê changed him into a white bird with red beak and red legs. After various adventures, Beder resumed his human form and married Giauharê.—Arabian Nights ("Beder and Giauharê").
Bed'ivere (Sir) or Bed'iver, king Arthur's butler and a knight of the Round Table. He was the last of Arthur's knights, and was sent by the dying king to throw his sword Excalibur into the mere. Being cast in, it was caught by an arm "clothed in white samite," and drawn into the stream.—Tennyson, Morte d'Arthur.
Tennyson's Morte d'Arthur is a very close and in many parts a verbal rendering of the same tale in sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur, iii. 168 (1470).
Bedloe (Augustus), an eccentric Virginian, an opium-eater, and easily hypnotized, in Edgar Allan Poe's Tale of the Ragged Mountains (1846).
Bedott (Widow). (See HEZEKIAH BEDOTT.)
Bed'ouins [Bed'.winz], nomadic tribes of Arabia. In common parlance, "the homeless street poor." Thus gutter-children are called "Bedouins."
Bed'redeen' Has'san of Baso'ra, son of Nour'edeen' Ali grand vizier of Basora, and nephew to Schems'edeen' Mohammed vizier of Egypt. His beauty was transcendent and his talents of the first order. When twenty years old his father died, and the sultan, angry with him for keeping from court, confiscated all his goods, and would have seized Bedredeen if he had not made his escape. During sleep he was conveyed by fairies to Cairo, and substituted for an ugly groom (Hunchback) to whom his cousin, the Queen of Beauty, was to have been married. Next day he was carried off by the same means to Damascus, where he lived for ten years as a pastry-cook. Search was made for him, and the search party, halting outside the city of Damascus, sent for some cheese-cakes. When the cheese-cakes arrived, the widow of Nouredeen declared that they must have been made by her son, for no one else knew the secret of making them, and that she herself had taught it to him. On hearing this, the vizier ordered Bedredeen to be seized, "for making cheese-cakes without pepper," and the joke was carried on till the party arrived at Cairo, when the pastry-cook prince was reunited to his wife, the Queen of Beauty.—Arabian Nights ("Nouredeen Ali," etc.).
Bedwin (Mrs.), housekeeper to Mr. Brownlow. A kind, motherly soul, who loves Oliver Twist most dearly.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Bee of Attica, Soph'oclês the dramatist (B.C. 495-405). The "Athenian Bee" was Plato the philosopher (B.C. 428-347).
Beef'ington (Milor), introduced in The Rovers. Casimir is a Polish emigrant, and Beefington an English nobleman exiled by the tyranny of king John.—Anti-Jacobin.
Be'elzelbub (4 syl.), called "prince of the devils" (Matt. xii. 24), worshipped at Ekron, a city of the Philistines (2 Kings i. 2), and made by Milton second to Satan.
Bee'nie (2 syl.), chambermaid at Old St. Ronan's inn, held by Meg Dods.—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, George III.).
Bees (Telling the), a superstition still prevalent in some rural districts that the bees must be told at once if a death occur in the family, or every swarm will take flight. In Whittier's poem, Telling the Bees, the lover coming to visit his mistress sees the small servant draping the hives with black, and hears her chant:
Befa'na, the good fairy of Italian children. She is supposed to fill their shoes and socks with toys when they go to bed on Twelfth Night. Some one enters the bedroom for the purpose, and the wakeful youngters cry out, "Ecco la Befana!" According to legend, Befana was too busy with house affairs to take heed of the Magi when they went to offer their gifts, and said she would stop for their return; but they returned by another way, and Befana every Twelfth Night watches to see them. The name is a corruption of Epiphania.
Beg (Callum), page to Fergus M'Ivor, in Waverley, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, George II.).
Beg (Toshach), MacGillie Chattanach's second at the combat.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Beggar of Bethnal Green (The), a drama by S. Knowles (recast and produced, 1834). Bess, daughter of Albert, "the blind beggar of Bethnal Green," was intensely loved by Wilford, who first saw her in the streets of London, and subsequently, after diligent search, discovered her in the Queen's Arms inn at Romford. It turned out that her father Albert was brother to lord Woodville, and Wilford was his truant son, so that Bess was his cousin Queen Elizabeth sanctioned their nuptials, and took them under her own conduct. (See BLIND.)
Beggars (King of the), Bampfylde Moore Carew. He succeeded Clause Patch (1693, 1730-1770).
Beggar's Daughter (The), "Bessee the beggar's daughter of Bethnal Green," was very beautiful, and was courted by four suitors at once—a knight, a country squire, a rich merchant, and the son of an inn-keeper at Romford. She told them all they must first obtain the consent of her poor blind father, the beggar of Bethnal Green, and all slunk off except the knight, who went and asked leave to marry "the pretty Bessee." The beggar gave her for a "dot," £3000, and £100 for her trousseau, and informed the knight that he (the beggar) was Henry, son and heir of sir Simon de Montfort, and that he had disguised himself as a beggar to escape the vigilance of spies, who were in quest of all those engaged on the baron's side in the battle of Evesham.—Percy's Reliques, II. ii 10.
The value of money was about twelve times more than its present purchase value, so that the "dot" given was equal to £36,000.
Beggar's Opera (The), by Gay (1727). The beggar is captain Macheath. (For plot, see MACHEATH.)
Beggar's Petition (The), a poem by the Rev. Thomas Moss, minister of Brierly Hill and Trentham, in Staffordshire. It was given to Mr. Smart, the printer, of Wolverhampton.—Gentleman's Magazine, lxx. 41. Beguines [Beg-wins], the earliest of all lay societies of women united for religious purposes. Brabant says the order received its name from St. Begga, daughter of Pepin, who founded it at Namur', in 696; but it is more likely to be derived from le Bègue ("the Stammerer"); and if so, it was founded at Liège, in 1180.
Beh'ram, captain of the ship which was to convey prince Assad to the "mountain of fire," where he was to be offered up in sacrifice. The ship being driven on the shores of queen Margia'na's kingdom, Assad became her slave, but was recaptured by Behram's crew, and carried back to the ship. The queen next day gave the ship chase. Assad was thrown overboard, and swam to the city whence he started. Behram also was drifted to the same place. Here the captain fell in with the prince, and reconducted him to the original dungeon. Bosta'na, a daughter of the old fire-worshipper, taking pity on the prince, released him; and, at the end, Assad married queen Margiana, Bostana married prince Amgiad (half-brother of Assad), and Behram, renouncing his religion, became a mussulman, and entered the service of Amgiad, who became king of the city.—Arabian Nights ("Amgiad and Assad").
Bela'rius, a nobleman and soldier in the army of Cym'beline (3 syl.) king of Britain. Two villains having sworn to the king that he was "confederate with the Romans," he was banished, and for twenty years lived in a cave; but he stole away the two infant sons of the king out of revenge. Their names were Guide'rius and Arvir'agus. When these two princes were grown to manhood, a battle was fought between the Romans and Britons, in which Cymbeline was made prisoner, but Belarius coming to the rescue, the king was liberated and the Roman general in turn was made captive. Belarius was now reconciled to Cymbeline, and presenting to him the two young men, told their story; whereupon they were publicly acknowledged to be the sons of Cymbeline and princes of the realm.—Shakespeare, Cymbeline (1605).
Bel Bree, wide-awake country girl in The Other Girls, by A.D.T. Whitney. Dissatisfied with rustic life, she accompanies aunt Blin, a dressmaker, to Boston, works hard, is exposed to the temptations that beset a pretty girl in a city, but resists them. She is thrown out of work by the Boston fire, and "enters service" with satisfactory consequences to all concerned.
Belch (Sir Toby), uncle of Olivia the rich countess of Illyria. He is a reckless roysterer of the old school, and a friend of sir Andrew Ague-cheek.—Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (1614).
Belcour, a foundling adopted by Mr. Belcour, a rich Jamaica merchant, who at death left him all his property. He was in truth the son of Mr. Stockwell, the clerk of Belcour, senior, who clandestinely married his master's daughter, and afterwards became a wealthy merchant. On the death of old Belcour, the young man came to England as the guest of his unknown father, fell in love with Miss Dudley, and married her. He was hot-blooded, impulsive, high-spirited, and generous, his very faults serving as a foil to his noble qualities; ever erring and repenting, offending and atoning for his offences.—Cumberland, The West Indian (1771).
Be'led, one of the six Wise Men of the East, led by the guiding star to Jesus. He was a king, who gave to his enemy who sought to dethrone him half of his kingdom, and thus turned a foe into a fast friend.—Klopstock, The Messiah, v. (1747).
Belerma, the lady whom Durandarte served for seven years as a knight-errant and peer of France. When, at length, he died at Roncesvalles, he prayed his cousin Montesi'nos to carry his heart to Belerma.
I saw a procession of beautiful damsels in mourning, with white turbans on their heads. In the rear came a lady with a veil so long that it reached the ground: her turban was twice as large as the largest of the others; her eyebrows were joined, her nose was rather flat, her mouth wide, but her lips of a vermilion color. Her teeth were thin-set and irregular, though very white; and she carried in her hand a fine linen cloth, containing a heart. Montesinos informed me that this lady was Belerma.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. ii. 6 (1615).
Bele'ses (3 syl.), a Chaldaean soothsayer and Assyrian satrap, who told Arba'ces (3 syl.) governor of Me'dia, that he would one day sit on the throne of Nineveh and Assyria. His prophecy came true, and Beleses was rewarded with the government of Babylon.—Byron, Sardanapalus (1819).
Bel'field (Brothers). The elder brother is a squire in Cornwall, betrothed to Sophia (daughter of sir Benjamin Dove), who loves his younger brother Bob. The younger brother is driven to sea by the cruelty of the squire, but on his return renews his acquaintance with Sophia. He is informed of her unwilling betrothal to the elder brother, who is already married to Violetta, but parted from her. Violetta returns home in the same ship as Bob Belfield, becomes reconciled to her husband, and the younger brother marries Sophia.—Rich. Cumberland, The Brothers (1769).
Bel'ford, a friend of Lovelace (2 syl.). They made a covenant to pardon every sort of liberty which they took with each other.—Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe (1749).
Belford (Major), the friend of colonel Tamper, and the plighted hnsband of Mdlle. Florival.—G. Colman, sen., The Deuce is in Him (1762).
Belge (2 syl.), the mother of seventeen sons. She applied to queen Mercilla for aid against Geryon'eo, who had deprived her of all her offspring except five.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. 10 (1596).
"Beige" is Holland, the "seventeen sons" are the seventeen provinces which once belonged to her; "Geryoneo" is Philip II. of Spain; and "Mercilla" is queen Elizabeth.
Belial, sons of, in the Bible passim means the lewd and profligate. Milton has created the personality of Belial:
Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 490
Milton, Paradise Lost, ii. 108.
Belia'nis of Greece (Don), the hero of an old romance of chivalry on the model of Am'adis de Gaul. It was one of the books in don Quixote's library, but was not one of those burnt by the cure as pernicious and worthless.
"Don Belianis," said the curé, "with its two, three, and four parts, hath need of a dose of rhubarb to purge off that mass of bile with which he is inflamed. His Castle of Fame and other impertinences should be totally obliterated. This done, we would show him lenity in proportion as we found him capable of reform. Take don Belianis home with you, and keep him in close confinement."—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. i. 6 (1605).
Belinda, niece and companion of lady John Brute. Young, pretty, full of fun, and possessed of £10,000. Heartfree marries her.—Vanbrugh, The Provoked Wife (1697).
Belin'da, the heroine of Pope's Rape of the Lock. This mock heroic is founded on the following incident:—Lord Petre cut a lock of hair from the head of Miss Arabella Fermor, and the young lady resented the liberty as an unpardonable affront. The poet says Belinda wore on her neck two curls, one of which the baron cut off with a pair of scissors borrowed of Clarissa, and when Belinda angrily demanded that it should be delivered up, it had flown to the skies and become a meteor there. (See BERENICE.)
Belinda, daughter of Mr. Blandford, in love with Beverley the brother of Clarissa. Her father promised sir William Bellmont that she should marry his son George, but George was already engaged to Clarissa. Belinda was very handsome, very independent, most irreproachable, and devotedly attached to Beverley. When he hinted suspicions of infidelity, she was too proud to deny their truth, but her pure and ardent love instantly rebuked her for giving her lover causeless pain.—A. Murphy, All in the Wrong (1761).
Belin'da, the heroine of Miss Edgeworth's novel of the same name. The object of the tale is to make the reader feel what is good, and pursue it (1803).
Belin'da, a lodging-house servant-girl, very poor, very dirty, very kind-hearted, and shrewd in observation. She married, and Mr. Middlewick the butter-man set her husband up in business in the butter line.—H. J. Byron, Our Boys (1875).
Beline (2 syl.), second wife of Argan the malade imaginaire, and step-mother of Angelique, whom she hates. Beline pretends to love Argan devotedly, humors him in all his whims, calls him "mon fils," and makes him believe that if he were to die it would be the death of her. Toinette induces Argan to put these specious protestations to the test by pretending to be dead. He does so, and when Beline enters the room, instead of deploring her loss, she cries in ecstasy:
"Le ciel en soit loué! Me voilà délivrée d'un pesant fardeau!... de quoi servait-il sur la terre? Un homme incommode à tout le monde, malpropre, dégoûtant ... mouchant, toussant, crachant toujours, sans esprit, ennuyeux, de manvaise humeur, fatiguant sans cesse les gens, et grondant jour et nuit servantes et valets."—(iii. 18).
She then proceeds to ransack the room for bonds, leases, and money; but Argan starts up and tells her she has taught him one useful lesson for life at any rate.—Molière, Le Malade Imaginaire (1673).
Belisa'rius, the greatest of Justinian's generals. Being accused of treason, he was deprived of all his property, and his eyes were put out. In this state he retired to Constantinople, where he lived by begging. The story says he fastened a label to his hat, containing these words, "Give an obolus to poor old Belisarius." Marmontel has written a tale called Belisaire, which has helped to perpetuate these fables, originally invented by Tzetzês or Caesios, a Greek poet, born at Constantinople in 1120.
Bélise (2 syl.), sister of Philaminte (3 syl.), and, like her, a femme savante. She imagines that every one is in love with her.—Molière, Les Femmes Savantes (1672).
Bell (Adam), a wild, north-country outlaw, noted, like Robin Hood, for his skill in archery. His place of residence was Englewood Forest, near Carlisle; and his two comrades were Clym of the Clough [Clement of the Cliff] and William of Cloudesly (3 syl.). William was married, but the other two were not. When William was captured at Carlisle, and was led to execution, Adam and Clym rescued him, and all three went to London to crave pardon of the king, which, at the queen's intercession, was granted them. They then showed the king specimens of their skill in archery, and the king was so well pleased that he made William a "gentleman of fe," and the two others yeomen of the bedchamber.—Percy, Reliques ("Adam Bell," etc.), I. ii. I.
Bell. Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Bronté assumed the noms de plume of Acton, Currer, and Ellis Bell (first half of the nineteenth century). Currer Bell or Bronté married the Rev. Arthur Bell Nicholls. She was the author of Jane Eyre.
It will be observed that the initial letter of both names is in every case preserved throughout—Acton (Anne), Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily), and Bell (Bronté).
Bell (Bessy). Bessy Bell and Mary Gray were the daughters of two country gentlemen near Perth. When the plague broke out in 1666 they built for themselves a bower in a very romantic spot called Burn Braes, to which they retired, and were supplied with food, etc., by a young man who was in love with both of them. The young man caught the plague, communicated it to the two young ladies, and all three died.—Allan Eamsay, Bessy Bell and Mary Gray (a ballad).
Bell (Peter), the subject of a "tale in verse" by Wordsworth. Shelley wrote a burlesque upon it, entitled Peter Bell the Third.
Bell (The Old Chapel) J. G. Saxe's poem under this title is founded upon a legend of a boy, who, wandering in a churchyard, hears a musical articulate murmur from a disused bell hidden by matted grass.
Bell-the-Cat, sobriquet of Archibald Douglas, great-earl of Angus, who died in 1514.
The mice, being much annoyed by the persecutions of a cat, resolved that a bell should be hung about her neck to give notice of her approach. The measure was agreed to in full council, but one of the sager mice inquired, "Who would undertake to bell the cat?" When Lauder told this fable to a council of Scotch nobles, met to declaim against one Cochran, Archibald Douglas started up and exclaimed in thunder, "I will;" and hence the sobriquet referred to.—Sir W. Scott, Tales of a Grandfather, xxii.
Bella, sweet girl-cousin, the first love and life-long friend of the hero of Dream-Life, by Ik Marvel. Re-visiting his native place after years of foreign travel, he learns that Bella is dead, and goes to her grave, where dry leaves are entangled in the long grass, "giving it a ragged, terrible look" (1851).
Bella Wilfer, a lovely, wilful, lively spoilt darling. She married John Rokesmith (i.e., John Harmon).—C. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend (1864).
Bellamy, a steady young man, looking out for a wife "capable of friendship, love, and tenderness, with good sense enough to be easy, and good nature enough to like him." He found his beau-ideal in Jacintha, who had besides a fortune of £30,000.—Dr. Hoadly, The Suspicious Husband (1761).
Bella'rio, the assumed name of Euphrasia, when she put on boy's apparel that she might enter the service of prince Philaster, whom she greatly loved.—Beaumont and Fletcher, Philaster, or Love Lies A-Bleeding (1622).
Bellaston (Lady), a profligate, from whom Tom Jones accepts support. Her conduct and conversation may be considered a fair photograph of the "beauties" of the court of George II.—Fielding, History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1750).
Belle Cordiere (La), Louise Labé, who married Ennemond Perrin, a wealthy rope-maker (1526-1566).
Belle Corisande (La), Diane comtesse de Gruiche et de Grammont (1554-1620).
Bellefontaine (Benedict), the wealthy farmer of Grande Pré [Nova Scotia] and father of Evangeline. When the inhabitants of his village were driven into exile, Benedict died of a broken heart as he was about to embark, and was buried on the sea-shore.—Longfellow, Evangeline (1849).
Bel'lenden (Lady Margaret), an old Tory lady, mistress of the Tower of Tillietudlem.
Old major Miles Bellenden, brother of lady Margaret.
Miss Edith Bellenden, granddaughter of lady Margaret, betrothed to lord Evendale, of the king's army, but in love with Morton (a leader of the covenanters and the hero of the novel). After the death of lord Evendale, who is shot by Balfour, Edith marries Morton, and this terminates the tale.—Sir W. Scott, Old Mortality (time, Charles II.).
Bellero'phon was falsely accused by Antea, wife of Proetos, King of Argos, and the enraged husband sent him to Lycia, to King Iobates, the father of Antea, with sealed tablets, asking that the bearer might be put to death. Iobates sent the youth on dangerous errands, but he came off unharmed from all. Among other exploits he killed the Chimæra and slew the Amazons. Later, he tried to mount to Olympus on the winged horse Pegasus, but he fell and wandered about in melancholy madness on the Aleian field until he died. This peculiar form of madness is called morbus Bellerophonteus. Homer tells the story of Bellerophon in the Iliad, Book VI. Milton alludes to him, Paradise Lost, VII. 15-20. Hawthorne has told the story of the Chimæra in A Wonder Book.
Belle'rus is the name of a personage invented by Milton as the supposed guardian of Land's End in Cornwall, the Bellerium of the Romans. In questioning as to where the body of the drowned Lycidas q.v. has been carried by the waves, he asks:
Lycidas, 159-60.
Belle's Stratagem (The). The "belle" is Letitia Hardy, and her stratagem was for the sake of winning the love of Doricourt, to whom she had been betrothed. The very fact of being betrothed to Letitia sets Doricourt against her, so she goes unknown to him to a masquerade, where Doricourt falls in love with "the beautiful stranger." In order to accomplish the marriage of his daughter, Mr. Hardy pretends to be "sick unto death," and beseeches Doricourt to wed Letitia before he dies. Letitia meets her betrothed in her masquerade dress, and unbounded is the joy of the young man to find that "the beautiful stranger" is the lady to whom he has been betrothed.—Mrs. Cowley, The Belle's Stratagem (1780).
Belle the Giant. It is said that the giant Belle mounted on his sorrel horse at a place since called mount Sorrel. He leaped one mile, and the spot on which he lighted was called Wanlip (one-leap); thence he leaped a second mile, but in so doing "burst all" his girths, whence the spot was called Burst-all; in the third leap he was killed, and the spot received the name of Bellegrave.
Belleur', companion of Pinac and Mirabel ("the wild goose"), of stout blunt temper; in love with Rosalu'ra, a daughter of Nantolet.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Wild Goose Chase (1652).
Bell Hamlyn, young American girl, engaged to one man and in love with another, in Kismet, by George Fleming (Julia C. Fletcher, 1877).
Bellicent, daughter of Gorloïs lord of Tintag'il and his wife Ygernê or Igerna. As the widow married Uther the pen-dragon, and was then the mother of king Arthur, it follows that Bellicent was half-sister of Arthur. Tennyson in Gareth and Lynette says that Bellicent was the wife of Lot king of Orkney, and mother of Gaw'ain and Mordred, but this is not in accordance either with the chronicle or the history, for Geoffrey in his Chronicle says that Lot's wife was Anne, the sister (not half-sister) of Arthur (viii. 20, 21), and sir T. Malory, in his History of Prince Arthur says:
Bel'lin, the ram, in the beast-epic of Reynard the Fox. The word means "gentleness" (1498).
Bellingham, a man about town.—D. Boucicault, After Dark.
Bel'lisant, sister of king Pepin of France, and wife of Alexander emperor of Constantinople. Being accused of infidelity, the emperor banished her, and she took refuge in a vast forest, where she became the mother of Valentine and Orson.—Valentine and Orson.
Bellmont (Sir William), father of George Bellmont; tyrannical, positive, and headstrong. He imagines it is the duty of a son to submit to his father's will, even in the matter of matrimony.
George Bellmont, son of sir William, in love with Clarissa, his friend Beverley's sister; but his father demands of him to marry Belinda Blandford, the troth-plight wife of Beverley. Ultimately all comes right.—A. Murphy, All in the Wrong (1761).
Bello'na's Handmaids, Blood, Fire, and Famine.
The goddesse of warre, called Bellona, had these thre handmaids ever attendynge on her: BLOOD, FIRE, and FAMINE, which thre damosels be of that force and strength that every one of them alone is able and sufficient to torment and afflict a proud prince; and they all joyned together are of puissance to destroy the most populous country and most richest region of the world.—Hall, Chronicle (1530).
Bellum (Master), war.
G. Gascoigne, The Fruites of Warre, 94 (died 1577).
Belmont (Sir Robert), a proud, testy, mercenary country gentleman; friend of his neighbor, sir Charles Raymond.
Charles Belmont, son of sir Robert, a young rake. He rescued Fidelia, at the age of twelve, from the hands of Villard, a villain who wanted to abuse her, and taking her to his own home, fell in love with her, and in due time married her. She turns out to be the daughter of sir Charles Raymond.
Rosetta Belmont, daughter of sir Robert, high-spirited, witty, and affectionate. She is in love with colonel Raymond, whom she delights in tormenting.—Ed. Moore, The Foundling (1748).
Belmont (Andrew), the elder of two brothers, who married Violetta (an English lady born in Lisbon), and deserted her. He then promised marriage to Lucy Waters, the daughter of one of his tenants, but had no intention of making her his wife. At the same time he engaged himself to Sophia, the daughter of sir Benjamin Dove. The day of the wedding arrived, and it was then discovered that he was married already, and that Violetta his wife was actually present.
Robert Belmont, the younger of the two brothers, in love with Sophia Dove. He went to sea in a privateer under captain Ironside, his uncle, and changed his name to Lewson. The vessel was wrecked on the Cornwall coast, and he renewed his acquaintance with Sophia, but heard that she was engaged in marriage to his brother. As, however, it was proved that his brother was already married, the young lady willingly abandoned the elder for the younger brother.—K. Cumberland, The Brothers (1769).
Belmour (Edward), a gay young man about town.—Congreve, The Old Bachelor (1693).
Belmour (Mrs.), a widow of "agreeable vivacity, entertaining manners, quickness of transition from one thing to another, a feeling heart, and a generosity of sentiment." She it is who shows Mrs. Lovemore the way to keep her husband at home, and to make him treat her with that deference which is her just due.—A. Murphy, The Way to Keep Him (1760).
Beloved Disciple (The), St. John "the divine," and writer of the fourth Gospel.—John xiii. 23, etc.
Beloved Physician (The), St. Luke the evangelist.—Col. iv. 14.
Bel'phegor, a Moabitish deity, whose orgies were celebrated on mount Phegor, and were noted for their obscenity.
Belphoe'be (3 syl.). "All the Graces rocked her cradle when she was born." Her mother was Chrysog'onê (4 syl.), daughter of Amphisa of fairy lineage, and her twin-sister was Amoretta. While the mother and her babes were asleep, Diana took one (Belphoebê) to bring up, and Venus took the other.
Belphoebe is the "Diana" among women, cold, passionless, correct, and strong-minded. Amoret is the "Venus," but without the licentiousness of that goddess, warm, loving, motherly, and wifely. Belphoebê was a lily; Amoret a rose. Belphoebê a moonbeam, light without heat; Amoret a sunbeam, bright and warm and life-giving. Belphoebê would go to the battle-field, and make a most admirable nurse or lady-conductor of an ambulance; but Amoret would prefer to look after her husband and family, whose comfort would be her first care, and whose love she would seek and largely reciprocate.—See Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. vi. (1590).
"Belphoebê" is queen Elizabeth. As queen she is Gloriana, but as woman she is Belphoebê, the beautiful and chaste.
Belted Will, lord William Howard, warden of the western marches (1563-1640).
Belten'ebros (4 syl.). Amadis of Graul assumes the name when he retires to the Poor Rock, after receiving a cruel letter from Oria'na his lady-love.—Vasco de Lobeira, Amadis de Gaul, ii. 6 (before 1400).
Belvide'ra, daughter of Priu'li a senator of Venice. She was saved from the sea by Jaffier, eloped with him, and married him. Her father then discarded her, and her husband joined the conspiracy of Pierre to murder the senators. He tells Belvidera of the plot, and Belvidera, in order to save her father, persuades Jaffier to reveal the plot to Priuli, if he will promise a general free pardon. Priuli gives the required promise, but notwithstanding, all the conspirators, except Jaffier, are condemned to death by torture. Jaffier stabs Pierre to save him from the dishonor of the wheel, and then kills himself. Belvidera goes mad and dies.—Otway, Venice Preserved (1682).
Ben [LEGEND], sir Sampson Legend's younger son, a sailor and a "sea-wit," in whose composition there enters no part of the conventional generosity and open frankness of a British tar. His slang phrase is "D'ye see," and his pet oath "Mess!"—W. Congreve, Love for Love (1695). I cannot agree with the following sketch:—
What is Ben—the pleasant sailor which Bannister gives us—but a piece of satire ... a dreamy combination of all the accidents of a sailor's character, his contempt of money, his credulity to women, with that necessary estrangement from home?... We never think the worse of Ben for it, or feel it as a stain upon his character.—C. Lamb.
C. Dibdin says: "If the description of Thom. Doggett's performance of this character be correct, the part has certainly never been performed since to any degree of perfection."
Ben Bolt, old schoolmate with whom Thomas Dunn English exchanges reminiscences in the ballad, Ben Bolt, beginning:
Ben-Hur, a young Jew, who, for accidentally injuring a Roman soldier, is condemned to the galleys for life. Escaping, after three years of servitude, through the favor of Arrius, a Roman Tribune, he seeks his mother and sister to find both lepers. They are healed by Christ, whose devoted followers they become.—Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880).
Ben Israel (Nathan) or Nathan ben Samuel, the physician and friend of Isaac the Jew.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Ben Joc'hanan, in the satire of Absalom and Achitophel, by Dryden and Tate, is meant for the Rev. Samuel Johnson, who suffered much persecution for his defence of the right of private judgment.
Benai'ah (3 syl.), in Absalom and Achitophel, is meant for general George Edward Sackville. As Benaiah, captain of David's guard, adhered to Solomon against Adonijah, so general Sackville adhered to the duke of York against the prince of Orange (1590-1652).
Benas'kar or Bennaskar, a wealthy merchant and magician of Delhi.—James Ridley, Tales of the Genii ("History of Mahoud," tale vii., 1751).
Benbow (Admiral). In an engagement with the French near St. Martha on the Spanish coast in 1701, admiral Benbow had his legs and thighs shivered into splinters by chain-shot, but supported in a wooden frame he remained on the quarter-deck till morning, when Du Casse sheered off.
Similar acts of heroism are recorded of Almeyda, the Portuguese governor of India, of Cynaegiros brother of the poet AEschylos, of Jaafer the standard-bearer of "the prophet" in the battle of Muta, and of some others.
Benbow, an idle, generous, free-and-easy sot, who spent a good inheritance in dissipation, and ended life in the workhouse.
Bend-the-Bow, an English archer at Dickson's cottage.—Sir W. Scott, Castle Dangerous (time, Henry I.).
Benedick, a wild, witty, and light-hearted young lord of Padua, who vowed celibacy, but fell in love with Beatrice and married her. It fell out thus: He went on a visit to Leonato, governor of Messina; here he sees Beatrice, the governor's niece, as wild and witty as himself, but he dislikes her, thinks her pert and forward, and somewhat ill-mannered withal. However, he hears Claudio speaking to Leonata about Beatrice, saying how deeply she loves Benedick, and bewailing that so nice a girl should break her heart with unrequited love. This conversation was a mere ruse, but Benedick believed it to be true, and resolved to reward the love of Beatrice with love and marriage. It so happened that Beatrice had been entrapped by a similar conversation which she had overheard from her cousin Hero. The end was they sincerely loved each other, and became man and wife.—Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing (1600). Benedict [BELLEFONTAINE], the wealthiest farmer of Grand Pré, in Acadia, father of Evangeline ("the pride of the village"). He was a stalwart man of seventy, hale as an oak, but his hair was white as snow. Colonel Winslow in 1713 informed the villagers of Grand Pré that the French had formally ceded their village to the English, that George II. now confiscated all their lands, houses, and cattle, and that the people, amounting to nearly 2000, were to be "exiled into other lands without delay." The people assembled on the sea-shore; old Benedict Bellefontaine sat to rest himself, and fell dead in a fit. The old priest buried him in the sand, and the exiles left their village homes forever.—Longfellow, Evangeline (1849).
Ben'engel'i (Cid Hamet), the hypothetical Moorish chronicler from whom Cervantês pretends he derived the account of the adventures of don Quixote.
The Spanish commentators ... have discovered that cid Hamet Benengeli is after all no more than an Arabic version of the name of Cervantês himself. Hamet is a Moorish prefix, and Benengeli signifies "son of a stag," in Spanish Cervanteno.—Lockhart.
Benengeli (Cid Hamet), Thomas Babington lord Macaulay. His signature in his Fragment of an Ancient Romance (1826). (See Cid, etc.)
Benev'olus, in Cowper's Task, is John Courtney Throckmorton, of Weston Underwood.
Benjamin Penguillan. The Pioneers, by J. F. Cooper. A servant in the family of Judge Temple. His sobriquet is "Ben Pump." (1823.)
Benjie (Little), or Benjamin Colthred, a spy employed by Cristal Nixon, the agent of Redgauntlet.—Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).
Ben'net (Brother), a monk at St. Mary's convent.—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
Ben'net (Mrs.), a demure, intriguing woman in Amelia, a novel by Fielding (1751).
Ben'oiton (Madame), a woman who has been the ruin of the family by neglect. In the "famille Benoiton" the constant question was "Où est Madame?" and the invariable answer "Elle est sortie" At the dénouement the question was asked again, and the answer was varied thus, "Madam has been at home, but is gone out again."—La Famille Benoiton.
Ben'shee, the domestic spirit or demon of certain Irish families. The benshee takes an interest in the prosperity of the family to which it is attached, and intimates to it approaching disaster or death by wailings or shrieks. The Scotch Bodach Glay or "grey spectre" is a similar spirit. Same as Banshee (which see).
Benvo'lio, nephew to Montague, and Romeo's friend. A testy, litigious fellow, who would quarrel about goat's wool or pigeon's milk. Mercutio says to him, "Thou hast quarrelled with a man for coughing in the street, because he hath wakened thy dog that hath lain asleep in the sun" (act iii. sc. 1),—Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (1598).
Beowulf, the name of an Anglo-Saxon epic poem of the sixth century. It received its name from Beowulf, who delivered Hrothgar king of Denmark from the monster Grrendel. This Grendel was half monster and half man, and night after night stole into the king's palace called Heorot, and slew sometimes as many as thirty of the sleepers at a time. Beowulf put himself at the head of a mixed band of warriors, went against the monster and slew it. This epic is very Ossianic in style, is full of beauties, and is most interesting.—Kemble's Translation.
(A.D. Wackerbarth published in 1849 a metrical translation of this Anglo-Saxon poem, of considerable merit.)
Beppo. Byron's Beppo is the husband of Laura, a Venetian lady. He was taken captive in Troy, turned Turk, joined a band of pirates, grew rich, and after several years returned to his native land. He found his wife at a carnival ball with a cavaliero, made himself known to her, and they lived together again as man and wife. (Beppo is a contraction of Guiseppe, as Joe is of Joseph, 1820.)
Beppo, in Fra Diavolo, an opera by Auber (1836).
Beralde (2 syl.), brother of Argan the malade imaginaire. He tells Argan that his doctors will confess this much, that the cure of a patient is a very minor consideration with them, "toute l'excellence de leur art consiste en un pompeux galimatias, en un spécieux babil, qui vous donne des mots pour des raisons, et des promesses pour des effets." Again he says, "presque tous les hommes meurent de leur remèdes et non pas de leurs maladies." He then proves that Argan's wife is a mere hypocrite, while his daughter is a true-hearted, loving girl; and he makes the invalid join in the dancing and singing provided for his cure.—Molière, Le Malade Imaginaire (1673). Berch'ta ("the white lady"), a fairy of southern Germany, answering to Hulda ("the gracious lady") of northern Germany. After the introduction of Christianity, Berchta lost her first estate and lapsed into a bogie.
Berecynthian Goddess (The). Cybelê is so called from mount Berecyntus, in Phrygia, where she was held in especial adoration. She is represented as crowned with turrets, and holding keys in her hand.
Berecyn'thian Hero (The), Midas king of Phyrgia, so called from mount Berecyn'tus (4 syl.), in Phrygia.
Berenga'ria, queen-consort of Richard Coeur de Lion, introduced in The Talisman, a novel by sir W. Scott (1825). Berengaria died 1230.
Berenger (Sir Raymond), an old Norman warrior, living at the castle of Garde Doloureuse.
The lady Eveline, sir Raymond's daughter, betrothed to sir Hugo de Lacy. Sir Hugo cancels his own betrothal in favor of his nephew (sir Damian de Lacy), who marries the lady Eveline, "the betrothed."—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Bereni'ce (4 syl.), sister-wife of Ptolemy III. She vowed to sacrifice her hair to the gods if her husband returned home the vanquisher of Asia. On his return, she suspended her hair in the temple of the war-god, but it was stolen the first night, and Conon of Samos told the king that the winds had carried it to heaven, where it still forms the seven stars near the tail of Leo, called Coma Berenices.
Pope, in his Rape of the Lock, has borrowed this fable to account for the lock of hair cut from Belinda's head, the restoration of which the young lady insisted upon.
Bereni'ce (4 syl.), a Jewish princess, daughter of Agrippa. She married Herod king of Chalcis, then Polemon king of Cilicia, and then went to live with Agrippa II. her brother. Titus fell in love with her and would have married her, but the Romans compelled him to renounce the idea, and a separation took place. Otway (1672) made this the subject of a tragedy called Titus and Berenicê; and Jean Racine (1670), in his tragedy of Bérénice, has made her a sort of Henriette d'Orleans.
(Henriette d'Orleans, daughter of Charles I. of England, married Philippe due d'Orléans, brother of Louis XIV. She was brilliant in talent and beautiful in person, but being neglected by her husband, she died suddenly after drinking a cup of chocolate, probably poisoned.)
Berenice, heroine of a tragic-comic fantasy by Edgar Allan Poe, in which Berenice's teeth hold a position as conspicuous as ghastly (1845).
Beringhen (The Sieur de), an old gourmand, who preferred patties to treason; but cardinal Richelieu banished him from France, saying:
Berin'thia, cousin of Amanda; a beautiful young widow attached to colonel Townly. In order to win him she plays upon his jealousy by coquetting with Loveless.—Sheridan, A Trip to Scarborough (1777).
Berke'ley (The Old Woman of), a woman whose life had been very wicked. On her death-bed she sent for her son who was a monk, and for her daughter who was a nun, and bade them put her in a strong stone coffin, and to fasten the coffin to the ground with strong bands of iron. Fifty priests and fifty choristers were to pray and sing over her for three days, and the bell was to toll without ceasing. The first night passed without much disturbance. The second night the candles burnt blue and dreadful yells were heard outside the church. But the third night the devil broke into the church and carried off the old woman on his black horse.—R. Southey, The Old Woman of Berkeley (a ballad from Olaus Magnus).
Dr. Sayers pointed out to us in conversation a story related by Olaus Magnus of a witch whose coffin was confined by three chains, but nevertheless was carried off by demons. Dr. Sayers had made a ballad on the subject; so had I; but after seeing The Old Woman of Berkeley, we awarded it the preference.—W. Taylor.
Berke'ly (The lady Augusta), plighted to sir John de Walton, governor of Douglas Castle. She first appears under the name of Augustine, disguised as the son of Bertram the minstrel, and the novel concludes with her marriage to De Walton, to whom Douglas Castle had been surrendered.—Sir W. Scott, Castle Dangerous (time, Henry I.).
Berkshire Lady (The), Miss Frances Kendrick, daughter of sir William Kendrick, second baronet; his father was created baronet by Charles II. The line, "Faint heart never won fair lady," was the advice of a friend to Mr. Child, the son of a brewer, who sought the hand of the lady.—Quarterly Review, cvi. 205-245.
Bernard. Solomon Bernard, engraver of Lions (sixteenth century), called Le petit Bernard. Claud Bernard of Dijon, the philanthropist (1588-1641), is called Poor Bernard. Pierre Joseph Bernard, the French poet (1710-1755), is called Le gentil Bernard.
Bernard, an ass; in Italian Bernardo. In the beast-epic called Reynard the Fox, the sheep is called "Bernard," and the ass is "Bernard l'archipêtre" (1498).
Bernard Langdon, fine young fellow of the "Brahmin Caste," who teaches school while preparing for a profession.—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Elsie Venner (1861).
Bernar'do, an officer in Denmark, to whom the ghost of the murdured king appeared during the night-watch at the royal castle.—Shakespeare, Hamlet (1596).
Bernardo del Carpio, one of the favorite subjects of the old Spanish minstrels. The other two were The Cid and Lara's Seven Infants. Bernardo del Carpio was the person who assailed Orlando (or Rowland) at Roncesvalles, and finding him invulnerable, took him up in his arms and squeezed him to death, as Hercules did Antae'os.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. ii. 13 (1615).
The only vulnerable part of Orlando was the sole of the foot.
Berser'ker, grandson of the eight-handed Starka'der and the beautiful Alfhil'de. He was so called because he wore "no shirt of mail," but went to battle unharnessed. He married the daughter of Swaf'urlam, and had twelve sons. (Baer-syrce, Anglo-Saxon, "bare of shirt;" Scotch, "bare-sark.")
You say that I am a Berserker, and ... bare-sark I go to-morrow to the war, and bare-sark I win that war or die.—Rev. C. Kingsley, Hereward the Wake, i. 247.
Bertha, the supposed daughter of Vandunke (2 syl.), burgomaster of Bruges, and mistress of Goswin, a rich merchant of the same city. In reality. Bertha is the duke of Brabant's daughter Gertrude, and Goswin is Florez, son of Gerrard king of the beggars.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Beggars' Bush (1622).
Ber'tha, daughter of Burkhard duke of the Alemanni, and wife of Rudolf II. king of Burgundy beyond Jura. She is represented on monuments of the time as sitting on her throne spinning.
Bertha, alias AGATHA, the betrothed of Hereward (3 syl.), one of the emperor's Varangian guards. The novel concludes with Hereward enlisting under the banner of count Robert, and marrying Bertha.—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).
Ber'tha, the betrothed of John of Leyden. When she went with her mother to ask count Oberthal's permission to marry, the count resolved to make his pretty vassal his mistress, and confined her in his castle. She made her escape and went to Munster, intending to set fire to the palace of "the prophet," who, she thought, had caused the death of her lover. Being seized and brought before the prophet, she recognized in him her lover, and exclaiming, "I loved thee once, but now my love is turned to hate," stabbed herself and died.—Meyerbeer, Le Prophète (an opera, 1849).
Bertha Amory, wife of Richard Amory and used by him in political intrigues, in Through One Administration, by Francis Hodgson Burnett. Secretly, and against her will, in love with Trevannion, an army officer whom she has known from childhood (1883).
Berthe an Grand-Pied, mother of Charlemagne, so called from a club-foot.
Bertie Cecil, noble young Englishman who assumes his brother's crime to save the family name, and exiles himself as a soldier in the French army of Algiers. Eventually his fame is cleared and he returns to England as lord Royalieu.—Ouida, Under Two Flags.
Bertie the Lamb, professional dude, with a heart yet softer than his head, in The Henrietta, a play of New York life, by Bronson Howard. Stuart Robson's impersonation of "Bertie" is without a flaw (1887).
Bertolde (3 syl.), the hero of a little jeu d'esprit in Italian prose by Julio Cæsare Crocê (2 syl.). He is a comedian by profession, whom nothing astonishes. He is as much at his ease with kings and queens as with those of his own rank. Hence the phrase Imperturbable as Bertolde, meaning "never taken by surprise," "never thrown off one's guard," "never disconcerted."
Bertoldo (Prince), a knight of Malta, and brother of Roberto king of the two Sicilies. He was in love with Cami'ola "the maid of honor," but could not marry without a dispensation from the pope. While matters were at this crisis, Bertoldo laid siege to Sienna, and was taken prisoner. Camiola paid his ransom, but before he was released the duchess Aurelia requested him to be brought before her. As soon as the duchess saw him, she fell in love with him, and offered him marriage, and Bertoldo, forgetful of Camiola, accepted the offer. The betrothed then presented themselves before the king. Here Camiola exposed the conduct of the knight; Roberto was indignant; Aurelia rejected her fiancé with scorn; and Camiola took the veil.—Massinger, The Maid of Honor (1637).
Bertol'do, the chief character of a comic romance called Vita di Bertoldo, by Julio Cesare Crocê, who flourished in the sixteenth century. It recounts the successful exploits of a clever but ugly peasant, and was for two centuries as popular in Italy as Robinson Crusoe is in England. Same as, Bertolde and Bartoldo.
Bertoldo's Son, Rinaldo.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Bertram (Baron), one of Charlemagne's paladins.
Ber'tram, count of Rousillon. While on a visit to the king of France, Helena, a physician's daughter, cured the king of a. disorder which had baffled the court physicians. For this service the king promised her for husband any one she chose to select, and her choice fell on Bertram. The haughty count married her, it is true, but deserted her at once, and left for Florence, where he joined the duke's army. It so happened that Helena also stopped at Florence while on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Jacques le Grand. In Florence she lodged with a widow whose daughter Diana, was wantonly loved by Bertram. Helena obtained permission to receive his visits in lieu of Diana, and in one of these visits exchanged rings with him. Soon after this the count went on a visit to his mother, where he saw the king, and the king observing on his finger the ring he had given to Helena, had him arrested on the suspicion of murder. Helena now came forward to explain matters, and all was well, for all ended well.—Shakespeare, All's Well that Ends Well (1598).
I cannot reconcile my heart to "Bertram," a man noble without generosity, and young without truth; who marries Helena as a coward, and leaves her as a profligate. When she is dead by his unkindness he sneaks home to a second marriage, is accused by a woman whom he has wronged, defends himself by falsehood, and is dismissed to happiness.—Dr. Johnson.
Bertram (Sir Stephen), an austere merchant, very just but not generous. Fearing lest his son should marry the sister of his clerk (Charles Ratcliffe), he dismissed Ratcliffe from his service, and being then informed that the marriage had already taken place, he disinherited his son. Sheva the Jew assured him that the lady had £10,000 for her fortune, so he relented. At the last all parties were satisfied.
Frederick Bertram, only son of sir Stephen; he marries Miss Ratcliffe clandestinely, and incurs thereby his father's displeasure, but the noble benevolence of Sheva the Jew brings about a reconciliation and opens sir Bertram's eyes to "see ten thousand merits," a grace for every pound.—Cumberland, The Jew (1776).
Ber'tram (Count), an outlaw, who becomes the leader of a band of robbers. Being wrecked on the coast of Sicily, he is conveyed to the castle of lady Imogine, and in her he recognizes an old sweetheart to whom in his prosperous days he was greatly attached. Her husband (St. Aldobrand), who was away at first, returning unexpectedly is murdered by Bertram; Imogine goes mad and dies; and Bertram puts an end to his own life.—C. Maturin, Bertram (1782-1825).
Bertram (Mr. Godfrey), the laird of Ellangowan.
Mrs. Bertram, his wife.
Harry Bertram, alias captain Vanbeest Brown, alias Dawson, alias Dudley, son of the laird, and heir to Ellangowan. Harry Bertram is in love with Julia Mannering, and the novel concludes with his taking possession of the old house at Ellangowan and marrying Julia.
Lucy Bertram, sister of Harry Bertram. She marries Charles Hazlewood, son of sir Robert Hazlewood, of Hazlewood.
Sir Allen Bertram, of Ellangowan, an ancestor of Mr. Godfrey Bertram.
Dennis Bertram, Donohoe Bertram, and Lewis Bertram, ancestors of Mr. Godfrey Bertram.
Captain Andrew Bertram, a relative of the family.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Bertram, the English minstrel, and guide of lady Augusta Berkely; when in disguise she calls herself the minstrel's son.—Sir W. Scott, Castle Dangerous (time, Henry I.).
Ber'tram, one of the conspirators against the republic of Venice. Having "a hesitating softness, fatal to a great enterprise," he betrayed the conspiracy to the senate.—Byron, Marino Faliero (1819).
Bertra'mo, the fiend-father of Robert le Diable. After alluring his son to gamble away all his property, he meets him near St. Ire'nê, and Hel'ena seduces him to join in "the Dance of Love." When at last Bertramo comes to claim his victim, he is resisted by Alice (the duke's foster-sister), who reads to Robert his mother's will. Being thus reclaimed, angels celebrate the triumph of good over evil.—Meyerbeer, Roberto il Diavolo (an opera, 1831).
Bertrand, a simpleton and a villain. He is the accomplice of Robert Macaire, a libertine of unblushing impudence, who sins without compunction.—Daumier, L'Auberge des Adrets.
Bertrand du Gueslin, a romance of chivalry, reciting the adventures of this connétable de France, in the reign of Charles V.
Bertrand du Gueslin in prison. The prince of Wales went to visit his captive Bertrand, and asking him how he fared, the Frenchman replied, "Sir, I have heard the mice and the rats this many a day, but it is long since I heard the song of birds," i.e. I have been long a captive and have not breathed the fresh air.
The reply of Bertrand du Gueslin calls to mind that of Douglas, called "The Good sir James," the companion of Robert Bruce, "It is better, I ween, to hear the lark sing than the mouse cheep," i.e. It is better to keep the open field than to be shut up in a castle.
Bertulphe (2 syl.), provost of Bruges, the son of a serf. By his genius and energy he became the richest, most honored, and most powerful man in Bruges. His arm was strong in fight, his wisdom swayed the council, his step was proud, and his eye untamed. He had one child, most dearly beloved, the bride of sir Bouchard, a knight of noble descent. Charles "the Good," earl of Flanders, made a law (1127) that whoever married a serf should become a serf, and that serfs were serfs till manumission. By these absurd decrees Bertulphe the provost, his daughter Constance, and his knightly son-in-law were all serfs. The result was that the provost slew the earl and then himself, his daughter went mad and died, and Bouchard was slain in fight.—S. Knowles, The Provost of Bruges (1836).
Ber'wine (2 syl.), the favorite attendant of lady Er'mengarde (3 syl.) of Baldringham, great-aunt of lady Eveline "the betrothed."—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Ber'yl Mol'ozane (3 syl.), the lady-love of George Geith. All beauty, love, and sunshine. She has a heart for every one, is ready to help every one, and is by every one beloved, yet her lot is most painfully unhappy, and ends in an early death.—F.G. Trafford [J.H. Riddell], George Geith.
Beso'nian (A), a scoundrel. From the Italian, bisognoso, "a needy person, a beggar."
Proud lords do tumble from the towers of their high descents; and be trod under feet of every inferior besonian.—Thomas Nash, Pierce Pennylesse, His Supplication, etc. (1592).
Bess (Good queen), Elizabeth (1533, 1558-1603).
Bess, the daughter of the "blind beggar of Bethnal Green," a lady by birth, a sylph for beauty, an angel for constancy and sweetness. She was loved to distraction by Wilford, and it turned out that he was the son of lord Woodville, and Bess the daughter of lord Woodville's brother; so they were cousins. Queen Elizabeth sanctioned their nuptials, and took them under her own especial conduct.—S. Knowles, The Beggar of Bethnal Green (1834).
Bess o' Bedlam, a female lunatic vagrant, the male lunatic vagrant being called a Tom o' Bedlam.
Bessus, governor of Bactria, who seized Dari'us (after the battle of Arbe'la) and put him to death. Arrian says, Alexander caused the nostrils of the regicide to be slit, and the tips of his ears to be cut off. The offender being then sent to Ecbat'ana, in chains, was put to death.
Bes'sus a cowardly bragging captain, a sort of Bobadil or Vincent de la Rosa. Captain Bessus, having received a challenge, wrote word back that he could not accept the honor for thirteen weeks, as he had already 212 duels on hand, but he was much grieved that he could not appoint an earlier day.—Beaumont and Fletcher, King and No King (1619).
Dryden, Essay upon Satire.
Beth March, the third and gentlest sister in Louisa M. Alcott's novel "Little Women" (1868).
Betsey, the wife in Will Carleton's farm ballad, Betsey and I are Out. In dictating to a lawyer the terms of separation, the farmer reminds himself of the many excellent points of the offending spouse, and how "she and I was happy before we quarrelled so."
Betsey Bobbet, the sentimental spinster who wears out the patience of Josiah Allen's wife with poetry and opinions.
"She is fairly activ' to make a runnin' vine of herself.... It seems strange to me that them that preach up the doctrine of woman's only spear don't admire one who carries it out to its full extent."—Marietta Holley, My Opinions and Betsey Bobbet's (1872).
Bettina Ward, a Southern girl, poor and proud, in Constance Fenimore Woolson's story of Rodman the Keeper. "A little creature that fairly radiated scorn at thought of receiving charity from a Yankee" (1880).
Betty Doxy, Captain Macheath says to her, "Do you drink as hard as ever? You had better stick to good wholesome beer; for, in troth, Betty, strong waters will in time ruin your constitution. You should leave those to your betters."—Gray, The Beggar's Opera, ii. 1 (1727).
Betty Foy, "the idiot mother of an idiot boy "—W. Wordsworth (1770-1850).
Betty [Hint], servant in the family of sir Pertinax and lady McSycophant. She is a sly, prying tale-bearer, who hates Constantia (the beloved of Egerton McSycophant), simply because every one else loves her.—C. Macklin, The Man of the World (1764).
Betty Leicester, "vivacious, whole-souled girl of the period," whose summer residence in a New England village introduces elements of fuller and sweeter life. A home-missionary of the better sort.—Sarah Orne Jewett, Betty Leicester (1889).
Beulah, a poor girl taken from an orphan asylum and brought up in a family of refinement and education. She develops strong traits of character and much intellectual ability. Her long struggles through the mists of rationalism result in clear views of and high faith in revealed religion. Her guardian, and long her teacher, loves her, and after years of waiting, wins her.
"Have you learned that fame is an icy shadow?" he asks upon his return from the protracted wanderings that have taught both how much they need one another. "That gratified ambition cannot make you happy? Do you love me?"
"Yes."
"Better than teaching school and writing learned articles?"
"Rather better, I believe, sir."
Beulah, a novel by Augusta Evans Wilson (1859).
Beuves (1 syl.), or Buo'vo of Ay'gremont, father of Malagigi, and uncle of Rinaldo. Treacherously slain by Ga'no.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Beuves de Hantone, French form for Bevis of Southampton (q.v.). "Hantone" is a French corruption of Southampton.
Bev'an (Mr.), an American physician, who befriends Martin Chuzzlewit and Mark Tapley in many ways during their stay in the New World.—C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).
Bev'erley, "the gamester," naturally a good man, but led astray by Stukely, till at last he loses everything by gambling, and dies a miserable death.
Mrs. Beverley, the gamester's wife. She loves her husband fondly, and clings to him in all his troubles.
Charlotte Beverley, in love with Lewson, but Stukely wishes to marry her. She loses all her fortune through her brother, "the gamester," but Lewson notwithstanding marries her.—Edward Moore, The Gamester (1712-1757).
Beverley, brother of Clarissa, and the lover of Belinda Blandford. He is extremely jealous, and catches at trifles light as air to confirm his fears; but his love is most sincere, and his penitence most humble when he finds out how causeless his suspicions are. Belinda is too proud to deny his insinuations, but her love is so deep that she repents of giving him a moment's pain.—A. Murphy, All in the Wrong (1761).
Beverley Thurston, a lawyer, belonging to an old New York family, in love with Claire Twining, The Ambitious Woman of Edgar Fawcett's society novel (1883).
He was a man of about forty years old, who had never married. His figure was tall and shapely; his face, usually grave, was capable of much geniality. He had travelled, read, thought, and observed. He stood somewhat high in the legal profession, and came, on the maternal side, of a somewhat noted family.
Bev'il, a model gentleman, in Steele's Conscious Lovers.
Bevil (Francis, Harry, and George), three brothers—one an M.P., another in the law, and the third in the Guards—who, unknown to each other, wished to obtain in marriage the hand of Miss Grubb, the daughter of a rich stock-broker. The M.P. paid his court to the father, and obtained his consent; the lawyer paid his court to the mother, and obtained her consent; the officer paid his court to the young lady, and having obtained her consent, the other two brothers retired from the field.—O'Brien, Cross Purposes.
Be'vis, the horse of lord Marmion.—Sir W. Scott, Marmion (1808).
Be'vis (Sir) of Southampton. Having reproved his mother, while still a lad, for murdering his father, she employed Saber to kill him; but Saber only left him on a desert land as a waif, and he was brought up as a shepherd. Hearing that his mother had married Mor'dure (2 syl.), the adulterer, he forced his way into the marriage hall and struck at Mordure; but Mordure slipped aside, and escaped the blow. Bevis was now sent out of the country, and being sold to an Armenian, was presented to the king. Jos'ian, the king's daughter, fell in love with him; they were duly married, and Bevis was knighted. Having slain the boar which made holes in the earth as big as that into which Curtius leapt, he was appointed general of the Armenian forces, subdued Brandamond of Damascus, and made Damascus tributary to Armenia. Being sent, on a future occasion, as ambassador to Damascus, he was thrust into a prison, where were two huge serpents; these he slew, and then effected his escape. His next encounter was with Ascupart the giant, whom he made his slave. Lastly, he slew the great dragon of Colein, and then returned to England, where he was restored to his lands and titles. The French call him Beuves de Hantone.—M. Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. (1612).
The Sword of Bevis of Southampton was Morglay, and his steed Ar'undel. Both were given him by his wife Josian, daughter of the king of Armenia.
Beza'liel, in the satire of Absalom and Achitophel, is meant for the marquis of Worcester, afterwards duke of Beaufort. As Bezaliel, the famous artificer, "was filled with the Spirit of God to devise excellent works in every kind of workmanship," so on the marquis of Worcester—
Bezo'nian, a beggar, a rustic. (Italian, bisognoso, "necessitous.")
The ordinary tillers of the earth, such as we call husbandmen; in France, pesants; in Spane, besonyans; and generally cloutshoe.—Markham, English Husbandman, 4.
Bian'ca, the younger daughter of Baptista of Pad'ua, as gentle and meek as her sister Katherine was violent and irritable. As it was not likely any one would marry Katherine "the shrew," the father resolved that Bianca should not marry before her sister. Petruchio married "the shrew," and then Lucentio married Bianca.—Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew (1594).
Bianca, daughter of a noble family in "The Young Italian," one of the Tales of a Traveller, by Washington Irving. She is beloved passionately by the young Italian and betrothed to him. In his absence Filippo, the false friend of her lover, weds her. The betrayed friend on learning the truth kills Filippo, and is ever afterwards haunted by his dying face (1824).
Bian'ca, a courtesan, the "almost" wife of Cassio. Iago, speaking of the lieutenant, says:
Bian'ca, wife of Fazio. When her husband wantons with the marchioness Aldabella, Bianca, out of jealousy, accuses him to the duke of Florence of being privy to the death of Bartol'do, an old miser. Fazio being condemned to death, Bianca repents of her rashness, and tries to save her husband, but not succeeding, goes mad and dies.—Dean Milman, Fazio (1815).
Bibbet (Master), secretary to major-general Harrison, one of the parliamentary commissioners.—Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).
Bibbie'na (Il), cardinal Bernardo, who resided at Bibbiena, in Tuscany. He was the author of Calandra, a comedy (1470-1520).
"Bible" Butler, alias Stephen Butler, grandfather of Reuben Butler, the presbyterian minister (married to Jeanie Deans).—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Bib'lis, a woman who fell in love with her brother Caunus, and was changed into a fountain near Mile'tus.—Ovid, Met. ix. 662.
Bib'ulus, a colleague of Julius Cæsar, but a mere cipher in office; hence his name became a household word for a nonentity.
Bic'kerstaff (Isaac), a pseudonym of dean Swift, assumed in the paper-war with Partridge, the almanac-maker, and subsequently adopted by Steele in The Tatler, which was announced as edited by "Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq., astrologer."
Bickerton (Mrs.), landlady of the Seven Stars inn of York, where Jeanie Deans stops on her way to London, whither she is going to plead for her sister's pardon.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Bid'denden Maids (The), two sisters named Mary and Elizabeth Chulkhurst, born at Biddenden in 1100. They were joined together by the shoulders and hips, and lived to the age of thirty-four. Some say that it was Mary and Elizabeth Chulkhurst who left twenty acres of land to the poor of Biddenden. This tenement called "Bread and Cheese Land," because the rent derived from it is distributed on Easter Sunday in doles of bread and cheese. Halstead says, in his History of Kent, that it was the gift of two maidens named Preston, and not of the Biddenden Maids.
Biddy, servant to Wopsle's great-aunt, who kept an "educational institution." A good, honest girl who falls in love with Pip, is loved by Dolge Orlick, but marries Joe Grargery.—C. Dickens, Great Expectations (1860).
Biddy [Bellair] (Miss), "Miss in her teens," in love with captain Loveit. She was promised in marriage by her aunt and guardian to an elderly man whom she detested; and during the absence of captain Loveit in the Flanders war, she coquetted with Mr. Fribble and captain Flash. On the return of her "Strephon," she set Fribble and Flash together by the ears; and while they stood menacing each other, but afraid to fight, captain Loveit entered and sent them both to the right-about.—D. Garrick, Miss in Her Teens (1753).
Bidéford Postman (The), Edward Capern, a poet, at one time a letter-carrier in Bidéford (3 syl).
Bide-the-Bent (Mr. Peter), minister of Wolf's Hope village.—Sir W. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Bid'more (Lord), patron of the Rev Josiah Cargill, minister of St. Ronan's.
The Hon. Augustus Bidmore, son of lord Bidmore, and pupil of the Rev. Josiah Cargill.
Miss Augusta Bidmore, daughter of lord
Bidmore, beloved by the Rev. Josiah Cargill—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, George III.).
Bie'derman (Arnold), alias count Arnold of Geierstein [Gi'.er.stine], landamman of Unterwalden. Anne of Geierstein, his brother's daughter, is under his charge.
Bertha Biederman, Arnold's late wife.
Ru'diger Biederman, Arnold Biederman's son.
Ernest Biederman, brother of Rudiger.
Sigismund Biederman, nicknamed "The Simple," another brother.
Ulrick Biedermen, youngest of the four brothers.—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Big-en'dians (The), a hypothetical religious party of Lilliput, who made it a matter of "faith" to break their eggs at the "big end." Those who broke them at the other end were considered heretics, and called Little-endians.—Dean Swift, Gulliver's Travels (1726).
Big'low (Hosea), the feigned author of The Biglow Papers (1848), really written by Professor James Russell Lowell of Boston, Mass. (1819-1891).
Big'ot (De), seneschal of prince John.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Big'ot, in C. Lamb's Essays, is John Fenwick, editor of the Albion newspaper.
Bil'dai (2 syl.), a seraph and the tutelar guardian of Matthew the apostle, the son of wealthy parents and brought up in great luxury.—Klopstock, The Messiah, iii. (1748).
Billings (Josh). A.W. Shaw so signs His Book of Sayings (1866).
Ef a man hezn't a well-balanced mind I du admire to see him part his hair in the middle.
Ef thar iz wun sayin' trewer than anuther it is that the devil iz allwaies ready fur kumpany.
Josh Billings's Alminax (1870).
Billingsgate (3 syl.). Beling was a friend of "Brennus" the Gaul, who owned a wharf called Beling's-gate. Geoffrey of Momnouth derives the word from Belin, a mythical king of the ancient Britons, who "built a gate there," B.C. 400 (1142).
Billy Barlow, a merry Andrew, so-called from a semi-idiot, who fancied himself "a great potentate." He was well known in the east of London, and died in Whitechapel workhouse. Some of his sayings were really witty, and some of his attitudes truly farcical.
Billy Black, the conundrum-maker.—The Hundred-pound Note.
When Keeley was playing "Billy Black" at Chelmsford, he advanced to the lights at the close of the piece, and said, "I've one more, and this is a good un. Why is Chelmsford Theatre like a half-moon? D'ye give it up? Because it is never full."—Records of a Stage Veteran.
Bimater ("two-mother"). Bacchus was so called because at the death of his mother during gestation, Jupiter put the foetus into his own thigh for the rest of the time, when the infant Bacchus was duly brought forth.
Bimbister (Margery), the old Ranzelman's spouse.—Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).
Bind'loose (John), sheriff's clerk and banker at Marchthorn.—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, George III.).
Bingen (Bishop of), generally called bishop Hatto. The tale is that during a famine, he invited the poor to his barn on a certain day, under the plea of distributing corn to them; but when the barn was crowded he locked the door and set fire to the building; for which iniquity he was himself devoured by an army of mice or rats. His castle is the Mouse-tower on the Rhine.
Binks (Sir Bingo), a fox-hunting baronet, and visitor at the Spa.
Lady Binks, wife of sir Bingo, but before marriage Miss Rachael Bonnyrigg. Visitor at the Spa with her husband.—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, Greorge III.).
Bi'on, the rhetorician, noted for his acrimonious and sharp sayings.
Biondel'lo, one of the servants of Lucentio the future husband of Bianca (sister of "the shrew"). His fellow-servant is Tra'nio.—Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew (1594).
Biorn, the son of Heriulf, a Northman, who first touched the shores of the New World.
James Russell Lowell, The Voyage to Vinland.
Birch (Harvey), a prominent character in The Spy, a novel by J.F. Cooper.
Bird (My). Fanny Forester (Emily Chubbuck Judson) thus addressed her baby daughter (1848).
Bird (The Little Green), of the frozen regions, which could reveal every secret and impart information of events past, present, or to come. Prince Chery went in search of it, so did his two cousins, Brightsun and Felix; last of all Fairstar, who succeeded in obtaining it, and liberating the princes who had failed in their attempts.—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("Princess Chery," 1682).
This tale is a mere reproduction of "The Two Sisters," the last tale of the Arabian Nights, in which the bird is called "Bulbulhezar, the talking bird."
Bird Singing to a Monk. The monk was Felix.—Longfellow, Golden Legend, ii.
Bire'no, the lover and subsequent husband of Olympia queen of Holland. He was taken prisoner by Cymosco king of Friza, but was released by Orlando. Bireno, having forsaken Olympia, was put to death by Oberto king of Ireland, who married the young widow.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, iv. v. (1516).
Bire'no (Duke), heir to the crown of Lombardy. It is the king's wish that he should marry Sophia, his only child, but the princess loves Pal'adore (3 syl.), a Briton. Bireno has a mistress named Alin'da, whom he induces to personate the princess, and in Paladore's presence she casts down a rope-ladder for the duke to climb up by. Bireno has Alinda murdered to prevent the deception being known, and accuses the princess of unchastity—a crime in Lombardy punished by death. As the princess is led to execution, Paladore challenges the duke, and kills him. The villainy is fully revealed, and the princess is married to the man of her choice, who had twice saved her life.—Robert Jephson, The Law of Lombardy (1779).
Birmingham Poet (The), John Freeth, the wit, poet, and publican, who wrote his own songs; set them to music, and sang them (1730-1808).
Biron, a merry mad-cap young lord, in attendance on Ferdinand king of Navarre. Biron promises to spend three years with the king in study, during which time no woman is to approach his court; but no sooner has he signed the compact, than he falls in love with Rosaline. Rosaline defers his suit for twelve months and a day, saying, "If you my favor mean to get, for twelve months seek the weary beds of people sick."
Shakespeare, Love's Labor's Lost, act ii. sc. 1 (1594).
Biron (Charles de Gontaut due de), greatly beloved by Henri IV. of France. He won immortal laurels at the battles of Arques and Ivry, and at the sieges of Paris and Rouen. The king loaded him with honors: he was admiral of France, marshal, governor of Bourgoyne, duke and peer of France. This too-much honor made him forget himself, and he entered into a league with Spain and Savoy against his country. The plot was discovered by Lafin; and although Henri wished to pardon him, he was executed (1602, aged 40).
George Chapman has made him the subject of two tragedies, entitled Biron's Conspiracy and Biron's Tragedy (1557-1634).
Biron, eldest son of count Baldwin, who disinherited him for marrying Isabella, a nun. Biron now entered the army and was sent to the siege of Candy, where he fell, and it was supposed died. After the lapse of seven years, Isabella, reduced to abject poverty, married Villeroy (2 syl.), but the day after her espousals Biron returned, whereupon Isabella went mad and killed herself.—Thomas Southern, Isabella, or the Fatal Marriage.
Birtha, the motherless daughter and only child of As'tragon the Lombard philosopher. In spring she gathered blossoms for her father's still, in autumn, berries, and in summer, flowers. She fell in love with duke Grondibert, whose wounds she assisted her father to heal. Birtha, "in love unpractised and unread," is the beau-ideal of innocence and purity of mind. Grondibert had just plighted his love to her when he was summoned to court, for king Aribert had proclaimed him his successor and future son-in-law. Gondibert assured Birtha he would remain true to her, and gave her an emerald ring which he told her would lose its lustre if he proved untrue. Here the tale breaks off, and as it was never finished the sequel is not known.—Sir W. Davenant, Gondibert (died 1668).
Bishop Middleham, who was always declaiming against ardent drinks, and advocating water as a beverage, killed himself by secret intoxication.
Bishops. The seven who refused to read the declaration of indulgence published by James II. and were by him imprisoned for recusancy, were archbishop Sancroft (Canterbury), bishops Lloyd (St. Asaph), Turner (Ely), Kew (Bath and Wells), White (Peterborough), Lake (Chichester), Trelawney (Bristol). Being tried, they were all acquitted (June, 1688).
Bisto'nians, the Thracians, so called from Biston (son of Mars), who built Bisto'nia on lake Bis'tonis.
Pitt's Statius, ii.
Bit'elas(3 syl.), sister of Fairlimb, and daughter of Rukenaw the ape, in the beast-epic called Reynard the Fox (1498).
Bit'tlebrains (Lord), friend of sir William Ashton, lord-keeper of Scotland.
Lady Bittlebrains, wife of the above lord.—Sir W. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Bit'zer, light porter in Bounderby's bank at Coketown. He is educated at M'Choakumchild's "practical school," and becomes a general spy and informer. Bitzer finds out the robbery of the bank, and discovers the perpetrator to be Tom Gradgrind (son of Thomas Gradgrind, Esq., M.P.), informs against him, and gets promoted to his place.—C. Dickens, Hard Times (1854).
Bizarre [Be.zar'(1)], the friend of Orian'a, forever coquetting and sparring with Duretete [Dure.tait], and placing him in awkward predicaments.—G.K. Farquhar, The Inconstant (1702).
Black Ag'nes, the countess of March, noted for her defence of Dunbar during the war which Edward III. maintained in Scotland (1333-1338).
Sir Walter Scott says: "The countess was called 'Black Agnes' from her complexion. She was the daughter of Thomas Randolph, earl of Murray."—Tales of a Grandfather, i. 14. (See BLACK PRINCE.)
Black Colin Campbell, general Campbell, in the army of George III., introduced by sir W. Scott in Redgauntlet.
Black Douglas, William Douglas, lord of Nithsdale, who died 1390.
Black Dwarf (The), of sir Walter Scott, is meant for David Ritchie, whose cottage was and still is on Manor Water, in the county of Peebles.
Black-eyed Susan, one of Dibdin's sea-songs.
Black George, the gamekeeper in Fielding's novel, called The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1750).
Black George, Greorge Petrowitsch of Servia, a brigand; called by the Turks Kara George, from the terror he inspired.
Black Horse (The), the 7th Dragoon Guards (not the 7th Dragoons). So called because their facings (or collar and cuffs) are black velvet. Their plumes are black and white; and at one time their horses were black, or at any rate dark.
Black Knight of the Black Lands (The), sir Pereard. Called by Tennyson "Night" or "Nox." He was one of the four brothers who kept the passages of Castle Dangerous, and was overthrown by sir Gareth.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 126 (1470); Tennyson, Idylls ("Gareth and Lynette").
Black Lord Clifford, John ninth lord Clifford, son of Thomas lord Clifford. Also called "The Butcher" (died 1461).
Black Prince, Edward prince of Wales, son of Edward III. Froissart says he was styled black "by terror of his arms" (c. 169). Similarly, lord Clifford was called "The Black Lord Clifford" for his cruelties (died 1461). George Petrowitsch was called by the Turks "Black George" from the terror of his name. The countess of March was called "Black Agnes" from the terror of her deeds, and not (as sir W. Scott says) from her dark complexion. Similarly, "The Black Sea," or Axinus, as the Greeks once called it, received its name from the inhospitable character of the Scythians.
Black'acre (Widow), a masculine, litigious, pettifogging, headstrong woman.—Wycherly, The Plain Dealer (1677).
Blackchester (The countess of), sister of lord Dalgarno.—Sir W. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel (time, James I.).
Blackguards (Victor Hugo says), soldiers condemned for some offence in discipline to wear their red coats (which were lined with black) inside out. The French equivalent, he says, is Blaqueurs.—L'Homme qui Rit, II. in. 1.
It is quite impossible to believe this to be the true derivation of the word. Other suggestions will be found in the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
Blackless (Tomalin), a soldier in the guard of Richard Coeur de Lion.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).
Blackmantle (Bernard), Charles Molloy Westmacott, author of The English Spy (1826).
Black'pool (Stephen), a power-loom weaver in Bounderby's mill at Coketown. He had a knitted brow and pondering expression of face, was a man of the strictest integrity, refused to join the strike, and was turned out of the mill. When Tom Gradgrind robbed the bank of £150, he threw suspicion on Stephen Blackpool, and while Stephen was hastening to Coketown to vindicate himself he fell into a shaft, known as "the Hell Shaft," and although rescued, died on a litter. Stephen Blackpool loved Rachael, one of the hands, but had already a drunken, worthless wife.—C. Dickens, Hard Times (1854).
Blacksmith (The Flemish), Quentin Matsys, the Dutch painter (1460-1529).
Blacksmith (The Learned), Elihu Burritt, United States (1810-1879).
Blackwood's Magazine. The vignette on the wrapper of this magazine is meant for George Buchanan, the Scotch historian and poet (1506-1582). He is the representative of Scottish literature generally.
The magazine originated in 1817 with William Blackwood of Edinburgh, publisher.
Blad'derskate (Lord) and lord Kaimes, the two judges in Peter Peeble's lawsuit.—Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).
Blade o' Grass, child of the gutter, bright, saucy, and warm-hearted. She is taken from her wretched environment by philanthropists, who would aid her to lead a different life. However great the outward change, she is ever Bohemian at heart.—B.L. Farjeon, Blade o' Grass.
Bla'dud, father of king Lear. Geoffrey of Monmouth says that "This Prince Bladud was a very ingenious man and taught necromancy in his kingdom; nor did he leave off pursuing his magic operations till he attempted to fly to the upper regions of the air with wings which he had prepared, and fell down upon the temple of Apollo in the city of Trinovantum, where he was dashed to pieces."
Blair (Adam), the hero of a novel by J.G. Lockhart, entitled Adam Blair, a Story of Scottish Life (1794-1854).
Blair (Father Clement), a Carthusian monk, confessor of Catherine Glover, "the fair maid of Perth."—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Blair (Rev. David), sir Richard Philips, author of The Universal Preceptor (1816), Mother's Question Book, etc. He issued books under a legion of false names.
Blaise, a hermit, who baptized Merlin the enchanter.
Blaise (St.), patron saint of wool-combers, because he was torn to pieces with iron combs.
Blake (Franklin), handsome, accomplished, and desperately in love with his cousin Rachel. Almost wild concerning the safety of the Moonstone which he has conveyed to her, he purloins it while under the influence of opium, taken to relieve insomnia, and gives it to the plausible villain of the book—Godfrey Ablewhite. The latter pawns it to pay his debts, and is murdered by East Indians, who believe that he still has the gem.—Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone.
Blanche (1 syl.), one of the domestics of lady Eveline "the betrothed."—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Blanche (La reine), the queen of France during the first six weeks of her widowhood. During this period of mourning she spent her time in a closed room, lit only by a wax taper, and was dressed wholly in white. Mary, the widow of Louis XII., was called La reine Blanche during her days of mourning, and is sometimes (but erroneously) so called afterwards.
Blanche (Lady) makes a vow with lady Anne to die an old maid, and of course falls over head and ears in love with Thomas Blount, a jeweller's son, who enters the army, and becomes a colonel. She is very handsome, ardent, brilliant, and fearless.—S. Knowles, Old Maids (1841).
Blanche Lombard, girl of the period, who solaces herself for the apparent defection of one lover by flirting with a new acquaintance; registered in his note-book as "Blonde; superb physique; fine animal spirits; giggles."—Robert Grant, The Knave of Hearts (1886).
Blanche´fleur (2 syl.), the heroine of Boccaccio's prose romance called Il Filopoco. Her lover Flores is Boccaccio himself, and Blanchefleur was the daughter of king Robert. The story of Blanchefleur and Flores is substantially the same as that of Dor´igen and Aurelius, by Chaucer, and that of "Diano´ra and Ansaldo," in the Decameron.
Bland´mour (Sir), a man of "mickle might," who "bore great sway in arms and chivalry," but was both vainglorious and insolent. He attacked Brit´omart, but was discomfited by her enchanted spear; he next attacked sir Ferraugh, and having overcome him took him from the lady who accompanied him, "the False Florimel."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 1 (1596).
Blande´ville (Lady Emily), a neighbor of the Waverley family, afterwards married to colonel Talbot.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Bland´ford, the father of Belin´da, who he promised sir William Bellmont should marry his son George. But Belinda was in love with Beverley, and George Bellmont with Clarissa (Beverley's sister). Ultimately matters arranged themselves, so that the lovers married according to their inclinations.—A. Murphy, All in the Wrong (1761).
Blan´diman, the faithful man-servant of the fair Bellisant, and her attendant after her divorce.—Valentine and Orson.
Blandi´na, wife of the churlish knight Turpin, who refused hospitality to sir Calepine and his lady Sere´na (canto 3). She had "the art of a suasive tongue," and most engaging manners, but "her words were only words, and all her tears were water" (canto 7).—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. (1596).
Blandish, a "practised parasite." His sister says to him, "May you find but half your own vanity in those you have to work on!" (act i. 1).
Miss Letitia Blandish, sister of the above, a fawning timeserver, who sponges on the wealthy. She especially toadies to Miss Alscrip "the heiress," flattering her vanity, fostering her conceit, and encouraging her vulgar affectations.—General Burgoyne, The Heiress (1781).
Blane (Niell), town piper and publican.
Jenny Blane, his daughter.—Sir W, Scott, Old Mortality (time, Charles II.).
Bla´ney, a wealthy heir, ruined by dissipation.—Crabbe, Borough.
Blarney (Lady), one of the flash women introduced by squire Thornhill to the Primrose family.—Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield (1765).
Blas´phemous Balfour. Sir James Balfour, the Scottish judge, was so called from his apostacy (died 1583).
Bla´tant Beast (The), the personification of slander or public opinion. The beast had 100 tongues and a sting. Sir Artegal muzzled the monster, and dragged it to Faëry-land, but it broke loose and regained its liberty. Subsequently sir Cal´idore (3 syl.) went in quest of it.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. and vi. (1596).
"Mrs. Grundy" is the modern name of Spenser's "Blatant Beast."
Blath´ers and Duff, detectives who investigate the burglary in which Bill Sikes had a hand. Blathers relates the tale of Conkey Chickweed, who robbed himself of 327 guineas.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Blat´tergrowl (The Rev. Mr.), minister of Trotcosey, near Monkbarns.—Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary (time, Elizabeth).
Bleeding-heart Yard (London). So called because it was the place where the devil cast the bleeding heart of lady Hatton (wife of the dancing chancellor), after he had torn it out of her body with his claws.—Dr. Mackay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions.
Bleise (1 syl.) of Northumberland, historian of king Arthur's period.
Blem´myes (3 syl.), a people of Africa, fabled to have no head, but having eyes and mouth in the breast. (See GAOKA.)
Ctesias speaks of a people of India near the Gangês, sine cervice, oculos in humeris habentes. Mela also refers to a people quibus capita et vultus in pectore sunt.
Blenheim Spaniels. The Oxford electors are so called, because for many years they obediently supported any candidate which the duke of Marlborough commanded them to return. Lockhart broke through this custom by telling the people the fable of the Dog and the Wolf. The dog, it will be remembered, had on his neck the marks of his collar, and the wolf said he preferred liberty.
(The race of the little dog called the Blenheim spaniel, has been preserved ever since Blenheim House was built for the duke of Marlborough in 1704.)
Blet´son (Master Joshua), one of the three parliamentary commissioners sent by Cromwell with a warrant to leave the royal lodge to the Lee family.—Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).
Bli´fil, a noted character in Fielding's novel entitled The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1750).
¤¤¤ Blifil is the original of Sheridan's "Joseph Surface" in the School for Scandal (1777).
Bligh (William), captain of the Bounty, so well known for the mutiny, headed by Fletcher Christian, the mate (1790).
Blimber (Dr.), head of a school for the sons of gentlemen, at Brighton. It was a select school for ten pupils only; but there was learning enough for ten times ten. "Mental green peas were produced at Christmas, and intellectual asparagus all the year round." The doctor was really a ripe scholar, and truly kind-hearted; but his great fault was over-tasking his boys, and not seeing when the bow was too much stretched. Paul Dombey, a delicate lad, succumbed to this strong mental pressure.
Mrs. Blimber, wife of the doctor, not learned, but wished to be thought so. Her pride was to see the boys in the largest possible collars and stiffest possible cravats, which she deemed highly classical.
Cornelia Blimber, the doctor's daughter, a slim young lady, who kept her hair short and wore spectacles. Miss Blimber "had no nonsense about her," but had grown "dry and sandy with working in the graves of dead languages." She married Mr. Feeder, B.A., Dr. Blimber's usher.—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).
Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, Henry, son and heir of sir Simon de Montfort. At the battle of Evesham the barons were routed, Montfort slain, and his son Henry left on the field for dead. A baron's daughter discovered the young man, nursed him with care, and married him. The fruit of the marriage was "pretty Bessee, the beggar's daughter." Henry de Montfort assumed the garb and semblance of a blind beggar, to escape the vigilance of king Henry's spies.
Day produced, in 1659, a drama called The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, and S. Knowles, in 1834, produced his amended drama on the same subject. There is [or was], in the Whitechapel Road a public-house sign called the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green.—History of Sign-boards.
Blind Emperor (The), Ludovig III. of Germany (880, 890-934).
Blind Harper (The), John Parry, who died 1739.
John Stanley, mnsician and composer, was blind from his birth (1713-1786).
Blind Harry, a Scotch minstrel of the fifteenth century, blind from infancy. His epic of Sir William Wallace runs to 11,861 lines. He was minstrel in the court of James IV.
Blind Mechanician (The). John Strong, a great mechanical genius, was blind from his birth. He died at Carlisle, aged sixty-six (1732-1798).
Blind Poet (The), Luigi Groto, an Italian poet called Il Cieco (1541-1585). John Milton (1608-1674).
Homer is called The Blind Old Bard (fl. B.C. 960).
Blind Traveller (The), lieutenant James Holman. He became blind at the age of twenty-five, but, notwithstanding, travelled round the world, and published an account of his travels (1787-1857).
Blin´kinsop, a smuggler in Redgauntlet, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, George III.).
Blister, the apothecary, who says, "Without physicians, no one could know whether he was well or ill." He courts Lucy by talking shop to her.—Fielding, The Virgin Unmasked.
Blithe-Heart King (The). David is so called by Caedmon.
Block (Martin), one of the committee of the Estates of Burgundy, who refuse supplies to Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy.—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Blok (Nikkel), the butcher, one of the insurgents at Liege.—Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward (time, Edward IV.).
Blondel de Nesle [Neel], the favorite trouvère or minstrel of Richard Coeur de Lion. He chanted the Bloody Vest in presence of queen Berengaria, the lovely Edith Plantagenet.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).
Blon´dina, the mother of Fairstar and two boys at one birth. She was the wife of a king, but the queen-mother hated her, and taking away the three babes substituted three puppies. Ultimately her children were restored to her, and the queen-mother with her accomplices were duly punished.—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("Princess Fairstar," 1682).
Blood (Colonel Thomas), emissary of the duke of Buckingham (1628-1680), introduced by sir W. Scott in Peveril of the Peak, a novel (time, Charles II.).
Bloods (The Five): (1) The O'Neils of Ulster; (2) the O'Connors of Connaught; (3) the O'Brians of Thomond; (4) the O'Lachlans of Meath; and (5) the M'Murroughs of Leinster. These are the five principal septs or families of Ireland, and all not belonging to one of these five septs are accounted aliens or enemies, and could "neither sue nor be sued," even down to the reign of Elizabeth.
William Fitz-Roger, being arraigned (4th Edward II.) for the murder of Roger de Cantilon, pleads that he was not guilty of felony, because his victim was not of "free blood," i.e. one of the "five bloods of Ireland." The plea is admitted by the jury to be good.
Bloody (The), Otho II. emperor of Germany (955, 973-983).
Bloody-Bones, a bogie.
Bloody Brother (The), a tragedy by Beaumont and Fletcher (1639). The "bloody brother" is Rollo duke of Normandy, who kills his brother Otto and several other persons, but is himself killed ultimately by Hamond captain of the guard.
Bloody Butcher (The), the duke of Cumberland, second son of George II., so called from his barbarities in the suppression of the rebellion in favor of Charles Edward, the young pretender. "Black Clifford" was also called "The Butcher" for his cruelties (died 1461).
Bloody Hand, Cathal, an ancestor of the O'Connors of Ireland.
Bloody Mary, queen Mary of England, daughter of Henry VIII. and elder half-sister of queen Elizabeth. So called on account of the sanguinary persecutions carried on by her government against the protestants. It is said that 200 persons were burned to death in her short reign (1516,1553-1558).
Bloomfield (Louisa), a young lady engaged to lord Totterly the beau of sixty, but in love with Charles Danvers the embryo barrister.—C. Selby, The Unfinished Gentleman.
Blount (Nicholas), afterwards knighted; master of the horse to the earl of Sussex.
—Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).
Blount (Sir Frederick), a distant relative of sir John Vesey. He had a great objection to the letter r, which he considered "wough and wasping." He dressed to perfection, and though not "wich," prided himself on having the "best opewa-box, the best dogs, the best horses, and the best house" of any one. He liked Greorgina Vesey, and as she had £10,000 he thought he should do himself no harm by "mawy-wing the girl."—Lord E. Bulwer Lytton, Money (1840).
Blount (Master), a wealthy jeweller of Ludgate Hill, London. An old-fashioned tradesman, not ashamed of his calling. He had two sons, John and Thomas; the former was his favorite.
Mistress Blount, his wife. A shrewd, discerning woman, who loved her son Thomas, and saw in him the elements of a rising man.
John Blount, eldest son of the Ludgate jeweller. Being left successor to his father, he sold the goods and set up for a man of fashion and fortune. His vanity and snobbism were most gross. He had good-nature, but more cunning than discretion, thought himself far-seeing, but was most easily duped. "The phaeton was built after my design, my lord," he says, "mayhap your lordship has seen it." "My taste is driving, my lord, mayhap your lordship has seen me handle the ribbons." "My horses are all bloods, mayhap your lordship has noticed my team." "I pride myself on my seat in the saddle, mayhap your lordship has seen me ride." "If I am superlative in anything, 'its in my wines." "So please your ladyship, 'tis dress I most excel in ... 'tis walking I pride myself in." No matter what is mentioned, 'tis the one thing he did or had better than any one else. This conceited fool was duped into believing a parcel of men-servants to be lords and dukes, and made love to a lady's maid, supposing her to be a countess.
Thomas Blount, John's brother, and one of nature's gentlemen. He entered the army, became a colonel, and married lady Blanche. He is described as having "a lofty forehead for princely thought to dwell in, eyes for love or war, a nose of Grecian mould with touch of Rome, a mouth like Cupid's bow, ambitious chin dimpled and knobbed."—S. Knowles, Old Maids (1841).
Blouzelin´da or BLOWZELINDA, a shepherdess in love with Lobbin Clout, in The Shepherd's Week.
Blower (Mrs. Margaret), the shipowner's widow at the Spa. She marries Dr. Quackleben, "the man of medicine" (one of the managing committee at the Spa).—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, George III.).
Blucher was nicknamed "Marshal Forward" for his dash and readiness in the campaign of 1813.
Blue Beard (La Barbe Bleue), from the contes of Charles Perrault (1697). The chevalier Raoul is a merciless tyrant, with a blue beard. His young wife is entrusted with all the keys of the castle, with strict injunctions on pain of death not to open one special room. During the absence of her lord the "forbidden fruit" is too tempting to be resisted, the door is opened, and the young wife finds the floor covered with the dead bodies of her husband's former wives. She drops the key in her terror, and can by no means obliterate from it the stain of blood. Blue Beard, on his return, commands her to prepare for death, but by the timely arrival of her brothers her life is saved and Blue Beard put to death.
Dr. C. Taylor thinks Blue Beard is a type of the castle-lords in the days of knight-errantry. Some say Henry VIII. (the noted wife-killer) was the "academy figure." Others think it was Giles de Retz, marquis de Laval, marshal of France in 1429, who (according to Mézeray) murdered six of his seven wives, and was ultimately strangled in 1440.
Another solution is that Blue Beard was count Conomar´, and the young wife Triphy´na, daughter of count Guerech. Count Conomar was lieutenant of Brittany in the reign of Childebert. M. Hippolyte Violeau assures us that in 1850, during the repairs of the chapel of St. Nicolas de Bieuzy, some ancient frescoes were discovered with scenes from the life of St. Triphyna: (1) The marriage; (2) the husband taking leave of his young wife and entrusting to her a key; (3) a room with an open door, through which are seen the corpses of seven women hanging; (4) the husband threatening his wife, while another female [sister Anne] is looking out of a window above; (5) the husband has placed a halter round the neck of his victim, but the friends, accompanied by St. Gildas, abbot of Rhuys in Brittany, arrive just in time to rescue the future saint.— Pélerinages de Bretagne.
Blue Knight (The), sir Persaunt of India, called by Tennyson "Morning Star" or "Phosphorus." He was one of the four brothers who kept the passages of Castle Perilous, and was overthrown by sir Gareth.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 131 (1470); Tennyson, Idylls ("Gareth and Lynette").
It is evidently a blunder in Tennyson to call the Blue Knight "Morning Star," and the Green Knight "Evening Star." The reverse is correct, and in the old romance the combat with the Green Knight was at day-break, and with the Blue Knight at sunset.
Blue-Skin, Joseph Blake, an English burglar, so called from his complexion. He was executed in 1723.
Bluff (Bachelor), celibate philosopher upon social, domestic, and cognate themes.
Bluff (Captain Noll), a swaggering bully and boaster. He says, "I think that fighting for fighting's sake is sufficient cause for fighting. Fighting, to me, is religion and the laws."
Bluff Hal or BLUFF HARRY, Henry VIII.
Blun'derbore (3 syl.), the giant who was drowned because Jack scuttled his boat.—Jack the Giant-killer.
Blunt (Colonel), a brusque royalist, who vows "he'd woo no woman," but falls in love with Arbella, an heiress, woos and wins her. T. Knight, who has converted this comedy into a farce, with the title of Honest Thieves, calls colonel Blunt "captain Manly."—Hon. sir R. Howard, The Committee (1670).
Blunt (Major-General), an old cavalry officer, rough in speech, but brave, honest, and a true patriot.—Shadwell, The Volunteers.
Blushington (Edward), a bashful young gentleman of twenty-five, sent as a poor scholar to Cambridge, without any expectations, but by the death of his father and uncle, left all at once as "rich as a nabob." At college he was called "the sensitive plant of Brazenose," because he was always blushing. He dines by invitation at Friendly Hall, and commits ceaseless blunders. Next day his college chum, Frank Friendly, writes word that he and his sister Dinah, with sir Thomas and lady Friendly, will dine with him. After a few glasses of wine, he loses his bashful modesty, makes a long speech, and becomes the accepted suitor of the pretty Miss Dinah Friendly.—W.T. Moncrieff, The Bashful Man.
Bo or Boh, says Warton, was a fierce Gothic chief, whose name was used to frighten children.
Boadicea, queen of a tribe of ancient Britons. Her husband having been killed by the Romans, she took the field in person. She was defeated and committed suicide.
Boaner´ges (4 syl.), a declamatory pet parson, who anathematizes all except his own "elect." "He preaches real rousing-up discourses, but sits down pleasantly to his tea, and makes hisself friendly."—Mrs. Oliphant, Salem Chapel.
Boanerges or "sons of thunder" is the name given by Jesus Christ to James and John, because they wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans.—Mark iii. 17.
Boar (The), Richard III., so called from his cognizance.
In contempt Richard III. is called The Hog, hence the popular distich:
("The Cat" is Catesby, and "the Rat" Ratcliffe).
Boar (The Blue). This public-house sign (Westminster) is the badge of the Veres earls of Oxford.
The Blue Boar Lane (St. Nicholas, Leicester) is so named from the cognizance of Richard III., because he slept there the night before the battle of Bosworth Field.
Boar of Ardennes (The Wild), in French Le Sanglier des Ardennes (2 syl.), was Guillaume comte de la Marck, so called because he was as fierce as the wild boar he delighted to hunt. The character is introduced by sir W. Scott in Quentin Durward, under the name of "William count of la Marck."
Bob'adil, an ignorant, shallow bully, thoroughly cowardly, but thought by his dupes to be an amazing hero. He lodged with Cob (the water-carrier) and his wife Tib. Master Stephen was greatly struck with his "dainty oaths," such as "By the foot of Pharaoh!" "Body of Cæsar!" "As I am a gentleman and a soldier!" His device to save the expense of a standing army is inimitable for its conceit and absurdity:
"I would select 19 more to myself throughout the land; gentlemen they should be, of a good spirit and able constitution. I would choose them by an instinct,... and I would teach them the special rules ... till they could play [fence] very near as well as myself. This done, say the enemy were 40,000 strong, we 20 would ... challenge 20 of the enemy; ... kill them; challenge 20 more, kill them; 20 more, kill them too; ... every man his 10 a day, that's 10 score ... 200 a day; five days, a thousand; 40,000, 40 times 5,200 days; kill them all."—Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, iv. 7 (1598).
Since his [Henry Woodward, 1717-1777] time the part of "Bobadil" has never been justly performed. It may be said to have died with him.
—Dr. Doran.
The name was probably suggested by Bobadilla first governor of Cuba, who superseded Columbus sent home in chains on a most frivolous charge. Similar characters are "Metamore" and "Scaramouch" (Molière); "Parolles" and "Pistol" (Shakespeare); "Bessus" (Beaumont and Fletcher). (See also BASILISCO, BOROUGHCLIFF, CAPTAIN BRAZEN, CAPTAIN NOLL BLUFF, SIR PETRONEL FLASH, SACRIPANT, VINCENT DE LA ROSE, etc.)
Bobolinkon. Christopher Pearse Cranch calls the bobolink:
Christopher Pearse Cranch, The Bird and the Bell (1875).
Bodach Glay or "Grey Spectre," a house demon of the Scotch, similar to the Irish banshee.
Bodley Family, an American household, father, mother, sisters, and brothers, whose interesting adventures at home and abroad are detailed by Horace E. Scudder in The Bodley Books (1875-1887).
Boe´mond, the Christian king of Antioch, who tried to teach his subjects arts, law, and religion. He is of the Norman race, Roge´ro's brother, and son of Roberto Guiscar´do.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Boeuf (Front de), a gigantic, ferocious follower of prince John.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Boffin (Nicodemus), "the golden dustman," foreman of old John Harmon, dustman and miser. He was "a broad, round-shouldered, one-sided old fellow, whose face was of the rhinoceros build, with overlapping ears." A kind, shrewd man was Mr. Boffin, devoted to his wife, whom he greatly admired. Being residuary legatee of John Harmon, dustman, he came in for £100,000. Afterwards, John Harmon, the son, being discovered, Mr. Boffin surrendered the property to him, and lived with him.
Mrs. Boffin, wife of Mr. N. Boffin, and daughter of a cat's-meatman. She was a fat, smiling, good-tempered creature, the servant of old John Harmon, dustman and miser, and very kind to the miser's son (young John Harmon). After Mr. Boffin came into his fortune she became "a high flyer at fashion," wore black velvet and sable, but retained her kindness of heart and love for her husband. She was devoted to Bella Wilfer, who ultimately became the wife of young John Harmon, alias Rokesmith.—C. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend (1864).
Bo'gio, one of the allies of Charlemagne. He promised his wife to return within six months, but was slain by Dardinello.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Bohemian (A), a gipsy, from the French notion that the first gipsies came from Bohemia.
A Literary Bohemian, an author of desultory works and irregular life.
Never was there an editor with less about him of the literary Bohemian.—Fortnightly Review ("Paston Letters").
Bohemian Literature, desultory reading.
A Bohemian Life, an irregular, wandering, restless way of living, like that of a gipsy.
Bo'hemond, prince of Antioch, a crusader.—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).
Bois'grelin (The young countess de), introduced in the ball given by king René at Aix.—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Bois-Guilbert (Sir Brian de), a preceptor of the Knights Templars. Ivanhoe vanquishes him in a tournament. He offers insult to Rebecca, and she threatens to cast herself from the battlements if he touches her. "When the castle is set on fire by the sibyl, sir Brian carries off Rebecca from the flames. The Grand-Master of the Knights Templars charges Rebecca with sorcery, and she demands a trial by combat. Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert is appointed to sustain the charge against her, and Ivanhoe is her champion. Sir Brian being found dead in the lists, Rebecca is declared innocent."—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe time, (Richard I.).
Boisterer, one of the seven attendants of Fortu´nio. His gift was that he could overturn a windmill with his breath, and even wreck a man-of-war.
Bold Beauchamp [Beech´-am], a proverbial phrase similar to "an Achilles," "a Hector," etc. The reference is to Thomas de Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, who, with one squire and six archers, overthrew a hundred armed men at Hogges, in Normandy, in 1346.
Bold Stroke for a Husband, a comedy by Mrs. Cowley. There are two plots: one a bold stroke to get the man of one's choice for a husband, and the other a bold stroke to keep a husband. Olivia de Zuniga fixed her heart on Julio de Messina, and refused or disgusted all suitors till he came forward. Donna Victoria, in order to keep a husband, disguised herself in man's apparel, assumed the name of Florio, and made love as a man to her husband's mistress. She contrived by an artifice to get back an estate which don Carlos had made over to his mistress, and thus saved her husband from ruin (1782).
Bold Stroke for a Wife. Old Lovely at death left his daughter Anne £30,000, but with this proviso, that she was to forfeit the money if she married without the consent of her guardians. Now her guardians were four in number, and their characters so widely different that "they never agreed on any one thing." They were sir Philip Modelove, an old beau; Mr. Periwinkle, a silly virtuoso; Mr. Tradelove, a broker on 'Change; and Mr. Obadiah Prim, a hypocritical quaker. Colonel Feignwell contrived to flatter all the guardians to the top of their bent, and won the heiress.—Mrs. Centlivre (1717).
Boldwood (Farmer), one of the wooers of Bathsheba Everdene. He serves for her seven years and loses her at last, after killing her husband to free her from his tyranny. He is sentenced to penal servitude "during Her Majesty's pleasure."—Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd (1874).
Bolster, a famous Wrath, who compelled St. Agnes to gather up the boulders which infested his territory. She carried three apronfuls to the top of a hill, hence called St. Agnes' Beacon. (See WRATH'S HOLE.)
Bol'ton (Stawarth), an English officer in The Monastery, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, Elizabeth).
Bolton Ass. This creature is said to have chewed tobacco and taken snuff.—Dr. Doran.
Bomba (King), a nickname given to Ferdinand II. of Naples, in consequence of his cruel bombardment of Messi'na in 1848. His son, who bombarded Palermo in 1860, is called Bombali'no ("Little Bomba").
Bombardin'ian, general of the forces of king Chrononhotonthologos. He invites the king to his tent, and gives him hashed pork. The king strikes him, and calls him traitor. "Traitor, in thy teeth," replies the general. They fight, and the king is killed.—H. Carey, Chrononhotonthologos (a burlesque).
Bombastes Furioso, general of Artaxam'inous (king of Utopia). He is plighted to Distaffi'na, but Artaxaminous promises her "half-a-crown" if she will forsake the general for himself. "This bright reward of ever-daring minds" is irresistible. When Bombastês sees himself flouted, he goes mad, and hangs his boots on a tree, with this label duly displayed:
The king, coming up, cuts down the boots, and Bombastês "kills him." Fusbos, seeing the king fallen, "kills" the general; but at the close of the farce the dead men rise one by one, and join the dance, promising, if the audience likes, "to die again to-morrow."—W. B. Rhodes, Bombastes Furioso.
This farce is a travesty of Orlando Furioso, and "Distaffina" is Angelica, beloved by Orlando, whom she flouted for Medoro, a young Moor. On this Orlando went mad, and hung up his armor on a tree, with this distich attached thereto:
In the Rehearsal, by the duke of Buckingham, Bayes' troops are killed, every man of them, by Drawcansir, but revive, and "go off on their legs."
See the translation of Don Quixote, by C. H. Wilmot, Esq., ii. 363 (1764).
Bombastes Furioso (The French), capitaine Fracasse.—Théophile Gautier.
Bombas'tus, the family name of Paracelsus. He is said to have kept a small devil prisoner in the pommel of his sword.
Bonas'sus, an imaginary wild beast, which the Ettrick shepherd encountered. (The Ettrick shepherd was James Hogg, the Scotch poet.)—Noctes Ambrosianae (No. xlviii., April, 1830).
Bonaventu're (Father), a disguise assumed for the nonce by the chevalier Charles Edward, the pretender.—Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).
Bondu'ca or Boadice'a, wife of Præsutagus king of the Ice'ni. For the better security of his family, Præsutagus made the emperor of Rome co-heir with his daughters; whereupon the Roman officers took possession of his palace, gave up the princesses to the licentious brutality of the Roman soldiers, and scourged the queen in public. Bonduca, roused to vengeance, assembled an army, burnt the Roman colonies of London, Colchester [Camalodunum], Verulam, etc., and slew above 80,000 Romans. Subsequently, Sueto'nius Paulinus defeated the Britons, and Bonduca poisoned herself, A.D. 61. John Fletcher wrote a tragedy entitled Bonduca (1647).
Bone-setter (The), Sarah Mapp (died 1736).
Bo'ney, a familiar contraction of Bo'naparte (3 syl.), used by the English in the early part of the nineteenth century by way of depreciation. Thus Thom. Moore speaks of "the infidel Boney."
Bonhomme (Jacques), a peasant who interferes with politics; hence the peasants' rebellion of 1358 was called La Jacquerie. The words may be rendered "Jimmy" or "Johnny Goodfellow."
Bon'iface (St.), an Anglo-Saxon whose name was Winifrid or Winfrith, born in Devonshire. He was made archbishop of Mayence by pope Gregory III., and is called "The Apostle of the Germans." St. Boniface was murdered in Friesland by some peasants, and his day is June 5 (680-755).
Bon'iface,(Father), ex-abbot of Kennaquhair. He first appears under the name of Blinkhoodie in the character of gardener at Kinross, and afterwards as the old gardener at Dundrennan. (Kennaquhair, that is, "I know not where.")—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).
Bon'iface (The abbot), successor of the abbot Ingelram, as Superior of St. Mary's Convent.—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
Boni'face, landlord of the inn at Lichfield, in league with the highwaymen. This sleek, jolly publican is fond of the cant phrase, "as the saying is." Thus, "Does your master stay in town, as the saying is?" "So well, as the saying is, I could wish we had more of them." "I'm old Will Boniface; pretty well known upon this road, as the saying is." He had lived at Lichfield "man and boy above eight and fifty years, and not consumed eight and fifty ounces of meat." He says:
Bonne Reine, Claude de France, daughter of Louis XII. and wife of François I. (1499-1524).
Bonnet Rouge, a red republican, so called from the red cap of liberty which he wore.
Bonnibel, southern beauty in Constance Cary Harrison's tale, Flower de Hundred.
Bonnivard (François de), the prisoner of Chillon. In Byron's poem he was one of six brothers, five of whom died violent deaths. The father and two sons died on the battle-field; one was burnt at the stake; three were imprisoned in the dungeon of Chillon, near the lake of Geneva. Two of the three died, and François was set at liberty by Henri the Bearnais. They were incarcerated by the duke-bishop of Savoy for republican principles (1496-1570).
Bonstet'tin (Nicholas), the old deputy of Schwitz, and one of the deputies of the Swiss confederacy to Charles duke of Burgundy.—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Bon'temps (Roger), the personification of that buoyant spirit which is always "inclined to hope rather than fear," and in the very midnight of distress is ready to exclaim, "There's a good time coming, wait a little longer." The character is the creation of Béranger.
Bon'thorn (Anthony), one of Ramorny's followers; employed to murder Smith, the lover of Catherine Glover ("the fair maid of Perth"), but he murdered Oliver instead, by mistake. When charged with the crime, he demanded a trial by combat, and being defeated by Smith, confessed his guilt and was hanged. He was restored to life, but being again apprehended was executed.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Bon Ton, a farce by Garrick. Its design is to show the evil effects of the introduction of foreign morals and foreign manners. Lord Minikin neglects his wife, and flirts with Miss Tittup. Lady Minikin hates her husband, and flirts with colonel Tivy. Miss Tittup is engaged to the colonel. Sir John Trotley, who does not understand bon ton, thinks this sort of flirtation very objectionable. "You'll excuse me, for such old-fashioned notions, I am sure" (1760).
Boo'by (Lady), a vulgar upstart, who tries to seduce her footman, Joseph Andrews. Parson Adams reproves her for laughing in church. Lady Booby is a caricature of Richardson's "Pamela."—Fielding, Joseph Andrews (1742).
Boon Island. In Celia Thaxter's poem, The Watch of Boon Island, is told the story of two wedded lovers who tended the lighthouse on Boon Island until the husband died, when the wife
Boone (1 syl.), colonel [afterwards "general"] Daniel Boone, in the United States' service, was one of the earliest settlers in Kentucky, where he signalized himself by many daring exploits against the Red Indians (1735-1820).
Booshal'loch (Neil), cowherd to Ian Eachin M'Ian, chief of the clan Quhele.—Sir W. Scott, The Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Boo'tes (3 syl.), Arcas son of Jupiter and Calisto. One day his mother, in the semblance of a bear, met him, and Arcas was on the point of killing it, when Jupiter, to prevent the murder, converted him into a constellation, either Boötês or Ursa Major.—Pausanias, Itinerary of Greece, viii. 4.
Booth, husband of Amelia. Said to be a drawing of the author's own character and experiences. He has all the vices of Tom Jones, with an additional share of meanness.—Fielding, Amelia (1751).
Borach'io, a follower of don John of Aragon. He is a great villain, engaged to Margaret, the waiting-woman of Hero.—Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing (1600).
Borach'io, a drunkard. (Spanish, borracho, "drunk;" borrachuélo, "a tippler.")
Borachio (Joseph), landlord of the Eagle Hotel, in Salamanca.—Jephson, Two Strings to your Bow (1792).
Bor'ak (Al), the animal brought by Gabriel to convey Mahomet to the seventh heaven. The word means "lightning." Al Borak had the face of a man, but the cheeks of a horse; its eyes were like jacinths, but brilliant as the stars; it had eagle's wings, glistened all over with radiant light, and it spoke with a human voice. This was one of the ten animals (not of the race of man) received into paradise.
Borak was a fine-limbed, high-standing horse, strong in frame, and with a coat as glossy as marble. His color was saffron, with one hair of gold for every three of tawny; his ears were restless and pointed like a reed; his eyes large and full of fire; his nostrils wide and steaming; he had a white star on his forehead, a neck gracefully arched, a mane soft and silky, and a thick tail that swept the ground.—Groquemitaine. ii. 9.
Border Minstrel (The), sir Walter Scott (1771-1832).
W. Wordsworth, Yarrow Revisited.
Bo'reas, the north wind. He lived in a cave on mount Hæmus, in Thrace.
G. A. Stephens, The Shipivreck.
Bor'gia (Lucrezia di), duchess of Ferra'ra, wife of don Alfonso. Her natural son Genna'ro was brought up by a fisherman in Naples, but when he grew to manhood a stranger gave him a paper from his mother, announcing to him that he was of noble blood, but concealing his name and family. He saved the life of Orsi'ni in the battle of Rin'ini, and they became sworn friends. In Venice he was introduced to a party of nobles, all of whom had some tale to tell against Lucrezia: Orsini told him she had murdered her brother; Vitelli, that she had caused his uncle to be slain; Liverotto, that she had poisoned his uncle Appia'no; Gazella, that she had caused one of his relatives to be drowned in the Tiber. Indignant at these acts of wickedness, Gennaro struck off the B from the escutcheon of the duke's palace at Ferrara, changing the name Borgia into Orgia. Lucrezia prayed the duke to put to death the man who had thus insulted their noble house, and Gennaro was condemned to death by poison. Lucrezia, to save him, gave him an antidote, and let him out of prison by a secret door. Soon after his liberation the princess Negroni, a friend of the Borgias, gave a grand supper, to which Gennaro and his companions were invited. At the close of the banquet they were all arrested by Lucrezia after having drunk poisoned wine. Gennaro was told he was the son of Lucrezia, and died. Lucrezia no sooner saw him die than she died also.—Donizetti, Lucrezia di Borgia (an opera, 1835).
Boros'kie (3 syl.), a malicious counsellor of the great-duke of Moscovia.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Loyal Subject (1618).
Bor'oughcliff (Captain), a vulgar Yankee, boastful, conceited, and slangy. "I guess," "I reckon," "I calculate," are used indifferently by him, and he perpetually appeals to sergeant Drill to confirm his boastful assertions: as, "I'm a pretty considerable favorite with the ladies; arn't I, sergeant Drill?" "My character for valor is pretty well known; isn't it, sergeant Drill?" "If you once saw me in battle, you'd never forget it; would he, sergeant Drill?" "I'm a sort of a kind of a nonentity; arn't I, sergeant Drill?" etc. He is made the butt of Long Tom Coffin. Colonel Howard wishes him to marry his niece Katharine, but the young lady has given her heart to lieutenant Barnstable, who turns out to be the colonel's son, and succeeds at last in marrying the lady of his affection.—E. Fitzball, The Pilot.
Borre (1 syl.), natural son of king Arthur, and one of the knights of the Bound Table. His mother was Lyonors, an earl's daughter, who came to do homage to the young king.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 15 (1470).
Sir Bors de Granis is quite another person, and so is king Bors of Gaul.
Borro'meo (Charles), cardinal and archbishop of Milan. Immortalized by his self-devotion in ministering at Mil'an to the plague-stricken (1538-1584).
St. Roche, who died 1327, devoted himself in a similar manner to those stricken with the plague at Piacenza; and Mompesson to the people of Eyam. In 1720-22 H. Francis Xavier de Belsunce was indefatigable in ministering to the plague-stricken of Marseilles.
Bors (King) of Gaul, brother of king Ban of Benwicke [Brittany?]. They went to the aid of prince Arthur when he was first established on the British throne, and Arthur promised in return to aid them against king Claudas, "a mighty man of men," who warred against them.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur (1470).
There are two brethren beyond the sea, and they kings both ... the one hight king Ban of Benwieke, and the other hight king Bors of Gaul, that is, France.—Pt. i. 8.
(Sir Bors was of Ganis, that is, Wales, and was a knight of the Round Table. So also was Borre (natural son of prince Arthur), also called sir Bors sometimes.)
Bors (Sir), called sir Bors de Ganis, brother of sir Lionell and nephew of sir Launcelot. "For all women he was a virgin, save for one, the daughter of king Brandeg'oris, on whom he had a child, hight Elaine; save for her, sir Bors was a clean maid" (ch. iv.). When he went to Corbin, and saw Galahad the son of sir Launcelot and Elaine (daughter of king Pelles), he prayed that the child might prove as good a knight as his father, and instantly a vision of the holy greal was vouchsafed him; for—
Sir Bors was with sir Galahad and sir
Percival when the consecrated wafer assumed the visible and bodily appearance of the Saviour. And this is what is meant by achieving the holy greal; for when they partook of the wafer their eyes saw the Saviour enter it.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, iii. 101, 102 (1470).
N.B.—This sir Bors must not be confounded with sir Borre, a natural son of king Arthur and Lyonors (daughter of the earl Sanam, pt. i. 15), nor yet with king Bors of Gaul, i.e., France (pt. i. 8).
Bortell, the bull, in the beast-epic called Reynard the Fox (1498).
Bos'can-[Almoga'và], a Spanish poet of Barcelona (1500-1543). His poems are generally bound up with those of Garcilasso. They introduced the Italian style into Castilian poetry.
Byron, Don Juan, i. 95 (1819).
Boscosel, mysterious being, who brings about a reunion on earth of friends who have long ago departed for the spirit-world.—Francis Howard Williams, Boscosel (1888).
Bosmi'na, daughter of Fingal king of Morven (north-west coast of Scotland).—Ossian.
Bos'n Hill. In Poems by John Albee (1883) we find a legend of a dead Bos'n (boatswain) whose whistle calls up the dead on stormy nights when
Bossu (Réné le), French scholar and critic (1631-1680).
Bossut (Abbé Charles), a celebrated mathematician (1730-1814).
(Sir Richard Phillips assumed a host of popular names, among others that of M. l'Abbé Bossut in several educational works in French.)
Bosta'na, one of the two daughters of the old man who entrapped prince Assad in order to offer him in sacrifice on "the fiery mountain." His other daughter was named Cava'ma. The old man enjoined these two daughters to scourge the prince daily with the bastinado and feed him with bread and water till the day of sacrifice arrived. After a time, the heart of Bostana softened towards her captive, and she released him. Whereupon his brother Amgiad, out of gratitude, made her his wife, and became in time king of the city in which he was already vizier.—Arabian Nights ("Amgiad and Assad").
Bostock, a coxcomb, cracked on the point of aristocracy and family birth. His one and only inquiry is "How many quarterings has a person got?" Descent from the nobility with him covers a multitude of sins, and a man is no one, whatever his personal merit, who "is not a sprig of the nobility."—James Shirley, The Ball (1642).
Bot'any (Father of English), W. Turner, M.D. (1520-1568).
J.P. de Tournefort is called The Father of Botany (1656-1708).
Antoine de Jussieu lived 1686-1758, and his brother Bernard 1699-1777.
Bothwell (Sergeant), alias Francis Stewart, in the royal army.—Sir W. Scott, Old Mortality (time, Charles II.).
Bothwell (Lady), sister of lady Forester.
Sir Geoffrey Bothwell, the husband of lady Bothwell.
Mrs. Margaret Bothwell, in the introduction of the story. Aunt Margaret proposed to use Mrs. Margaret's tombstone for her own.—Sir W. Scott, Aunt Margaret's Mirror (time, William III.).
Bottled Beer, Alexander Nowell, author of a celebrated Latin catechism which first appeared in 1570, under the title of Christianæ pietatis prima Institutio, ad usum Scholarum Latine Scripta. In 1560 he was promoted to the deanery of St. Paul's (1507-1602).—Fuller, Worthies of England ("Lancashire").
Bottom (Nick), an Athenian weaver, a compound of profound ignorance and unbounded conceit, not without good-nature and a fair dash of mother-wit. When the play of Pyramus and Thisbe is cast, Bottom covets every part; the lion, Thisbê, Pyramus, all have charms for him. In order to punish Titan'ia, the fairy-king made her dote on Bottom, on whom Puck had placed an ass's head.—Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream.
Boubekir' Muez'in, of Bag dad, "a vain, proud, and envious iman, who hated the rich because he himself was poor." When prince Zeyn Alasnam came to the city, he told the people to beware of him, for probably he was "some thief who had made himself rich by plunder." The prince's attendant called on him, put into his hand a purse of gold, and requested the honor of his acquaintance. Next day, after morning prayers, the iman said to the people, "I find, my brethren, that the stranger who is come to Bag dad is a young prince possessed of a thousand virtues, and worthy the love of all men. Let us protect him, and rejoice that he has come among us."—Arabian Nights ("Prince Zeyn Alasnam").
Bouchard (Sir), a knight of Flanders, of most honorable descent. He married Constance, daughter of Bertulphe provost of Bruges. In 1127 Charles "the Good," earl of Flanders, made a law that a serf was always a serf till manumitted, and whoever married a serf became a serf. Now, Bertulphe's father was Thancmar's serf, and Bertulphe, who had raised himself to wealth and great honor, was reduced to serfdom because his father was not manumitted. By the same law Bouchard, although a knight of royal blood became Thancmar's serf because he married Constance, the daughter of Bertulphe (provost of Bruges). The result of this absurd law was that Bertulphe slew the earl and then himself, Constance went mad and died, Bouchard and Thancmar slew each other in fight, and all Bruges was thrown into confusion.—S. Knowles, The Provost of Bruges (1836).
Bou'illon (Godfrey duke of), a crusader (1058-1100), introduced in Count Robert of Paris, a novel by Sir W. Scott (time, Rufus).
Bounce (Mr. T.), a nickname given in 1837 to T. Barnes, editor of the Times (or the Turnabout, as it was called).
Bound'erby (Josiah), of Coketown, banker and mill-owner, the "Bully of Humility," a big, loud man, with an iron stare and metallic laugh. Mr. Bounderby is the son of Mrs. Pegler, an old woman, to whom he pays £30 a year to keep out of sight, and in a boasting way he pretends that "he was dragged up from the gutter to become a millionaire." Mr. Bounderby marries Louisa, daughter of his neighbor and friend, Thomas Gradgrind, Esq., M.P.—C. Dickens, Hard Times (1854).
Bountiful (Lady), widow of sir Charles Bountiful. Her delight was curing the parish sick and relieving the indigent.
Bounty (Mutiny of the), in 1790, headed by Fletcher Christian. The mutineers finally settled in Pitcairn Island (Polynesian Archipelago). In 1808 all the mutineers were dead except one (Alexander Smith), who had changed his name to John Adams, and became a model patriarch of the colony, which was taken under the protection of the British Government in 1839. Lord Byron, in The Island, has made the "mutiny of the Bounty" the basis of his tale, but the facts are greatly distorted.
Bous'trapa, a nickname given to Napoleon III. It is compounded of the first syllables of Bou [logne], Stra [sbourg], Pa[ris], and alludes to his escapades in 1836, 1840, 1851 (coup d'état).
No man ever lived who was distinguished by more nicknames than Louis Napoleon. Besides the one above mentioned, he was called Badinguet, Man of December, Man of Sedan, Ratipol, Verhuel, etc.; and after his escape from the fortress of Ham he went by the pseudonym of count Arenenberg.
Bower of Bliss, a garden belonging to the enchantress Armi'da. It abounded in everything that could contribute to earthly pleasure. Here Rinal'do spent some time in love-passages with Armi'da, but he ultimately broke from the enchantress and rejoined the war.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).
Bower of Bliss, the residence of the witch Acras'ia, a beautiful and most fascinating woman. This lovely garden was situated on a floating island filled with everything which could conduce to enchant the senses, and "wrap the spirit in forgetfulness."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, ii. 12 (1590).
Bowkit, in The Son-in-Law.
In the scene where Cranky declines to accept Bowkit as son-in-law on account of his ugliness, John Edwin, who was playing "Bowkit" at the Haymarket, uttered in a tone of surprise, "Ugly?" and then advancing to the lamps, said with infinite impertinence, "I submit to the decision of the British public which is the ugliest fellow of us three: I, old Cranky, or that gentleman there in the front row of the balcony box?"—Cornhill Magazine (1867).
Bowley (Sir Joseph), M.P., who facetiously calls himself "the poor man's friend." His secretary is Fish.—C. Dickens, The Chimes (1844).
Bowling (Lieutenant Tom), an admirable naval character in Smollett's Roderick Random. Dibdin wrote a naval song in memoriam of Tom Bowling, beginning thus:
Bowyer (Master), usher of the black rod in the court of queen Elizabeth.—Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).
Bowzybe'us (4 syl.), the drunkard, rioted for his songs in Gray's pastorals, called The Shepherd's Week. He sang of "Nature's Laws," of "Fairs and Shows," "The Children in the Wood," "Chevy Chase," "Taffey Welsh," "Rosamond's Bower," "Lilly-bullero," etc. The 6th pastoral is in imitation of Virgil's 6th Ecl., and Bowzybëus is a vulgarized Silenus.
Box and Cox, a dramatic romance, by J. M. Morton, the principal characters of which are Box and Cox.
Boy Bachelor (The), William Wotton, D.D., admitted at St. Catherine's Hall, Cambridge, before he was ten, and to his degree of B.A. when he was twelve and a half (1666-1726).
Boy Bishop (The), St. Nicholas, the patron saint of boys (fourth century).
(There was also an ancient custom of choosing a boy from the cathedral choir on St. Nicholas' Day (December 6) as a mock bishop. This boy possessed certain privileges, and if he died during the year was buried in pontificalibus. The custom was abolished by Henry VIII. In Salisbury Cathedral visitors are shown a small sarcophagus, which the verger says was made for a boy bishop.)
Boy Blue (Little) is the subject of a poem in Eugene Field's Little Book of Western Verse.
* * * * *
Boy Crucified. It is said that some time during the dark ages, a boy named Werner was impiously crucified at Bacharach, on the Rhine, by the Jews. A little chapel erected to the memory of this boy stands on the walls of the town, close to the river. Hugh of Lincoln and William of Norwich are instances of a similar story.
Longfellow, The Golden Legend.
Boyet', one of the lords attending on the princess of France.—Shakespeare, Love's Labor's Lost (1594).
Boythorn (Laurence), a robust gentleman with the voice of a Stentor; a friend of Mr. Jarndyce. He would utter the most ferocious sentiments, while at the same time he fondled a pet canary on his finger. Once on a time he had been in love with Miss Barbary, lady Dedlock's sister. But "the good old times—all times when old are good—were gone."—C. Dickens, Bleak House (1853).
("Laurence Boythorn" is a caricature of W. S. Landor; as "Harold Skimpole," in the same story, is drawn from Leigh Hunt.)
Boz, Charles Dickens. It was the nickname of a pet brother dubbed Moses, in honor of "Moses Primrose" in the Vicar of Wakefield. Children called the name Bozes, which got shortened into Boz (1812-1870).
Bozzy, James Boswell, the gossipy biographer of Dr. Johnson (1740-1795).
Braban'tio, a senator of Venice, father of Desdemo'na; most proud, arrogant, and overbearing. He thought the "insolence" of Othello in marrying his daughter unpardonable, and that Desdemona must have been drugged with love-potions so to demean herself.—Shakespeare, Othello (1611).
Brac'cio, commissary of the republic of Florence, employed in picking up every item of scandal he could find against Lu'ria the noble Moor, who commanded the army of Florence against the Pisans. The Florentines hoped to find sufficient cause of blame to lessen or wholly cancel their obligations to the Moor, but even Braccio was obliged to confess. This Moor hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been so clear in his great office, that his virtues would plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against the council which should censure him.—Robert Browning, Luria.
Brac'idas and Am'idas, the two sons of Mile'sio, the former in love with the wealthy Philtra, and the latter with the dowerless Lucy. Their father at death left each of his sons an island of equal size and value, but the sea daily encroached on that of the elder brother and added to the island of Amidas. The rich Philtra now forsook Bracidas for the richer brother, and Lucy, seeing herself forsaken, jumped into the sea. A floating chest attracted her attention, she clung to it, and was drifted to the wasted island, where Bracidas received her kindly. The chest was found to contain property of great value, and Lucy gave it to Bracidas, together with herself, "the better of them both." Amidas and Philtra claimed the chest as their right, and the dispute was submitted to sir Ar'tegal. Sir Artegal decided that whereas Amidas claimed as his own all the additions which the sea had given to his island, so Lucy might claim as her own the chest which the sea had given into her hands.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. 4 (1596).
Braekenbury (Lord), English peer of nomadic tastes. He disappears from his world, leaving the impression that he has been murdered, that he may live unhampered by class-obligations.—Amelia B. Edwards, Lord Brackenbury.
Bracy (Sir Maurice de), a follower of prince John. He sues the lady Rowen'a to become his bride, and threatens to kill both Cedric and Ivanhoe if she refuses. The interview is interrupted, and at the close of the novel Rowena marries Ivanhoe.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Brad'amant, daughter of Amon and Beatrice, sister of Rinaldo, and niece of Charlemagne. She was called the Virgin Knight. Her armor was white, and her plume white. She loved Roge'ro the Moor, but refused to marry him till he was baptized. Her marriage with great pomp and Rogero's victory over Rodomont form the subject of the last book of Orlando Furioso. Bradamant possessed an irresistible spear, which unhorsed any knight with a touch. Britomart had a similar spear.—Bojardo, Orlando Innamorato (1495); Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Brad'bourne (Mistress Lilias), waiting-woman of lady Avenel (2 syl.), at Avenel Castle.—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).
Bradwardine (Como Cosmyne), baron of Bradwardine and of Tully Veolan. He is very pedantic, but brave and gallant.
Rose Bradwardine, his daughter, the heroine of the novel, which concludes with her marriage with Waverley, and the restoration of the manor-house of Tully Veolan.
Malcolm Bradwardine of Inchgrabbit, a relation of the old baron.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Brady (Martha), a young "Irish widow" twenty-three years of age, and in love with William Whittle. She was the daughter of sir Patrick O'Neale. Old Thomas Whittle, the uncle, a man of sixty-three, wanted to oust his nephew in her affections, for he thought her "so modest, so mild, so tenderhearted, so reserved, so domestic. Her voice was so sweet, with just a soupçon of the brogue to make it enchanting." In order to break off this detestable passion of the old man, the widow assumed the airs and manners of a boisterous, loud, flaunting, extravagant, low Irishwoman, deeply in debt, and abandoned to pleasure. Old Whittle, thoroughly frightened, induced his nephew to take the widow off his hands, and gave him £5000 as a douceur for so doing.—Garrick, The Irish Widow (1757).
Brag (Jack), a vulgar boaster, who gets into good society, where his vulgarity stands out in strong relief.—Theodore Hook, Jack Brag (a novel).
Brag (Sir Jack), general John Burgoyne (died 1792).
Braganza (Juan duke of). In 1580 Philip II. of Spain claimed the crown of Portugal, and governed it by a regent. In 1640 Margaret was regent, and Velasquez her chief minister, a man exceedingly obnoxious to the Portuguese. Don Juan and his wife Louisa of Braganza being very popular, a conspiracy was formed to shake off the Spanish yoke. Velasquez was torn to death by the populace, and don Juan of Braganza was proclaimed king.
Louisa duchess of Braganza. Her character is thus described:
Mrs. Bellamy took her leave of the stage May 24, 1785. On this occasion Mrs. Yates sustained the part of the "duchess of Braganza," and Miss Farren spoke the address.—F. Reynolds.
Bragela, daughter of Sorglan, and wife of Cuthullin (general of the Irish army and regent during the minority of king Cormac).—Ossian, Fingal.
Braggado´cio, personification of the intemperance of the tongue. For a time his boasting serves him with some profit, but being found out, he is stripped of his borrowed plumes. His shield is claimed by Mar´inel; his horse by Guyon; Talus shaves off his beard; and his lady is shown to be a sham Florimel.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. 8 and 10, with v. 3.
It is thought that Philip of Spain was the academy figure of "Braggadocio."
Braggadocio's Sword, San´glamore (3 syl).
Bragmar´do (Jano´tus de), the sophister sent by the Parisians to Gargantua, to remonstrate with him for carrying off the bells of Notre-Dame to suspend round the neck of his mare for jingles.—Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantag´ruel´, ii. (1533).
Brahmin Caste of New England, term used by Oliver Wendell Holmes in Elsie Venner to describe an intellectual aristocracy: "Our scholars come chiefly from a privileged order just as our best fruits come from well-known grafts."—Elsie Venner (1863).
Brain'worm, the servant of Knowell, a man of infinite shifts, and a regular Proteus in his metamorphoses. He appears first as Brainworm; after as Fitz-Sword; then as a reformed soldier whom Knowell takes into his service; then as justice Clement's man; and lastly as valet to the courts of law, by which devices he plays upon the same clique of some half-dozen men of average intelligence.—Ben Jonson, Every Man in His Humour (1598).
Brakel (Adrian), the gipsy mountebank, formerly master of Fenella, the deaf and dumb girl.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Bramble (Matthew), an "odd kind of humorist," "always on the fret," dyspeptic, and afflicted with gout, but benevolent, generous, and kind-hearted.
Miss Tabitha Bramble, an old maiden sister of Matthew Bramble, of some forty-five years of age, noted for her bad spelling. She is starched, vain, prim, and ridiculous; soured in temper, proud, imperious, prying, mean, malicious, and uncharitable. She contrives at last to marry captain Lismaha'go, who is content to take "the maiden" for the sake of her £4000.
Bramble (Sir Robert), a baronet living at Blackberry Hall, Kent. Blunt and testy, but kind-hearted; "charitable as a Christian, and rich as a Jew;" fond of argument and contradiction, but detesting flattery; very proud, but most considerate to his poorer neighbors. In his first interview with lieutenant Worthington, "the poor gentleman," the lieutenant mistook him for a bailiff come to arrest him, but sir Roflert nobly paid the bill for £500 when it was presented to him for signature as sheriff of the county.
Frederick Bramble, nephew of sir Robert, and son of Joseph Bramble, a Russian merchant. His father having failed in business, Frederick is adopted by his rich uncle. He is full of life and noble instincts, but thoughtless and impulsive. Frederick falls in love with Emily Worthington, whom he marries.—G. Colman, The Poor Gentleman (1802).
Bra´mine (2 syl.) and Bra´min (The), Mrs. Elizabeth Draper and Laurence Sterne. Sterne being a clergyman, and Mrs. Draper having been born in India, suggested the names. Ten of Sterne's letters to Mrs. Draper are published, and called Letters to Eliza.
Bran, the dog of Lamderg the lover of Gelchossa (daughter of Tuathal).—Ossian, Fingal, v.
Fingal king of Morven had a dog of the same name, and another named Luäth.
Brand (Ethan), an ex-lime burner in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story of the same name, who, fancying he has committed the Unpardonable Sin, commits suicide by leaping into the burning kiln.
Brand (Sir Denys), a county magnate, who apes humility. He rides a sorry brown nag "not worth £5," but mounts his groom on a race-horse "twice victor for a plate."
Bran´damond of Damascus, whom sir Bevis of Southampton defeated.
That dreadful battle where with Brandamond he fought. And with his sword and steed such earthly wonders wrought As e'en among his foes him admiration won. M. Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. (1612).
Bran'dan (Island of St.) or ISLAND of SAN BORANDAN, a flying island, so late as 1755 set down in geographical charts west of the Canary group. In 1721 an expedition was sent by Spain in quest thereof. The Spaniards say their king Rodri'go has retreated there, and the Portuguese affirm that it is the retreat of their don Sebastian. It was called St. Brandan from a navigator of the sixth century, who went in search of the "Islands of Paradise."
Its reality was for a long time a matter of firm belief ... the garden of Armi'da, where Rinaldo was detained, and which Tasso places in one of the Canary Isles, has been identified with San Borandan.—W. Irving.
(If there is any truth at all in the legend, the island must be ascribed to the Fata Morgana.)
Bran'deum, plu. Brandea, a piece of cloth enclosed in a box with relics, which thus acquired the same miraculous powers as the relics themselves.
Pope Leo proved this fact beyond a doubt, for when some Greeks ventured to question it, he cut a brandeum through with a pair of scissors, and it was instantly covered with blood.—J. Brady, Clavis Calendaria, 182.
Bran'dimart, brother-in-law of Orlando, son of Monodantês, and husband of For'delis. This "king of the Distant Islands" was one of the bravest knights in Charlemagne's army, and was slain by Gradasso.—Bojardo, Orlando Innamorata (1495); Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Brand, a term often applied to the sword in medaeval romances.
Brangtons (The), vulgar, jealous, malicious gossips in Evelina, a novel by Miss Burney (1778).
Branno, an Irishman, father of Evirallin. Evirallin was the wife of Ossian and mother of Oscar.—Ossian.
Brass, the roguish confederate of Dick Amlet, and acting as his servant.
Brass (Sampson), a knavish, servile attorney, affecting great sympathy with his clients, but in reality fleecing them without mercy.
Sally Brass, Sampson's sister, and an exaggerated edition of her brother.—C. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop (1840).
Brave (The), Alfonzo IV. of Portugal (1290-1357).
The Brave Fleming, John Andrew van der Mersch (1734-1792).
The Bravest of the Brave, Marshal Ney, Le Brave des Braves (1769-1815).
Bray (Mr.), a selfish, miserly old man, who dies suddenly of heart-disease, just in time to save his daughter from being sacrificed to Arthur Gride, a rich old miser.
Madeline Bray, daughter of Mr. Bray, a loving, domestic, beautiful girl, who marries Nicholas Nickleby.—C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).
Bray (Vicar of), supposed by some to be Simon Aleyn, who lived (says Fuller) "in the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth. In the first two reigns he was a protestant, in Mary's reign a catholic, and in Elizabeth's a protestant again." No matter who was king, Simon Aleyn resolved to live and die "the vicar of Bray" (1540-1588).
Others think the vicar was Simon Symonds, who (according to Ray) was an independent in the protectorate, a high churchman in the reign of Charles II., a papist under James II., and a moderate churchman in the reign of William III.
Others again give the cap to one Pendleton.
The well-known song was written by an officer in colonel Fuller's regiment, in the reign of George I., and seems to refer to some clergyman of no very distant date.
Bray´more (Lady Caroline), daughter of lord Fitz-Balaam. She was to have married Frank Rochdale, but hearing that her "intended" loved Mary Thornberry, she married the Hon. Tom Shuffleton.—G. Colman, jun., John Bull (1805).
Brazen (Captain), a kind of Bobadil. A boastful, tongue-doughty warrior, who pretends to know everybody; to have a liaison with every wealthy, pretty, or distinguished woman; and to have achieved in war the most amazing prodigies.
Brazen Head. The first on record is one which Sylvester II. (Gerbert) possessed. It told him he would be pope, and not die till he had sung mass at Jerusalem. When pope he was stricken with his death-sickness while performing mass in a church called Jerusalem (999-1003).
The next we hear of was made by Rob. Grosseteste (1175-1253).
The third was the famous brazen head of Albertus Magnus, which cost him thirty years' labor, and was broken to pieces by his disciple Thomas Aqui´nas (1193-1280).
The fourth was that of friar Bacon, which used to say, "Time is, time was, time comes." Byron refers to it in the lines:
Another was made by the marquis of Vilena of Spain (1384-1434). And a sixth by a Polander, a disciple of Escotillo an Italian.
Brazen Head (The), a gigantic head kept in the castle of the giant Fer´ragus of Portugal. It was omniscient, and told those who consulted it whatever they desired to know, past, present, or future.—Valentine and Orson.
Breakfast Table (Autocrat of). See AUTOCRAT.
Breaking a Stick is part of the marriage ceremony of the American Indians, as breaking a glass is still part of the marriage ceremony of the Jews.—Lady Augusta Hamilton, Marriage Rites, etc., pp. 292, 298.
In one of Raphael's pictures we see an unsuccessful suitor of the Virgin Mary breaking his stick, and this alludes to the legend that the several suitors of the "virgin" were each to bring an almond stick which was to be laid up in the sanctuary over night, and the owner of the stick which budded was to be accounted the suitor God ordained, and thus Joseph became her husband.—B.H. Cowper, Apocryphal Gospel ("Pseudo-Matthew's Gospel," 40, 41).
In Florence is a picture in which the rejected suitors break their sticks on the back of Joseph.
Brec´an, a mythical king of Wales. He had twenty-four daughters by one wife. These daughters, for their beauty and purity, were changed into rivers, all of which flow into the Severn. Brecknockshire, according to fable, is called after this king. (See next art.)
Brec'han (Prince), father of St. Cadock and St. Canock, the former a martyr and the latter a confessor.
Breck (Alison), an old fishwife, friend of the Mucklebackits.—Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary (time, Greorge III.).
Breck (Angus), a follower of Rob Roy M'Gregor, the outlaw.—Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, Greorge I.).
Breitman (Hans), the giver of the entertainment celebrated in Charles Godfrey Leland's dialect verses, Hans Breitman gave a Party. A favorite with parlor and platform "readers." (1871.)
Bren´da [TROIL], daughter of Magnus Troil and sister of Minna.—Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).
Breng´wain, the confidante of Is´olde (2 syl.) wife of sir Mark king of Cornwall. Isolde was criminally attached to her nephew sir Tristram, and Brengwain assisted the queen in her intrigues.
Breng´wain, wife of Gwenwyn prince of Powys-land.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Brennett (Maurice), a man whom "life had always cast for the leading business" and who "bears himself in a manner befitting the title rôle." In pursuance of this destiny he becomes a mining speculator, betrays his confiding partner and everybody else who will trust, and when success seems within his grasp is thwarted by the discovery of a man he had supposed to be dead. The woman he would have married to secure her fortune, around which he had woven the fine web of his schemes, breaks out impetuously:
"If you will prove his complicity ... I will pursue him to the ends of the earth."
At that moment through the window she sees the head-light of the train that is bearing Maurice Brennett away into the darkness. The thorough search made for him afterward is futile.—Charles Egbert Craddock, Where the Battle was Fought (1885).
Brenta´no (A), one of inconceivable folly. The Brentanos, Clemens and his sister Bettina, are remarkable in German literary annals for the wild and extravagant character of their genius. Bettina's work, Göthe's Correspondence with a Child (1835), is a pure fabrication of her own.
Brentford (The two kings of). In the duke of Buckingham's farce called The Rehearsal (1671), the two kings of Brentford enter hand-in-hand, dance together, sing together, walk arm-in-arm, and to heighten the absurdity the actors represent them as smelling at the same nosegay (act ii. 2).
Bretwalda, the over-king of the Saxon rulers, established in England during the heptarchy. In Germany the over-king was called emperor. The bretwalda had no power in the civil affairs of the under-kings, but in times of war or danger formed an important centre.
Brewer of Ghent (The), James van Artevelde, a great patriot. His son Philip fell in the battle of Rosbecq (fourteenth century).
Brewster (William). The Life and Death of William Brewster, elder in the first church planted in Massachusetts, was written by his colleague William Bradford (1630-1650). After a feeling eulogy upon his departed friend, he remarks, parenthetically: "He always thought it were better for ministers to pray oftener and divide their prayers, than be long and tedious in the same (except upon solemn and special occasions, as in days of humiliation and the like). His reason was that the hearts and spirits of all, especially the weak, continue and stand bent (as it were) so long towards God as they ought to do in that duty without flagging and falling off." This is a remarkable deliverance for a day when two-hour prayers were the rule, and from a man who, his biographer tells us, "had a singular good gift in prayer."
Bria´na, the lady of a castle who demanded for toll "the locks of every lady and the beard of every knight that passed." This toll was established because sir Crudor, with whom she was in love, refused to marry her till she had provided him with human hair sufficient to "purfle a mantle" with. Sir Crudor, having been overthrown in knightly combat by sir Calidore, who refused to pay "the toll demanded," is made to release Briana from the condition imposed on her, and Briana swears to discontinue the discourteous toll.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, vi. 1 (1596).
Bri´anor (Sir), a knight overthrown by the "Salvage Knight," whose name was sir Artegal.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 5 (1596).
Briar´eos (4 syl.), usually called Briareus [Bri´.a.ruce], the giant with a hundred hands. Hence Dryden says, "And Briareus, with all his hundred hands" (Virgil, vi.); but Milton writes the name Briareos (Paradise Lost, i. 199).
Bri´areus (Bold), Handel (1685-1757).
Bri´areus of Languages, cardinal Mezzofanti, who was familiar with fifty-eight different languages. Byron calls him "a walking polyglot" (1774-1849).
Bribo´ci, inhabitants of Berkshire and the adjacent counties.—Cæsar, Commentaries.
Brick (Jefferson), a very weak pale young man, the war correspondent of the New York Rowdy Journal, of which colonel Diver was editor.—C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).
Bride of Aby´dos (The), Zulei´ka (3 syl.), daughter of Giaffer (2 syl.), pacha of Abydos. She is the troth-plight bride of Selim; but Giaffer shoots the lover, and Zuleika dies of a broken heart.—Byron, Bride of Abydos (1813).
Bride of Lammermoor, Lucy Ashton, in love with Edgar master of Ravenswood, but compelled to marry Frank Hayston, laird of Bucklaw. She tries to murder him on the bridal night, and dies insane the day following.—Sir W. Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
The Bride of Lammermoor is one of the most finished of Scott's novels, presenting a unity of plot and action from beginning to end. The old butler, Caleb Balderston, is exaggerated and far too prominent, but he serves as a foil to the tragic scenes.
Bride of the Sea, Venice, so called from the ancient ceremony of the doge marrying the city to the Adriatic by throwing a ring into it, pronouncing these words, "We wed thee, O sea, in token of perpetual domination."
Bridge. The imaginary bridge between earth and the Mohammedan paradise is called "Al Sirat´."
The rainbow bridge which spans heaven and earth in Scandinavian mythology is called "Bif´rost."
Bridge of Gold. According to German tradition, Charlemagne's spirit crosses the Rhine on a golden bridge, at Bingen, in reasons of plenty, and blesses both cornfields and vineyards.
Bridge of Sighs, the covered passageway which connects the palace of the doge in Venice with the State prisons. Called "the Bridge of Sighs," because the condemned passed over it from the judgment hall to the place of execution. Hood has a poem called The Bridge of Sighs.
Bridgemore (Mr.), of Fish Street Hill, London. A dishonest merchant, wealthy, vulgar, and purse-proud. He is invited to a soirée given by lord Abberville, "and counts the servants, gapes at the lustres, and never enters the drawing-room at all, but stays below, chatting with the travelling tutor."
Mrs. Bridgemore, wife of Mr. Bridgemore, equally vulgar, but with more pretension to gentility.
Miss Lucinda Bridgemore, the spiteful, purse-proud, malicious daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bridgemore, of Fish Street Hill. She was engaged to lord Abberville, but her money would not out-balance her vulgarity and ill-temper, so the young "fashionable lover" made his bow and retired.—Cumberland, The Fashionable Lover (1780).
Bridgenorth (Major Ralph), a roundhead and conspirator, neighbor of sir Geoffrey Peveril of the Peak, a staunch cavalier.
Mrs. Bridgenorth, the major's wife.
Alice Bridgenorth, the major's daughter and heroine of the novel. Her marriage with Julian Peveril, a cavalier, concludes the novel.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Brid´get (Miss), the mother of Tom Jones, in Fielding's novel called The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1750).
Brid´get (Mrs.), in Sterne's novel called The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent. (1759).
Bridget (Mother), aunt of Catherine Seyton, and abbess of St. Catherine.—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).
Bridget (May), the milkwoman at Falkland Castle.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Bridge´ward (Peter), the bridgekeeper of Kennaquhair ("I know not where").—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).
Bridgeward (Peter), warder of the bridge near St. Mary's Convent. He refuses a passage to father Philip, who is carrying off the Bible of lady Alice.—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
Bridle. John Grower says that Rosiphele princess of Armenia, insensible to love, saw in a vision a troop of ladies splendidly mounted, but one of them rode a wretched steed, wretchedly accoutred except as to the bridle. On asking the reason, the princess was informed that she was disgraced thus because of her cruelty to her lovers, but that the splendid bridle had been recently given, because the obdurate girl had for the last month shown symptoms of true love. Moral—Hence let ladies warning take—
Bridlegoose (Judge), a judge who decided the causes brought before him, not by weighing the merits of the case, but by the more simple process of throwing dice. Rabelais, Pantag´ruel, iii. 39 (1545.)
Bri´dlesly (Joe), a horse-dealer at Liverpool, of whom Julian Peveril buys a horse.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Brid´oison [Bree.dwoy.zong´], a stupid judge in the Mariage de Figaro, a comedy in French, by Beaumarchais (1784).
Bridoon (Corporal), in lieutenant Nosebag's regiment.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Brien´nius (Nicephorus), the Cæsar of the Grecian empire, and husband of Anna Comne´na (daughter of Alexius Comnenus, emperor of Greece).—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).
Brigado´re (4 syl.), sir Guyon's horse. The word means "Golden saddle."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. 3 (1596).
Brigan´tes (3 syl.), called by Drayton Brig´ants, the people of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Durham.
Briggs, one of the ten young gentlemen in the school of Dr. Blimber when Paul Dombey was a pupil there. Briggs was nicknamed the "Stoney," because his brains were petrified by the constant dropping of wisdom upon them.—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).
Brigliadoro [Bril´.ye.dor´.ro], Orlando's steed. The word means "Gold bridle."—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Sir Guyon's horse, in Spenser's Faëry Queen, is called by a similar name.
Brilliant (Sir Philip), a great fop, but brave soldier, like the famous Murat. He would dress with all the finery of a vain girl, but would share watching, toil, and peril with the meanest soldier. "A butterfly in the drawing-room, but a Hector on the battle-field." He was a "blade of proof; you might laugh at the scabbard, but you wouldn't at the blade." He falls in love with lady Anne, reforms his vanities, and marries.—S. Knowles, Old Maids (1841).
Brilliant Madman (The), Charles XII. of Sweden (1682, 1697-1718).
Brillianta (The lady), a great wit in the ancient romance entitled Tirante le Blanc, author unknown.
Here (in Tirante le Blanc) we shall find the famous knight don Kyrie Elyson of Montalban, his brother Thomas, the knight Fonseca ... the stratagems of the widow Tranquil ... and the witticisms of lady Brillianta. This is one of the most amusing books ever written.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. i. 6 (1605).
Bris (Il conte di San), governor of the Louvre. He is father of Valenti'na and leader of the St. Bartholomew massacre.—Meyerbeer, Les Huguenots (1836).
Brisac' (Justice), brother of Miramont.
Charles Brisac, a scholar, son of justice Brisac.
Eustace Brisac, a courtier, brother of Charles.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Elder Brother (1637).
Brise'is (3 syl.), whose real name was Hippodamï'a, was the daughter of Brisês, brother of the priest Chrysês. She was the concubine of Achillês, but when Achillês bullied Agamemnon for not giving Chryse'is to her father, who offered a ransom for her, Agamemnon turned upon him and said he would let Chryseis go, but should take Briseis instead.—Homer, Iliad, i.
Brisk, a good-natured conceited coxcomb, with a most voluble tongue. Fond of saying "good things," and pointing them out with such expressions as "There I had you, eh?" "That was pretty well, egad, eh?" "I hit you in the teeth there, egad!" His ordinary oath was "Let me perish!" He makes love to lady Froth.—W. Congreve, The Double Dealer (1694).
Bris'kie (2 syl.), disguised under the name of Putskie. A captain in the Moscovite army, and brother of general Archas "the loyal subject" of the great-duke of Moscovia.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Loyal Subject (1618).
Bris'sotin, one of the followers of Jean Pierre Brissot, an advanced revolutionist. The Brissotins were subsequently merged in the Girondists, and the word dropped out of use.
Bristol Boy (The), Thomas Chatterton, the poet, born at Bristol. Also called "The Marvellous Boy." Byron calls him "The wondrous boy who perished in his pride" (1752-1770).
Britan'nia. The Romans represented the island of Great Britain by the figure of a woman seated on a rock, from a fanciful resemblance thereto in the general outline of the island. The idea is less poetically expressed by "An old witch on a broomstick."
The effigy of Britannia on British copper coin dates from the reign of Charles II. (1672), and was engraved by Roetier from a drawing by Evelyn. It is meant for one of the king's court favorites, some say Frances Theresa Stuart, duchess of Richmond, and others Barbara Villiers, duchess of Cleveland.
British History of Geoffrey of Monmouth, is a translation of a Welsh Chronicle. It is in nine books, and contains a "history" of the Britons and Welsh from Brutus, great-grandson of Trojan Æneas to the death of Cadwallo or Cadwallader in 688. This Geoffrey was first archdeacon of Monmouth and then bishop of St. Asaph. The general outline of the work is the same as that given by Nennius three centuries previously. Geoffrey's Chronicle, published about 1143, formed a basis for many subsequent historical works. A compendium by Diceto is published in Gale's Chronicles.
Brit'omart, the representative of chastity. She was the daughter and heiress of king Ryence of Wales, and her legend forms the third book of the Faëry Queen. One day, looking into Venus's looking-glass, given by Merlin to her father, she saw therein sir Artegal, and fell in love with him. Her nurse Glaucê (2 syl.) tried by charms "to undo her love," but love that is in gentle heart begun no idle charm can remove. Finding her "charms" ineffectual, she took her to Merlin's cave in Caermarthen, and the magician told her she would be the mother of a line of kings (the Tudors), and after twice 400 years one of her offspring, "a royal virgin," would shake the power of Spain. Glaucê now suggested that they should start in quest of sir Artegal, and Britomart donned the armor of An'gela (queen of the Angles), which she found in her father's armory, and taking a magic spear which "nothing could resist," she sallied forth. Her adventures allegorize the triumph of chastity over impurity: Thus in Castle Joyous, Malacasta (lust), not knowing her sex, tried to seduce her, "but she flees youthful lust, which wars against the soul." She next overthrew Marinel, son of Cym'oent. Then made her appearance as the Squire of Dames. Her last achievement was the deliverance of Am'oret (wifely love) from the enchanter Busirane. Her marriage is deferred to bk. v. 6, when she tilted with sir Artegal, who "shares away the ventail of her helmet with his sword," and was about to strike again when he became so amazed at her beauty that he thought she must be a goddess. She bade the knight remove his helmet, at once recognized him, consented "to be his love, and to take him for her lord."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. (1590).
She charmed at once and tamed the heart, Incomparable Britomart.
Sir W. Scott.
Briton (Colonel), a Scotch officer, who sees donna Isabella jump from a window in order to escape from a marriage she dislikes. The colonel catches her, and takes her to the house of donna Violante, her friend. Here he calls upon her, but don Felix, the lover of Violante, supposing Violante to be the object of his visits, becomes jealous, till at the end the mystery is cleared up, and a double marriage is the result.—Mrs. Centlivre, The Wonder (1714).
Brob'dingnag, a country of enormous giants, to whom Gulliver was a tiny dwarf. They were as tall "as an ordinary church steeple," and all their surroundings were in proportion.
Yon high church steeple, yon gawky stag. Your husband must come from Brobdingnag. Kane O'Hara, Midas.
Brock (Adam), in Charles XII., an historical drama by J. E. Planché.
Broken-Girth-Flow (Laird of), one of the Jacobite conspirators in The Black Dwarf, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, Anne).
Broker of the Empire (The). Dari´us, son of Hystaspês, was so called by the Persians from his great care of the financial condition of his empire.
Bro´mia, wife of Sosia (slave of Amphitryon), in the service of Alcme´na. A nagging termagant, who keeps her husband in petticoat subjection. She is not one of the characters in Molière's comedy of Amphitryon.—Dryden, Amphitryon (1690).
Bromton's Chronicle (time, Edward III.), that is, "The Chronicle of John Bromton" printed among the Decem Scriptores, under the titles of "Chronicon Johannis Bromton," and "Joralanensis Historia a Johanne Bromton," abbot of Jerevaux, in Yorkshire. It commences with the conversion of the Saxons by St. Augustin, and closes with the death of Richard I. in 1199. Selden has proved that the chronicle was not written by Bromton, but was merely brought to the abbey while he was abbot.
Bron´tes (2 syl.), one of the Cyclops, hence a blacksmith generally. Called Bronteus (2 syl.), by Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 5 (1596).
Bronzely (2 syl.), a mere rake, whose vanity was to be thought "a general seducer."—Mrs. Inchbald, Wives as they Were, and Maids as they Are (1797).
Bron´zomarte (3 syl.), the sorrel steed of sir Launcelot Greaves. The word means a "mettlesome sorrel."—Smollett, Sir Launcelot Greaves (1756).
Brook (Master), the name assumed by Ford when sir John Falstaff makes love to his wife. Sir John, not knowing him, confides to him every item of his amour, and tells him how cleverly he has duped Ford by being carried out in a buck-basket before his very face.—Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor (1601).
Brooke (Dorothea), calm, queenly heroine of Middlemarch, by George Eliot.
Broo'ker, the man who stole the son of Ralph Nickleby out of revenge, called him "Smike," and put him to school at Dotheboy's Hall, Yorkshire.—C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).
Brooks of Sheffield, name by which Murdstone alludes to David Copperfield in novel of that name.
Brother Jon'athan. When Washington was in want of ammunition, he called a council of officers; but no practical suggestion being offered, he said, "We must consult brother Jonathan," meaning his excellency Jonathan Trumbull, the elder governor of the state of Connecticut. This was done, and the difficulty surmounted. "To consult brother Jonathan" then became a set phrase, and "Brother Jonathan" became the "John Bull" of the United States.—J. R. Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms.
Brother Sam, the brother of lord Dundreary, the hero of a comedy based on a German drama, by John Oxenford, with additions and alterations by E. A. Sothern and T. B. Buckstone.—Supplied by T. B. Buckstone, Esq.
Browdie (John), a brawny, big-made Yorkshire corn-factor, bluff, brusque, honest, and kind-hearted. He befriends poor Smike, and is much, attached to Nicholas Nickleby. John Browdie marries Matilda Price, a miller's daughter.—C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).
Brown (Hablot) illustrated some of Dickens's novels and took the pseudonym of "Phiz" (1812-).
Brown (Jonathan), landlord of the Black Bear at Darlington. Here Frank Osbaldistone meets Rob Roy at dinner.—Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).
Brown (Mrs.), the widow of the brother-in-law of the Hon. Mrs. Skewton. She had one daughter, Alice Marwood, who was first cousin to Edith (Mr. Dombey's second wife). Mrs. Brown lived in great poverty, her only known vocation being to "strip children of their clothes, which she sold or pawned."—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).
Brown (Mrs.), a "Mrs. John Bull," with all the practical sense, kind-heartedness, absence of conventionality, and the prejudices of a well-to-do but half-educated Englishwoman of the middle shop class. She passes her opinions on all current events, and travels about, taking with her all her prejudices, and despising everything which is not English.—Arthur Sketchley [Rev. George Rose].
Brown (Tom), hero of Tom Brown's School-Days and Tom Brown at Oxford, by Thomas Hughes.
Brown (Vanbeest), lieutenant of Dirk Hatteraick.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Brown, Jones, and Robinson, three Englishmen who travel together. Their adventures, by Richard Doyle, were published in Punch. In them is held up to ridicule the gaucherie, the contracted notions, the vulgarity, the conceit, and the general snobbism of the middle-class English abroad.
Brown of Calaveras, a dissipated blackleg and ne'er-do-weel, whose handsome wife, arriving unexpectedly from the East, retrieves his fortune and risks his honor by falling in love with another man, a brother-gambler.—Bret Harte, Brown of Calaveras (1871).
Brown the Younger (Thomas), the nom de plume of Thomas Moore in The Two-Penny Post-Bag, a series of witty and very popular satires on the prince regent (afterwards George IV.), his ministers, and his boon companions. Also in The Fudge Family in Paris, and in The Fudges in England (1835).
Browne (General), pays a visit to lord Woodville. His bedroom for the night is the "tapestried chamber," where he sees the apparition of "the lady in the sacque," and next morning relates his adventure.—Sir W. Scott, The Tapestried Chamber (time, George III.).
Brownlow, a most benevolent old gentleman, who rescues Oliver Twist from his vile associates. He refuses to believe in Oliver's guilt of theft, although appearances were certainly against him, and he even takes the boy into his service.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Browns. To astonish the Browns, to do or say something regardless of the annoyance it may cause, or the shock it may give to Mrs. Grundy. Anne Boleyn had a whole clan of Browns, or "country cousins," who were welcomed at court in the reign of Elizabeth. The queen, however, was quick to see what was gauche, and did not scruple to reprove them for uncourtly manners. Her plainness of speech used quite to "astonish the Browns."
Brox´mouth (John), a neighbor of Happer the miller.—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
Bruce (Mr. Robert), mate on a bark trading between Liverpool and St. John's, N.B., sees a man writing in the captain's cabin, a stranger who disappears after pencilling certain lines on the slate. These prove a providential warning by which the vessel escapes certain destruction. The story is told by Robert Dale Owen in Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World, and vouched for as authentic (1860).
Bruce (The), an epic poem by John Barbour (1320-1395).
Bru´el, the name of the goose in the tale of Reynard the Fox. The word means the "Little roarer" (1498).
Bru´in, the name of the bear, in the beast-epic called Reynard the Fox. Hence a bear in general.
The word means "the brown one" (1498).
Bru´in, one of the leaders arrayed against Hudibras. He is meant for one Talgol, a Newgate butcher, who obtained a captain's commission for valor at Naseby. He marched next to Orsin [Joshua Gosling, landlord of the bear-gardens at Southwark].—S. Butler, Hudibras, i. 3.
Bruin (Mrs. and Mr.), daughter and son-in-law to sir Jacob Jollup. Mr. Bruin is a huge bear of a fellow, and rules his wife with scant courtesy.—S. Foote, The Mayor of Garratt (1763).
Brulgrud'dery (Dennis), landlord of the Red Cow, on Muckslush Heath. He calls himself "an Irish gintleman bred and born." He was "brought up to the church," i.e. to be a church beadle, but lost his place for snoring at sermon-time. He is a sot, with a very kind heart, and is honest in great matters, although in business he will palm off an old cock for a young capon.
Mrs. Brulgruddery, wife of Dennis, and widow of Mr. Skinnygauge, former landlord of the Red Cow. Unprincipled, self-willed, ill-tempered, and over-reaching. Money is the only thing that moves her, and when she has taken a bribe she will whittle down the service to the finest point.—G. Colman, jun., John Bull (1805).
Brun'cheval "the Bold," a paynim knight, who tilted with sir Satyrane, and both were thrown to the ground together at the first encounter.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 4 (1596).
Brunel'o, a deformed dwarf, who at the siege of Albracca stole Sacripan'te's charger from between his legs without his knowing it. He also stole Angelica's magic ring, by means of which he released Roge'ro from the castle in which he was imprisoned. Ariosto says that Agramant gave the dwarf a ring which had the power of resisting magic.—Bojardo, Orlando Innamorato (1495); and Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
"I," says Sancho, "slept so soundly upon Dapple, that the thief had time enough to clap four stakes under the four corners of my pannel and to lead away the beast from under my legs without waking me."—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. i. 4 (1615).
Brunetta, mother of Chery (who married his cousin Fairstar).—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("Princess Fairstar," 1682).
Brunetta, the rival beauty of Phyllis. On one occasion Phyllis procured a most marvellous fabric of gold brocade in order to eclipse her rival, but Brunetta arrayed her train-bearer in a dress of the same material and cut in the same fashion. Phyllis was so mortified that she went home and died.—The Spectator.
Brunhild, queen of Issland, who made a vow that none should win her who could not surpass her in three trials of skill and strength: (1) hurling a spear; (2) throwing a stone; and (3) jumping. Günther king of Burgundy undertook the three contests, and by the aid of Siegfried succeeded in winning the martial queen. First, hurling a spear that three men could scarcely lift: the queen hurled it towards Günther, but Siegfried, in his invisible cloak, reversed its direction, causing it to strike the queen and knock her down. Next, throwing a stone so huge that twelve brawny men were employed to carry it: Brunhild lifted it on high, flung it twelve fathoms, and jumped beyond it. Again Siegfried helped his friend to throw it further, and in leaping beyond the stone. The queen, being fairly beaten, exclaimed to her liegemen, "I am no longer your queen and mistress; henceforth are ye the liegemen of Günther" (lied vii.). After marriage Brunhild was so obstreperous that the king again applied to Siegfried, who succeeded in depriving her of her ring and girdle, after which she became a very submissive wife.—The Niebelungen Lied.
Bru´no (Bishop), bishop of Herbipolita´num. Sailing one day on the Danube with Henry III. emperor of Germany, they came to Ben Strudel ("the devouring-gulf"), near Grinon Castle, in Austria. Here the voice of a spirit clamored aloud, "Ho! ho! Bishop Bruno, whither art thou travelling? But go thy ways, bishop Bruno, for thou shalt travel with me tonight." At night, while feasting with the emperor, a rafter fell on his head and killed him. Southey has a ballad called Bishop Bruno, but it deviates from the original legend given by Heywood in several particulars: It makes bishop Bruno hear the voice first on his way to the emperor, who had invited him to dinner; next, at the beginning of dinner; and thirdly, when the guests had well feasted. At the last warning an ice-cold hand touched him, and Bruno fell dead in the banquet hall.
Brush, the impertinent English valet of lord Ogleby. If his lordship calls he never hears unless he chooses; if his bell rings he never answers it till it suits his pleasure. He helps himself freely to all his master's things, and makes love to all the pretty chambermaids he comes into contact with.—Colman and Garrick, The Clandestine Marriage (1766).
Brute (1 syl.), the first king of Britain (in mythical history). He was the son of Æneas Silvius (grandson of Ascanius and great-grandson of Æneas of Troy). Brute called London (the capital of his adopted country) Troynovant (New Troy). The legend is this: An oracle declared that Brute should be the death of both his parents; his mother died in child-birth, and at the age of fifteen Brute shot his father accidentally in a deer-hunt. Being driven from Alba Longa, he collected a band of old Trojans and landed at Totness, in Devonshire. His wife was Innogen, daughter of Pandra'sus king of Greece. His tale is told at length in the Chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the first song of Drayton's Polyolbion, and in Spenser's Faëry Queen, ii.
Brute (Sir John), a coarse, surly, ill-mannered brute, whose delight was to "provoke" his young wife, who he tells us "is a young lady, a fine lady, a witty lady, and a virtuous lady, but yet I hate her." In a drunken frolic he intercepts a tailor taking home a new dress to lady Brute; he insists on arraying himself therein, is arrested for a street row, and taken before the justice of the peace. Being asked his name, he gives it as "lady John Brute," and is dismissed.
Lady Brute, wife of sir John. She is subjected to divers indignities, and insulted morn, noon, and night by her surly, drunken husband. Lady Brute intrigues with Constant, a former lover; but her intrigues are more mischievous than vicious.—Vanbrugh, The Provoked Wife (1697).
Brute Green-Shield, the successor of Ebranc king of Britain. The mythical line is: (1) Brute, great-great-grandson of Æneas; (2) Locrin, his son; (3) Guendolen, the widow of Locrin; (4) Ebranc; (5) Brute Green-Shield. Then follow in order Leil, Hudibras, Bladud, Leir [Shakespeare's "Lear"], etc.
Brutus (Lucius Junius), first consul of Rome, who condemned his own two sons to death for joining a conspiracy to restore Tarquin to the throne, from which he had been banished. This subject has been dramatized by N. Lee (1679) and John H. Payne, under the title of Brutus, or the Fall of Tarquin (1820). Alfieri has an Italian tragedy on the same subject. In French we have the tragedies of Arnault (1792) and Ponsard (1843). (See LUCRETIA.)
The elder Kean on one occasion consented to appear at the Glasgow theatre for his son's benefit. The play chosen was Payne's Brutus, in which the father took the part of "Brutus" and Charles Kean that of "Titus." The audience sat suffused in tears during the pathetic interview, till "Brutus" falls on the neck of "Titus," exclaiming in a burst of agony, "Embrace thy wretched father!" when the whole house broke forth into peals of approbation. Edmund Kean then whispered in his son's ear, "Charlie, we are doing the trick."—W. C. Russell, Representative Actors, p. 476.
Junius Brutus. So James Lynch Fitz-Stephen has been called, because (like the first consul of Rome) he condemned his own son to death for murder, and to prevent a rescue caused him to be executed from the window of his own house in Galway (1493).
The Spanish Brutus, Alfonso Perez de Gruzman, governor of Tarifa in 1293. Here he was besieged by the infant don Juan, who had revolted against his brother, king Sancho IV., and having Guzman's son in his power threatened to kill him unless Tarifa was given up to him. Guzman replied, "Sooner than be guilty of such treason I will lend Juan a dagger to slay my son;" and so saying tossed his dagger over the wall. Sad to say, Juan took the dagger, and assassinated the young man there and then (1258-1309).
Brutus (Marcus), said to be the son of Julius Cæsar by Servilia.
This Brutus is introduced by Shakespeare in his tragedy of Julius Cæsar, and the poet endows him with every quality of a true patriot. He loved Cæsar much, but he loved Rome more.
Brutus. Et tu, Brute. Shakespeare, on the authority of Suetonius, puts these words into the mouth of Cæsar when Brutus stabbed him. Shakespeare's drama was written in 1607, and probably he had seen The True Tragedy of Richard duke of York (1600), where these words occur; but even before that date H. Stephens had said:
Jule Cesar, quand il vit que Brutus aussi estoit de ceux qui luy tirient des coups d'espee, luy dit, Kai sy tecnon? c'est à dire.... Et toy mon fils, en es tu aussi.—Deux Dial. du Noveau Lang. Franc (1583).
Brutus and Cicero. Cicero says: [Latin: "Cæsare interfecto, statim, cruentum alte extollens M. Brutus pugionem Ciceronem nominatim exclamavit, atque ei recuperatam libertatem est gratulatus."]—Philipp. ii. 12.
When Brutus rose, Refulgent from the stroke of Cæsar's fate,... [he] called aloud On Tully's name, and shook his crimson steel, And bade the "father of his country" hail.
Akenside, Pleasures of Imagination, i.
Bry'done (Elspeth), or Glendinning, widow of Simon Glendinning, of the Tower of Glendearg.—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
Bubas'tis, the Dian'a of Egyptian mythology. She was the daughter of Isis and sister of Horus.
Bubenburg (Sir Adrian de), a veteran knight of Berne.—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Bucca, goblin of the wind in Celtic mythology, and supposed by the ancient inhabitants of Cornwall to foretell shipwreck.
Bucen'taur, the Venetian state galley used by the doge when he went "to wed the Adriatic." In classic mythology the bucentaur was half man and half ox.
Buceph'alos ("bull-headed"), the name of Alexander's horse, which cost £3500. It knelt down when Alexander mounted, and was thirty years old at its death. Alexander built a city called Bucephala in its memory.
The Persian Bucephalos, Shibdiz, the famous charger of Chosroes Parviz.
Buck Cheever, mountaineer and "moonshiner" in Charles Egbert Craddock's In the Stranger People's Country.
He had been a brave soldier, although the flavor of bushwhacking clung to his war record; he was a fast friend and a generous foe; what one hand got by hook or by crook—chiefly, it is to be feared, by crook—the other made haste to give away (1890).
Buck Fanshawe, a popular Californian in the days when Lynch Law was in vogue in mining districts. He dies, and his partner seeks a clergyman to arrange for the funeral, which "the fellows" have determined shall be the finest ever held in the region. The divine questions in his professional vein and the miner answers in his, each sorely puzzled to interpret the meaning of his companion.
Buck Grangerford, a spirited son of the Grangerford clan, who pays with his life for fealty to family and feud.—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens], Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885).
Buck'et (Mr.), a shrewd detective officer who cleverly discovers that Hortense, the French maid-servant of lady Dedlock, was the murderer of Mr. Tulkinghorn, and not lady Dedlock, who was charged with the deed by Hortense.—C. Dickens, Bleak House (1853).
Buckingham (George Villiers, duke of). There were two dukes of this name, father and son, both notorious for their profligacy and political unscrupulousness. The first (1592-1628) was the favorite of James I., nicknamed "Steenie" by that monarch from his personal beauty, "Steenie" being a pet corruption of Stephen, whose face at martyrdom was "as the face of an angel." He was assassinated by Fenton. Sir Walter Scott introduces him in The Fortunes of Nigel, and his son in Peveril of the Peak. The son (1627-1688) also appears under the name of "Zimri" (q.v.) in Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel. He was the author of The Rehearsal, a drama upon which Sheridan founded his Critic, and of other works, but is principally remembered as the profligate favorite of Charles II. He was a member of the famous "CABAL" (q.v.), and closed a career of great splendor and wickedness in the most abject poverty.
Buckingham (Henry de Stafford, duke of) was a favorite of Richard III. and a participator in his crimes, but revolted against him, and was beheaded in 1483. This is the duke that Sackville met in the realms of Pluto, and whose "complaynt" is given in the prologue to A Mirrour for Magistraytes (1587). He also appears in Shakespeare's Richard III. His son in Henry VIII.
Buckingham (Mary duchess of), introduced by sir W. Scott in Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Bucklaw (The laird of), afterwards laird of Girnington. His name was Frank Hayston. Lucy Ashton plights her troth to Edgar master of Ravenswood, and they exchange love-tokens at the Mermaid's Fountain; but her father, sir William Ashton, from pecuniary views, promises her in marriage to the laird of Bucklaw, and as she signs the articles Edgar suddenly appears at the castle. They return to each other their love-tokens, and Lucy is married to the laird; but on the wedding night the bridegroom is found dangerously wounded in the bridal chamber, and the bride hidden in the chimney-corner insane. Lucy dies in convulsions, but Bucklaw recovers and goes abroad.—Sir W. Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Buckthorne, a conspicuous figure in Tales of a Traveller, by Washington Irving. He is gentleman student, dancing buffoon, lover, poet, and author by turns, and nothing long unless it be a royally good fellow (1824).
Buffoon (The Pulpit). Hugh Peters is so called by Dugdale (1599-1660).
Bug Jargal, a negro, passionately in love with a white woman, but tempering the wildest passion with the deepest respect.—Victor Hugo, Bug Jargal (a novel).
Bulbul, an Oriental name for a nightingale. When, in The Princess (by Tennyson), the prince, disguised as a woman, enters with his two friends (similarly disguised) into the college to which no man was admitted, he sings; and the princess, suspecting the fraud, says to him, "Not for thee, O bulbul, any rose of Gulistan shall burst her veil," i.e., "O singer, do not suppose that any woman will be taken in by such a flimsy deceit." The bulbul loved the rose, and Gulistan means the "garden of roses." The prince was the bulbul, the college was Gulistan, and the princess the rose sought.—Tennyson, The Princess, iv.
Bulbul-He'zar, the talking bird, which was joined in singing by all the song-birds in the neighborhood. (See TALKING BIRD.)—Arabian Nights ("The Two Sisters," the last story).
Bulis, mother of Egyp'ius of Thessaly. Egypius entertained a criminal love for Timandra, the mother of Neoph'ron, and Neophron was guilty of a similar passion for Bulis. Jupiter changed Egypius and Neophron into vultures, Bulis into a duck, and Timandra into a sparrow-hawk.—Classic Mythology.
Bull (John), the English nation personified, and hence any typical Englishman.
Mrs. Bull, queen Anne, "very apt to be choleric." On hearing that Philip Baboon (Philippe duc d'Anjou) was to succeed to lord Strutt's estates (i.e. the Spanish throne), she said to John Bull:
John Bull's Mother, the Church of England.
John Bull's Sister Peg, the Scotch, in love with Jack (Calvin).
Bullamy, porter of the "Anglo-Bengalee Disinterested Loan and Life Insurance Company." An imposing personage, whose dignity resided chiefly in the great expanse of his red waistcoat. Respectability and well-to-doedness were expressed in that garment.—C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).
Bullcalf (Peter), of the Green, who was pricked for a recruit in the army of sir John Falstaff. He promised Bardolph "four Harry ten-shillings in French crowns" if he would stand his friend, and when sir John was informed thereof, he said to Bullcalf, "I will have none of you." Justice Shallow remonstrated, but Falstaff exclaimed, "Will you tell me, master Shallow, how to choose a man? Care I for the limb, the thews, the stature?... Give me the spirit, master Shallow."—Shakespeare, 2 Henry IV. act iii. sc. 2 (1598).
Bull-dogs, the two servants of a university proctor, who follow him in his rounds to assist him in apprehending students who are violating the university statutes, such as appearing in the streets after dinner without cap and gown, etc.
Bullet-head (The Great), George Cadoudal, leader of the Chouans (1769-1804).
Bull´segg (Mr.), laird of Killancureit, a friend of the baron of Bradwardine.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Bulmer (Valentine), titular earl of Etherington, married to Clara Mowbray.
Mrs. Ann Bulmer, mother of Valentine, married to the earl of Etherington during the life-time of his countess; hence his wife in bigamy.—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, George III.).
Bum´ble, beadle of the workhouse where Oliver Twist was born and brought up. A stout, consequential, hard-hearted, fussy official, with mighty ideas of his own importance. This character has given to the language the word bumbledom, the officious arrogance and bumptious conceit of a parish authority or petty dignitary. After marriage the high-and-mighty beadle was sadly henpecked and reduced to a Jerry Sneak.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Bum'kinet, a shepherd. He proposes to Grub'binol that they should repair to a certain hut and sing "Gillian of Croydon," "Patient Grissel," "Cast away Care," "Over the Hills," and so on; but being told that Blouzelinda was dead, he sings a dirge, and Grubbinol joins him.
Gay, Pastoral, v. (1714).
(An imitation of Virgil's Ecl. v. "Daphnis.")
Bumper (Sir Harry), a convivial friend of Charles Surface. He sings the popular song, beginning—
Sheridan, School for Scandal (1777).
Bumppo (Natty), the Leather Stocking of Cooper's Pioneers; Hawk-Eye of The Last of the Mohicans; the Deer Slayer and the Pathfinder of the novels of those names; and the trapper of The Prairie, in which his death is recorded. A white man who has lived so long with Indians as to surpass them in skill and cunning, retains native nobility of character, and in his countenance "an open honesty and total absence of guile" that inspires trust.
Bunce (Jack), alias Frederick Altamont, a ci-devant actor, one of the crew of the pirate vessel.—Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).
Bunch (Mother), an alewife, mentioned by Dekker in his drama called Satiromastix (1602). In 1604 was published Pasquil's Jests, mixed with Mother Bunch's Merriments.
There is a series of "Fairy Tales" called Mother Bunch's Fairy Tales.
Bunch (Mother), the supposed possessor of a "cabinet broken open" and revealing "rare secrets of Art and Nature," such as love-spells (1760).
Bun'cle, messenger to the earl of Douglas.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Bun'cle (John), a prodigious hand at matrimony, divinity, a song, and a glass. He married seven wives, and lost all in the flower of their age. For two or three days after the death of a wife he was inconsolable, but soon became resigned to his loss, which he repaired by marrying again.—Thos. Amory, The Life, etc., of John Buncle, Esq.
Bundle, the gardener, father of Wilelmi'na and friend of Tom Tug the waterman. He is a plain, honest man, but greatly in awe of his wife, who nags him from morning till night.
Mrs. Bundle, a vulgar Mrs. Malaprop, and a termagant. "Everything must be her way or there's no getting any peace." She greatly frequents the minor theatres, and acquires notions of sentimental romance.
Bun'gay (Friar), one of the friars in a comedy by Robert Green, entitled Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. Both the friars are conjurors, and the piece concludes with one of their pupils being carried off to the infernal regions on the back of one of friar Bacon's demons (1591).
Bungay, publisher in History of Pendennis, by W.M. Thackeray.
Bungey (Friar), personification of the charlatan of science in the fifteenth century.
In The Last of the Barons, by lord Lytton, friar Bungey is an historical character, and is said to have "raised mists and vapors," which befriended Edward IV, at the battle of Barnet.
Buns'by (Captain John or Jade), owner of the Cautious Clara. Captain Cuttle considered him "a philosopher, and quite an oracle." Captain Bunsby had one "stationary and one revolving eye," a very red face, and was extremely taciturn. The captain was entrapped by Mrs. MacStinger (the termagant landlady of his friend captain Cuttle) into marrying her.—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).
Bunting, the pied piper of Ham'elin. He was so called from his dress.
Bur (John), the servant of Job Thornberry, the brazier of Penzance. Brusque in his manners, but most devotedly attached to his master, by whom he was taken from the workhouse. John Bur kept his master's "books" for twenty-two years with the utmost fidelity.—G.R. Colman, Jun., John Bull (1805).
Bur'bon (i.e. Henri IV. of France). He is betrothed to Fordelis (France), who has been enticed from him by Grantorto (rebellion). Being assailed on all sides by a rabble rout, Fordelis is carried off by "hell-rake hounds." The rabble batter Burbon's shield (protestantism), and compel him to throw it away. Sir Ar´tegal (right or justice) rescues the "recreant knight" from the mob, but blames him for his unknightly folly in throwing away his shield (of faith). Talus (the executive) beats off the hellhounds, gets possession of the lady, and though she flouts Burbon, he catches her up upon his steed and rides off with her.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. 2 (1596).
Burchell (Mr.), alias sir William Thornhill, about thirty years of age. When Dr. Primrose, the vicar of Wakefield, loses £1400, Mr. Burchell presents himself as a broken-down gentleman, and the doctor offers him his purse. He turns his back on the two flash ladies who talked of their high-life doings, and cried "Fudge!" after all their boastings and remarks. Mr. Burchell twice rescues Sophia Primrose, and ultimately marries her.—Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield (1765).
Burgundy (Charles the Bold, duke of) introduced by sir W. Scott in Quentin Durward and in Anne of Geierstein. The latter novel contains the duke's defeat at Nancy´, and his death (time, Edward IV.).
Bu´ridan's Ass. A man of indecision is so called from the hypothetical ass of Buridan, the Greek sophist. Buridan maintained that "if an ass could be placed between two hay-stacks in such a way that its choice was evenly balanced between them, it would starve to death, for there would be no motive why he should choose the one and reject the other."
Burleigh (William Cecil, lord), lord treasurer to queen Elizabeth (1520-1598), introduced by sir W. Scott in his historical novel called Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).
He is one the principal characters in The Earl of Essex, a tragedy by Henry Jones (1745).
Burleigh (Lord), a parliamentary leader in The Legend of Montrose, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, Charles I.).
A lord Burleigh shake of the head, a great deal meant by a look or movement, though little or nothing is said. Puff, in his tragedy of the "Spanish Armada," introduces lord Burleigh, "who has the affairs of the whole nation in his head, and has no time to talk;" but his lordship comes on the stage and shakes his head, by which he means far more than words could utter. Puff says:
The original "lord Burleigh" was Irish Moody (1728-1813).—Cornhill Magazine (1867).
Burlesque Poetry (Father of), Hippo'nax of Ephesus (sixth century B.C.).
Burlong, a giant whose legs sir Try'amour cut off.—Romance of Sir Tryamour.
Burnbill, Henry de Londres, archbishop of Dublin and lord justice of Ireland, in the reign of Henry III. It is said that he fraudulently burnt all the "bills" or instruments by which the tenants of the archbishopric held their estates.
Burns of France (The), Jasmin, a barber of Gascony. Louis Philippe presented to him a gold watch and chain, and the duke of Orléans an emerald ring.
Bur'ris, an honest lord, favorite of the great-duke of Muscovia.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Loyal Subject (1618).
Burroughs (George), a Salem citizen whose trial for witchcraft is recorded by Rev. Cotton Mather. The counts are many, and in the opinion of the court are proven, George Burroughs being condemned to die. In the story of his crimes set down by Dr. Mather, the climax would seem to be a paper handed by the accused to the jury, "wherein he goes to evince 'That there neither are, nor ever were, witches that, having made a compact with the devil, can send a devil to torment other people at a distance.'"
"When he came to die, he utterly denied the fact whereof he had been convicted."—Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World (1693).
Bu'sirane (3 syl.), an enchanter who bound Am'oret by the waist to a brazen pillar, and, piercing her with a dart, wrote magic characters with the dropping blood, "all for to make her love him." When Brit'omart approached, the enchanter started up, and, running to Amoret, was about to plunge a knife into her heart; but Britomart intercepted the blow, overpowered the enchanter, compelled him to "reverse his charms," and then bound him fast with his own chain.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. 11, 12 (1590).
Busi'ris, king of Egypt, was told by a foreigner that the long drought of nine years would cease when the gods of the country were mollified by human sacrifice. "So be it," said the king, and ordered the man himself to be offered as the victim.—Herod, ii. 59-61.
Ovid, Art of Love, i.
Busi'ris, supposed by Milton to be the Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea.
Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 306 (1665).
Bus'ne (2 syl.). So the gipsies call all who do not belong to their race.
The gold of the Busnê; give me her gold. Longfellow, The Spanish Student.
Busqueue (Lord), plaintiff in the great Pantagruelian lawsuit known as "lord Busqueue v. lord Suckfist," in which the parties concerned pleaded for themselves. Lord Busqueue stated his grievance and spoke so learnedly and at such length, that no one understood one word about the matter; then lord Suckfist replied, and the bench declared "We have not understood one iota of the defence." Pantag'ruel, however, gave judgment, and as both plaintiff and defendant considered he had got the verdict, both were fully satisfied, "a thing without parallel in all the annals of the court."—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. (1533).
Busy Body (The), a comedy by Mrs. Centlivre (1709). Sir Francis Gripe (guardian of Miranda, an heiress, and father of Charles), a man sixty-five years old, wishes to marry his ward for the sake of her money, but Miranda loves and is beloved by sir George Airy, a man of twenty-four. She pretends to love "Gardy," and dupes him into yielding up her money, and giving his consent to her marriage with "the man of her choice," believing himself to be the person. Charles is in love with Isabinda, daughter of sir Jealous Traffick, who has made up his mind that she shall marry a Spaniard named don Diego Babinetto, expected to arrive forthwith. Charles dresses in a Spanish costume, passes himself off as the expected don, and is married to the lady of his choice; so both the old men are duped, and all the young people wed according to their wishes.
Butcher (The), Achmet pasha, who struck off the heads of seven of his wives at once. He defended Acre against Napoleon I.
John ninth lord Clifford, called "The Black Clifford" (died 1461).
Oliver de Clisson, constable of France (1320-1407).
Butcher (The Bloody), the duke of Cumberland, second son of Gleorge II.; so called for his great barbarities in suppressing the rebellion of Charles Edward, the young pretender (1726-1765).
Butcher of England, John Tiptoft, earl of Worcester, a man of great learning and a patron of learning (died 1470).
On one occasion in the reign of Edward IV. he ordered Clapham (a squire to lord Warwick) and nineteen others, all gentlemen, to be impaled. —Stow, Warkworth Chronicle ("Cont. Croyl.")
Yet so barbarous was the age, that this same learned man impaled forty Lancastrian prisoners at Southampton, put to death the infant children of the Irish chief Desmond, and acquired the nickname of "The Butcher of England."—Old and New London, ii. 21.
Butler (Reuben), a presbyterian minister, married to Jeanie Deans.
Benjamin Butler, father of Reuben.
Stephen Butler, generally called "Bible Butler," grandfather of Reuben and father of Benjamin.
Widow Judith Butler, Reuben's grandmother and Stephen's wife.
Euphemia or Femie Butler, Reuben's daughter.
David and Reuben Butler, Reuben's sons.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Butler (The Rev. Mr.), military chaplain at Madras.—Sir W. Scott, The Surgeon's Daughter (time, George II.).
Buttercup (John), a milkman.—W. Brough, A Phenomenon in a Smock Frock.
Buttercup (Little), Bumboat woman, who in her youth, took to baby-farming, and "mixed those babies up," i.e. Ralph Rackstraw and the Captain of the Pinafore.—W.S. Gilbert, Pinafore (1877).
Buxo´ma, a shepherdess with whom Cuddy is in love.
Buz´fuz (Sergeant), the pleader retained by Dodson and Fogg for the plaintiff in the celebrated case of "Bardell v. Pickwick." Sergeant Buzfuz is a driving, chaffing, masculine bar orator, who proved that Mr. Pickwick's note about "chops and tomato sauce" was a declaration of love; and that his reminder "not to forget the warming-pan" was only a flimsy cover to express the ardor of his affection. Of course the defendant was found guilty by the enlightened jury. (His junior was Skimpin.)—C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).
Buz'zard (The), in The Hind and the Panther, by Dryden (pt. iii.), is meant for Dr. Gilbert Burnet, whose figure was lusty (1643-1715).
Bycorn, a fat cow, so fat that its sides were nigh to bursting, but this is no wonder, for its food was "good and enduring husbands," of which there is good store, (See CHICHI-VACHE.)
Byron (Miss Harriet), a beautiful and accomplished woman of high rank, devotedly attached to sir Charles Grandison, whom ultimately she marries.—Richardson, Sir Charles Grandison (1753).
Byron (The Polish), Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855).
Byron (The Russian), Alexander Sergeivitch Puschkin (1799-1837).
Byron and Mary. The Mary of Byron's song is Miss Chaworth. Both Miss Chaworth and lord Byron were wards of Mr. White. Miss Chaworth married John Musters, and lord Byron married Miss Anna Isabella Milbanke: both were equally unhappy.
Byron and Teresa Guiccioli. This lady was the wife of count Guiccioli, an old man, but very rich. Moore says that Byron "never loved but once, till he loved Teresa."
Byron and the Edinburgh Review. It was Jeffrey and not Brougham who wrote the article which provoked the poet's reply.
(in Notes and Queries), the Right Hon. John Wilson Croker.
acafo'go, a rich, drunken usurer, stumpy and fat, choleric, a coward, and a bully. He fancies money will buy everything and every one.—Beaumont and Fletcher, Rule a Wife and Have a Wife (1640).
Cacur'gus, the fool or domestic jester of Misog'onus. Cacurgus is a rustic simpleton and cunning mischief-maker.—Thomas Rychardes, Misogonus (the third English comedy, 1560).
Ca'cus, a giant who lived in a cave on mount Av'entine (3 syl.). When Herculês came to Italy with the oxen which he had taken from Ger'yon of Spain, Cacus stole part of the herd, but dragged the animals by their tails into his cave, that it might be supposed they had come out of it.
If he falls into slips, it is equally clear they were introduced by him on purpose to confuse like Caeus, the traces of his retreat.—Encyc. Brit. Art. "Romance."
Cad, a low-born, vulgar fellow. A cadie in Scotland was a carrier of a sedan-chair.
All Edinburgh men and boys know that when sedan-chairs were discontinued, the old cadies sank into ruinous poverty, and became synonymous with roughs. The word was brought to London by James Hannay, who frequently used it.—M. Pringle.
M. Pringle assures us that the word came from Turkey.
Cade (Jack), Irish insurgent in reign of Henry VII. Assuming the name of Mortimer, he led a company of rebels from Kent, defeated the king's army, and entered London. His short-lived triumph was ended by his death at Lewes. He appears in Henry VI. by Shakespeare.
Cade´nus (3 syl.) dean Swift. The word is simply de-ca-nus ("a dean"), with the first two syllables transposed (ca-de-nus). Vanessa is Miss Esther Vanhomrigh, a young lady who fell in love with Swift, and proposed marriage. The dean's reply is given in the poem entitled Cadenus and Vanessa [i.e. Van-Esther].
Caduceus meant generally a herald's staff; as an emblem of a peaceful errand it was made of a branch of olive-wood with the twigs, which, later, were transformed to serpents. In this form it is associated with Mercury, the herald and messenger of the gods—that "beautiful golden rod with which he both puts men to sleep and wakens them from slumber." Homer, Odyssey, xxiv.
Cadur´ci, the people of Aquita´nia.
Cad´wal. Arvir´agus, son of Cym´beline, was so called while he lived in the woods with Bela´rius, who called himself Morgan, and whom Cadwal supposed to be his father.—Shakespeare, Cymbeline (1605).
Cadwallader, called by Bede (1 syl.) Elidwalda, son of Cadwalla king of Wales. Being compelled by pestilence and famine to leave Britain, he went to Armorica. After the plague ceased he went to Rome, where, in 689, he was baptized, and received the name of Peter, but died very soon afterwards.
Cadwallader, the misanthrope in Smollett's Peregrine Pickle (1751).
Cadwallader (Mrs.), character in Middle-march, by George Eliot.
Cadwall'on, son of the blinded Cyne'tha. Both father and son accompanied prince Madoc to North America in the twelfth century.—Southey, Madoc (1805).
Cadwal'lon, the favorite bard of prince Gwenwyn. He entered the service of sir Hugo de Lacy, disguised, under the assumed name of Renault Vidal.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Cæ'cias, the north-west wind. Argestês is the north-east, and Bo'reas the full north.
Milton, Paradise Lost, x. 699, etc. (1665).
Cælesti'na, the bride of sir Walter Terill. The king commanded sir Walter to bring his bride to court on the night of her marriage. Her father, to save her honor, gave her a mixture supposed to be poison, but in reality it was only a sleeping draught. In due time the bride recovered, to the amusement of the king and delight of her husband.—Th. Dekker, Satiromastix (1602).
Cæ'neus [Se.nuce] was born of the female sex, and was originally called Cænis. Vain of her beauty, she rejected all lovers, but was one day surprised by Neptune, who offered her violence, changed her sex, converted her name to Ceneus, and gave her (or rather him) the gift of being invulnerable. In the wars of the Lap'ithæ, Ceneus offended Jupiter, and was overwhelmed under a pile of wood, but came forth converted into a yellow bird. Æneas found Ceneus in the infernal regions restored to the feminine sex. The order is inverted by sir John Davies:
Cæsar (Caius Julius).
Longfellow refers to Pliny, vii. 25, where he says that Cæsar "could employ, at one and the same time, his ears to listen, his eyes to read, his hand to write, and his tongue to dictate." He is said to have conquered three hundred nations; to have taken eight hundred cities, to have slain in battle a million men, and to have defeated three millions. (See below, CÆSAR'S WARS.)
Cæsar and his Fortune. Plutarch says that Cæsar told the captain of the vessel in which he sailed that no harm could come to his ship, for that he had "Cæsar and his fortune with him."
Cæsar saves his Commentaries. Once, when Julius Cæsar was in danger of being upset into the sea by the overloading of a boat, he swam to the nearest ship, with his book of Commentaries in his hand.—Suetonius.
Cæsar's Death. Both Chaucer and Shakespeare say that Julius Cæsar was killed in the capitol. Thus Polonius says to Hamlet, "I did enact Julius Cæsar; I was killed i' the capitol" (Hamlet, act iii. sc. 2). And Chaucer says:
Canterbury Tales ("The Monk's Tale," 1388).
Plutarch expressly tells us he was killed in Pompey's Porch or Piazza; and in Julius Cæsar Shakespeare says he fell "e'en at the base of Pompey's statue" (act iii. sc. 2).
Cæsar's Famous Despatch, "Veni, vidi, vici," written to the senate to announce his overthrow of Pharnacês king of Pontus. This "hop, skip, and a jump" was, however, the work of three days.
Cæsar's Wars. The carnage occasioned by the wars of Cæsar is usually estimated at a million fighting men. He won 320 triumphs, and fought 500 battles. See above, CÆSAR (Caius Julius).
Campbell. The Pleasures of Hope, ii. (1799).
Cæsar, the Mephistoph'elês of Byron's unfinished drama called The Deformed Transformed. This Cæsar changes Arnold (the hunchback) into the form of Achilles, and assumes himself the deformity and ugliness which Arnold casts off. The drama being incomplete, all that can be said is that Cæsar, in cynicism, effrontery, and snarling bitterness of spirit, is the exact counterpart of his prototype, Mephistophelês (1821).
Cæsar (Don), an old man of sixty-three, the father of Olivia. In order to induce his daughter to marry, he makes love to Marcella, a girl of sixteen.—Mrs. Cowley, A Bold Stroke for a Husband (1782).
Cael, a Highlander of the western coast of Scotland. These Cael had colonized, in very remote times, the northern parts of Ireland, as the Fir-bolg or Belgae of Britain had colonized the southern parts. The two colonies had each a separate king. When Crothar was king of the Fir-bolg (or "lord of Atha"), he carried off Conla'ma, daughter of the king of Ulster (i.e. "chief of the Cael"), and a general war ensued between the two races. The Cael, being reduced to the last extremity, sent to Trathal (Fingal's grandfather) for help, and Trathal sent over Con'ar, who was chosen "king of the Cael" immediately he landed in Ulster; and having reduced the Fir-bolg to submission, he assumed the title of "king of Ireland." The Fir-bolg, though conquered, often rose in rebellion, and made many efforts to expel the race of Conar, but never succeeded in so doing.—Ossian.
Cages for Men. Alexander the Great had the philosopher Callisthenês chained for seven months in an iron cage, for refusing to pay him divine honors.
Catherine II. of Eussia kept her perruquier for more than three years in an iron cage in her bed-chamber, to prevent his telling people that she wore a wig.—Mons. de Masson, Mémoires Secrets sur la Russie.
Edward I. confined the countess of Buchan in an iron cage, for placing the crown of Scotland on the head of Bruce. This cage was erected on one of the towers of Berwick Castle, where the countess was exposed to the rigor of the elements and the gaze of passers-by. One of the sisters of Bruce was similarly dealt with.
Louis XI. confined cardinal Balue (grand-almoner of France) for ten years in an iron cage in the castle of Loches [Losh].
Tamerlane enclosed the sultan Bajazet in an iron cage, and made of him a public show. So says D'Herbelot.
Caglios´tro (Count de), the assumed name of Joseph Balsamo (1743-1795).
Cain and Abel are called in the Korân "Kâbil and Hâbil." The tradition is that Cain was commanded to marry Abel's sister, and Abel to marry Cain's, but Cain demurred because his own sister was the more beautiful, and so the matter was referred to God, and God answered "No" by rejecting Cain's sacrifice.
The Mohammedans also say that Cain carried about with him the dead body of Abel till he saw a raven scratch a hole in the ground to bury a dead bird. The hint was taken, and Abel was buried under ground.—Sale's Koran, v. (notes).
Cair´bar, son of Borbar-Duthul, "lord of Atha" (Connaught), the most potent of the race of the Fir-bolg. He rose in rebellion against Cormac "king of Ireland," murdered him (Temora, i.), and usurped the throne; but Fingal (who was distantly related to Cormac) went to Ireland with an army, to restore the ancient dynasty. Cairbar invited Oscar (Fingal's grandson) to a feast, and Oscar accepted the invitation, but Cairbar having provoked a quarrel with his guest, the two fought, and both were slain.
Cair´bre (2 syl.), sometimes called Cair´bar, third king of Ireland, of the Caledonian line. (There was also a Cairbar, "lord of Atha," a Fir-bolg, quite a different person.)
The Caledonian line ran thus: (1) Conar, first "king of Ireland;" (2) Cormac I., his son; (3) Cairbre, his son; (4) Artho, his son; (5) Cormac II., his son; (6) Ferad-Artho, his cousin.—Ossian.
Cai´us (2 syl.), the assumed name of the earl of Kent when he attended on king Lear, after Goneril and Re´gan refused to entertain their aged father with his suite.—Shakespeare, King Lear (1605).
Cai´us (Dr.), a French physician, whose servants are Rugby and Mrs. Quickly.— Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor (1601).
Calandri´no, a character in the Decameron, whose "misfortunes have made all Europe merry for four centuries."—Boccaccio, Decameron, viii. 9 (1350).
Calan´tha, princess of Sparta, loved by Ith´oclês. Ithoclês induces his sister, Penthe´a, to break the matter to the princess. This she does; the princess is won to requite his love, and the king consents to the union. During a grand court ceremony Calantha is informed of the sudden death of her father, another announces to her that Penthea had starved herself to death from hatred to Bass´anês, and a third follows to tell her that Ithoclês, her betrothed husband, has been murdered. Calantha bates no jot of the ceremony, but continues the dance even to the bitter end. The coronation ensues, but scarcely is the ceremony over than she can support the strain no longer, and, broken-hearted, she falls dead.—John Ford, The Broken Heart (1633).
Calan'the (3 syl.), the betrothed wife of Pyth'ias the Syracusian.—J. Banim, Damon and Pythias (1825).
Cal'culator (The). Alfragan the Arabian astronomer was so called (died A.D. 820). Jedediah Buxton, of Elmeton, in Derbyshire, was also called "The Calculator" (1705-1775). George Bidder, Zerah Colburn, and a girl named Heywood (whose father was a Mile End weaver) all exhibited their calculating powers in public.
Pascal, in 1642, made a calculating machine, which was improved by Leibnitz. C. Babbage also invented a calculating machine (1790-1871).
Cal'deron (Don Pedro), a Spanish poet born at Madrid (1600-1681). At the age of fifty-two he became an ecclesiastic, and composed religious poetry only. Altogether he wrote about 1000 dramatic pieces.
"Lope," that is Lopê de Vega, the Spanish poet (1562-1635).
Caleb, the enchantress who carried off St. George in infancy.
Ca'leb, in Dryden's satire of Absalom and Achitophel, is meant for lord Grey of Wark, in Northumberland, an adherent of the duke of Monmouth.
"Balaam" is the earl of Huntingdon.
Ca'led, commander-in-chief of the Arabs in the siege of Damascus. He is brave, fierce, and revengeful. War is his delight. When Pho'cyas, the Syrian, deserts Eu'menês, Caled asks him to point out the governor's tent; he refuses; they fight, and Caled falls.—John Hughes, Siege of Damascus (1720).
Caledo´nians, Gauls from France who colonized south Britain, whence they journeyed to Inverness and Ross. The word is compounded of two Celtic words, Cael ("Gaul" or "Celt") and don or dun ("a hill"), so that Cael-don means "Celts of the highlands."
Ca´lenders, a class of Mohammedans who abandoned father and mother, wife and children, relations and possessions, to wander through the world as religious devotees, living on the bounty of those whom they made their dupes.—D'Herbelot, Supplement, 204.
The Three Calenders, three royal princes, disguised as begging dervishes, each of whom had lost his right eye. Their adventures form three tales in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.
Tale of the First Calender. No names are given. This calender was the son of a king, and nephew of another king. While on a visit to his uncle his father died, and the vizier usurped the throne. When the prince returned, he was seized, and the usurper pulled out his right eye. The uncle died, and the usurping vizier made himself master of this kingdom also. So the hapless young prince assumed the garb of a calender, wandered to Baghdad, and being received into the house of "the three sisters," told his tale in the hearing of the caliph Haroun-al-Raschid.—The Arabian Nights.
Tale of the Second Calender. No names given. This calender, like the first, was the son of a king. On his way to India he was attacked by robbers, and though he contrived to escape, he lost all his effects. In his flight he came to a large city, where he encountered a tailor, who gave him food and lodging. In order to earn a living, he turned woodman for the nonce, and accidentally discovered an underground palace, in which lived a beautiful lady, confined there by an evil genius. With a view of liberating her, he kicked down the talisman, when the genius appeared, killed the lady, and turned the prince into an ape. As an ape he was taken on board ship, and transported to a large commercial city, where his penmanship recommended him to the sultan, who made him his vizier. The sultan's daughter undertook to disenchant him and restore him to his proper form; but to accomplish this she had to fight with the malignant genius. She succeeded in killing the genius, and restoring the enchanted prince; but received such severe injuries in the struggle that she died, and a spark of fire which flew into the right eye of the prince destroyed it. The sultan was so heart-broken at the death of his only child, that he insisted on the prince quitting the kingdom without delay. So he assumed the garb of a calender, and being received into the hospitable house of "the three sisters," told his tale in the hearing of the caliph Haroun-al-Raschid.—The Arabian Nights.
Tale of the Third Calender. This tale is given under the word AGIB.
Calepine (Sir), the knight attached to Sere´na (canto 3). Seeing a bear carrying off a child, he attacked it, and squeezed it to death, then committed the babe to the care of Matilde, wife of sir Bruin. As Matilde had no child of her own, she adopted it (canto 4).—Spenser, Faëry Queen, vi. (1596).
Upton says, "the child" in this incident is meant for M'Mahon, of Ireland, and that "Mac Mahon" means the "son of a bear." He furthermore says that the M'Mahons were descended from the Fitz-Ursulas, a noble English family.
Ca´les (2 syl.). So gipsies call themselves.
Calf-skin. Fools and jesters used to wear a calf-skin coat buttoned down the back, and hence Faulconbridge says insolently to the arch-duke of Austria, who had acted very basely towards Richard Lion-heart:
Cal´ianax, a humorous old lord, father of Aspatia, the troth-plight wife of Amin´tor. It is the death of Aspatia which gives name to the drama.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Maid's Tragedy (1610).
Caliban, a savage, deformed slave of Prospero (the rightful duke of Milan and father of Miranda). Caliban is the "freckled whelp" of the witch Syc´orax. Mrs. Shelley's "Frankenstein" is a sort of Caliban.—Shakespeare, The Tempest (1609).
Cal´iburn, same as Excalibur, the famous sword of king Arthur.
Cal´idore (Sir), the type of courtesy, and the hero of the sixth book of Spenser's Faëry Queen. The model of this character was sir Philip Sidney. Sir Calidore (3 syl.) starts in quest of the Blatant Beast, which had escaped from sir Artegal (bk. v. 12). He first compels the lady Bria´na to discontinue her discourteous toll of "the locks of ladies and the beards of knights" (canto 1). Sir Calidore falls in love with Pastorella, a shepherdess, dresses like a shepherd, and assists his lady-love in keeping sheep. Pastorella being taken captive by brigands, sir Calidore rescues her, and leaves her at Belgard Castle to be taken care of, while he goes in quest of the Blatant Beast. He finds the monster after a time, by the havoc it had made with religious houses, and after an obstinate fight succeeds in muzzling it, and dragging it in chains after him, but it got loose again, as it did before (canto 12).—Spenser, Faëry Queen, vi. (1596).
"Pastorella" is Frances Walsingham (daughter of sir Francis), whom sir Philip Sidney married. After the death of sir Philip she married the earl of Essex. The "Blatant Beast" is what we now call "Mrs. Grundy."
Calig´orant, an Egyptian giant and cannibal, who used to entrap travellers with an invisible net. It was the very same net that Vulcan made to catch Mars and Venus with. Mercury stole it for the purpose of entrapping Chloris, and left it in the temple of Anu´bis, whence it was stolen by Caligorant. One day Astolpho, by a blast of his magic horn, so frightened the giant that he got entangled in his own net, and being made captive was despoiled of it.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Cali´no, a famous French utterer of bulls.
Calip´olis, in The Battle of Alcazar, a drama by George Peele (1582). Pistol says to Mistress Quickly:
Cal´is (The princess), sister of As´torax, king of Paphos, in love with Polydore, brother of general Memnon, but loved greatly by Siphax.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (1617).
Calis´ta, the fierce and haughty daughter of Sciol´to (3 syl.), a proud Genoese nobleman. She yielded to the seduction of Lotha´rio, but engaged to marry Al´tamont, a young lord who loved her dearly. On the wedding-day a letter was picked up which proved her guilt, and she was subsequently seen by Altamont conversing with Lothario. A duel ensued, in which Lothario fell; in a street row Sciolto received his death-wound, and Calista stabbed herself. The character of "Calista" was one of the parts of Mrs. Siddons, and also of Miss Brunton.—N. Rowe, The Fair Penitent (1703).
Richardson has given a purity and sanctity to the sorrows of his "Clarissa" which leave "Calista" immeasurably behind.—R. Chambers, English Literature, i. 590.
Twelve years after Norris's death, Mrs. Barry was acting the character of "Calista." In the last act, where "Calista" lays her hand upon a skull, she [Mrs. Barry] was suddenly seized with a shuddering, and fainted. Next day she asked whence the skull had been obtained, and was told it was "the skull of Mr. Norris, an actor." This Norris was her former husband, and so great was the shock that she died within six weeks.—Oxberry.
Calis'to and Ar'cas. Calisto, an Arcadian nymph, was changed into a she-bear. Her son Arcas, supposing the bear to be an ordinary beast, was about to shoot it, when Jupiter metamorphosed him into a he-bear. Both were taken to heaven by Jupiter, and became the constellations Ursa Minor and Ursa Major.
Call'aghan O'Brall'aghan (Sir), "a wild Irish soldier in the Prussian army. His military humor makes one fancy he was not only born in a siege, but that Bellona had been his nurse, Mars his schoolmaster, and the Furies his playfellows" (act i. 1). He is the successful suitor of Charlotte Goodchild.—C. Macklin, Love à la mode (1779).
Callet, a fille publique. Brantôme says a calle or calotte is "a cap," hence the phrase, Plattes comme des calles. Ben Jonson, in his Magnetick Lady, speaks of "wearing the callet, the politic hood."
Des filles du peuple et de la campagne s'appellant çalles, à cause de la "cale" qui leur servait de coiffure.—Francisque Michel.
En sa tête avoit un gros bonnet blanc, qui l'on appelle une calle, et nous autres appelons calotte, ou bonnette blanche de lagne, nouée ou bridée par dessous le menton.—Brantôme, Vies des Dames Illustres.
Shakespeare, Othello, act iv. sc. 2 (1611).
Callim'achus (The Italian), Filippo Buonaccorsi (1437-1496).
Callir'rhoe (4 syl.), the lady-love of Chae'reas, in a Greek romance entitled The Loves of Choreas and Callirrhoê, by Char'iton (eighth century).
Callis'thenes (4 syl.), a philosopher who accompanied Alexander the Great on his Oriental expedition. He refused to pay Alexander divine honors, for which he was accused of treason, and being mutilated, was chained in a cage for seven months like a wild beast. Lysimachus put an end to his tortures by poison.
Cal'mar, son of Matha, lord of Lara (in Connaught). He is represented as presumptuous, rash, and overbearing, but gallant and generous. The very opposite of the temperate Connal, who advises caution and forethought. Calmar hurries Cuthullin into action, which ends in defeat. Connal comforts the general in his distress.—Ossian, Fingal, i.
Cal'thon, brother of Col'mar, sons of Rathmor chief of Clutha (the Clyde). The father was murdered in his halls by Dunthalmo lord of Teutha (the Tweed), and the two boys were brought up by the murderer in his own house, and accompanied him in his wars. As they grew in years Dunthalmo fancied he perceived in their looks a something which excited his suspicions, so he shut them up in two separate dark caves on the banks of the Tweed. Colmal, daughter of Dunthalmo, dressed as a young warrior, liberated Calthon, and fled with him to Morven, to crave aid in behalf of the captive Colmar. Accordingly, Fingal sent his son Ossian with 300 men to effect his liberation. When Dunthalmo heard of the approach of this army, he put Colmar to death. Calthon, mourning for his brother, was captured, and bound to an oak; but at daybreak Ossian slew Dunthalmo, cut the thongs of Calthon, gave him to Colmal, and they lived happily in the halls of Teutha.—Ossian, Calthon and Colmal.
Cal´ydon (Prince of), Melea´ger, famed for killing the Calydonian boar.—Apollod. i. 8. (See MELEAGER.)
Cal´ydon, a town of Aeto´lia, founded by Calydon. In Arthurian romance Calydon is a forest in the north of our island. Probably it is what Richard of Cirencester calls the "Caledonian Wood," westward of the Varar or Murray Frith.
Calydo´nian Hunt. Artemis, to punish Oeneus [E´.nuce] king of Cal´ydon, in Aeto´lia, for neglect, sent a monster boar to ravage his vineyards. His son Melea´ger collected together a large company to hunt it. The boar being killed, a dispute arose respecting the head, and this led to a war between the Curetês and Calydo´nians.
A similar tale is told of Theseus (2 syl.), who vanquished and killed the gigantic sow which ravaged the territory of Krommyon, near Corinth. (See KROMMYONIAN SOW.)
Calyp´so, in Télémaque, a prose-epic by Fénélon, is meant for Mde. de Montespan. In mythology she was queen of the island Ogyg´ia, on which Ulyssês was wrecked, and where he was detained for seven years.
She essayed after his departure to bring his son Telemachus under her spell. The lad, seeking the world through for his father, was preserved from the arts of the temptress by Mentor—Minerva in disguise.
Calypso's Isle, Ogygia, a mythical island "in the navel of the sea." Some consider it to be Gozo, near Malta. Ogygia (not the island) is Boeo´tia, in Greece.
Cama´cho, "richest of men," makes grand preparations for his wedding with Quite´ria, "fairest of women," but as the bridal party are on their way, Basil´ius cheats him of his bride, by pretending to kill himself. As it is supposed that Basilius is dying, Quiteria is married to him as a mere matter of form, to soothe his last moments; but when the service is over, up jumps Basilius, and shows that his "mortal wounds" are a mere pretense.—Cervantes, an episode in Don Quixote, II. ii. 4 (1615).
Caman´ches (3 syl.), or COMAN´CHES, an Indian tribe of Texas (United States).
Camaral´zaman, prince of "the Island of the Children of Khal´edan, situate in the open sea, some twenty days' sail from the coast of Persia." He was the only child of Schah´zaman and Fatima, king and queen of the island. He was very averse to marriage; but one night, by fairy influence, being shown Badou´ra, only child of the king of China, he fell in love with her and exchanged rings. Next day both inquired what had become of the other, and the question was deemed so ridiculous that each was thought to be mad. At length Marzavan (foster-brother of the princess) solved the mystery. He induced the prince Camaralzaman to go to China, where he was recognized by the princess and married her. (The name means "the moon of the period.")—Arabian Nights ("Camaralzaman and Badoura").
Cam´ballo, the second son of Cambuscan´ king of Tartary, brother of Al´garsife (3 syl.) and Can´acê (3 syl.). He fought with two knights who asked the lady Canacê to wife, the terms being that none should have her till he had succeeded in worsting Camballo in combat. Chaucer does not give us the sequel of this tale, but Spenser says that three brothers, named Priamond, Diamond, and Triamond were suitors, and that Triamond won her. The mother of these three (all born at one birth) was Ag´apê, who dwelt in Faëry-land (bk. iv. 2).
Spenser makes Cambi´na (daughter of Agapê) the lady-love of Camballo. Camballo is also called Camballus and Cambel.
Camballo's Ring, given him by his sister Canacê, "had power to stanch all wounds that mortally did bleed."
Cambel, called by Chaucer Cam´ballo, brother of Can´acê (3 syl.). He challenged Every suitor to his sister's hand, and overthrew them all except Tri´amond. The match between Cambel and Triamond was so evenly balanced, that both would have been killed had not Cambi´na interfered. (See next art.)—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 3 (1596).
Cambi´na, daughter of the fairy Ag´apê (3 syl.). She had been trained in magic by her mother, and when Cam´ballo, son of Cambuscan´, had slain two of her brothers and was engaged in deadly combat with the third (named Tri´amond), she appeared in the lists in her chariot drawn by two lions, and brought with her a cup of nepenthe, which had the power of converting hate to love, of producing oblivion of sorrow, and of inspiring the mind with celestial joy. Cambina touched the combatants with her wand and paralyzed them, then giving them the cup to drink, dissolved their animosity, assuaged their pains, and filled them with gladness. The end was that Camballo made Cambina his wife, and Triamond married Can´acê.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 3 (1596).
Cambuscan´, king of Sarra, in the land of Tartary; the model of all royal virtues.
Milton, in the Penseroso, alludes to the fact that the Squire's Tale was not finished:
Camby´ses (3 syl.), a pompous, ranting character in Preston's tragedy of that name.
Camby´ses and Smerdis. Cambysês king of Persia killed his brother Smerdis from the wild suspicion of a madman, and it is only charity to think that he was really non compos mentis.
Camdeo, the god of love in Hindû mythology.
Camil´la, the virgin queen of the Volscians, famous for her fleetness of foot. She aided Turnus against Æneas.
Camilla, wife of Anselmo of Florence. Anselmo, in order to rejoice in her incorruptible fidelity, induced his friend Lothario to try to corrupt her. This he did, and Camilla was not trial-proof, but fell. Anselmo for a time was kept in the dark, but at the end Camilla eloped with Lothario. Anselmo died of grief, Lothario was slain in battle, and Camilla died in a convent.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. iv. 5, 6 ("Fatal Curiosity," 1605).
Camilla, English girl, heroine of Miss Burney's novel of same name.
Camilla, the heroine of Signor Monaldini's Niece, by Mary Agnes Tincker, a story of modern Rome (1879).
Camille´ (2 syl.), in Corneille's tragedy of Les Horaces (1639). When her brother meets her and bids her congratulate him for his victory over the three Curiatii, she gives utterance to her grief for the death of her lover. Horace says, "What! can you prefer a man to the interests of Rome?" Whereupon Camille denounces Rome, and concludes with these words: "Oh, that it were my lot!" When Mdlle. Rachel first appeared in the character of "Camille," she took Paris by storm (1838).
¤¤¤ Whitehead has dramatized the subject and called it The Roman Father (1741).
Camille, one of the Parisian demi-monde. She meets and loves Armand Duval. Camille is besought by Duval père to leave her lover, whose prospects are ruined by the liaison. She quits him, returns to her former life, and dies of consumption in the arms of her lover, who has just found her after a long search.—A. Dumas, La Dame aux Camelias.
Camillo, a lord in the Sicilian court, and a very good man. Being commanded by king Leontês to poison Polixenês, instead of doing so he gave him warning, and fled with him to Bohemia. When Polixenês ordered his son Florizel to abandon Perdita, Camillo persuaded the young lovers to seek refuge in Sicily, and induced Leontês, the king thereof, to protect them. As soon as Polixenês discovered that Perdita was Leontês' daughter, he readily consented to the union which before he had forbidden.—Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale (1604).
Cami´ola, "the maid of honor," a lady of great wealth, noble spirit, and great beauty. She loved Bertoldo (brother of Roberto king of the two Sicilies), and when Bertoldo was taken prisoner at Sienna, paid his ransom. Bertoldo before his release was taken before Aurelia the duchess of Sienna. Aurelia fell in love with him, and proposed marriage, an offer which Bertoldo accepted. The betrothed then went to Palermo to be introduced to the king, when Camiola exposed the conduct of the base young prince. Roberto was disgusted at his brother, Aurelia rejected him with scorn, and Camiola retired to a nunnery.—Massinger, The Maid of Honor (1637).
Campas´pe (3 syl.), mistress of Alexander. He gave her up to Apellês, who had fallen in love with her while painting her likeness.—Pliny, Hist. xxxv. 10.
John Lyly produced, in 1583, a drama entitled Cupid and Campaspe, in which is the well-known lyric:
Campbell (Captain), called "Green Colin Campbell," or Bar´caldine (3 syl.).— Sir W. Scott, The Highland Widow (time, George II.).
Campbell (General), called "Black Colin Campbell," in the king's service. He suffers the papist conspirators to depart unpunished.—Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).
Campbell (Sir Duncan), knight of Ardenvohr, in the marquis of Argyll's army. He was sent as ambassador to the earl of Montrose.
Lady Mary Campbell, sir Duncan's wife.
Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchenbreck, an officer in the army of the marquis of Argyll.
Murdoch Campbell, a name assumed by the marquis of Argyll. Disguised as a servant, he visited Dalgetty and M'Eagh in the dungeon, but the prisoners overmastered him, bound him fast, locked him in the dungeon, and escaped.—Sir W. Scott, Legend of Montrose (time, Charles I.).
Campbell (The lady Mary), daughter of the duke of Argyll.
The lady Caroline Campbell, sister of lady Mary.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Campeador [Kam.pay´.dor], the Cid, who was called Mio Cid el Campeador ("my lord the champion"). "Cid" is a corruption of saïd ("lord").
Campo-Basso (The count of), an officer in the duke of Burgundy's army, introduced by sir W. Scott in two novels, Quentin Durward and Anne of Geierstein, both laid in the time of Edward IV.
Can´ace (3 syl.), daughter of Cambuscan´, and the paragon of women. Chaucer left the tale half told, but Spenser makes a crowd of suitors woo her. Her brother Cambel or Cam´ballo resolved that none should win his sister who did not first overthrow him in fight. At length Tri´amond sought her hand, and was so nearly matched in fight with Camballo, that both would have been killed, if Cambi´na, daughter of the fairy Ag´apê (3 syl.), had not interfered. Cambina gave the wounded combatants nepenthe, which had the power of converting enmity to love; so the combatants ceased from fight, Camballo took the fair Cambina to wife, and Triamond married Canacê.—Chaucer, Squire's Tale; Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 3 (1596).
Canacê's Mirror, a mirror which told the inspectors if the persons on whom they set their affections would prove true or false.
Canacê's Ring. The king of Araby and Ind sent Canacê, daughter of Cambuscan´ (king of Sarra, in Tartary), a ring which enabled her to understand the language of birds, and to know the medical virtues of all herbs.—Chaucer, Canterbury Tales ("The Squire's Tale," 1388).
Candace, negro cook in The Minister's Wooing, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. She reverences Dr. Hopkins, but is slow to admit his dogma of Imputed Sin in Consequence of Adam's Transgression (1859).
Candau´les (3 syl.), king of Lydia, who exposed the charms of his wife to Gy´gês. The queen was so indignant that she employed Gygês to murder her husband. She then married the assassin, who became king of Lydia, and reigned twenty-eight years (B.C. 716-688).
Canday´a (The kingdom of), situate between the great Trapoba´na and the South Sea, a couple of leagues beyond cape Com´orin.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. iii. 4 (1615).
Candide´ (2 syl.), the hero of Voltaire's novel of the same name. He believes that "all things are for the best in the best of all possible worlds."
Candour (Mrs.), the beau-ideal of female backbiters.—Sheridan, The School for Scandal (1777).
Can´idia, a Neapolitan, beloved by the poet Horace. When she deserted him, he held her up to contempt as an old sorceress who could by charms unsphere the moon.—Horace, Epodes, v. and xvii.
Canmore or GREAT-HEAD, Malcolm III. of Scotland (1057-1093).—Sir W. Scott, Tales of a Grandfather, i. 4.
Canning (George), statesman (1770-1827). Charles Lamb calls him:
Cano´pos, Meneläos's pilot, killed in the return voyage from Troy by the bite of a serpent. The town Canöpos (Latin, Canopus) was built on the site where the pilot was buried.
Can´tab, a member of the University of Cambridge. The word is a contraction of the Latin Cantabrig´ia.
Can´tacuzene´ (4 syl.), a noble Greek family, which has furnished two emperors of Constantinople, and several princes of Moldavia and Wallachia. The family still survives.
Can´tacuzene´ (Michael), the grand sewer of Alexius Comne´nus, emperor of Greece.—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris. (time, Rufus).
Canterbury Tales. Eighteen tales told by a company of pilgrims going to visit the shrine of "St. Thomas à Becket" at Canterbury. The party first assembled at the Tabard, an inn in Southwark, and there agreed to tell one tale each both going and returning, and the person who told the best tale was to be treated by the rest to a supper at the Tabard on the homeward journey. The party consisted of twenty-nine pilgrims, so that the whole budget of tales should have been fifty-eight, but only eighteen of the number were told, not one being on the homeward route. The chief of these tales are: "The Knight's Tale" (Pal´amon and Ar´cite, 2 syl.); "The Man of Law's Tale" (Custance, 2 syl.); "The Wife of Bath's Tale" (A Knight); "The Clerk's Tale" (Grisildis); "The Squire's Tale" (Cambuscan, incomplete); "The Franklin's Tale" (Dor'igen and Arvir'agus); "The Prioress's Tale" (Hugh of Lincoln); "The Priest's Tale" (Chanticleer and Partelite); "The Second Nun's Tale" (St. Cecil'ia); "The Doctor's Tale" (Virginia); "The Miller's Tale" (John the Carpenter and Alison); and "The Merchant's Tale" (January and May) (1388).
Canton, the Swiss valet of lord Ogleby. He has to skim the morning papers and serve out the cream of them to his lordship at breakfast, "with good emphasis and good discretion." He laughs at all his master's jokes, flatters him to the top of his bent, and speaks of him as a mere chicken compared to himself, though his lordship is seventy and Canton about fifty. Lord Ogleby calls him his "cephalic snuff, and no bad medicine against megrims, vertigoes, and profound thinkings."—Colman and Garrick, The Clandestine Marriage (1766).
Can'trips (Mrs.), a quondam friend of Nanty Ewart, the smuggler-captain.
Jessie Cantrips, her daughter.—Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).
Cant'well (Dr.), the hypocrite, the English representative of Molière's Tartuffe. He makes religious cant the instrument of gain, luxurious living, and sensual indulgence. His overreaching and dishonorable conduct towards lady Lambert and her daughter gets thoroughly exposed, and at last he is arrested as a swindler.—I. Bicker staff, The Hypocrite (1768).
Dr. Cantwell ... the meek and saintly hypocrite.
L. Hunt.
Canute' or Cnut and Edmund Ironside. William of Malmesbury says: When Canute and Edmund were ready for their sixth battle in Gloucestershire, it was arranged between them to decide their respective claims by single combat. Cnut was a small man, and Edmund both tall and strong; so Cnut said to his adversary, "We both lay claim to the kingdom in right of our fathers; let us therefore divide it and make peace;" and they did so.
Canute's Bird, the knot, a corruption of "Knut," the Cinclus bellonii, of which king Canute was extremely fond.
Can´ynge (Sir William) is represented in the Rowley Romance as a rich, God-fearing merchant, devoting much money to the Church, and much to literature. He was, in fact, a Maece´nas of princely hospitality, living in the Red House. The priest Rowley was his "Horace."—Chatterton (1752-1770).
Cap (Charles), uncle of Mabel Dunham in Cooper's Pathfinder (1849). He is a sea-captain who insists in sailing a vessel upon the great northern lakes as he would upon the Atlantic, but, despite his pragmatic self-conceit, is nonplussed by the Thousand Islands.
"And you expect me, a stranger on your lake, to find this place without chart, course, distance, latitude, longitude, or soundings? Allow me to ask if you think a mariner runs by his nose, like one of Pathfinder's hounds?"
Having by a series of blunders consequent upon this course, brought schooners and crew to the edge of destruction, he shows heart by regretting that his niece is on board, and philosophy with professional pride by the conclusion:—
"We must take the bad with the good in every v'y'ge, and the only serious objection that an old sea-captain can with propriety make to such an event, is that it should happen on this bit of d—d fresh water."
Capability Brown, Launcelot Brown, the English landscape gardener (1715-1783).
Cap'aneus (3 syl.) a man of gigantic stature, enormous strength, and headlong valor. He was impious to the gods, but faithful to his friends. Capaneus was one of the seven heroes who marched against Thebes (1 syl.), and was struck dead by a thunderbolt for declaring that not Jupiter himself should prevent his scaling the city walls.
Capitan, a boastful, swaggering coward, in several French farces and comedies prior to the time of Molière.
Caponsac'chi (Guiseppe), the young priest under whose protection Pompilia fled from her husband to Rome. The husband and his friends said the elopement was criminal; but Pompilia, Caponsacchi, and their friends maintained that the young canon simply acted the part of a chivalrous protector of a young woman who was married at fifteen, and who fled from a brutal husband who ill-treated her.—R. Browning, The Ring and the Book.
Capstern (Captain), captain of an East
Indiaman, at Madras.—Sir W. Scott, The Surgeon's Daughter (time, George II.).
Captain, Manuel Comne´nus of Treb´izond (1120, 1143-1180).
Captain of Kent. So Jack Cade called himself (died 1450).
The Great Captain (el Gran Capitano), Gonzalvo di Cor´dova (1453-1515).
The People's Captain (el Capitano del Popolo), Guiseppe Garibaldi (1807-).
Captain (A Copper), a poor captain, whose swans are all geese, his jewellry paste, his guineas counters, his achievements tongue-doughtiness, and his whole man Brummagem. See Copper Captain.
Captain (The Black), lieutenant-colonel Dennis Davidoff of the Russian army. In the French invasion he was called by the French Le Capitaine Noir.
Captain Loys [Lo.is]. Louise Labé was so called, because in early life she embraced the profession of arms, and gave repeated proofs of great valor. She was also called La Belle Cordière. Louise Labé was a poetess, and has left several sonnets full of passion, and some good elegies (1526-1566).
Captain! my Captain! fallen leader apostrophized by Walt Whitman in his lines upon the death of President Lincoln (1865).
Captain Right, a fictitious commander, the ideal of the rights due to Ireland. In the last century the peasants of Ireland were sworn to captain Right, as chartists were sworn to their articles of demand called their charter. Shakespeare would have furnished them with a good motto, "Use every man after his desert, and who shall 'scape whipping?" (Hamlet, act ii. sc. 2).
Captain Rock, a fictitious name assumed by the leader of certain Irish insurgents in 1822, etc. All notices, summonses, and so on, were signed by this name.
Cap'ulet, head of a noble house of Verona, in feudal enmity with the house of Mon'tague (3 syl). Lord Capulet is a jovial, testy old man, self-willed, prejudiced, and tyrannical.
Lady Capulet, wife of lord Capulet and mother of Juliet.—Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (1598).
Capys, a blind old seer, who prophesied to Romulus the military triumphs of Rome from its foundation to the destruction of Carthage.
Lord Macaulay, Lays of Ancient Rome ("The Prophecy of Capys," xi.).
Car'abas (Le marquis de), an hypothetical title to express a fossilized old aristocrat, who supposed the whole world made for his behoof. The "king owes his throne to him;" he can "trace his pedigree to Pepin;" his youngest son is "sure of a mitre;" he is too noble "to pay taxes;" the very priests share their tithes with him; the country was made for his "hunting-ground;" and, therefore, as Béranger says:
The name occurs in Perrault's tale of Puss in Boots, but it is Béranger's song (1816) which has given the word its present meaning.
Carac´ci of France, Jean Jouvenet, who was paralyzed on the right side, and painted with his left hand (1647-1707).
Carac´tacus or Caradoc, king of the Sil´urês (Monmouthshire, etc.). For nine years he withstood the Roman arms, but being defeated by Osto´rius Scap´ula the Roman general, he escaped to Brigantia (Yorkshire, etc.) to crave the aid of Carthisman´dua (or Cartimandua), a Roman matron married to Venu´tius, chief of those parts. Carthismandua betrayed him to the Romans, A.D. 47.—Richard of Cirencester, Ancient State of Britain, i. 6, 23.
Caradoc was led captive to Rome, A.D. 51, and, struck with the grandeur of that city, exclaimed, "Is it possible that a people so wealthy and luxurious can envy me a humble cottage in Britain?" Claudius the emperor was so charmed with his manly spirit and bearing that he released him and craved his friendship.
Drayton says that Caradoc went to Rome with body naked, hair to the waist, girt with a chain of steel, and his "manly breast enchased with sundry shapes of beasts. Both his wife and children were captives, and walked with him."—Polyolbion, viii. (1612).
Caracul (i.e. Caraeatta), son and successor of Severus the Roman emperor. In A.D. 210 he made an expedition against the Caledo´nians, but was defeated by Fingal. Aurelius Antoninus was called "Caracalla" because he adopted the Gaulish caracalla in preference to the Roman toga.—Ossian, Comala.
The Caracul of Fingal is no other than Caracalla, who (as the son of Severus) the emperor of Rome ... was not without reason called "The Son of the King of the World." This was A.D. 210.—Dissertation on the Era of Ossian.
Caraculiam'bo, the hypothetical giant of the island of Malindra'ma, whom don Quixote imagines he may one day conquer and make to kneel at the foot of his imaginary lady-love.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I.i.1 (1605).
Car'adoc or Cradock, a knight of the Round Table. He was husband of the only lady in the queen's train who could wear "the mantle of matrimonial fidelity." This mantle fitted only chaste and virtuous wives; thus, when queen Guenever tried it on—
Percy, Reliques ("Boy and the Mantle," III. iii. 18).
Sir Caradoc and the Boar's Head. The boy who brought the test mantle of fidelity to king Arthur's court drew a wand three times across a boar's head, and said, "There's never a cuckold who can carve that head of brawn." Knight after knight made the attempt, but only sir Cradock could carve the brawn.
Sir Cradock and the Drinking-horn. The boy furthermore brought forth a drinking-horn, and said, "No cuckold can drink from that horn without spilling the liquor." Only Cradock succeeded, and "he wan the golden can."—Percy, Reliques ("Boy and the Mantle," III. iii. 18).
Caradoc of Men'wygent, the younger bard of Gwenwyn prince of Powys-land. The elder bard of the prince was Cadwallon.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).
Car´atach or Carac´tacus, a British king brought captive before the emperor Claudius in A.D. 52. He had been betrayed by Cartimandua. Claudius set him at liberty.
(Byron alludes to the "spectacle" of Caractacus produced by Thomas Sheridan at Drury Lane Theatre. It was Beaumont's tragedy of Bonduca, minus the dialogue.)
Car´athis, mother of the caliph Vathek. She was a Greek, and induced her son to study necromancy, held in abhorrence by all good Mussulmans. When her son threatened to put to death every one who attempted without success to read the inscription of certain sabres, Carathis wisely said, "Content yourself, my son, with commanding their beards to be burnt. Beards are less essential to a state than men." She was ultimately carried by an afrit to the abyss of Eblis, in punishment of her many crimes.—W. Beckford, Vathek (1784).
Carau´sius, the first British emperor (237-294). His full name was Marcus Aurelius Valerius Carausius, and as emperor of Britain he was accepted by Diocletian and Maxim´ian; but after a vigorous reign of seven years he was assassinated by Allectus, who succeeded him as "emperor of Britain."—See Gibbon, Decline and Fall, etc., ii. 13.
Car´dan (Jerôme) of Pa´via (1501-1576), a great mathematician and astrologer. He professed to have a demon or familiar spirit, who revealed to him the secrets of nature.
Carden (Grace), lovely girl with whom Henry Little (an artisan) and Frederick Coventry, gentleman, are enamored. Beguiled by Coventry into a belief that Little is dead, she consents to the marriage ceremony with his rival. Little reappears on the wedding-day, and she refuses to live with her husband. The marriage is eventually set aside, and Grace Carden espouses Henry Little.—Charles Reade, Put Yourself in His Place.
Carde´nio of Andalusi´a, of opulent parents, fell in love with Lucinda, a lady of equal family and fortune, to whom he was formally engaged. Don Fernando his friend, however, prevailed on Lucinda's father, by artifice, to break off the engagement and promise Lucinda to himself, "contrary to her wish, and in violation of every principle of honor." This drove Cardenio mad, and he haunted the Sierra Morena or Brown Mountain for about six months, as a maniac with lucid intervals. On the wedding-day Lucinda swooned, and a letter informed the bridegroom that she was married to Cardenio. Next day she privately left her father's house and took refuge in a convent; but being abducted by don Fernando, she was carried to an inn, where Fernando found Dorothea his wife, and Cardenio the husband of Lucinda. All parties were now reconciled, and the two gentlemen paired respectively with their proper wives.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. iv. (1605).
Care, described as a blacksmith, who "worked all night and day." His bellows, says Spenser, are Pensiveness and Sighs.—Faéry Queen, iv. 5 (1596).
Care'less, one of the boon companions of Charles Surface.—Sheridan, School for Scandal (1777).
Care'less (Colonel), an officer of high spirits and mirthful temper, who seeks to win Ruth (the daughter of sir Basil Thoroughgood) for his wife.—T. Knight, The Honest Thieves.
This farce is a mere réchauffé of The Committee, by the hon. sir R. Howard. The names "colonel Careless" and "Ruth" are the same, but "Ruth" says her proper Christian name is "Anne."
Careless, in The Committee, was the part for which Joseph Ashbury (1638-1720) was celebrated.—Chetwood, History of the Stage.
(The Committee, recast by T. Knight, is called The Honest Thieves.)
Careless (Ned), makes love to lady Pliant.—W. Congreve, The Double Dealer (1700).
Careless Husband (The), a comedy by Colley Cibber (1704). The "careless husband" is sir Charles Easy, who has amours with different persons, but is so careless that he leaves his love-letters about, and even forgets to lock the door when he has made a liaison, so that his wife knows all; yet so sweet is her temper, and under such entire control, that she never reproaches him, nor shows the slightest indication of jealousy. Her confidence so wins upon her husband that he confesses to her his faults, and reforms entirely the evil of his ways.
Carême (Jean de), chef de cuisine of Leo X. This was a name given him by the pope for an admirable soupe maigre which he invented for Lent. A descendant of Jean was chef to the prince regent, at a salary of £1000 per annum, but he left this situation because the prince had only a ménage bourgeois, and entered the service of baron Rothschild at Paris (1784-1833).
Carey, innocent-faced rich young dude in Ellen Olney Kirk's novel, A Daughter of Eve (1889).
Carey (Patrick), the poet brother of lord Falkland, introduced by sir W. Scott in Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).
Car'gill (The Rev. Josiah), minister of St. Ronan's Well, tutor of the hon. Augustus Bidmore (2 syl.), and the suitor of Miss Augusta Bidmore, his pupil's sister.—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, George III.).
Cari'no, father of Zeno'cia, the chaste troth-plight wife of Arnoldo (the lady dishonorably pursued by the governor count Clodio).—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Custom of the Country (1647).
Car'ker (James), manager in the house of Mr. Dombey, merchant. Carker was a man of forty, of a florid complexion, with very glistening white teeth, which showed conspicuously when he spoke. His smile was like "the snarl of a cat." He was the Alas'tor of the house of Dombey, for he not only brought the firm to bankruptcy, but he seduced Alice Marwood (cousin of Edith, Dombey's second wife), and also induced Edith to elope with him. Edith left the wretch at Dijon, and Carker, returning to England, was run over by a railway train and killed.
John Carker, the elder brother, a junior clerk in the same firm. He twice robbed it and was forgiven.
Harriet Carker, a gentle, beautiful young woman, who married Mr. Morfin, one of the employés in the house of Mr. Dombey, merchant. When her elder brother John fell into disgrace by robbing his employer, Harriet left the house of her brother James (the manager) to live with and cheer her disgraced brother John.—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).
Carle´ton (Captain), an officer in the Guards.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Carlisle (Frederick Howard, earl of), uncle and guardian of lord Byron (1748-1826). His tragedies are The Father's Revenge and Bellamere.
Car´los, elder son of don Antonio, and the favorite of his paternal uncle Lewis. Carlos is a great bookworm, but when he falls in love with Angelina he throws off his diffidence and becomes bold, resolute, and manly. His younger brother is Clodio, a mere coxcomb.—C. Cibber, Love Makes a Man (1694).
Carlos (under the assumed name of the marquis D'Antas) married Ogari´ta, but as the marriage was effected under a false name it was not binding, and Ogarita left Carlos to marry Horace de Brienne. Carlos was a great villain: he murdered a man to steal from him the plans of some Californian mines. Then embarking in the Urania, he induced the crew to rebel in order to obtain mastery of the ship. "Gold was the object of his desire, and gold he obtained." Ultimately, his villainies being discovered, he was given up to the hands of justice.—E. Stirling, The Orphan of the Frozen Sea (1856).
Carlos (Don), son of Philip II. of Portugal; deformed in person, violent and vindictive in disposition. Don Carlos was to have married Elizabeth of France, but his father supplanted him. Subsequently he expected to marry the arch-duchess Anne, daughter of the emperor Maximilian, but her father opposed the match. In 1564 Philip II. settled the succession on Rodolph and Ernest, his nephews, declaring Carlos incapable. This drove Carlos into treason, and he joined the Netherlands in a war against his father. He was apprehended and condemned to death, but was killed in prison. This has furnished the subject of several tragedies: i.e., Otway's Don Carlos (1672), in English; those of J.G. de Campistron (1683) and M.J. de Chénier (1789) in French; J.C.F. Schiller (1798) in German; Alfieri in Italian, about the same time.
Car'los (Don), the friend of don Alonzo, and the betrothed husband of Leono'ra, whom he resigns to Alonzo out of friendship. After marriage, Zanga induces Alonzo to believe that Leonora and don Carlos entertain a criminal love for each other, whereupon Alonzo, out of jealousy, has Carlos put to death, and Leonora kills herself.—Edward Young, The Revenge (1721).
Carlos (Don), husband of donna Victoria. He gave the deeds of his wife's estate to donna Laura, a courtesan, and Victoria, in order to recover them, assumed the disguise of a man, took the name of Florio, and made love to her. Having secured a footing, Florio introduced Gaspar as the wealthy uncle of Victoria, and Gaspar told Laura the deeds in her hand were utterly worthless. Laura in a fit of temper tore them to atoms, and thus Carlos recovered the estate and was rescued from impending ruin.—Mrs. Cowley, A Bold Stroke for a Husband (1782).
Carlton (Admiral George), George IV., author of The Voyage of—in search of Loyalty, a poetic epistle (1820).
Carmen, the fisherman's wife who, in Lufcadio Hearn's story Chita, adopts the baby dragged by her husband from the surf, and takes it to her heart in place of the child she has lost (1889).
Carmen (Eschelle), beautiful, ambitious, and intriguing New York society girl.—Charles Dudley Warner, A Little Journey in the World (1889).
Car´milhan, the "phantom ship." The captain of this ship swore he would double the Cape, whether God willed it or not, for which impious vow he was doomed to abide forever and ever captain in the same vessel, which always appears near the Cape, but never doubles it. The kobold of the phantom ship is named Klabot´erman, a kobold who helps sailors at their work, but beats those who are idle. When a vessel is doomed the kobold appears smoking a short pipe, dressed in yellow, and wearing a night-cap.
Caro, the Flesh or "natural man" personified. Phineas Fletcher says "this dam of sin" is a hag of loathsome shape, arrayed in steel, polished externally, but rusty within. On her shield is the device of a mermaid, with the motto, "Hear, Gaze, and Die."—The Purple Island, vii. (1633).
Caroline, queen-consort of George II., introduced by sir W. Scott in The Heart of Midlothian. Jeanie Deans has an interview with her in the gardens at Richmond, and her majesty promises to intercede with the king for Effie Deans's pardon.
Caros or Carausius, a Roman captain, native of Belgic Gaul. The emperor Maximian employed Caros to defend the coast of Gaul against the Franks and Saxons. He acquired great wealth and power, but fearing to excite the jealousy of Maximian, he sailed for Britain, where (in A.D. 287) he caused himself to be proclaimed emperor. Caros resisted all attempts of the Romans to dislodge him, so that they ultimately acknowledged his independence. He repaired Agricola's wall to obstruct the incursions of the Caledonians, and while he was employed on this work was attacked by a party commanded by Oscar, son of Ossian and grandson of Fingal. "The warriors of Caros fled, and Oscar remained like a rock left by the ebbing sea."—Ossian, The War of Caros.
Carpath'ian Wizard (The), Proteus (2 syl.), who lived in the island of Car'pathos, in the Archipelago. He was a wizard, who could change his form at will. Being the sea-god's shepherd, he carried a crook.
[By] the Carpathian wizard's book [crook]. Milton, Comus, 872 (1634).
Carpet (Prince Housain's), a magic carpet, to all appearances quite worthless, but it would transport any one who sat on it to any part of the world in a moment. This carpet is sometimes called "the magic carpet of Tangu," because it came from Tangu, in Persia.—Arabian Nights ("Prince Ahmed").
Carpet (Solomon's). Solomon had a green silk carpet, on which his throne was set. This carpet was large enough for all his court to stand on; human beings stood on the right side of the throne, and spirits on the left. When Solomon wished to travel he told the wind where to set him down, and the carpet with all its contents rose into the air and alighted at the proper place. In hot weather the birds of the air, with outspread wings, formed a canopy over the whole party.—Sale, Korân, xxvii. (notes).
Carpil'lona (Princess), the daughter of Subli'mus king of the Peaceable Islands. Sublimus, being dethroned by a usurper, was with his wife, child, and a foundling boy thrown into a dungeon, and kept there for three years. The four captives then contrived to escape; but the rope which held the basket in which Carpillona was let down snapped asunder, and she fell into the lake. Sublimus and the other two lived in retirement as a shepherd family, and Carpillona, being rescued by a fisherman, was brought up by him as his daughter. When the "Humpbacked" Prince dethroned the usurper of the Peaceable Islands, Carpillona was one of the captives, and the "Humpbacked" Prince wanted to make her his wife; but she fled in disguise, and came to the cottage home of Sublimus, where she fell in love with his foster-son, who proved to be half-brother of the "Humpbacked" Prince. Ultimately, Carpillona married the foundling, and each succeeded to a kingdom.—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("Princess Carpillona," 1682).
Car'pio (Bernardo del), natural son of don Sancho, and doña Ximena, surnamed "The Chaste." It was Bernardo del Carpio who slew Roland at Roncesvallês (4 syl.). In Spanish romance he is a very conspicuous figure.
Carras'co (Samson), son of Bartholomew Carrasco. He is a licentiate of much natural humor, who flatters don Quixote, and persuades him to undertake a second tour.
Carrier (Martha), a Salem goodwife, tried and executed for witchcraft. To Rev. Cotton Mather's narrative of her crimes and punishment is appended this memorandum:
This rampant hag, Martha Carrier, was the person of whom the confessions of the witches, and of her own children among the rest, agreed that the devil had promised her she should be Queen of Hell.—Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World (1693).
Carril, the gray-headed, son of Kinfe'na bard of Cuthullin, general of the Irish tribes.—Ossian, Fingal.
Carrlllo (Fray) was never to be found in his own cell, according to a famous Spanish epigram.
Like Fray Carillo, the only place in which one cannot find him Is his own cell.
Longfellow, The Spanish Student, i. 5.
Car'rol, deputy usher at Kenilworth Castle.—Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).
Car'stone (Richard), cousin of Ada Clare, both being wards in Chancery interested in the great suit of "Jarndyce v. Jarndyce." Richard Carstone is a "handsome youth, about nineteen, of ingenuous face, and with a most engaging laugh." He marries his cousin Ada, and lives in hope that the suit will soon terminate and make him rich. In the meantime he tries to make two ends meet, first by the profession of medicine, then by that of law, then by the army; but the rolling stone gathers no moss, and the poor fellow dies of the sickness of hope deferred.—C. Dickens, Bleak House (1853).
Cartaph'ilus, the Wandering Jew of Jewish story. Tradition says he was doorkeeper of the judgment-hall, in the service of Pontius Pilate, and, as he led our Lord from the judgment-hall, struck Him, saying "Get on! Faster, Jesus!" Whereupon the Man of Sorrows replied, "I am going fast, Cartaphilus; but tarry thou till I come again." After the crucifixion, Cartaphilus was baptized by the same Anani'as who baptized Paul, and received the name of Joseph. At the close of every century he falls into a trance, and wakes up after a time a young man about thirty years of age.—Book of the Chronicles of the Abbey of St. Allans.
(This "book" was copied and continued by Matthew Paris, and contains the earliest account of the Wandering Jew, A.D. 1228. In 1242 Philip Mouskes, afterwards bishop of Tournay, wrote the "rhymed chronicle.")
Carter (Mrs. Deborah), housekeeper to Surplus the lawyer.—J. M. Morton, A Regular Fix.
Car'thage (2 syl.). When Dido came to Africa she bought of the natives "as much land as could be encompassed with a bull's hide." The agreement being made, Dido cut the hide into thongs, so as to enclose a space sufficiently large for a citadel, which she called Bursa "the hide." (Greek, bursa, "a bull's hide.")
The following is a similar story in Russian history:—The Yakutsks granted to the Russian explorers as much land as they could encompass with a cow's hide; but the Russians, cutting the hide into strips, obtained land enough for the town and fort which they called Yakutsk.
Carthage of the North. Lübeck was so called when it was the head of the Hanseatic League.
Car'thon, son of Cless'ammor and Moina, was born while Clessammor was in flight, and his mother died in childbirth. When he was three years old, Comhal (Fingal's father) took and burnt Balclutha (a town belonging to the Britons, on the Clyde), but Carthon was carried away safely by his nurse. When grown to man's estate, Carthon resolved to revenge this attack on Balclutha, and accordingly invaded Morven, the kingdom of Fingal. After overthrowing two of Fingal's heroes, Carthon was slain by his own father, who knew him not; but when Clessammor learnt that it was his own son whom he had slain, he mourned for him three days, and on the fourth he died.—Ossian, Carthon.
Car'ton (Sydney), a friend of Charles Darnay, whom he personally resembled. Sydney Carton loved Lucie Manette, but knowing of her attachment to Darnay, never attempted to win her. Her friendship, however, called out his good qualities, and he nobly died instead of his friend.—C. Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859).
Cartouche, an eighteenth century highwayman. He is the French Dick Turpin.
Ca'rus (Slow), in Garth's Dispensary, is Dr. Tyson (1649-1708).
Caryati'des (5 syl.), or Carya'tes (4 syl.), female figures in Greek costume, used in architecture to support entablatures Ca'rya, in Arcadia, sided with the Persians when they invaded Greece, so after the battle of Thermop'ylae, the victorious Greeks destroyed the city, slew the men, and made the women slaves, Praxit'elês, to perpetuate the disgrace, employed figures of Caryan women with Persian men, for architectural columns.
Cas'ca, a blunt-witted Roman, and one of the conspirators who assassinated Julius Cæsar. He is called "Honest Casca," meaning plain-spoken.—Shakespeare, Julius Cæsar (1607).
Casch'casch, a hideous genius, "hunch-backed, lame, and blind of one eye; with six horns on his head, and both his hands and feet hooked." The fairy Maimou'nê (3 syl.) summoned him to decide which was the more beautiful, "the prince Camaral'zaman or the princess Badou'ra," but he was unable to determine the knotty point.—Arabian Nights ("Camaralzaman and Badoura").
Casel'la, a musician and friend of the poet Dantê, introduced in his Purgatory, ii. On arriving at purgatory, the poet sees a vessel freighted with souls come to be purged of their sins and made fit for paradise; among them he recognizes his friend Casella, whom he "woos to sing;" whereupon Casella repeats with enchanting sweetness the words of [Dantê's] second canzone.
Casey, landlord of the tavern on "Red Hoss Mountain" in Eugene Field's poem Casey's Table d'Hôte.
Cas'par, master of the horse to the baron of Arnheim. Mentioned in Donnerhugel's narrative.—Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).
Cas'par, a man who sold himself to Za'miel the Black Huntsman. The night before the expiration of his life-lease, he bargained for a respite of three years, on condition of bringing Max into the power of the fiend. On the day appointed for the prize-shooting, Max aimed at a dove but killed Caspar, and Zamiel carried off his victim to "his own place."—Weber's opera, Der Freischüte (1822).
Cass (Godfrey), young farmer in Silas Marner, by George Eliot. Father of the heroine.
Cassan'dra, daughter of Priam, gifted with the power of prophecy; but Apollo, whom she had offended, cursed her with the ban "that no one should ever believe her predictions."—Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Cassel (Count), an empty-headed, heart less, conceited puppy, who pays court to Amelia Wildenhaim, but is too insufferable to be endured. He tells her he "learnt delicacy in Italy, hauteur in Spain, enterprise in France, prudence in Russia, sincerity in England, and love in the wilds of America," for civilized nations have long since substituted intrigue for love.—Inchbald, Lovers' Vows (1800), altered from Kotzebue.
Cassi, the inhabitants of Hertfordshire or Cassio.—Cæsar, Commentaries.
Cassib'ellaun or Cassib'elan (probably "Caswallon"), brother and successor of Lud. He was king of Britain when Julius Cæsar invaded the island. Geoffrey of Monmouth says, in his British History, that Cassibellaun routed Cæsar, and drove him back to Gaul (bk. iv. 3, 5). In Cæsar's second invasion, the British again vanquished him (ch. 7), and "sacrificed to their gods as a thank-offering 40,000 cows, 100,000 sheep, 30,000 wild beasts, and fowls without number" (ch. 8). Androg'eus (4 syl.) "duke of Trinovantum," with 5000 men, having joined the Roman forces, Cassibellaun was worsted, and agreed "to pay 3000 pounds of silver yearly in tribute to Rome." Seven years after this Cassibellaun died and was buried at York.
In Shakespeare's Cymbeline the name is called "Cassibelan."
Polyænus of Macedon tells us that Cæsar had a huge elephant armed with scales of iron, with a tower on its back, filled with archers and slingers. When this beast entered the sea, Cassivelaunus and the Britons, who had never seen an elephant, were terrified, and their horses fled in affright, so that the Romans were able to land without molestation.—Drayton, Polyolbion, viii.
Cas'silane (3 syl.), general of Candy and father of Annophel.—Laws of Candy (1647).
Cassim, brother of Ali Baba, a Persian. He married an heiress and soon became one of the richest merchants of the place. When he discovered that his brother had made himself rich by hoards from the robbers' cave, Cassim took ten mules charged with panniers to carry away part of the same booty. "Open Sesamê!" he cried, and the door opened. He filled his sacks, but forgot the magic word. "Open Barley!" he cried, but the door remained closed. Presently the robber band returned, and cut him down with their sabres. They then hacked the carcass into four parts, placed them near the door, and left the cave. Ali Baba carried off the body and had it decently interred.—Arabian Nights ("Ali Baba, or the Forty Thieves").
Cas'sio (Michael), a Florentine, lieutenant in the Venetian army under the command of Othello. Simple minded but not strong-minded, and therefore easily led by others who possessed greater power of will. Being overcome with wine, he engaged in a street-brawl, for which he was suspended by Othello, but Desdemona pleaded for his restoration. Iago made capital of this intercession to rouse the jealousy of the Moor. Cassio's "almost" wife was Bianca, his mistress.—Shakespeare, Othello (1611).
"Cassio" is brave, benevolent, and honest, ruined only by his want of stubbornness to resist an insidious invitation.—Dr. Johnson.
Cassiodo'rus (Marcus Aurelius), a great statesman and learned writer of the sixth century, who died at the age of one hundred, in A.D. 562. He filled many high offices under Theod'oric, but ended his days in a convent.
Cassiopeia, wife of Ce'pheus (2 syl.) king of Ethiopia, and mother of Androm'eda. She boasted herself to be fairer than the sea-nymphs, and Neptune, to punish her, sent a huge sea-serpent to ravage her husband's kingdom. At death she was made a constellation, consisting of thirteen stars, the largest of which form a "chair" or imperfect W.
Cassius, instigator of the conspiracy against Julius Cæsar, and friend of Brutus. —Shakespeare, Julius Ccesar (1607).
Charles Mayne Young trod the boards with freedom. His countenance was equally well adapted for the expression of pathos or of pride; thus in such parts as "Hamlet," "Beverley," "The Stranger," "Pierre," "Zanga," and "Cassius," he looked the men he represented.—Rev. J. Young, Life of G. M. Young.
"Hamlet" (Shakespeare); "Beverley" (The Gamester, Moore); "The Stranger" (B. Thompson); "Pierre" (Venice Preserved, Otway); "Zanga" (Revenge, Young).
Cassy, a colored woman, mistress of Legree, in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Disgusted with her master and with her life, she befriends another woman, even more helpless than herself, and by stratagem and force of will contrives her escape (1852).
Castagnette (Captain), a hero whose stomach was replaced by a leather one made by Desgenettes [Da'.ge.net'], but his career was soon ended by a bomb-shell, which blew him into atoms,—Manuel, A French Extravaganza.
Casta'lio, son of lord Acasto, and Polydore's twin-brother. Both the brothers loved their father's ward, Monim'ia "the orphan." The love of Polydore was dishonorable love, but Castalio loved her truly and married her in private. On the bridal night Polydore by treachery took his brother's place, and next day, when Monimia discovered the deceit which had been practised on her, and Polydore heard that Monimia was really married to his brother, the bride poisoned herself, the adulterer ran upon his brother's sword, and the husband stabbed himself.—Otway, The Orphan (1680).
Casta'ra, the lady addressed by Wm. Habington in his poems. She was Lucy Herbert (daughter of Wm. Herbert, first lord Powis), and became his wife. (Latin, casta, "chaste.")
The poetry of Habington shows that he possessed ... a real passion for a lady of birth and virtue, the "Castara" whom he afterwards married.—Hallam.
Cas'tlewood (Beatrix), the heroine of Esmond, a novel by Thackeray, the "finest picture of splendid lustrous physical beauty ever given to the world."
Cas'tor (Steph'anos), the wrestler.—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).
Castor, of classic fable, is the son of Jupiter and Leda, and twin-brother of Pollux. The brothers were so attached to each other that Jupiter set them among the stars, where they form the constellation Gemini ("the twins"). Castor and Pollux are called the Dios'curi or "sons of Dios," i.e. Jove.
Cas'triot (George), called by the Turks "Scanderbeg" (1404-1467). George Castriot was son of an Albanian prince, delivered as a hostage to Amurath II. He won such favor from the sultan that he was put in command of 5000 men, but abandoned the Turks in the battle of Mora'va (1443).
Longfellow, The Wayside Inn (an interlude).
Castruc'cio Castraca'ni's Sword.
When Victor Emmanuel II went to Tuscany, the path from Lucca to Pistoia was strewed with roses. At Pistoia the orphan heirs of Pucci'ni met him, bearing a sword, and said, "This is the sword of Castruccio Castracani, the great Italian soldier, and head of the Ghibelines in the fourteenth century. It was committed to our ward and keeping till some patriot should arise to deliver Italy and make it free." Victor Emmanuel, seizing the hilt, exclaimed, "Questa è per me!" ("This is for me.") —E. B. Browning, The Sword of Castruccio Castracani.
Cas'yapa. The father of the immortals, who dwells in the mountain called Hemacû'ta or Himakoot, under the Tree of Life, is called "Casyapa." Southey, Curse of Kehama. Canto vi. (1809).
Cateucla'ni, called Catieuchla'ni by Ptolemy, and Cassii by Richard of Cirencester. They occupied Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire. Drayton refers to them in his Polyolbion, xvi.
Catgut (Dr.), a caricature of Dr. Arne in The Commissary, by Sam. Foote (1765).
Cath'arine, queen-consort of Charles II; introduced by sir W. Scott in Peveril of the Peak. (See CATHERINE, and also under the letter K.)
Cath'arine (St.) of Alexandria (fourth century), patron saint of girls and virgins generally. Her real name was Dorothea; but St. Jerome says she was called Catharine from the Syriac word Kethar or Kathar, "a crown," because she won the triple crown of martyrdom, virginity, and wisdom. She was put to death on a wheel, November 25, which is her fête day.
To braid St. Catharine's hair means "to live a virgin."
Longfellow, Evangeline (1848).
Cath'ba, son of Torman, beloved by Morna, daughter of Cormac king of Ireland. He was killed out of jealousy by Duchô'mar, and when Duchômar told Morna and asked her to marry him she replied, "Thou art dark to me, Duchômar; cruel is thine arm to Morna. Give me that sword, my foe;" and when he gave it, she "pierced his manly breast," and he died.
Cathba, young son of Torman, thou art of the love of Morna. Thou art a sunbeam in the day of the gloomy storm.—Ossian, Fingal, i.
Cath'erine, wife of Mathis, in The Polish Jew, by J. R. Ware.
Catherine, the somewhat uninteresting heroine of Washington Square, by Henry James, a commonplace creature made more commonplace by the dull routine of wealthy respectability (1880).
Catherine (The countess), usually called "The Countess," falls in love with Huon, a serf, her secretary and tutor. Her pride revolts at the match, but her love is masterful. When the duke her father is told of it, he insists on Huon's marrying Catherine, a freed serf, on pain of death. Huon refuses to do so till the countess herself entreats him to comply. He then rushes to the wars, where he greatly distinguishes himself, is created prince, and learns that his bride is not Catherine the quondam serf, but Catherine the duke's daughter.—S. Knowles, Love (1840).
Cath'erine of Newport, the wife of Julian Avenel (2 syl.).—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth). (See CATHARINE, and under K.)
Cath'leen, one of the attendants on Flora M'Ivor.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, Greorge II.).
Cath'lin of Clu'tha, daughter of Cathmol. Duth-Carmor of Cluba had slain Cathmol in battle, and carried off Cathlin by force, but she contrived to make her escape and craved aid of Fingal. Ossian and Oscar were selected to espouse her cause, and when they reached Rathcol (where Duth-Carmor lived), Ossian resigned the command of the battle to his son Oscar. Oscar and Duth-Carmor met in combat, and the latter fell. The victor carried the mail and helmet of Duth-Carmor to Cathlin, and Cathlin said, "Take the mail and place it high in Selma's hall, that you may remember the helpless in a distant land."—Ossian, Cathlin of Clutha.
Cath'mor, younger brother of Cair'bar ("lord of Atha"), but totally unlike him. Cairbar was treacherous and malignant; Cathmor high-minded and hospitable. Cairbar murdered Cormac king of Ireland, and having inveigled Oscar (son of Ossian) to a feast, vamped up a quarrel, in which both fell. Cathmor scorned such treachery. Cathmore is the second hero of the poem called Tem'ora, and falls by the hand of Fingal (bk. viii.).
Cathmor, the friend of strangers, the brother of red-haired Cairbar. Their souls were not the same. The light of heaven was in the bosom of Cathmor. His towers rose on the banks of Atha; seven paths led to his halls; seven chiefs stood on the paths and called strangers to the feast. But Cathmor dwelt in the wood, to shun the voice of praise.—Ossian, Temora, i.
Cath'olic (The). Alfonso I. of Asturias, called by Gregory III. His Catholic Majesty (693, 739-757).
Ferdinand II. of Ar'agon, husband of Isabella. Also called Rusé, "the wily" (1452, 1474-1516).
Isabella wife of Ferdinand II. of Aragon, so called for her zeal in establishing the Inquisition (1450, 1474-1504).
Catholic Majesty (Catholica Majestad), the special title of the kings of Spain. It was first given to king Recared (590) in the third Council of Toledo, for his zeal in rooting out the "Arian heresy."
Cui a Deo æternum meritum nisi vero Catholico Recaredo regi? Cui a Deo æterna corona nisi vero orthodoxo Recaredo regi?—Gregor. Mag., 127 and 128.
But it was not then settled as a fixed title to the kings of Spain. In 1500 Alexander VI. gave the title to Ferdinand V. king of Aragon and Castile, and from that time it became annexed to the Spanish crown.
Ab Alexandro pontifice Ferdinandus "Catholici" cognomentum accepit in posteros cum regno transfusum stabili possessione. Honorum titulos principibus dividere pontincibus Romanis datur.—Mariana, De Rebus Hesp., xxvi. 12; see also vii. 4.
Ca'thos, cousin of Madelon, brought up by her uncle Gor'gibus, a plain citizen in the middle rank of life. These two silly girls have had their heads turned by novels, and thinking their names commonplace, Cathos calls herself Aminta, and her cousin adopts the name of Polix'ena. Two gentlemen wish to marry them, but the girls consider their manners too unaffected and easy to be "good style," so the gentlemen send their valets to represent the "marquis of Mascarille" and the "viscount of Jodelet." The girls are delighted with these "distinguished noblemen;" but when the game has gone far enough, the masters enter, and lay bare the trick. The girls are taught a useful lesson, without being involved in any fatal ill consequences.—Molière, Les Précieuses Ridicules (1659).
Cathul'la, king of Inistore (the Orkneys) and brother of Coma'la (q.v.). Fingal, on coming in sight of the palace, observed a beacon-flame on its top as signal of distress, for Frothal king of Sora had besieged it. Fingal attacked Frothal, engaged him in single combat, defeated him, and made him prisoner.—Ossian, Carrick-Thura.
Cat'iline (3 syl.), a Roman patrician, who headed a conspiracy to overthrow the Government, and obtain for himself and his followers all places of power and trust. The conspiracy was discovered by Cicero. Catiline escaped and put himself at the head of his army, but fell in the battle after fighting with desperate daring (B.C. 62). Ben Jonson wrote a tragedy called Catiline (1611), and Voltaire, in his Rome Sauvée, has introduced the conspiracy and death of Catiline (1752).
Ca'to, the hero and title of a tragedy by J. Addison (1713). Disgusted with Cæsar, Cato retired to U'tica (in Africa), where he had a small republic and mimic senate; but Cæsar resolved to reduce Utica as he had done the rest of Africa, and Cato, finding resistance hopeless, fell on his own sword.
When Barton Booth [1713] first appeared as "Cato," Bolingbroke called him into his box and gave him fifty guineas for defending the cause of liberty so well against a perpetual dictator.—Life of Addison.
He is a Cato, a man of simple habits, severe morals, strict justice, and blunt speech, but of undoubted integrity and patriotism, like the Roman censor of that name, the grandfather of the Cato of Utica, who resembled him in character and manners.
Cato and Hortens'ius. Cato of Utica's second wife was Martia daughter of Philip. He allowed her to live with his friend Hortensius, and after the death of Hortensius took her back again.
Byron, Don Juan, vi. 7 (1821).
Catul'lus. Lord Byron calls Thomas Moore the "British Catullus," referring to a volume of amatory poems published in 1808, under the pseudonym of "Thomas Little."
Byron, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809).
The Oriental Catullus, Saadi or Sadi, a Persian poet. He married a rich merchant's daughter, but the marriage was an unhappy one. His chief works are The Gulistan (or "garden of roses") and The Bostan (or "garden of fruits") (1176-1291).
Cau'dle (Mrs. Margaret), a curtain lecturer, who between eleven o'clock at night and seven the next morning delivered for thirty years a curtain lecture to her husband Job Caudle, generally a most gentle listener; if he replied she pronounced him insufferably rude, and if he did not he was insufferably sulky.—Douglas Jerrold, Punch ("The Caudle Papers").
Cau'line (Sir), a knight who served the wine to the king of Ireland. He fell in love with Christabelle (3 syl.), the king's-daughter, and she became his troth-plight wife, without her father's knowledge. When the king knew of it, he banished sir Cauline (2 syl.). After a time the Soldain asked the lady in marriage, but sir Cauline challenged his rival and slew him. He himself, however, died of the wounds he had received, and the lady Christabelle, out of grief, "burst her gentle hearte in twayne."—Percy's Reliques, I. i. 4.
Cau'rus, the stormy west-north-west wind; called in Greek Argestês.
Thomson, Castle of Indolence, ii. (1748).
Caustic, of the Despatch newspaper, was the signature of Mr. Serle.
Christopher Caustic, the pseudonym of Thomas Green Fessenden, author of Terrible Tractoration, a Hudibrastic poem (1771-1837).
Caustic (Colonel), a fine gentleman of the last century, very severe on the degeneracy of the present race.—Henry Mackenzie, in The Lounger.
Ca'va, or Florida, daughter of St. Julian. It was the violation of Cava by Roderick that brought about the war between the Goths and the Moors, in which Roderick was slain (A.D. 711).
Cavalier (The). Eon de Beaumont, called by the French Le Chevalier d'Eon (1728-1810). Charles Breydel, the Flemish landscape painter (1677-1744). Francisco Cairo, the historian, called El Chavaliere del Cairo (1598-1674). Jean le Clerc, Le Chevalier (1587-1633). J. Bapt. Marini, the Italian poet, called Il Cavaliere (1569-1625). Andrew Michael Ramsay (1686-1743).
James Francis Edward Stuart, the
"Old Pretender," was styled Le Chevalier de St. George (1688-1765). Charles Edward, the "Young Pretender," was styled The Bonnie Chevalier or The Young Cavalier (1720-1788).
Cavall', "king Arthur's hound of deepest mouth."—Tennyson, Idylls of the King ("Enid").
Cav'endish, author of Principles of Whist, and numerous guide-books on games, as Bézique, Piquet, Écarté, Billiards, etc. Henry Jones, editor of "Pastimes" in The Field and The Queen newspapers (1831-).
Cax'on (Old Jacob), hairdresser of Jonathan Oldbuck ("the antiquary") of Monkbarns.
Jenny Caxon, a milliner; daughter of Old Jacob.—Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary (time, George III.).
Caxton (Pisistratus), Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer Lytton, baron Lytton, author of My Novel (1853); What will He do with it? (1859); Caxtoniania (1863); The Boatman (1864).
Cecil, the hero of a novel so called by Mrs. Gore (1790-1861).
Cecil Dreeme, alias Clara Denman. The young woman assumes a man's dress and character, and sustains it so well as to deceive those dearest to her. She is kidnapped and in danger of death, and her rescuers discover the truth.—Theodore Winthrop, Cecil Dreeme (1861).
Cecilia, belle of the village in which H. W. Longfellow's Kavanagh is the clergyman. She wins his affections easily, unconsciously becoming the rival of her dearest friend (1872).
Cecilia (St.), the patroness of musicians and "inventor of the organ." The legend says that an angel fell in love with Cecilia for her musical skill, and nightly brought her roses from paradise. Her husband saw the angel visitant, who gave to both a crown of martyrdom.
Ce'dric, a thane of Rotherwood, and surnamed "the Saxon."—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Cel'adon and Ame'lia, lovers of matchless beauty, and most devoted to each other. Being overtaken by a thunderstorm, Amelia became alarmed, but Celadon, folding his arm about her, said, "'Tis safety to be near thee, sure;" but while he spoke, Amelia was struck by lightning and fell dead in his arms.—Thomson, The Seasons ("Summer," 1727).
Cele'no or Celsae'no, chief of the harpies.
Ce'lia, daughter of Frederick the usurping duke, and cousin of Ros'alind, daughter of the banished duke. When Rosalind was driven from her uncle's court, Celia determined to go with her to the forest of Arden to seek out the banished duke, and for security's sake Rosalind dressed in boy's clothes and called herself "Gan'ymede," while Celia dressed as a peasant girl and called herself "Aliena." When they reached Arden they lodged for a time in a shepherd's hut, and Oliver de Boys was sent to tell them that his brother Orlando was hurt and could not come to the hut as usual. Oliver and Celia fell in love with each other, and their wedding-day was fixed. Ganymede resumed the dress of Bosalind, and the two brothers married at the same time.—Shakespeare, As You Like It (1598).
Ce'lia, a girl of sixteen, in Whitehead's comedy of The School for Lovers. It was written expressly for Mrs. Cibber, daughter of Dr. Arne.
Mrs. Cibber was at the time more than fifty years old, but the uncommon symmetry and exact proportion in her form, with her singular vivacity, enabled her to represent the character of "Celia" with all the juvenile appearance marked by the author.—Percy, Anecdotes.
Ce'lia, a poetical name for any lady-love: as "Would you know my Celia's charms ...?" Not unfrequently Streph'on is the wooer when Celia is the wooed. Thomas Carew calls his "sweet sweeting" Celia; her real name is not known.
Ce'lia (Dame), mother of Faith, Hope, and Charity. She lived in the hospice called Holiness. (Celia is from the Latin, coelum, "heaven.")—Spenser, Faëry Queen, i. 10 (1590).
Celia Shaw, a gentle-hearted mountain girl who, learning that her father and his clan intend to "clean out" a family fifteen miles up the mountain, steals out on a snowy night and makes her way to their hut to warn them of their danger. She takes cold on the fearful journey, and dies of consumption.—Charles Egbert Craddock, In the Tennessee Mountains (1884).
Célimène (3syl.), a coquette courted by Alceste (2 syl.) the "misanthrope" (a really good man, both upright and manly, but blunt in behavior, rude in speech, and unconventional). Alceste wants Célimène to forsake society and live with him in seclusion; this she refuses to do, and he replies, as you cannot find, "tout en moi, comme moi tout en vous, allez, je vous refuse." He then proposes to her cousin Eliante (3 syl.), but Eliante tells him she is already engaged to his friend Philinte (2 syl), and so the play ends.—Molière, Le Misanthrope (1666).
"Célimène" in Molière's Les Précieuses Ridicules is a mere dummy. She is brought on the stage occasionally towards the end of the play, but never utters one word, and seems a supernumerary of no importance at all.
Celin'da, the victim of count Fathom's seduction.—Smollett, Count Fathom (1754).
Cel'lide (2 syl.), beloved by Valentine and his son Francisco. The lady naturally prefers the younger man.—Beaumont and Fletcher, Mons. Thomas (1619).
Celtic Homer (The), Ossian, said to be of the third century.
If Ossian lived at the introduction of Christianity, as by all appearances he did, his epoch will be the latter end of the third and beginning of the fourth century.
The "Caracul" of Fingal, who is no other than Caracalla (son of Seve'rus emperor of Rome), and the battle fought against Caros or Carausius ... fix the epoch of Fingal to the third century, and Irish historians place his death in the year 283. Ossian was Fingal's son.—Era of Ossian.
Cenci. Francesco Cenci was a most profligate Roman noble, who had four sons and one daughter, all of whom he treated with abominable cruelty. It is said that he assassinated his two elder sons and debauched his daughter Beatrice. Beatrice and her two surviving brothers, with Lucretia (their mother), conspired against Francesco and accomplished his death, but all except the youngest brother perished on the scaffold, September 11, 1501.
It has been doubted whether the famous portrait in the Barberini palace at Rome is really of Beatrice Cenci, and even whether Guido Eeni was the painter.
Percy B. Shelley wrote a tragedy called The Cenci (1819).
Cenimag'ni, the inhabitants of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge.—Cæsar, Commentaries.
Centaur (The Blue), a human form from the waist upwards, and a goat covered with blue shag from the waist downwards. Like the Ogri, he fed on human flesh.
"Shepherds," said he, "I am the Blue Centaur. If you will give me every third year a young child, I promise to bring a hundred of my kinsmen and drive the Ogri away." ... He [the Blue Centaur] used to appear on the top of a rock, with his club in one hand ... and with a terrible voice cry out to the shepherds, "Leave me my prey, and be off with you!"—Comtesse d'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("Princess Carpillona," 1682).
Cen'tury White, John White, the nonconformist lawyer. So called from his chief work, entitled The First Century of Scandalous, Malignant Priests, etc. (1590-1645).
Ce'phal (Greek, Kephalê), the Head personified, the "acropolis" of The Purple Island, fully described in canto v. of that poem, by Phineas Fletcher (1633).
Ceph'alus (in Greek, Kephalos). One day, overcome with heat, Cephalus threw himself on the grass, and cried aloud, "Come, gentle Aura, and this heat allay!" The words were told to his young wife Procris, who, supposing Aura to be some rival, became furiously jealous. Resolved to discover her rival, she stole next day to a covert, and soon saw her husband come and throw himself on the bank, crying aloud, "Come, gentle Zephyr; come, Aura, come, this heat allay!" Her mistake was evident, and she was abont to throw herself into the arms of her husband, when the young man, aroused by the rustling, shot an arrow into the covert, supposing some wild beast was about to spring on him. Procris was shot, told her tale, and died.—Ovid, Art of Love, iii.
(Cephalus loves Procris, i.e. "the sun kisses the dew." Procris is killed by Cephalus, i.e. "the dew is destroyed by the rays of the sun.")
Ceras'tes (3 syl.), the horned snake. (Greek, keras, "a horn.") Milton uses the word in Paradise Lost, x. 525 (1665).
Cerberus, a dog with three heads, which keeps guard in hell. Dantê places it in the third circle.
Dantê, Hell, vi. (1300, Cary's translation).
Cer'don, the boldest of the rabble leaders in the encounter with Hu'dibras at the bear-baiting. The original of this character was Hewson, a one-eyed cobbler and preacher, who was also a colonel in the Rump army.—S. Butler, Hudibras, i. 2 (1663).
Ceres (2 syl.), the Fruits of Harvest personified. In classic mythology Cerês means "Mother Earth," the protectress of fruits.
Ceres, the planet, is so called because it was discovered from the observatory of Palermo, and Cerês is the tutelar goddess of Sicily.
Cer'imon, a physician of Ephesus, who restored to animation Thaisa, the wife of Per'iclês, prince of Tyre, supposed to be dead.—Shakespeare, Pericles Prince of Tyre (1608).
Chab'ot (Philippe de), admiral of France, governor of Bourgoyne and Normandy under François I. Montmorency and the cardinal de Lorraine, out of jealousy, accused him of malversation. His faithful servant Allegre was put to the rack to force evidence against the accused, and Chabot was sent to prison because he was unable to pay the fine levied upon him. His innocence, however, was established by the confession of his enemies, and he was released; but disgrace had made so deep an impression on his mind that he sickened and died. This is the subject of a tragedy entitled The Tragedy of Philip Chabot, etc., by George Chapman and James Shirley.
Chad'band (The Rev. Mr.), type of a canting hypocrite "in the ministry." He calls himself "a vessel," is much admired by his dupes, and pretends to despise the "carnal world," but nevertheless loves dearly its "good things," and is most self-indulgent.—C. Dickens, Bleak House (1853).
Chaffington (Mr. Percy), M.P., a stockbroker.—T. M. Morton, If I had a Thousand a Year.
Chalbroth, the giant, the root of the race of giants, including Polypheme (3 syl.), Goliath, the Titans, Fierabras, Gargantua, and closing with Pantag'ruel. He was born in the year known for its "week of three Thursdays."—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. (1533).
Chal'ybes (3 syl.), a people on the south shore of the Black Sea, who occupied themselves in the working of iron.
Cham, the pseudonym of comte Amédée de Noé, a peer of France, a great wit, and the political caricaturist of Charivari (the French Punch). The count was one of the founders of the French Republic in 1875. As Cham or Ham was the second son and scapegrace of Noah, so Amédée was the second son and scapegrace of the comte de Noé [Noah].
Cham of Literature, (The Great), a nickname given to Dr. Samuel Johnson by Smollett in a letter to John Wilkes (1709-1784).
Cham of Tartary, a corruption of Chan or Khan, i.e. "lord or prince," as Hoccota Chan. "Ulu Chan" means "great lord," "ulu" being equal to the Latin magnus, and "chan" to dominus or imperator. Sometimes the word is joined to the name, as Chan-balu, Cara-chan, etc. The Turks have also had their "Sultan Murad chan bin Sultan Selim chan," i.e. Sultan Murad prince, son of Sultan Selim prince.—Selden, Titles of Honor, vi. 66 (1672).
Cham'berlain (Matthew), a tapster, the successor of Old Roger Raine (1 syl.).—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Chamont, brother of Monimia "the orphan," and the troth-plight husband of Seri'na (daughter of lord Acasto). He is a soldier, so proud and susceptible that he is forever taking offence, and setting himself up as censor or champion. He fancies his sister Monim'ia has lost her honor, and calls her to task, but finds he is mistaken. He fancies her guardian, old Acasto, has not been sufficiently watchful over her, and draws upon him in his anger, but sees his folly just in time to prevent mischief. He fancies Castalio, his sister's husband, has ill-treated her, and threatens to kill him, but his suspicions are again altogether erroneous. In fact, his presence in the house was like that of a madman with fire-brands in a stack-yard.—Otway, The Orphan (1680).
There are characters in which he [C. M. Young] is unrivalled and almost perfect. His "Pierre" [Venice Preserved, Otway] is more soldierly than Kemble's; his "Chamont" is full of brotherly pride, noble impetuosity, and heroic scorn.—New Monthly Magazine (1822).
Champagne (Henry earl of), a crusader.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).
Cham'pernel', a lame old gentleman, the husband of Lami'ra, and son-in-law of judge Vertaigne (2 sy).—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Little French Lawyer (1647).
Champion of the Virgin. St. Cyril of Alexandria is so called from his defence of the "Incarnation" or doctrine of the "hypostatic union," in the long and stormy dispute with Nesto'rius bishop of Constantinople.
Champneys (Sir Geoffry), a fossilized old country gentleman, who believes in "blue blood" and the "British peerage." Father of Talbot, and neighbor of Perkyn Middlewick, a retired butterman. The sons of these two magnates are fast friends, but are turned adrift by their fathers for marrying in opposition to their wishes. When reduced to abject poverty, the old men go to visit their sons, relent, and all ends happily.
Miss Champneys, sir Geoffry's sister, proud and aristocratic, but quite willing to sacrifice both on the altar of Mr. Perkyn Middlewick, the butterman, if the wealthy plebeian would make her his wife and allow her to spend his money.—H. J. Byron, Our Boys (1875).
Talbot Champneys, a swell with few brains and no energy. His name, which is his passport into society, will not find him salt in the battle of life. He marries Mary Melrose, a girl without a penny, but his father wants him to marry Violet the heiress.
Chan'ticleer (3 syl.), the cock, in the beast-epic of Reynard the Fox (1498), and also in "The Nonne Preste's Tale," told in The Canterbury Tales, by Chaucer (1388).
Chaon'ian Bird (The), the dove; so called because doves delivered the oracles of Dodona or Chaon'ia.
Chaonian Food, acorns, so called from the oak trees of Dodona, which gave out the oracles by means of bells hung among the branches. Beech mast is so called also, because beech trees abounded in the forest of Dodona.
Charalois, son of the marshal of Burgundy. When he was twenty-eight years old his father died in prison at Dijon, for debts contracted by him for the service of the State in the wars. According to the law which then prevailed in France, the body of the marshal was seized by his creditors, and refused burial. The son of Charalois redeemed his father's body by his own, which was shut up in prison in lieu of the marshal's.—Philip Massinger, The Fatal Dowry (1632).
(It will be remembered that Milti'adês, the Athenian general, died in prison for debt, and the creditors claimed the body, which they would not suffer to be buried till his son Cimon gave up himself as a hostage.)
Char'egite (3 syl.). The Charegite assassin, in the disguise of a Turkish marabout or enthusiast, comes and dances before the tent of Richard Coeur de Lion, and suddenly darting forward, is about to stab the king, when a Nubian seizes his arm, and the king kills the assassin on the spot.—Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).
Charicle'ia, the fiancée of Theag'enês, in the Greek romance called The Loves of Theagenês and Charicleia, by Heliodo'ros bishop of Trikka (fourth century).
Chari'no, father of Angelina. Charino wishes Angelina to marry Clodio, a young coxcomb; but the lady prefers his elder brother Carlos, a young bookworm. Love changes the character of the diffident Carlos, and Charino at last accepts him for his son-in-law. Charino is a testy, obstinate old man, who wants to rule the whole world in his own way.—C. Cibber, Love Makes the Man (1694).
Char'lemagne and His Paladins. This series of romances is of French origin, as the Arthurion is Welsh or British. It began with the legendary chronicle in verse, called Historia de Vita Carola Magni et Rolandi, erroneously attributed to Turpin archbishop of Rheims (a contemporary of Charlemagne), but probably written two or three hundred years later. The chief of the series are Huon of Bordeaux, Guerin de Monglave, Gaylen Rhetore (in which Charlemagne and his paladins proceed in mufti to the Holy Land), Miles and Ames, Jairdain de Blaves, Doolin de Mayence, Ogier le Danais, and Maugis the Enchanter.
Charlemagne and the Ring. Pasquier says that Charles le Grand fell in love with a peasant girl [Agatha], in whose society he seemed bewitched, insomuch that all matters of state were neglected by him; but the girl died, to the great joy of all. What, however, was the astonishment of the court to find that the king seemed no less bewitched with the dead body than he had been with the living, and spent all day and night with it, even when its smell was quite offensive. Archbishop Turpin felt convinced there was sorcery in this strange infatuation, and on examining the body, found a ring under the tongue, which he removed. Charlemagne now lost all regard for the dead body; but followed Turpin, with whom, he seemed infatuated. The archbishop now bethought him of the ring, which he threw into a pool at Aix, where Charlemagne built a palace and monastery, and no spot in the world had such attractions for him as Aix-la-Chapelle, where "the ring" was buried.—Recherches de la France, vi. 33.
Charlemagne and Years of Plenty. According to German legend, Charlemagne appears in seasons of plenty. He crosses the Rhine on a golden bridge, and blesses both corn-fields and vineyards.
Charlemagne not dead. According to legend, Charlemagne was crowned and armed in Odenberg (Hesse) or Untersberg, near Saltzburg, till the time of antichrist, when he will wake up and deliver Christendom. (See BARBAROSSA.)
Charlemagne's Nine Wives: (1) Hamiltrude, a poor Frenchwoman, who bore him several children. (2) Desidera'ta, who was divorced. (3) Hildegarde. (4) Fastrade, daughter of count Rodolph the Saxon. (5) Luitgarde the German. The last three died before him. (6) Maltegarde. (7) Gersuinde the Saxon. (8) Regina. (9) Adalinda.
Charlemagne's Stature. We are told that Charlemagne was "eight feet high," and so strong that he could "straighten with his hands alone three horseshoes at once." His diet and his dress were both as simple as possible.
Charlemagne's Sword, La Joyeuse.
Charlemagne of Servia, Stephen Dushan.
Charles "the Bold," duke of Burgundy, introduced by sir W. Scott in two novels, viz., Quentin Durward and Anne of Geierstein. The latter novel contains an account of the battle of Nancy, where Charles was slain.
Charles prince of Wales (called "Babie Charles"), son of James I., introduced by sir W. Scott in The Fortunes of Nigel.
Charles "the Good," earl of Flanders. In 1127 he passed a law that whoever married a serf should become a serf: thus if a prince married a serf, the prince would become a serf. This absurd law caused his death, and the death of the best blood in Bruges.—S. Knowles, The Provost of Bruges (1836).
Charles II. of England, introduced by sir W. Scott in two novels, viz., Peveril of the Peak and Woodstock. In this latter he appears first as a gipsy woman, and afterwards under the name of Louis Kerneguy (Albert Lee's page).
Charles IX. of France. Instigated by his mother, Catherine de Medici, he set on foot the massacre of St. Bartholomew (1550-1574).
Charles XII. of Sweden. "Determined to brave the seasons, as he had done his enemies, Charles XII. ventured to make long marches during the cold of the memorable winter of 1709. In one of these marches two thousand of his men died from the cold."
(Planché has an historical drama, in two acts, called Charles XII.; and the Life of Charles XII., by Voltaire, is considered to be one of the best written historical works in the French language.)
Charles Edward [Stuart], called "The Chevalier Prince Charles Edward, the Young Pretender," introduced by sir W. Scott in Redgauntlet (time, George III.), first as "father Bonaventure," and afterwards as "Pretender to the British crown." He is again introduced in Waverley (time, George II.).
Charles Emmanuel, son of Victor Amade'us (4 syl.) king of Sardinia. In 1730 his father abdicated, but somewhat later wanted his son to restore the crown again. This he refused to do; and when Victor plotted against him, D'Orme'a was sent to arrest the old man, and he died. Charles was brave, patient, single-minded, and truthful.—R. Browning, King Victor and King Charles, etc.
Charles Knollys, an English bridegroom, who falls into a crevasse on his wedding-trip, and is found by his wife in the ice, still young and beautiful in his icy shroud, forty-five years later.—J. S. of Dale (Frederic Jesup Stimson), Mrs. Knollys (1888).
Charley, plu. Charlies, an old watchman or "night guardian," before the introduction of the police force by sir Robert Peel, in 1829. So called from Charles I., who extended and improved the police system.
Charley Keene, merry little doctor in The Grandissimes, in love with the beautiful Creole girl Clotilde (1880).
Charlie, alias "Injin Charlie," alias "Old Charlie," a "dark white man" in Belles Demoiselles' Plantation, by George W. Cable. "Sunk in the bliss of deep ignorance, shrewd, deaf, and by repute, at least, unmerciful" (1879).
Chariot, a messenger from Liëge to Louis XI—Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward (time, Edward IV.).
Charlotte, the faithful sweetheart of young Wilmot, supposed to have perished at sea.—Geo. Lillo, Fatal Curiosity (1736).
Charlotte, the dumb girl, in love with Leander; but her father, sir Jasper, wants her to marry Mr. Dapper. In order to avoid this hateful alliance, Charlotte pretends to be dumb, and only answers, "Han, hi, han, hon." The "mock doctor" employs Leander as his apothecary, and the young lady is soon cured by "pills matrimoniac." In Molière's Le Médecin Malgré Lui Charlotte is called "Lucinde." The jokes in act ii. 6 are verbally copied from the French.—H. Fielding, The Mock Doctor.
Charlotte, daughter of sir John Lambert, in The Hypocrite, by Is. Bickerstaff (1768); in love with Darnley. She is a giddy girl, fond of tormenting Darnley; but being promised in marriage to Dr. Cantwell, who is fifty-nine, and whom she utterly detests, she becomes somewhat sobered down, and promises Darnley to become his loving wife. Her constant exclamation is "Lud!"
In Molière's comedy of Tartuffe Charlotte is called "Mariane," and Darnley is "Valère."
Charlotte, the pert maid-servant of the countess Wintersen. Her father was "state coachman." Charlotte is jealous of Mrs. Haller, and behaves rudely to her (see act ii. 3).—Benjamin Thompson, The Stranger (1797).
Charlotte, servant to Sowerberry. A dishonest, rough servant-girl, who ill-treats Oliver Twist, and robs her master.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Charlotte, a fugitive slave whose hairbreadth escapes are narrated in J. T. Trowbridge's story of Neighbor Jackwood (1857).
Charlotte (Lady), the servant of a lady so called. She assumes the airs with the name and address of her mistress. The servants of her own and other households address her as "Your ladyship," or "lady Charlotte;" but though so mighty grand, she is "noted for a plaguy pair of thick legs."—Rev. James Townley, High Life Below Stairs (1759).
Charlotte Corday, devoted patriot of the French Revolution. Believing Marat to be the worst enemy of France, she stabbed him in the bath; was arrested and guillotined.
Charlotte Elizabeth, whose surname was Phelan, afterwards Tonna, author of numerous books for children, tales, etc. (1825-1862).
Charlotte Goodchild, a merchant's orphan daughter of large fortune. She is pestered by many lovers, and her guardian gives out that she has lost all her money by the bankruptcy of his house. On this all her suitors but one depart, and that one is sir Callaghan O'Brallaghan, who declares he loves her now as an equal, and one whom he can serve, but before he loved her "with fear and trembling, like a man that loves to be a soldier, yet is afraid of a gun."—C. Macklin, Love-à-la-mode (1779).
Charlotte Temple, the daughter of an English gentleman, whose seduction by an officer in the British army, her sad life and lonely death, are the elements of a novel bearing her name, written by "Mrs. Rowson." Charlotte Temple is buried in Trinity church-yard, New York.
Char'mian, a kind-hearted, simple-minded attendant on Cleopatra. After the queen's death, she applied one of the asps to her own arm, and when the, Roman soldiers entered the room, fell down dead.—Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra (1608).
Char'teris (Sir Patrick), of Kinfauns, provost of Perth.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Chartist Clergyman (The), Rev. Charles Kingsley (1809-1877).
Charyllis, in Spenser's pastoral Colin Clout's Come Home Again, is lady Compton. Her name was Anne, and she was the fifth of the six daughters of sir John Spenser of Althorpe, Lancaster, of the noble houses of Spenser and Marlborough. Edmund Spenser dedicated to her his satirical fable called Mother Hubbard's Tale (1591). She was thrice married; her first husband was lord Monteagle, and her third was Robert lord Buckhurst (son of the poet Sackville), who succeeded his father in 1608 as earl of Dorset.
Colin Clout's Come Home Again (1594).
Chaste (The), Alfonso II. of Asturias and Leon (758, 791-835 abdicated, died 842).
Chatookee, an Indian bird, that never drinks at a stream, but catches the raindrops in falling.—Account of the Baptist Missionaries, ii. 309.
Southey, Curse of Kehama, xxi. 6 (1809).
Chat'tanach (M'Gillie), chief of the clan Chattan.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Chat'terley (Rev. Simon), "the man of religion" at the Spa, one of the managing committee.—Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan's Well (time, George III.).
Chaubert (Mons.), Master Chaffinch's cook.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, George II.).
Chaucer of France, Clément Marot (1484-1544).
Chau'nus, Arrogance personified in The Purple Island, by Phineas Fletcher (1633). "Fondly himself with praising he dispraised." Fully described in canto viii. (Greek, chaunos, "vain".)
Cheat'ly (2 syl.), a lewd, impudent debauchee of Alsatia (Whitefriars). He dares not leave the "refuge" by reason of debt; but in the precincts he fleeces young heirs of entail, helps them to money, and becomes bound for them.—Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia (1688).
Che'bar, the tutelar angel of Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus of Bethany.—Klopstock, The Messiah, xii. (1771).
Ched'eraza'de (5 syl.), mother of Hem'junah and wife of Zebene'zer, sultan of Cassimir. Her daughter having run away to prevent a forced marriage with the prince of Georgia, whom she had never seen, the sultana pined away and died.—Sir C. Morell [J. Ridley], Tales of the Genii ("Princess of Cassimir," tale vii., 1751).
Cheder'les (3 syl.), a Moslem hero, who, like St. George, saved a virgin exposed to the tender mercies of a huge dragon. He also drank of the waters of immortality, and lives to render aid in war to any who invoke it.
Cheeney (Frank), an outspoken bachelor. He marries Kate Tyson.—Wybert Reeve, Parted.
Cheerly' (Mrs.), daughter of colonel Woodley. After being married three years, she was left a widow, young, handsome, rich, lively, and gay. She came to London, and was seen in the opera by Frank Heartall, an open-hearted, impulsive young merchant, who fell in love with her, and followed her to her lodging. Ferret, the villain of the story, misinterpreted all the kind actions of Frank, attributing his gifts to hush-money; but his character was amply vindicated, and "the soldier's daughter" became his blooming wife.—Cherry, The Soldier's Daughter (1804).
Miss O'Neill, at the age of nineteen, made her début at the Theatre Royal, Crow Street, in 1811, as "The Widow Cheerly."—W. Donaldson.
Cheeryble Brothers (The), brother Ned and brother Charles, the incarnations of all that is warm-hearted, generous, benevolent, and kind. They were once homeless boys running about the streets barefooted, and when they grew to be wealthy London merchants were ever ready to stretch forth a helping hand to those struggling against the buffets of fortune.
Frank Cheeryble, nephew of the brothers Cheeryble. He married Kate Nickleby.—C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).
Cheese (Dr.), an English translation of the Latin Dr. Caseus, that is, Dr. John Chase, a noted quack, who was born in the reign of Charles II., and died in that of queen Anne.
Chemistry (The Father of, Arnaud do Villeneuve (1238-1314)).
Che'mos (ch = k), god of the Moabites; also called Baal-Pe'ör; the Pria'pus or idol of turpitude and obscenity. Solomon built a temple to this obscene idol "in the hill that is before Jerusalem" (1 Kings xi. 7). In the hierarchy of hell Milton gives Chemos the fourth rank: (1) Satan, (2) Beëlzebub, (3) Moloch, (4) Chemos.
Next Chemos, the obscene dread of Moab's sons, Peör his other name.
Cheney, a mighty hunter in the northern woods, whose story is told in The Adirondack, by Joel Tyler Headley (1849).
Cherone'an (The) or THE CHERONE'AN SAGE (ch = k), Plutarch, who was born at Chaerone'a, in Boeo'tia (A.D. 46-120).
Cher'ry, the lively daughter of Boniface, landlord of the inn at Lichfield.—Geo.
Farquhar, The Beaux' Stratagem (1705). (See CHERY.)
Cherry (Andrew), comic actor and dramatist (1762-1812), author of The Soldier's Daughter. All for Fame, Two Strings to Your Bow. The Village, Spanish Dollars, etc. He was specially noted for his excellent wigs.
Mother Goose is a pantomime by C. Dibdin.
Cher'ubim (Don), the "bachelor of Salamanca," who is placed in a vast number of different situations of life, and made to associate with all classes of society, that the author may sprinkle his satire and wit in every direction.—Lesage, The Bachelor of Salamanca (1737).
Cher'y, the son of Brunetta (who was the wife of a king's brother), married his cousin Fairstar, daughter of the king. He obtained for his cousin the three wonderful things: The dancing water, which had the power of imparting beauty; the singing apple, which had the power of imparting wit; and the little green bird, which had the power of telling secrets.—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("The Princess Fairstar," 1682).
Ches'ter (Sir John), a plausible, foppish villain, the sworn enemy of Geoffrey Haredale, by whom he is killed in a duel. Sir John is the father of Hugh, the gigantic servant at the Maypole inn.
Edward Chester, son of sir John, and the lover of Emma Haredale.—C. Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (1841).
Chesterfield (Charles), a young man of genius, the hero and title of a novel by Mrs. Trollope (1841). The object of this novel is to satirize the state of literature in England, and to hold up to censure authors, editors, and publishers as profligate, selfish, and corrupt.
Chesterton (Paul), nephew to Mr. Percy Chaffington, stock-broker and M.P.—T.M. Morton, If I had a Thousand a Year (1764-1838).
Chevalier d'Industrie, a man who lives by his wits and calls himself a "gentleman."
Chevalier Malfet (Le), so sir Launcelot calls himself after he was cured of his madness. The meaning of the phrase is "The knight who has done ill," or "The knight who has trespassed."—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, iii. 20 (1470).
Cheveril (Hans), the ward of Mordent, just come of age. Impulsive, generous, hot-blooded. He resolves to be a rake, but scorns to be a villain. However, he accidentally meets with Joanna "the deserted daughter," and falls in love with her. He rescues her from the clutches of Mrs. Enfield the crimp, and marries her.—Holcroft, The Deserted Daughter (altered into The Steward).
Chibia'bos, the Harmony of Nature personified; a musician, the friend of Hiawatha, and ruler in the land of spirits. When he played on his pipe, the "brooks ceased to murmur, the wood-birds to sing, the squirrel to chatter, and the rabbit sat upright to look and listen." He was drowned in Lake Superior by the breaking of the ice.
Chibiabos, venerable chief in The Myth of Hiaiwatha and Other Oral Legends of North American Indians, by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1856).
Chicaneau (She'.ka.no'), a litigious tradesman in Les Plaideurs, by Racine, (1668).
Chich'i-Vache (3 syl.), a monster that fed only on good women. The word means the "sorry cow." It was all skin and bone, because its food was so extremely scarce. (See BYCORN.)
Chick (Mr.), brother-in-law of Mr. Dombey; a stout gentleman, with a tendency to whistle and hum airs at inopportune moments. Mr. Chick is somewhat henpecked; but in the matrimonial squalls, though apparently beaten, he not unfrequently rises up the superior and gets his own way.
Louisa Chick, Mr. Dombey's married sister. She is of a snappish temper, but dresses in the most juvenile style, and is persuaded that anything can be accomplished if persons will only "make an effort."—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).
Chicken (The), Michael Angelo Taylor, barrister, so called because in his maiden speech, 1785, he said, "I deliver this opinion with great deference, being but a chicken in the profession of the law."
Chicken (The Game), a low fellow, to be heard of at the bar of the Black Badger. Mr. Toots selects this man as his instructor in fencing, betting, and self-defence. The Chicken has short hair, a low forehead, a broken nose, and "a considerable tract of bare and sterile country behind each ear."—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).
Chickens and the Augurs. When the augurs told Publius Claudius Pulcher, the Roman consul, who was about to engage the Carthaginian fleet, that the sacred chickens would not eat, he replied, "Then toss them into the sea, that they may drink."
Chick'enstalker (Mrs.), a stout, bonny, kind-hearted woman, who keeps a general shop. Toby Veck, in his dream, imagines her married to Tugby, the porter of sir Joseph Bowley.—C. Dickens, The Chimes (1844).
Chick'weed (Conkey, i.e. Nosey), the man who robbed himself. He was a licensed victualler on the point of failing, and gave out that he had been robbed of 327 guineas "by a tall man with a black patch over his eye." He was much pitied, and numerous subscriptions were made on his behalf. A detective was sent to examine into the "robbery," and Chickweed would cry out, "There he is!" and run after the "hypothetical thief" for a considerable distance, and then lose sight of him. This occurred over and over again, and at last the detective said to him, "I've found out who done this here robbery." "Have you?" said Chickweed. "Yes," said Spyers, "you done it yourself." And so he had.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xxxi. (1837).
Chif'finch (Master Thomas), alias Will Smith, a friend of Richard Ganlesse (2 syl.). The private emissary of Charles II. He was employed by the duke of Buckingham to carry off Alice Bridgenorth to Whitehall, but the captive escaped and married Julian Peveril.
Kate Chiffinch, mistress of Thomas Chiffinch.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Chignon [Shin.yong], the French valet of Miss Alscrip "the heiress." A silly, affected, typical French valet-de-chambre.—General Burgoyne, The Heiress (1718).
Chi'lax, a merry old soldier, lieutenant to general Memnon, in Paphos.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (1617).
Child (The), Bettina, daughter of Maximiliane Brentano. So called from the title of her book, Goethe's Correspondence with a Child.
Child of Nature (The), a play by Mrs. Inchbald. Amantis was the "child of Nature." She was the daughter of Alberto, banished "by an unjust sentence," and during his exile he left his daughter under the charge of the marquis Almanza. Amantis was brought up in total ignorance of the world and the passion-principles which sway it, but felt grateful to her guardian, and soon discovered that what she called "gratitude" the world calls "love." Her father returned home rich, his sentence cancelled and his innocence allowed, just in time to give his daughter in marriage to his friend Almanza.
Childe Harold, a man sated with the world, who roams from place to place, to kill time and escape from himself. The "childe" is, in fact, lord Byron himself, who was only twenty-two when he began the poem, which was completed in seven years. In canto i. the "childe" visits Portugal and Spain (1809); in canto ii. Turkey in Europe (1810); in canto iii. Belgium and Switzerland (1816); and in canto iv. Venice, Rome, and Florence (1817).
("Childe" is a title of honor, about tantamount to "lord," as childe Waters, childe Rolande, childe Tristram, childe Arthur, childe Childers, etc.)
Chil'ders (E.W.B.), one of the riders in Sleary's circus, noted for his vaulting and reckless riding in the character of the "Wild Huntsman of the Prairies." This compound of groom and actor marries Josephine, Sleary's daughter.
Kidderminster Childers, son of the above, known in the profession as "Cupid." He is a diminutive boy, with an old face and facetious manner wholly beyond his years.—C. Dickens, Hard Times (1854).
Children (The Henneberg). It is said that the countess of Henneberg railed at a beggar for having twins, and the beggar, turning on the countess, who was forty-two years old, said, "May you have as many children as there are days in a year," and sure enough, on Good Friday, 1276, the countess brought forth 365 at one birth; all the males were christened John, and all the females Elizabeth. They were buried at a village near La Hague, and the jug is still shown in which they were baptized.
Children in the Wood, the little son (three years old) and younger daughter (Jane) left by a Norfolk gentleman on his death-bed to the care of his deceased wife's brother. The boy was to have £300 a year on coming of age, and the girl £500 as a wedding portion; but if the children died in their minority the money was to go to the uncle. The uncle, in order to secure the property, hired two ruffians to murder the children, but one of them relented and killed his companion; then, instead of murdering the babes, he left them in Wayland Wood, where they gathered blackberries, but died at night with cold and terror. All things went ill with the uncle, who perished in gaol, and the ruffian, after a lapse of seven years, confessed the whole villainy.—Percy, Reliques, III. ii. 18.
Children of the Mist, one of the branches of the MacGregors, a wild race of Scotch Highlanders, who had a skirmish with the soldiers in pursuit of Dalgetty and M'Eagh among the rocks (ch. 14).—Sir W. Scott, Legend of Montrose (time, Charles I.).
Chillip (Dr.), a physician who attended Mrs. Copperfield at the birth of David.
He was the meekest of his set, the mildest of little men.—C. Dickens, David Copperfield, i. (1849).
Chillon' (Prisoner of) François de Bonnivard, of Lunes, the Genevese patriot (1496-1571) who opposed the enterprises of Charles III. (the duke-bishop of Savoy) against the independence of Geneva, and was cast by him into the prison of Chillon, where he was confined for six years. Lord Byron makes him one of six brothers, two of whom died on the battle-field; one was burnt at the stake, and three were imprisoned at Chillon. Two of the prisoners died, but François was set at liberty by the people of Berne.—Byron, Prisoner of Chillon (1816).
Chimène (La Belle) or Xime'na, daughter of count Lozano de Gormaz, wife of the Cid. After the Cid's death she defended Valentia from the Moors with great bravery, but without success. Corneille and Guihem de Cantro have introduced her in their tragedies, but the rôle they represent her to have taken is wholly imaginary.
Chinaman (John), a man of China.
Chindasuin'tho (4 syl.), king of Spain, father of Theod'ofred, and grandfather of Roderick last of the Gothic kings.—Southey, Roderick, etc. (1814).
Chinese Philosopher (A). Oliver Goldsmith, in the Citizen of the World, calls his book "Letters from a Chinese Philosopher residing in London to his Friends in the East" (1759).
Chingachgook, the Indian chief, called in French Le Gros Serpent. Fenimore Cooper has introduced this chief into four of his novels, The Last of the Mohicans. The Pathfinder. The Deerslayer, and The Pioneer.
Chintz (Mary), Miss Bloomfield's maid, the bespoken of Jem Miller.—C. Selby, The Unfinished Gentleman.
Chi'os (The Man of), Homer, who lived at Chios [Ki'.os]. At least Chios was one of the seven cities which laid claim to the bard, according to the Latin hexameter verse:
Chirn'side (Luckie), poulterer at Wolf's Hope village.—Sir W. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Chi'ron, a centaur, renowned for his skill in hunting, medicine, music, gymnastics, and prophecy. He numbered among his pupils Achilles, Peleus, Diomede, and indeed all the most noted heroes of Grecian story. Jupiter took him to heaven, and made him the constellation Sagittarius.
Chirrup (Betsey), the housekeeper of Mr. Sowerberry, the misanthrope.—W. Brough, A Phenomenon in a Smock Frock.
Chita, the child orphaned by the fearful tragedy detailed in Lufcadio Hearn's Chita: A Memory of Last Island. The little one is dragged from her dead mother's neck while she has still the strength to cry out "Maman! maman!" and borne through the surf by the fisherman Felix, to the arms of his wife. Brought up as the child of the humble pair, she never suspects that the stranger who, years after, dies of yellow fever brought from New Orleans to Felix's hut is her father (1888).
Chitling (Tom), one of the associates of Fagin the Jew. Tom Chitling was always most deferential to the "Artful Dodger."—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Chivalry (The Flower of), William Douglas, lord of Liddesdale (fourteenth century).
Chlo'e [Klo'.e], the shepherdess beloved by Daphnis, in the pastoral romance called Daphnis and Chloé, by Longus. St. Pierre's tale of Paul and Virginia is based on this pastoral.
Chloe or rather Cloe. So Prior calls Mrs. Centlivre (1661-1723).
Chloe (Aunt), the faithful wife of Uncle Tom in Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous book Uncle Tom's Cabin. She hires herself out to a pastry-cook to help redeem her husband after he is "sold South." Her exhortation, "Think o' your marcies, chillen! think o' your marcies!" is sincere, yet when Tom quotes, "Pray for them that despitefully use you," she sobs out, "Lor'! it's too tough! I can't pray for 'em!" (1852.)
Chloe (Aunt), "a homeless widow, of excellent Vermont intentions and high ideals in cup-cake, summoned to that most difficult of human tasks, the training of another woman's child.... She held it to be the first business of any woman who undertook the management of a literary family like her brother's to attend properly to its digestion."—Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, The Story of Avis (1877).
Chlo'ris, the ancient Greek name of Flora.
Choe'reas (ch = k), the lover of Callirrhoê, in the Greek romance called The Loves of Choereas and Callirrhoê, by Char'iton (eighth century).
Choke (General), a lank North American gentleman, "one of the most remarkable men in the country." He was editor of The Watertoast Gazette, and a member of "The Eden Land Corporation." It was general Choke who induced Martin Chuzzlewit to stake his all in the egregious Eden swindle.—C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).
Cholmondeley [Chum'.ly], of Vale Royal, a friend of sir Geoffrey Peveril.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Choppard (Pierre), one of the gang of thieves, called "The Ugly Mug." When asked a disagreeable question, he always answered, "I'll ask my wife, my memory's so slippery."—Edward Stirling, The Courier of Lyons (1852).
Chriemhil'da. (See under K.)
Chrisom Child (A), a child that dies within a month of its birth. So called because it is buried in the white cloth anointed with chrism (oil and balm) worn at its baptism.
"He's in Arthur's [Abraham's] bosom, if ever man went to Arthur's bosom. 'A made a finer end, and went away, an it had been any christom [chrisom] child. 'A parted just ... at turning o' the tide." (Quickly's description of the death of Falstaff.)—Shakespeare, Henry V. act ii. sc. 3 (1599).
Chris'tabel (ch = k), the heroine of a fragmentary poem of the same title by Coleridge.
Christabel, the heroine of an ancient romance entitled Sir Eglamour of Artois.
Christabelle [Kris.'ta.bel], daughter of "a bonnie king of Ireland," beloved by sir Cauline (2 syl.). When the king knew of their loves he banished sir Cauline from the kingdom. Then as Christabelle drooped the king held a tournament for her amusement, every prize of which was carried off by an unknown knight in black. On the last day came a giant with two "goggling eyes, and mouthe from ear to ear," called the Soldain, and defied all comers. No one would accept his challenge save the knight in black, who succeeded in killing his adversary, but died himself of the wounds he had received. When it was discovered that the knight was sir Cauline, the lady "fette a sighe, that burst her gentle hearte in twayne."—Percy, Reliques ("Sir Cauline," I. i. 4).
Christian, the hero of Bunyan's allegory called The Pilgrim's Progress. He flees from the City of Destruction and journeys to the Celestial City. At starting he has a heavy pack upon his shoulders, which falls off immediately he reaches the foot of the cross. (The pack, of course, is the bundle of sin, which is removed by the blood of the cross. 1678.)
Christian, a follower of Christ. So called first at Antioch.—Acts xi. 26.
Christian, captain of the patrol in a small German town in which Mathis is burgomaster. He marries Annette, the burgomaster's daughter.—J. R. Ware, The Polish Jew.
Christian, synonym of "Peasant" in Russia. This has arisen from the abundant legislation under czar Alexis and czar Peter the Great, to prevent Christian serfs from entering the service of Mohammedan masters. No Christian is allowed to belong to a Mohammedan master, and no Mohammedan master is allowed to employ a Christian on his estate.
Christian II. (or Christiern), king of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. When the Dalecarlians rose in rebellion against him and chose Gustavus Vasa for their leader, a great battle was fought, in which the Swedes were victorious; but Gustavus allowed the Danes to return to their country. Christian then abdicated, and Sweden became an independent kingdom.—H. Brooke, Gustavus Vasa (1730).
Chris'tian (Edward), a conspirator. He has two aliases, "Richard Gan'lesse" (2 syl.) and "Simon Can'ter."
Colonel William Christian, Edward's brother. Shot for insurrection.
Fenella alias Zarah Christian, daughter of Edward Christian.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, George II.).
Christian (Fletcher), mate of the Bounty, under the command of captain Bligh, and leader of the mutineers. After setting the captain and some others adrift, Christian took command of the ship, and, according to lord Byron, the mutineers took refuge in the island of Toobouai (one of the Society Islands). Here Torquil, one of the mutineers, married Neuha, a native. After a time a ship was sent to capture the mutineers. Torquil and Neuha escaped, and lay concealed in a cave; but Christian, Ben Bunting, and Skyscrape were shot. This is not according to fact, for Christian merely touched at Toobouai, and then, with eighteen of the natives and nine of the mutineers, sailed for Tahiti, where all soon died except Alexander Smith, who changed his name to John Adams, and became a model patriarch.—Byron, The Island.
Christian Doctor (Most), John Charlier de Gerson (1363-1429).
Christian Eloquence (The Founder of), Louis Bourdaloue (1632-1704).
Christian King (Most). So the kings of France were styled. Pepin le Bref was so styled by pope Stephen III. (714-768). Charles II. le Chauve was so styled by the Council of Savonnières (823, 840-877). Louis XI. was so styled by Paul II. (1423, 1461-1483).
Christian'a (ch = k), the wife of Christian, who started with her children and Mercy from the City of Destruction long after her husband's flight. She was under the guidance of Mr. Greatheart, and went, therefore, with silver slippers along the thorny road. This forms the second part of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (1684).
Chris'tie (2 syl.) of the Clint Hill, one of the retainers of Julian Avenel (2 syl.).—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
Chris'tie (John), ship-chandler at Paul's wharf.
Dame Nelly Christie, his pretty wife, carried off by lord Dalgarno.—Sir W. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel (time, James I.).
Christi'na, daughter of Christian II. king of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. She is sought in marriage by prince Arvi'da and by Gustavus Vasa; but the prince abandons his claim in favor of his friend. After the great battle, in which Christian is defeated by Gustavus, Christina clings to her father, and pleads with Gustavus on his behalf. He is sent back to Denmark, with all his men, without ransom, but abdicates, and Sweden is erected into a separate kingdom.—H. Brooke, Gustavus Vasa (1730).
Christina Purcell, a happy, pure girl, whose sheltered life and frank innocence contrast strongly with the heavy shadows glooming over outcast "Nixy" in Hedged In.
She [Nixy], looking in from the street at mother and child, wondered if the lady here and the white daughter were religious; if it were because people were white and religious that they all turned her from their doors,—then, abruptly, how she would look sitting in the light of a porcelain lamp, with a white sack on.—Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Hedged In (1870).
Chris'tine (2 syl.), a pretty, saucy young woman in the service of the countess Marie, to whom she is devotedly attached. After the recapture of Ernest ("the prisoner of state"), she goes boldly to king Frederick II., from whom she obtains his pardon. Being set at liberty, Ernest marries the countess.—E. Stirling, The Prisoner of State (1847).
Christine Dryfoos, the undisciplined, showy daughter of a self-made man in W. D. Howells's A Hazard of New Fortunes (1889).
She was self-possessed because she felt that a knowledge of her father's fortune had got around, and she had the peace which money gives to ignorance. She is madly in love with Beaton, whose attentions have raised expectations he concluded not to fulfill. At their last meeting she felt him more than life to her, and knew him lost, and the frenzy that makes a woman kill the man she loves or fling vitriol to destroy the beauty she cannot have for all hers possessed her lawless soul.... She flashed at him, and with both hands made a feline pass at the face he bent towards her.
Christmas Treasures. Eugene Field, in A Little Book of Western Verse, gives a father's soliloquy over such treasures as
all that remains to him who,
(1889.)
Chris'topher (St.), a saint of the Roman and Greek Churches, said to have lived in the third century. His pagan name was Offerus, his body was twelve ells in height, and he lived in the land of Canaan. Offerus made a vow to serve only the mightiest; so, thinking the emperor was "the mightiest," he entered his service. But one day the emperor crossed himself for fear of the devil, and the giant perceived that there was one mightier than his present master, so he quitted his service for that of the devil. After awhile. Offerus discovered that the devil was afraid of the cross, whereupon he enlisted under Christ, employing himself in carrying pilgrims across a deep stream. One day, a very small child was carried across by him, but proved so heavy that Offerus, though a huge giant, was well-nigh borne down by the weight. This child was Jesus, who changed the giant's name to Christoferus, "bearer of Christ." He died three days afterwards, and was canonized.
Longfellow, The Lighthouse.
Christopher Wright, otherwise "Uncle Christopher," is the consequential oracle of the neighborhood, and the father of six daughters, in Clovernook, by Alice Cary (1851).
Christ's Victory and Triumphs, a poem in four parts, by Giles Fletcher (1610): Part i. "Christ's Victory in Heaven," when He reconciled Justice with Mercy, by taking on Himself a body of human flesh; part ii. "Christ's Triumph on Earth," when He was led up into the wilderness, and was tempted by Presumption, Avarice, and Ambition; part iii. "Christ's Triumph over Death," when He died on the Cross; part iv. "Christ's Triumph after Death," in His resurrection and ascension. (See PARADISE REGAINED.)
Chroniclers (Anglo-Norman), a series of writers on British history in verse, of very early date. Geffroy Gaimar wrote his Anglo-Norman chronicle before 1146. It is a history in verse of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Robert Wace wrote the Brut d'Angleterre [i.e., Chronicle of England] in eight-syllable verse, and presented his work to Henry II. It was begun in 1160 and finished in 1170.
Chroniclers (Latin), historical writers of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Chroniclers (Rhyming), a series of writers on English history, from the thirteenth century. The most noted are: Layamon (called "The English Ennius") bishop of Ernleye-upon-Severn (1216). Robert of Gloucester, who wrote a narrative of British history from the landing of Brute to the close of the reign of Henry III. (to 1272). No date is assigned to the coming of Brute, but he was the son of Silvius Aene'as (the third generation from Æneas, who escaped from Troy, B.C. 1183), so that the date may be assumed to be B.C. 1028, thus giving a scope of 2300 years to the chronicle. (The verse of this chronicle is eight and six syllables displayed together, so as to form lines of fourteen syllables each.) Robert de Brunne's chronicle is in two parts. The first ends with the death of Cadwallader, and the second with the death of Edward I. The earlier parts are similar to the Anglo-Norman chronicle of Wace. (The verse is octo-syllabic.)
Chronicles of Canongate, certain stories supposed to have been written by Mrs. Martha Bethune Baliol, a lady of quality and fortune, who lived, when in Edinburgh, at Baliol Lodging, in the Canongate. These tales were written at the request of her cousin, Mr. Croftangry, by whom, at her death, they were published. The first series contains The Highland Widow, The Two Drovers, and The Surgeon's Daughter [afterwards removed from this series]. The second series contains The Fair Maid of Perth.—Sir W. Scott.
"Chronicles of Canongate" (introduction to The Highland Widow).
Chronology (The father of), J. J. Scaliger (1540-1609).
Chronon—Hoton—Thol'ogos (King). He strikes Bombardin'ian, general of his forces, for giving him hashed pork, and saying, "Kings as great as Chrononhotonthologos have made a hearty meal on worse." The king calls his general a traitor. "Traitor in thy teeth!" retorts the general. They fight, and the king dies.—H. Carey, Chrononhotonthologos (a burlesque).
Chrysalde' (2 syl.), friend of Arnolphe.—Molière, L'École des Femmes (1662).
Chrysale (2 syl.), a simple-minded, henpecked French tradesman, whose wife Philaminte (3 syl.) neglects her house for the learned languages, women's rights, and the aristocracy of mind. He is himself a plain practical man, who has no sympathy with the bas bleu movement. He has two daughters, Armande (2 syl.) and Henriette, both of whom love Clitandre; but Armande, who is a "blue-stocking," loves him platonically; while Henriette, who is a "thorough woman," loves him with a woman's love. Chrysale sides with his daughter Henriette, and when he falls into money difficulties through the "learned proclivities" of his wife, Clitandre comes forward like a man, and obtains the consent of both parents to his marriage with Henriette.—Molière, Les Femmes Savantes (1672).
Chrysa'or (ch = k), the sword of sir Ar'tegal, which "exceeded all other swords." It once belonged to Jove, and was used by him against the Titans, but it had been laid aside till Astraea gave it to the Knight of Justice.
Of most perfect metal it was made, Tempered with adamant ... no substance was so ... hard But it would pierce or cleave whereso it came. Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. (1596).
The poet tells us it was broken to pieces by Radigund queen of the Amazons (bk. v. 7), yet it reappears whole and sound (canto 12), when it is used with good service against Grantorto (the spirit of rebellion). Spenser says it was called Chrysaor because "the blade was garnished all with gold."
Chrysa'or, son of Neptune and Medu'sa. He married Callir'rhoê (4 syl.), one of the sea-nymphs.
Chryseis [Kri see'.iss], daughter of Chrysês priest of Apollo. She was famed for her beauty and her embroidery. During the Trojan war Chryseis was taken captive and allotted to Agamemnon king of Argos, but her father came to ransom her. The king would not accept the offered ransom, and Chrysês prayed that a plague might fall on the Grecian camp. His prayer was answered, and in order to avert the plague Agamemnon sent the lady back to her father not only without ransom but with costly gifts.—Homer, Iliad, i.
Chrysostom, a famous scholar, who died for love of Marcella, "rich William's daughter."
Chucks, the boatswain under Captain Savage.—Captain Marryat, Peter Simple (1833).
Chuffey, Anthony Chuzzlewit's old clerk, almost in his dotage, but master and man love each other with sincerest affection.
Chuffey fell back into a dark corner on one side of the fire-place, where he always spent his evenings, and was neither seen nor heard.... save once, when a cup of tea was given him, in which he was seen to soak his bread mechanically.... He remained, as it were, frozen up; if any term expressive of such a vigorous process can be applied to him—C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, xi. (1843).
Chunée (À la), very huge and bulky. Chunée was the largest elephant ever brought to England. Henry Harris, manager of Covent Garden, bought it for £900 to appear in the pantomime of Harlequin Padmenaba, in 1810. It was subsequently sold to Cross, the proprietor of Exeter 'Change. Chunée at length became mad, and was shot by a detachment of the Guards, receiving 152 wounds. The skeleton is preserved in the museum of the College of Surgeons. It is 12 feet 4 inches high.
Church built by Voltaire. Voltaire, the atheist, built, at Ferney, a Christian church, and had this inscription affixed to it "Deo erexit Voltaire." Campbell, in the Life of Cowper (vol. vii., 358) says, "he knows not to whom Cowper alludes in these lines:"
Cowper, Retirement (1782).
Churm. Guide, philosopher, and friend of Robert Byng, in Cecil Dreeme. A noted philanthropist, the fame of whose benevolence is the Open Sesame to an insane asylum in which his child is incarcerated. —Theodore Winthrop, Cecil Dreeme (1861).
Chuzzlewit (Anthony), cousin of Martin Chuzzlewit, the grandfather. Anthony is an avaricious old hunks, proud of having brought up his son, Jonas, to be as mean and grasping as himself. His two redeeming points are his affection for his old old servant, Chuffey, and his forgiveness of Jonas after his attempt to poison him.
The old established firm of Anthony Chuzzlewit and Son, Manchester warehousemen ... had its place of business in a very narrow street somewhere behind the Post Office.... A dim, dirty, smoky, tumble-down, rotten old house it was ... but here the firm ... transacted their business ... and neither the young man nor the old one had any other residence.—Chap. xi.
Jonas Chuzzlewit, son of Anthony, of the "firm of Anthony Chuzzlewit and Son, Manchester warehousemen." A consummate villain of mean brutality and small tyranny. He attempts to poison his old father, and murders Montague Tigg, who knows his secret. Jonas marries Mercy Pecksniff, his cousin, and leads her a life of utter misery. His education had been conducted on money-grubbing principles; the first word he was taught to spell was gain, and the second, money. He poisons himself to save his neck from the gallows.
This fine young man had all the inclination of a profligate of the first water, and only lacked the one good trait in the common catalogue of debauched vices—open-handedness—to be a notable vagabond. But there his griping and penurious habits stepped in.—Chap. xi.
Martin Chuzzlewit, sen., grandfather to the hero of the same name. A stern old man, whose kind heart has been turned to gall by the dire selfishness of his relations. Being resolved to expose Pecksniff, he goes to live in his house, and pretends to be weak in intellect, but keeps his eyes sharp open, and is able to expose the canting scoundrel in all his deformity.
Martin Chuzzlewit, jun., the hero of the tale called Martin Chuzzlewit, grandson to old Martin. His nature has been warped by bad training, and, at first, he is both selfish and exacting; but the troubles and hardships he undergoes in "Eden" completely transform him, and he becomes worthy of Mary Graham, whom he marries.—C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).
Cyndo'nax, a chief druid, whose tomb (with a Greek inscription) was discovered near Dijon, in 1598.
Ciacco' (2 syl.), a glutton, spoken to by Dantê, in the third circle of hell, the place in which gluttons are consigned to endless woe. The word means "a pig," and is not a proper name, but only a symbolical one.—Dantê, Hell, vi. (1300).
Cicero. When the great Roman orator was given up by Augustus to the revenge of Antony, it was a cobbler who conducted the sicarii to Formiae, whither Cicero had fled in a litter, intending to put to sea. His bearers would have fought, but Cicero forbade them, and one Herennius has the unenviable notoriety of being his murderer.
It was a cobbler that set the murderers on Cicero.—Ouida, Ariadnê, i. 6.
Cicero of the British Senate, George Canning (1770-1827).
Cicero of France, Jean Baptiste Massillon (1663-1742).
Cicero of Germany, John, Elector of Brandenburg (1455, 1486-1499).
Cicero's Mouth, Philippe Pot, Prime Minister of Louis XL (1428-1494).
The British Cicero, William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (1708-1778).
The Christian Cicero, Lucius Coelius Lactantius (died 330).
The German Cicero, Johann Sturm, printer and scholar (1507-1589).
Cicely (Sweet). Heroine of novel by Marietta Holley, better known as "Josiah Allen's wife." (1885).
Cicely Humphreys. Putative daughter of Bothwell and Marie Stuart; who is made the companion of her mother's journeyings and captivity.—C.M. Yonge, Unknown to History (1885).
Cyclinius, mistake in one only manuscript of Chaucer for Cyllenius, a name of Mercury, from his birth-place, Mt. Cyllene in Arcadia.
Cyclinius (Cyllenius) riding in his chevauchie. Chaucer, Complaint of Mars and Venus.
Cid (The) = Seid or Signior, also called Campeador [Cam.pa'.dor] or "Camp hero." Rodrigue Diaz de Bivar was surnamed "the Cid." The great hero of Castille, he was born at Burgos, 1030, and died, 1099. He signalized himself by his exploits in the reigns of Ferdinand, Sancho II., and Alphonso VI. of Leon and Castille. In the wars between Sancho II. and his brother (Alphonso VI.), he sided with the former; and, on the assassination of Sancho, was disgraced, and quitted the court. He then assembled his vassals and marched against the Moors, whom he conquered in several battles, so that Alphonso was necessitated to recall him. Both Corneille and Guilhem de Cantro have admirable tragedies on the subject; Ross Neil has an English drama called The Cid; Sanchez, in 1775, wrote a long poem of 1128 verses, called Poema del Cid Campeador. Southey, in his Chronicle of the Cid (1808), has collected all that is known of this extraordinary hero. (It was The Cid (1636) which gained for Corneille the title of "Le Grand Corneille.")
The Cid's Father, Don Diego Lainez.
The Cid's Mother, Doña Teresa Nnñez.
The Cid's Wife, Xime'na, daughter of the Count Lozano de Gormaz. The French called her La Belle Chimène, but the rôle ascribed to her by Corneille is wholly imaginary.
The Cid's Children. His two daughters were Elvi'ra and Sol; his son, Diego Rodriquez, died young.
The Cid's Horse was Babieca [either Bab.i.e'.keh or Ba.bee.'keh]. It survived its master two years and a half, but no one was allowed to mount it. Babieca was buried before the monastery gates of Valencia, and two elms were planted to mark the spot.
(Here "Babieca" is 4 syl., but in the verse above it is only 3 syl.).
The Cid's Swords, Cola'da and Tizo'na ("terror of the world"). The latter was taken by him from King Bucar.
Cid (The Portuguese), Nunez Alva'rez Perei'ra (1360-1431).
Cid Hamet Benengeli, the hypothetical author of Don Quixote. (See BENENGELI).
Spanish commentators have discovered this pseudonym to be only an Arabian version of Signior Cervantes. Cid, i.e., "signior;" Hamet, a Moorish prefix; and Ben-en-geli, meaning "son of a stag." So cervato ("a young stag") is the basis of the name Cervantes.
Cidli, the daughter of Jairus, restored to life by Jesus. She was beloved by Sem'ida, the young man of Nain, also raised by Jesus from the dead.—Klopstock, The Messiah, iv. (1771).
Cigarette. Vivandiére in the French army in Algiers. Passionate, wilful, tender and brave, she gives her life to save that of the man she loves.—Ouida, Under Two Flags.
Cimmerian Darkness. Homer places the Cimmerians beyond the Oceanus, in a land of never-ending gloom; and immediately after Cimmeria, he places the empire of Hadês. Pliny (Historia Naturalis, vi. 14) places Cimmeria near the Lake Avernus, in Italy, where "the sun never penetrates." Cimmeria is now called Kertch, but the Cossacks call it Prekla (Hell).
Cincinnatus, virtuous Roman patriot called from the plough to serve the State.
Cincinna'tus of the Americans, George Washington (1732-1799).
Cinderella, the heroine of a fairy tale. She was the drudge of the house, "put upon" by her two elder sisters. While the elder sisters were at a ball, a fairy came, and having arrayed the "little cinder-girl" in ball costume, sent her in a magnificent coach to the palace where the ball was given. The prince fell in love with her, but knew not who she was. This, however, he discovered by means of a "glass slipper" which she dropped, and which fitted no foot but her own.
(This tale is substantially the same as that of Rhodopis and Psammitichus in Ælian [Var. Hist., xiii., 32]. A similar one is also told in Strabo (Geog. xvii).)
The glass slipper should be the fur slipper, pantoufle en vair, not en verre; our version being taken from the Contes de Fees of C. Perrault (1697).
Cindy, maid-of-all-work in the Derrick household, in Susan Warner's Say and Seal. With the freedom of Yankee help she is "'boun' to confess" whatever occurs to her mind in season and out of season. (1860).
Cinna, a tragedy by Pierre Corneille (1637). Mdlle. Rachel, in 1838, took the part of Emilie the heroine, and made a great sensation in Paris.
Cinq-Mars, (H. Coiffier de Ruze, marquis de), favorite of Louis XIII. and protégé of Richelieu (1620-1642). Irritated by the cardinal's opposition to his marriage with Marie de Gonzague, Cinq-Mars tried to overthrow or to assassinate him. Gaston, the king's brother, sided with the conspirator, but Richelieu discovered the plot, and Cinq-Mars, being arrested, was condemned to death. Alfred de Vigny published, in 1826, a novel (in imitation of Scott's historical novels) on the subject, under the title of Cinq-Mars.
Cinquecento (3 syl.), the fifteenth century of Italian notables. They were Ariosto (1474-1533), Tasso (1544-1595), and Giovanni Rucellai (1475-1526), poets; Raphael (1483-1520), Titian (1480-1576), and Michael Angelo (1474-1564), painters. These, with Machiavelli, Luigi Alamanni, Bernardo Baldi, etc., make up what is termed the "Cinquecentesti." The word means the worthies of the '500 epoch, and it will be observed that they all flourished between 1500 and the close of that century. (See SEICENTA).
Cipan'go or Zipango, a marvellous island described in the Voyages of Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller. He described it as lying some 1500 miles from land. This island was an object of diligent search with Columbus and other early navigators, but belongs to that wonderful chart which contains the El Dorado of Sir Walter Raleigh, the Utopia of Sir Thomas More, the Atlantis of Lord Bacon, the Laputa of Dean Swift, and other places better known in story than in geography.
Circe (2 syl.), a sorceress who metamorphosed the companions of Ulysses into swine. Ulysses resisted the enchantment by means of the herb moly, given him by Mercury.
Circuit (Serjeant), in Foote's farce called The Lame Lover.
Cis'ley or Ciss, any dairy-maid. Tusser frequently speaks of the "dairy-maid Cisley," and in April Husbandry tells Ciss she must carefully keep these ten guests from her cheeses: Gehazi, Lot's wife, Argus, Tom Piper, Crispin, Lazarus, Esau, Mary Maudlin, Gentiles and bishops. (1)Gehazi, because a cheese should never be a dead white, like Gehazi the leper. (2) Lot's wife, because a cheese should not be too salt, like Lot's wife. (3) Argus, because a cheese should not be full of eyes, like Argus. (4) Tom Piper, because a cheese should not be "hoven and puffed," like the cheeks of a piper. (5) Crispin, because a cheese should not be leathery, as if for a cobbler's use. (6) Lazarus, because a cheese should not be poor, like the beggar Lazarus. (7) Esau, because a cheese should not be hairy, like Esau. (8) Mary Maudlin, because a cheese should not be full of whey, as Mary Maudlin was full of tears. (9) Gentiles, because a cheese should not be full of maggots or gentils. (10) Bishops, because a cheese should not be made of burnt milk, or milk "banned by a bishop."—T. Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, ("April," 1557).
Citizen (The), a farce by Arthur Murphy. George Philpot is destined to be the husband of Maria Wilding, but as Maria Wilding is in love with Beaufort, she behaves so sillily to her betrothed that he refuses to marry her, whereupon she gives her hand to Beaufort (1757).
City Madam (The), a comedy by Philip Massinger (1633). She was the daughter of a farmer named Goodman Humble, and married a merchant, Sir John Frugal, who became immensely wealthy, but retired from business, and by a deed of gift transferred his wealth to his brother Luke, whereby madam and her daughter were both dependent on him. During her days of wealth the extravagance of Lady Frugal was unbounded, and her dress costly beyond conception; but Luke reduced her state to that of farmers' daughters in general. Luke says to her:
The City Madam is an extraordinarily spirited picture of actual life, idealized into a semi-comic strain of poetry.—Professor Spaulding.
Cladpole (Tim), Richard Lower, of Chiddingly, author of Tom Cladpole's Journey to Lunnun (1831); Jan Cladpole's Trip to 'Merricur (1844), etc.
Claimant (The). William Knollys, in in The Great Banbury Case, claimed the baronetcy, but was non-suited. This suit lasted 150 years (1660-1811).
Douglas v. Hamilton, in The Great Douglas Case, was settled in favor of the claimant, who was at once raised to the peerage under the name and title of Baron Douglas of Douglas Castle, but was not restored to the title of duke (1767-1769).
Tom Provis, a schoolmaster of ill repute, who had married a servant of Sir Hugh Smithes of Ashton Hall, near Bristol, claimed the baronetcy and estates, but was non-suited and condemned to imprisonment for twenty-one years (1853).
Arthur Orton, who claimed to be Sir Roger Tichborne (drowned at sea). He was non-suited and sentenced to fourteen years' imprisonment for perjury (1871-1872).
Claire Twining, daughter of a refined man, the scion of an old English family and a vulgar woman who marries him to escape from poverty. After his death, the daughter begins her career of rising in the social scale, using a wealthy school-fellow as the first step, a well-born husband as the last. The emptiness and vanity of what she gained are well set forth in An Ambitious Woman, by Edgar Fawcett. (1883).
Clandestine Marriage (The). Fanny Sterling, the younger daughter of Mr. Sterling, a rich city merchant, is clandestinely married to Mr. Lovewell, an apprentice in the house, of good family; and Sir John Melvil is engaged to Miss Sterling, the elder sister. Lord Ogleby is a guest in the merchant's house. Sir John prefers Fanny to her elder sister, and, not knowing of her marriage, proposes to her, but is rejected. Fanny appeals to Lord Ogleby, who, being a vain old fop, fancies she is in love with him, and tells Sterling he means to make her a countess. Matters being thus involved, Lovewell goes to consult with Fanny about declaring their marriage, and the sister, convinced that Sir John is shut up in her sister's room, rouses the house with a cry of "Thieves!" Fanny and Lovewell now make their appearance. All parties are scandalized. But Fanny declares they have been married four months, and Lord Ogleby takes their part. So all ends well.—G. Colman and D. Garrick (1766).
This comedy is a réchauffé of The False Concord, by Rev. James Townley, many of the characters and much of the dialogue being preserved.
Cla'ra, in Otway's comedy called The Cheats of Scapin, an English version of Les Fourberies de Scapin, by Molière, represents the French character called "Hyacinthe." Her father is called by Otway "Gripe," and by Molière "Géronte" (2 syl.); her brother is "Leander," in French "Leandre;" and her sweetheart "Octavian" son of "Thrifty," in French "Octave" son of "Argante." The sum of money wrung from Gripe is £200, but that squeezed out of Géronte is 1,500 livres.
Clara [d'Almanza], daughter of Don Guzman of Seville, beloved by Don Ferdinand, but destined by her mother for a cloister. She loves Ferdinand, but repulses him from shyness and modesty, quits home and takes refuge in St. Catherine's Convent. Ferdinand discovers her retreat, and after a few necessary blunders they are married.—Sheridan, The Duenna (1773).
Clara (Donna), the troth-plight wife of Octavio. Her affianced husband, having killed Don Felix in a duel, was obliged to lie perdu for a time, and Clara, assuming her brother's clothes and name, went in search of him. Both came to Salamanca, both set up at the Eagle, both hired the same servant, Lazarillo, and ere long they met, recognized each other, and became man and wife.—Jephson, Two Strings to your Bow (1792).
Clara [DOUGLAS], a lovely girl of artless mind, feeling heart, great modesty, and well accomplished. She loved Alfred Evelyn, but refused to marry him because they were both too poor to support a house. Evelyn was left an immense fortune, and proposed to Georgina Vesey, but Georgina gave her hand to Sir Frederick Blount. Being thus disentangled, Evelyn again proposed to Clara, and was joyfully accepted.—Lord L. Bulwer Lytton, Money (1840).
Clarchen [Kler'.kn], a female character in Goethe's Egmont, noted for her constancy and devotion.
Clare (Ada), cousin of Richard Carstone, both of whom are orphans and wards in Chancery. They marry each other, but Richard dies young, blighted by the law's delays in the great Chancery suit of "Jarndyce v. Jarndyce."—C. Dickens, Bleak House (1853).
Clarence (George Duke of), introduced by Sir W. Scott in Anne of Geierstein (time Edward IV.).
Clarence and the Malmsey Butt. According to tradition, George, Duke of Clarence, having joined Warwick to replace Henry VI. on the throne, was put to death, and the choice being offered him, was drowned in a butt of malmsey wine (1478).
Clarendon (The Earl of), Lord Chancellor to Charles II. Introduced by Sir W. Scott in Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).
Claribel (Sir), surnamed "The Lewd." One of the six knights who contended for the false Florimel.—Spenser, Faery Queen, iv. 9 (1593).
Clar'ibel, the pseudonym of Mrs. Barnard, author of numerous popular songs (from 1865 to).
Clar'ice (3 syl.), wife of Rinaldo, and sister of Huon of Bordeaux. Introduced in the romances of Bojardo, Ariosto, Tasso, etc.
Clarin or Clarin'da, the confidential maid of Radigund, queen of the Am'azons. When the queen had got Sir Ar'tegal into her power, and made him change his armor for an apron, and his sword for a distaff, she fell in love with the captive, and sent Clarin to win him over by fair promises and indulgences. Clarin performed the appointed mission, but fell in love herself with the knight, and told the queen that Sir Artegal was obstinate, and rejected her advances with scorn.—Spenser, Faery Queen, v. 5 (1596).
Clarinda, the heroine of Mrs. Centlivre's drama The Beau's Duel (1703).
"Estifania," in Rule a Wife and Have a Wife, by Beaumont and Fletcher.
Clarin'da, a merry, good-humored, high-spirited lady, in love with Charles Frankly. The madcap Ranger is her cousin.—Dr. Hoadly, The Suspicious Husband (1747).
Clarinda of Robert Burns, was Mrs. Maclehose, who was alive in 1833.
Clarion, the son and heir of Muscarol. He was the fairest and most prosperous of all the race of flies. Aragnol, the son of Arachnê (the spider), entertained a deep and secret hatred of the young prince, and set himself to destroy him; so, weaving a most curious net, Clarion was soon caught, and Aragnol gave him his death-wound by piercing him under the left wing.—Spenser Muiopotmos or The Butterfly's Fate (1590).
Claris'sa, wife of Gripe the scrivener. A lazy, lackadaisical, fine city lady, who thinks "a woman must be of mechanic mold who is either troubled or pleased with anything her husband can do" (act i. 3). She has "wit and beauty, with a fool to her husband," but though "fool," a hard, grasping, mean old hunks.
Claris'sa, sister of Beverley, plighted to George Bellmont.—A. Murphy, All in the Wrong, (1761).
Clarissa Harlowe. (See HARLOWE.)
Clark (The Rev T.)., the pseudonym of John Gall, the novelist (1779 1839).
Clarke (The Rev. C. C.), one of the many pseudonyms of Sir Richard Phillips, author of The Hundred Wonders of the World (1818), Readings in Natural Philosophy.
Clarsie, the mountain maid who, going out at dawn to "try her fortune," discovers the "Harnt" that walks Chilhowee.—Charles Egbert Craddock (Mary Noailles Murfree), In the Tennessee Mountains (1884).
Cla'tho, the last wife of Fingal and mother of Fillan, Fingal's youngest son.
Claude (The English), Richard Wilson (1714-1782).
Clau'dine (2 syl.), wife of the porter of the hotel Harancour, and old nurse of Julio "the deaf and dumb" count. She recognizes the lad, who had been rescued by De l'Epée from the streets of Paris, and brought up by him under the name of Theodore. Ultimately, the guardian Darlemont confesses that he had sent him adrift under the hope of getting rid of him; but being proved to be the count, he is restored to his rank and property.—Th. Holcroft, The Deaf and Dumb (1785).
Claudio (Lord) of Florence, a friend of Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon, and engaged to Hero (daughter of Leonato, governor of Messina)—Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing (1600).
Claudio, condemned to die for betraying his mistress Juliet, tries to buy his life at the sacrifice of his sister Isabella's honor, shamefully pursued by Angelo, the Duke's deputy.—Shakespeare, Measure for Measure.
Clau'dius, King of Denmark, who poisoned his brother, married the widow, and usurped the throne. Claudius induced Laertes to challenge Hamlet to play with foils, but persuaded him to poison his weapon. In the combat the foils got changed, and Hamlet wounded Laertes with the poisoned weapon. In order still further to secure the death of Hamlet, Claudius had a cup of poisoned wine prepared, which he intended to give Hamlet when he grew thirsty with playing. The queen, drinking of this cup, died of poison, and Hamlet, rushing on Claudius, stabbed him and cried aloud, "Here, thou incestuous, murderous Dane.... Follow my mother!"—Shakespeare, Hamlet (1596).
In the History of Hamblet, Claudius is called "Fengon," a far better name for a Dane.
Claudius, the instrument of Appius the decemvir for entrapping Virginia. He pretended that Virginia was his slave, who had been stolen from him and sold to Virginius.—J. S. Knowles, Virginius (1820).
Claudius (Mathias), a German poet born at Rheinfeld, and author of the famous song called Rheinweinlied ("Rhenish wine song"), sung at all convivial feasts of the Germans.
Claus (Peter). (See under K.)
Claus (Santa), a familiar name for St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children. On Christmas Eve German children have presents stowed away in their socks and shoes while they are asleep, and the little credulous ones suppose that Santa Claus or Klaus placed them there.
St. Nicholas is said to have supplied three destitute maidens with marriage portions by secretly leaving money with their widowed mother, and as his day occurs just before Christmas, he was selected for the gift-giver on Christmas Eve.—Yonge.
"Claverhouse," or the Marquis of Argyll, a kinsman of Ravenswood, introduced by Sir W. Scott in The Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).
Claver'house (3 syl.), John Graham of Claverhouse (Viscount Dundee), a relentless Jacobite, so rapacious and profane, so violent in temper and obdurate of heart, that every Scotchman hates the name. He hunted the Covenanters with real vindictiveness, and is a by-word for barbarity and cruelty (1650-1689).
Clavijo (Don), a cavalier who "could touch the guitar to admiration, write poetry, dance divinely, and had a fine genius for making bird-cages." He married the Princess Antonomesia of Candaya, and was metamorphosed by Malambru/no into a crocodile of some unknown metal. Don Quixote disenchanted him "by simply attempting the adventure."— Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. iii. 4, 5 (1615).
Clavilen'o, the wooden horse on which Don Quixote got astride in order to disenchant the Infanta Antonoma'sia, her husband, and the Countess Trifaldi (called the "Dolori'da Dueña"). It was "the very horse on which Peter of Provence carried off the fair Magalone, and was constructed by Merlin." This horse was called Clavileno or wooden Peg, because it was governed by a wooden pin in the forehead.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. iii. 4, 5 (1615).
There is one peculiar advantage attending this horse; he neither eats, drinks, sleeps, nor wants shoeing.... His name is not Pegasus, nor Bucephalus; nor is it Brilladoro, the name of the steed of Orlando Furioso; neither is it Bayarte, which belonged to Reynaldo de Montalbon; nor Bootes, nor Peritoa, the horses of the sun; but his name is Clavileno the Winged.—Chap. 4.
Claypole (Noah), alias "Morris Bolter," an ill-conditioned charity-boy, who takes down the shutters of Sowerberry's shop and receives broken meats from Charlotte (Sowerberry's servant), whom he afterwards marries.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).
Clay and Randolph. In his Thirty Years' View, Thomas Hart Benton gives a graphic description of the famous duel between Henry Clay and John Randolph, of Roanoke (April 8, 1826).
After two shots had been exchanged without injury to either, the two statesmen shook hands, Randolph remarking: "You owe me a coat, Mr. Clay," a bullet having passed through his; and Mr. Clay answered: "I am glad the debt is no greater!" (1854).
Cleante (2 syl.), brother-in-law of Orgon. He is distinguished for his genuine piety, and is both high-minded and compassionate.—Molière, La Tartuffe (1664).
Cléante (2 Syl.), son of Har'pagon the miser, in love with Mariane (3 syl.). Harpagon, though 60 years old, wished to marry the same young lady, but Cléante solved the difficulty thus: He dug up a casket of gold from the garden, hidden under a tree by the miser, and while Harpagon was raving about the loss of his gold, Cléante told him he might take his choice between Mariane and the gold. The miser preferred the casket, which was restored to him, and Cléante married Mariane.—Molière, L'Avar (1667).
Cléante (2 syl.), the lover of Angelique, daughter of Argan the malade imaginaire. As Argan had promised Angelique in marriage to Thomas Diafoirus, a young surgeon, Cléante carries on his love as a music-master, and though Argan is present, the lovers sing to each other their plans under the guise of an interlude called "Tircis and Philis." Ultimately, Argan assents to the marriage of his daughter with Cléante.—Molière, Le Malade Imaginaire (1673).
Clean'the (2 syl.), sister of Siphax of Paphos.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (1617).
Cleanthe (3 syl.), the lady beloved by Ion.—Talfourd, Ion (1835).
Clean'thes (3 syl.), son of Leon'idês and husband of Hippolita, noted for his filial piety. The Duke of Epire made a law that all men who had attained the age of 80 should be put to death as useless incumbrances of the commonwealth. Simonidês, a young libertine, admired the law, but Cleanthês looked on it with horror, and determined to save his father from its operation. Accordingly, he gave out that his father was dead, and an ostentatious funeral took place; but Cleanthês retired to a wood, where he concealed Leon'idês, while he and his wife waited on him and administered to his wants.—The Old Law (a comedy of Philip Massinger, T. Middleton, and W. Rowley, 1620).
Clegg (Holdfast), a Puritan mill-wright.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Cleish'botham (Jededi'ah), schoolmaster and parish clerk of Gandercleuch, who employed his assistant teacher to arrange and edit the tales told by the landlord of the Wallace Inn of the same parish. These tales the editor disposed in three series, called by the general title of The Tales of My Landlord (q.v.). (See introduction to The Black Dwarf.) Of course the real author is Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832).
Mrs. Dorothea Cleishbotham, wife of the schoolmaster, a perfect Xantippê, and a "sworn sister of the Eumen'idês."
Cle'lia or Cloe'lia, a Roman maiden, one of the hostages given to Por'sena. She made her escape from the Etruscan camp by swimming across the Tiber. Being sent back by the Romans, Porsena not only set her at liberty for her gallant deed, but allowed her to take with her a part of the hostages. Mdlle. Scudéri has a novel on the subject, entitled Clélie, Histoire Romaine.
Cle'lia, a vain, frivolous female butterfly, with a smattering of everything. In youth she was a coquette; and when youth was passed, tried sundry means to earn a living, but without success.—Crabbe, Borough (1810).
Clelie (2 syl.), the heroine of a novel so called by Mdlle. Scudéri. (See CLELIA.)
Clement, one of the attendants of Sir Reginald Front de Boeuf (a follower of Prince John).—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).
Clem'ent (Justice), a man quite able to discern between fun and crime. Although he had the weakness "of justices' justice." he had not the weakness of ignorant vulgarity.
Knowell. They say he will commit a man for taking the wall of his horse.
Wellbred. Ay, or for wearing his cloak on one shoulder, or serving God. Anything, indeed, if it comes in the way of his humor.—B. Jonson, Every Man in His Humor, iii. 2 (1598).
Clementi'na (The Lady), an amiable, delicate, beautiful, accomplished, but unfortunate woman, deeply in love with Sir Charles Grandison. Sir Charles married Harriet Byron.—S. Richardson, The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1753).
Cle'ofas (Don), the hero of a novel by Lesage, entitled Le Diable Boiteux (The Devil on Two Sticks). A fiery young Spaniard, proud, high-spirited and revengeful; noted for gallantry but not without generous sentiment. Asmode'us (4 syl.) shows him what is going on in private families by unroofing the houses (1707).
Cleom'brotus or Ambracio'ta of Ambrac'ia, (in Epirus). Having read Plato's book on the soul's immortality and happiness in another life, he was so ravished with the description that he leaped into the sea that he might die and enjoy Plato's elysium.
Milton, Paradise Lost, iii. 471, etc. (1665).
Cleom'enes (4 syl.), the hero and title of a drama by Dryden (1692). As Dryden came out of the theatre a young fop of fashion said to him: "If I had been left alone with a young beauty, I would not have spent my time like your Spartan hero." "Perhaps not," said the poet, "but you are not my hero."—W. C. Russell, Representative Actors.
Cleom'enes (4 syl.). "The Venus of Cleomenês" is now called "The Venus de Medici." Such a mere moist lump was once ... "the Venus of Cleomenês."—Ouida, Ariadné, i. 8.
Cle'on, governor of Tarsus, burnt to death with his wife Dionys'ia by the enraged citizens, to revenge the supposed murder of Mari'na, daughter of Per'iclês, Prince of Tyre.—Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1608).
Cle'on, the personification of Glory.—Spenser, Faëry Queen.
Cleop'atra, Queen of Egypt, wife of Ptolemy Dionysius, her brother. She was driven from her throne, but re-established by Julius Cæsar, B.C. 47. Antony, captivated by her, repudiated his wife, Octavia, to live with the fascinating Egyptian. After the loss of the battle of Actium, Cleopatra killed herself by an asp.
E. Jodelle wrote in French a tragedy called Cléopâtre Captive (1550); Jean Mairet one called Cléopâtre (1630); Isaac de Benserade (1670); J. F. Marmontel (1750), and Mde. de Girardin (1847) wrote tragedies in French on the same subject. S. Daniel (1600) wrote a tragedy in English called Cleopatra; Shakespeare one called Antony and Cleopatra (1608); and Dryden one on the same subject, called All for Love or the World Well Lost (1682).
Mrs. Oldfield (1683-1730) and Peg (Margaret) Woffington (1718-1760) were unrivalled in this character.
Cleopatra and the Pearl. The tale is that Cleopatra made a sumptuous banquet, which excited the surprise of Antony; whereupon the queen took a pearl ear-drop, dissolved it in a strong acid and drank the liquor to the health of the triumvir, saying: "My draught to Antony shall exceed in value the whole banquet."
When Queen Elizabeth visited the Exchange, Sir Thomas Gresham pledged her health in a cup of wine containing a precious stone crushed to atoms, and worth £15,000.
Here £15,000 at one clap goes Instead of sugar; Gresham drinks the pearl Unto his queen and mistress. Pledge it; love it!--Th. Heywood, If You Know not Me. You Know Nobody.
Cleopatra in Hades. Cleopatra, says Rabelais, is "a crier of onions" in the shades below. The Latin for a pearl and onion is unio, and the pun refers to Cleopatra giving her pearl (or onion) to Antony in a draught of wine, or, as some say, drinking it herself in toasting her lover.—Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. 30 (1553).
Cleopat'ra, Queen of Syria, daughter of Ptolemy Philome'ter, King of Egypt. She first married Alexander Bala, the usurper (B.C. 149); next Deme'trius Nica'nor. Demetrius, being taken prisoner by the Parthians, married Rodogune (3 syl.), daughter of Phraa'tes (3 syl.) the Parthian king, and Cleopatra married Antiochus Sidetês, brother of Demetrius. She slew her son Seleucus (by Demetrius) for treason, and as this produced a revolt, abdicated in favor of her second son, Anti'ochus VIII., who compelled her to drink poison which she had prepared for himself. P. Corneille has made this the subject of his tragedy called Rodogune (1646).
This is not the Cleopatra of Shakespeare's and Dryden's tragedies.
Cleopatra. In his Graffiti d'Italia, William Wetmore Story gives a passionate soliloquy of the Egyptian Queen, beginning:—
Clere'mont (2 syl.), a merry gentleman, the friend of Dinant'.—"Beaumont and Fletcher" The Little French Lawyer (1547).
Cler'imond, niece of the Green Knight, sister of Fer'ragus the giant, and bride of Valentine the brave.—Valentine and Orson.
Clerks (St. Nicholas's), thieves, also called "St. Nicholas's Clergymen," in allusion to the tradition of "St. Nicholas and the thieves." Probably a play on the words Nich-olas and Old Nick may be designed.—See Shakespeare, 1 Henry IV. act ii. sc. 1 (1597).
Cless'ammor, son of Thaddu and brother of Morna (Fingal's mother). He married Moina, daughter of Reutha'mir (the principal man of Balclutha, on the Clyde). It so happened that Moina was beloved by a Briton named Reuda, who came with an army to carry her off. Reuda was slain by Clessammor; but Clessammor, being closely pressed by the Britons, fled, and never again saw his bride. In due time a son was born, called Carthon; but the mother died. While Carthon was still an infant, Fingal's father attacked Balclutha, and slew Reuthama (Carthon's grandfather). While the boy grew to manhood, he determined on vengeance; accordingly he invaded Morven, the kingdom of Fingal, where Clessammor, not knowing who he was, engaged him in single combat, and slew him. When he discovered that it was his son, three days he mourned for him, and on the fourth he died.—Ossian, Carthon.
Cleve'land (Barbara Villiers, Duchess of), one of the mistresses of Charles II., introduced by Sir W. Scott in Peveril of the Peak.
Cleve'land (Captain Clement), alias Vaughan [Vawn], "the pirate," son of Norna of the Fitful Head. He is in love with Minna Troil (daughter of Magnus Troil, the udaller of Zetland).—Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III).
Clever, the man-servant of Hero Sutton, "the city maiden." When Hero assumed the guise of a quaker, Clever called himself Obadiah, and pretended to be a rigid quaker also. His constant exclamation was "Umph! "—S. Knowles, Woman's Wit, etc. (1838).
Clifford (Sir Thomas), betrothed to Julia (daughter of Master Walter "the hunchback"). He is wise, honest, truthful, and well-favored, kind, valiant, and prudent.—S. Knowles, The Hunchback (1831).
Clifford, (Mr.), the heir of Sir William Charlton in right of his mother, and in love with Lady Emily Gayville. The scrivener Alscrip had fraudulently got possession of the deeds of the Charlton estates, which he had given to his daughter called "the heiress," and which amounted to £2000 a year; but Rightly, the lawyer, discovered the fraud, and "the heiress" was compelled to relinquish this part of her fortune. Clifford then proposed to Lady Emily, and was accepted.—General Burgoyne, The Heiress. (1781).
Clifford (Paul), a highwayman, reformed by the power of love.—Lord Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830).
Clifford (Rosamond), usually called "The Fair Rosamond," the favorite mistress of Henry II.; daughter of Walter Lord Clifford. She is introduced by Tennyson in his tragedy Becket. Miss Terry acted the part. Dryden says:
Epilogue to Henry II.
Clifford (Henry Lord), a general in the English army.—Sir W. Scott, Castle Dangerous (time, Henry I.).
Clifton (Harry), lieutenant of H.M. ship Tiger. A daring, dashing, care-for-nobody young English sailor, delighting in adventure, and loving a good scrape. He and his companion Mat Mizen take the side of El Hyder, and help to re-establish the Chereddin, Prince of Delhi, who had been dethroned by Hamlet Abdulerim.—Barrymore, El Hyder, Chief of the Ghaut Mountains.
Clim of the Clough. (See CLYM).
Clink (Jem), the turnkey at Newgate.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II).
Clinker (Humphry), a poor work-house lad, put out by the parish as apprentice to a blacksmith, and afterwards employed as an ostler's assistant and extra postilion. Being dismissed from the stables, he enters the service of Mr. Bramble, a fretful, grumpy, but kind-hearted and generous old gentleman, greatly troubled with gout. Here he falls in love with Winifred Jenkins, Miss Tabitha Brambles's maid, and turns out to be a natural son of Mr. Bramble.—T. Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771.)
Clip'purse (Lawyer), the lawyer employed by Sir Everard Waverley to make his will.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).
Cliquot (Klee'ko), a nickname given by Punch to Frederick William IV. of Prussia, from his love of champagne of the "Cliquot brand" (1795, 1840-1861).
Clitandre, a wealthy bourgeois, in love with Henriette, "the thorough woman," by whom he is beloved with fervent affection. Her elder sister, Armande (2 syl.), also loves him, but her love is of the platonic hue, and Clitandre prefers in a wife the warmth of woman's love to the marble of philosophic ideality.—Molière, Les Femmes Savantes (1672).
Cloaci'na, the presiding personification of city sewers. (Latin, cloaca, "a sewer.")
Clod'dipole (3 syl.), "the wisest lout of all the neighboring plain." Appointed to decide the contention between Cuddy and Lobbin Clout.
(Cloddipole is the "Palaemon" of Virgil's Ecl. iii.).
Clo'dio (Count), governor. A dishonorable pursuer of Zeno'cia, the chaste troth-plight wife of Arnoldo.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Custom of the Country (1647).
Clodio, the younger son of Don Antonio, a coxcomb and braggart. Always boasting of his great acquaintances, his conquests, and his duels. His snuff-box he thinks more of than his lady-love, he interlards his speech with French, and exclaims "Split me!" by way of oath. Clodio was to have married Angelina, but the lady preferred his elder brother, Carlos, a bookworm, and Clodio engaged himself to Elvira of Lisbon.—C. Cibber, Love Makes a Man (1694).
Clo'e, in love with the shepherd, Thenot, but Thenot rejects her suit out of admiration of the constancy of Clorinda for her dead lover. She is wanton, coarse, and immodest, the very reverse of Clorinda, who is a virtuous, chaste, and faithful shepherdess. ("Thenot," the final t is sounded.)—John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess (1610). (See CHLOE).
Clo'ra, sister of Fabrit'io, the merry soldier, and the sprightly companion of Frances (sister to Frederick).—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Captain (1613).
Clorida'no, a humble Moorish youth, who joined Medo'ro in seeking the body of King Dardinello to bury it. Medoro being wounded, Cloridano rushed madly into the ranks of the enemy and was slain.—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).
Clorin'da, daughter of Sena'pus of Ethiopia (a Christian). Being born white, her mother changed her for a black child. The Eunuch Arse'tes (3 syl.) was entrusted with the infant Clorinda, and as he was going through a forest, saw a tiger, dropped the child, and sought safety in a tree. The tiger took the babe and suckled it, after which the eunuch carried the child to Egypt. In the siege of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, Clorinda was a leader of the Pagan forces. Tancred fell in love with her, but slew her unknowingly in a night attack. Before she expired she received Christian baptism at the hands of Tancred, who greatly mourned her death.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xii. (1675).
(The story of Clorinda is borrowed from the Theag'anês and Charicle'a of Heliodorus Bishop of Trikka).
Clorinda, "the faithful shepherdess" called "The Virgin of the Grove," faithful to her buried love. From this beautiful character Milton has drawn his "lady" in Comus. Compare the words of the "First Brother" about chastity, in Milton's Comus, with these lines of Clorinda:
—J. Fletcher,—The Faithful Shepherdess (1610).
Cloris, the damsel beloved by Prince Prettyman.—Duke of Buckingham, The Rehearsal (1671).
Clotaire (2 syl). The King of France exclaimed on his death-bed: "Oh, how great must be the King of Heaven, if He can kill so mighty a monarch as I am!"—Gregory of Tours, iv. 21.
Cloten or Cloton, King of Cornwall, one of the five kings of Britain after the extinction of the line of Brute (1 syl.).—Geoffrey, British History, ii. 17 (1142).
Cloten, a vindictive lout, son of the second wife of Cymbeline by a former husband. He is noted for "his unmeaning frown, his shuffling gait, his burst of voice, his bustling insignificance, his fever-and-ague fits of valor, his froward tetchiness, his unprincipled malice, and occasional gleams of good sense." Cloten is the rejected lover of Imogen (the daughter of his father-in-law by his first wife), and is slain in a duel by Guiderius.—Shakespeare, Cymbeline (1605).
Clotha'rius or CLOTHAIRE, leader of the Franks after the death of Hugo. He is shot with an arrow by Clorinda.—Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xi. (1675).
Cloud (St.), patron saint of nail-smiths. A play on the French word clou ("a nail").
Cloudes'ley (William of), a famous north-country archer, the companion of Adam Bell and Clym of the Clough. Their feats of robbery were chiefly carried on in Englewood Forest, near Carlisle. William was taken prisoner at Carlisle, and was about to be hanged, but was rescued by his two companions. The three then went to London to ask pardon of the King, which at the Queen's intercession was granted. The King begged to see specimens of their skill in archery, and was so delighted therewith, that he made William a "gentleman of fe," and the other two "yemen of his chambre." The feat of William was very similar to that of William Tell (q.v.).—Percy, Reliques, I. ii. 1.
Clout (Colin), a shepherd loved by Marian "the parson's maid," but for whom Colin (who loved Cicily) felt no affection. (See COLIN CLOUT).
Gay, Pastoral, ii. (1714).
Clout (Loblin), a shepherd in love with Blouzelinda. He challenged Cuddy to a contest of song in praise of their respective sweethearts, and Cloddipole was appointed umpire. Cloddipole was unable to award the prize, for each merited "an oaken staff for his pains." "Have done, however, for the herds are weary of the song, and so am I."—Gay, Pastoral, i. (1714).
Cloyse (Goody). A pious and exemplary dame, especially well-versed in the catechism, who, in Goodman Brown's fantasy of the witches' revel in the forest, joins him on his way thither, and croaks over the loss of her broomstick, which was "all anointed with the juice of small-age and cinquefoil and wolf's bane—" "Mingled with fine wheat and the fat of a new-born babe," says another shape.—Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from an Old Manse (1854).
Club-Bearer (The), Periphe'tes, the robber of Ar'golis, who murdered his victims with an iron club.—Greek Fable.
Clumsey (Sir Tunbelly), father of Miss Hoyden. A mean, ill-mannered squire and justice of the peace, living near Scarborough. Most cringing to the aristocracy, whom he toadies and courts. Sir Tunbelly promises to give his daughter in marriage to Lord Foppington, but Tom Fashion, his lordship's younger brother, pretends to be Lord Foppington, gains admission to the family and marries her. When the real Lord Foppington arrives he is treated as an imposter, but Tom confesses the ruse. His lordship treats the knight with such ineffable contempt, that Sir Tunbelly's temper is aroused, and Tom is received into high favor.—Sheridan, A Trip to Scarborough (1777).
This character appears in Vanbrugh's Relapse, of which comedy the Trip to Scarborough is an abridgment and adaptation.
Clu'ricaune (3 syl.), an Irish elf of evil disposition, especially noted for his knowledge of hidden treasure. He generally assumes the appearance of a wrinkled old man.
Clutterbuck (Captain), the hypothetical editor of some of Sir Walter Scott's novels, as The Monastery and The Fortunes of Nigel. Captain Clutterbuck is a retired officer, who employs himself in antiquarian researches and literary idleness. The Abbot is dedicated by the "author of Waverley" to "Captain Clutterbuck," late of his majesty's—infantry regiment.
Clym of the Clough ("Clement of the Cliff"), noted outlaw, associated with Adam Bell and William of Cloudesley, in Englewood Forest, near Carlisle. When William was taken prisoner at Carlisle, and was about to be hanged, Adam and Clym shot the magistrates, and rescued their companion. The mayor with his posse went out against them, but they shot the mayor, as they had done the sheriff, and fought their way out of the town. They then hastened to London to beg pardon of the king, which was granted them at the queen's intercession. The king, wishing to see a specimen of their shooting, was so delighted at their skill that he made William a "gentleman of fe," and the other two "yemen of his chambre."—Percy, Reliques ("Adam Bell," etc., I. ii. 1).
Cly'tie, a water-nymph in love with Apollo. Meeting with no return, she was changed into a sunflower, or rather a tournesol, which still turns to the sun, following him through his daily course.
The sunflower does not turn to the sun. On the same stem may be seen flowers in every direction, and not one of them shifts the direction in which it has first opened. T. Moore (1814) says:
This may do in poetry, but it is not correct. The sunflower is so called simply because the flower resembles a pictured sun.
Lord Thurlow (1821) adopted Tom Moore's error, and enlarged it:
The Sunflower.
Clytus, an old officer in the army of Philip of Macedon, and subsequently in that of Alexander. At a banquet, when both were heated with wine, Clytus said to Alexander, "Philip fought men, but Alexander women," and after some other insults, Alexander in his rage stabbed the old soldier; but instantly repented and said:
N. Lee, Alexander the Great, iv. 2 (1678).
Cne'us, the Roman officer in command of the guard set to watch the tomb of Jesus, lest the disciples should steal the body, and then declare that it had risen from the dead.—Klopstock, The Messiah, xiii. (1771). Co'an (The), Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine" (B.C. 460-357).
Dantê, Purgatory, xxix. (1308).
Co'anocot'zin (5 syl.), King of the Az'tecas. Slain in battle by Madoc.—Southey, Madoc (1805).
Co'atel, daughter of Acul'hua, a priest of the Az'tecas, and wife of Lincoya. Lincoya, being doomed for sacrifice, fled for refuge to Madoc, the Welsh Prince, who had recently landed on the North American coast, and was kindly treated by him. This gave Coatel a sympathetic interest in the White strangers, and she was not backward in showing it. Then, when young Hoel was kidnapped, and confined in a cavern to starve to death, Coatel visited him and took him food. Again, when Prince Madoc was entrapped, she contrived to release him, and assisted the prince to carry off young Hoel. After the defeat of the Az'tecas by the White strangers, the chief priest declared that some one had proved a traitor, and resolved to discover who it was by handing round a cup, which he said would be harmless to the innocent, but death to the guilty. When it was handed to Coatel, she was so frightened that she dropped down dead. Her father stabbed himself, and "fell upon his child," and when Lincoya heard thereof, he flung himself down from a steep precipice on to the rocks below.—Southey, Madoc (1805).
Cobb (Ephraim), in Cromwell's troop.—Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).
Cobbler-Poet (The), Hans Sachs, of Nuremberg. (See TWELVE WISE MASTERS).
Cobham (Eleanor), wife of Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, and aunt of King Henry VI., compelled to do penance barefoot in a sheet in London, and after that to live in the Isle of Man in banishment, for "sorcery." In 2 Henry VI., Shakespeare makes Queen Margaret "box her ears," but this could not be, as Eleanor was banished three years before Margaret came to England.
Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI. act ii. sc. 3 (1591).
Cock of Westminster (The). Castell, a shoemaker, was so called from his very early hours. He was one of the benefactors of Christ's Hospital (London).
Cocker (Edward), published a useful treatise on arithmetic, in the reign of Charles II., which had a prodigious success, and has given rise to the proverb, "According to Cocker" (1632-1675).
Cockle (Sir John), the miller of Mansfield, and keeper of Sherwood Forest. Hearing a gun fired one night, he went into the forest, expecting to find poachers, and seized the king (Henry VIII.), who had been hunting and had got separated from his courtiers. When the miller discovered that his captor was not a poacher, he offered him a night's lodging. Next day the courtiers were brought to Cockle's house by under-keepers, to be examined as poachers, and it was then discovered that the miller's guest was the king. The "merry monarch" knighted the miller, and settled on him 1000 marks a year.—R. Dodsley, The King and the Miller of Mansfield (1737).
Cockney (Nicholas), a rich city grocer, brother of Barnacle. Priscilla Tomboy, of the West Indies, is placed under his charge for her education.
Walter Cockney, son of the grocer, in the shop. A conceited young prig, not yet out of the quarrelsome age. He makes boy-love to Priscilla Tomboy and Miss La Blond; but says he will "tell papa" if they cross him.
Penelope Cockney, sister of Walter.—The Romp (altered from Bickerstaff's Love in the City).
Coelebs' Wife, a bachelor's ideal of a model wife. Coelebs is the hero of a novel, by Mrs. Hannah Moore, entitled Coelebs in Search of a Wife (1809).
Coeur de Lion, Surname of Richard of England (1157-1199.) Also conferred upon Louis VIII. of France.
Coffin (Long Tom), the best sailor character ever drawn. He is introduced in The Pilot, a novel by J. Fenimore Cooper. Cooper's novel has been dramatized by E. Fitzball, under the same name, and Long Tom Coffin preserves in the burletta his reckless daring, his unswerving fidelity, his simple-minded affection, and his love for the sea.
Cogia Houssain, the captain of forty thieves, outwitted by Morgiana, the slave. When, in the guise of a merchant, he was entertained by Ali Baba, and refused to eat any salt, the suspicions of Morgiana was aroused, and she soon detected him to be the captain of the forty thieves. After supper she amused her master and his guest with dancing; then playing with Cogia's dagger for a time, she plunged it suddenly into his heart and killed him.—Arabian Nights ("Ali Baba or the Forty Thieves").
Col'ax. Flattery personified in The Purple Island (1633), by Phineas Fletcher. Colax "all his words with sugar spices ... lets his tongue to sin, and takes rent of shame ... His art [was] to hide and not to heal a sore." Fully described in canto viii. (Greek, kolax, "a flatterer or fawner.")
Colbrand or Colebrond (2 syl.), the Danish giant, slain in the presence of King Athelstan, by Sir Guy of Warwick, just returned from a pilgrimage, still "in homely russet clad," and in his hand a "hermit's staff." The combat is described at length by Drayton, in his Polyolbion, xii.
Drayton, Polyolbion, xii. (1613).
Coldstream (Sir Charles), the chief character in Charles Mathew's play called Used up. He is wholly ennuyé, sees nothing to admire in anything; but is a living personification of mental inanity and physical imbecility.
Cole (1 syl.), a legendary British king, described as "a merry old soul," fond of his pipe, fond of his glass, and fond of his "fiddlers three." There were two kings so called—Cole (or Coïl I.) was the predecessor of Porrex; but Coïl II. was succeeded by Lucius, "the first British king who embraced the Christian religion." Which of these two mythical kings the song refers to is not evident.
Cole (Mrs.). This character is designed for Mother Douglas, who kept a "gentlemen's magazine of frail beauties" in a superbly furnished house at the north-east corner of Covent Garden. She died 1761.—S. Foote, The Minor (1760).
Colein (2 syl.), the great dragon slain by Sir Bevis of Southampton.—Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. (1612).
Colemi'ra (3 syl.), a poetical name for a cook. The word is compounded of coal and mire.
Cole'pepper (Captain) or CAPTAIN PEPPERCULL, the Alsatian bully.—Sir W. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel (time, James I.).
Colin, or in Scotch Cailen, Green Colin, the laird of Dunstaffnage, so called from the green colour which prevailed in his tartan.
Colin and Rosalinde. In The Shephearde's Calendar (1579), by Edm. Spenser, Rosalinde is the maiden vainly beloved by Colin Clout, as her choice was already fixed on the shepherd Menalcas. Rosalinde is an anagram of "Rose Danil," a lady beloved by Spenser (Colin Clout), but Rose Danil had already fixed her affections on John Florio the Resolute, whom she subsequently married.
Colin Clout, the pastoral name assumed by the poet Spenser, in The Shephearde's Calendar, The Ruins of Time, Daphnaida, and in the pastoral poem called Colin Clout's come home again (from his visit to Sir Walter Raleigh). Ecl. i. and xii. are soliloquies of Colin, being lamentations that Rosalinde will not return his love. Ecl. vi. is a dialogue between Hobbinol and Colin, in which the former tries to comfort the disappointed lover. Ecl. xi. is a dialogue between Thenot and Colin, Thenot begs Colin to sing some joyous lay; but Colin pleads grief for the death of the sheperdess Dido, and then sings a monody on the great sheperdess deceased. In ecl. vi. we are told that Rosalinde has betrothed herself to the shepherd Menalcas (1579).
In the last book of the Faery Queen, we have a reference to "Colin and his lassie," (Spenser and his wife) supposed to be Elizabeth, and elsewhere called "Mirabella" See CLOUT, etc.
Colin Clout and his lassie, referred to in the last book of the Faery Queen, are Spenser and his wife Elizabeth, elsewhere called "Mirabella" (1596).
Colin Clout's Come Home Again. "Colin Clout" is Spenser, who had been to London on a visit to "the Shepherd of the Ocean" (Sir Walter Raleigh), in 1589; on his return to Kilcolman, in Ireland, he wrote this poem. "Hobbinol," his friend (Gabriel Harvey, L.L.D.), tells him how all the shepherds had missed him, and begs him to relate to him and them his adventures while abroad. The pastoral contains a eulogy of British contemporary poets, and of the court beauties of Queen Elizabeth (1591). (See COLYN.)
Colin Tampon, the nickname of a Swiss, as John Bull means an Englishman, etc.
Colkitto (Young), or "Vich Alister More," or "Alister M'Donnell," a Highland chief in the army of Montrose.—Sir W. Scott, Legend of Montrose (time, Charles I.).
Collean (May), the heroine of a Scotch ballad, which relates how "fause Sir John" carried her to a rock for the purpose of throwing her down into the sea; but May outwitted him, and subjected him to the same fate he had designed for her.
Colleen', i.e. "girl;" Colleen bawn ("the blond girl"); Colleen rhue ("the red-haired girl"), etc.
Dion Boucicault has a drama entitled The Colleen Bawn, founded upon Gerald Griffin's novel The Collegians.
Collier (Jem), a smuggler.—Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.)
Collingwood and the Acorns. Collingwood never saw a vacant place in his estate, but he took an acorn out of his pocket and popped it in.—Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848).
Colmal, daughter of Dunthalmo, Lord of Teutha (the Tweed). Her father, having murdered Rathmor in his halls, brought up the two young sons of the latter, Calthon and Colmar, in his own house; but when grown to manhood he thought he detected a suspicious look about them, and he shut them up in two separate caves on the banks of the Tweed, intending to kill them. Colmal, who was in love with Calthon, set him free, and the two made good their escape to the court of Fingal. Fingal sent Ossian with 300 men to liberate Colmar; but when Dunthalmo heard thereof, he murdered the prisoner. Calthon, being taken captive, was bound to an oak, but was liberated by Ossian, and joined in marriage to Colmal, with whom he lived lovingly in the halls of Teutha.—Ossian, Calthon and Colmal.
Colmar, brother of Calthon. When quite young their father was murdered by Dunthalmo, who came against him by night, and killed him in his banquet hall; but moved by pity, he brought up the two boys in his own house. When grown to manhood, he thought he observed mischief in their looks, and therefore shut them up in two separate cells on the banks of the Tweed. Colmal the daughter of Dunthalmo, who was in love with Calthon, liberated him from his bonds, and they fled to Fingal to crave aid on behalf of Colmar; but before succor could arrive, Dunthalmo had Colmar brought before him, "bound with a thousand thongs," and slew him with his spear.—Ossian, Calthon and Colmal.
Colna-Dona ("love of heroes"), daughter of King Car'ul. Fingal sent Ossian and Toscar to raise a memorial on the banks of the Crona, to perpetuate the memory of a victory he had obtained there. Carul invited the two young men to his hall, and Toscar fell in love with Colna-Dona. The passion being mutual, the father consented to their espousals.—Ossian, Colna-Dona.
Cologne (The three kings of), the three Magi, called Gaspar, Melchior, and Baltha'zar. Gaspar means "the white one." Melchior, "king of light;" Balthazar, "lord of treasures." Klop-stock,