I. 1
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.
Behold the new Petronius of the day, The arbiter of pleasure and of play.
Byron, English Bards and Scottish Reviewers.
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:
... he could take As many forms and shapes in seeming wise As ever Proteus to himself could make: Sometimes a fowl, sometimes a fish in lake, Now like a fox, now like a dragon fell.
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."
[Illustration] 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.
[Illustration] 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.
Wingèd Argestes, faire Aurora's sonne, Licensed that day to leave his dungeon, Meekly attended.
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.
Boreas and Cæcias and Argestes loud ... rend the woods, and seas upturn.
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.
And like Ariel in the cloven pine tree, For its freedom groans and sighs.
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.)
Arimaspi, quos diximus uno oculo in fronte media in signes; quibus assidue bellum esse circa metella cum gryphis, ferarum volucri genere, quale vulgo traditur, eruente ex cuniculis aurum, mire cupiditate et feris custodientibus, et Arimaspis rapientibus, multi, sed maxime illustres Herodotus et Aristeas Proconnesius scribunt.--Pliny, Nat. Hist. vii. 2.
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.
Thy woes, Arion, and thy simple tale O'er all the hearts shall triumph and prevail. Campbell, Pleasures of Hope, ii. (1799).
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).
And, like the Ariosto of the North, Sang ladye-love and war, romance and knightly worth.
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.
In such a palace Aristæus found Cyrenê, when he bore the plaintive tale Of his lost bees to her maternal ear. Cowper, The Ice Palace of Anne of Russia.
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").
[Illustration] 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.
The first that ever told Christ crucified to us, By Paul and Peter sent, just Aristob'ulus ... By the Britons murdered was.
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."
[Illustration] 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.
[Julia's] small hand Withdrew itself from his, but left behind A little pressure ... but ne'er magician's wand Wrought change with, all Armida's fairy art, Like what this light touch left on Juan's heart. Byron, Don Juan, i. 71.
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).
Dans un petit couvent loin de toute pratique Je le fis élever selon ma politique C'est-à-dire, ordonnant quels soins on emploieroit Pour le rendre idiote autant qu'il se pourroit. Act i. I.
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.
Cujus memoriae hunc honorem Parthi tribuerunt ut omnes exinde reges suos Arsacis nomine nuncupent.--Justin, Historiarae Philippicae, xli.
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.
[Illustration] "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.)
Our statues ... she The foundress of the Babylonian wall [Semirfa-mis]; The Carian Artemisia strong in war.
Tennyson, The Princess, ii.
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.
This made the four rare masters which began Fair Artemysia's husband's dainty tomb (When death took her before the work was done, And so bereft them of all hopes to come), That they would yet their own work perfect make E'en for their workes, and their self-glories sake.
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).
Wherefore Merlin took the child And gave him to sir Anton, an old knight And ancient friend of Uther; and his wife Nursed the young prince, and reared him with her own. Tennyson, Coming of Arthur.
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).
His spere he nom an honde tha Ron wes ihaten. Layamon. Brut, (twelfth century).
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).
The temper of his sword, the tried Escalabour, The bigness and the length of Rone, his noble spear, With Pridwin, his great shield.
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.
[Illustration] 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.
And for great Arthur's seat, her Winchester prefers, Whose old round table yet she vaunteth to be hers.
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.)
[Illustration] 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.
"Help, help, Kehama! help!" he cried. But Baly tarried not to abide That mightier power. With irresistible feet He stampt and cleft the earth. It opened wide, And gave him way to his own judgment-seat. Down like a plummet to the world below He sank ... to punishment deserved and endless woe.
Southey, Curse of Kehama, xvii. 12 (1809).
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)--
1. Sanskrit, whence Hindustanee. 2. Zend, whence Persian. 3. Greek, whence Romaic. 4. Latin, whence Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Wallachian (Romance). 5. Keltic, whence Welsh, Irish, Gaelic. 6. Gothic, whence Teutonic, English, Scandinavian. 7. Slavonic, whence European Russian, and Austrian.
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.
While Judah's throne and Zion's rock stand fast, The song of Asaph and his fame shall last.
Part II
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.
So bishops can she bring, of which her saints shall be: As Asaph, who first gave that name unto that see.
Drayton, Polyolbion, xxiv. (1622).
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.
Those Ascaparts, men big enough to throw Charing Cross for a bar.
Dr. Donne (1573-1631).
Thus imitated by Pope (1688-1744)--
Each man an Ascapart of strength to toss For quoits both Temple Bar and Charing Cross.
ASCRÆ'AN SAGE, or Ascræan poet, Hesiod, who was born at Ascra, in Boeo'tia. Virgil calls him "The Old Ascræan."
Hos tibi dant calamos, en accipe, Musæ Ascræo quos ante seni.
Ecl. vii. 70.
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.)
[They] had general names Of Baälim and Ashtaroth: those male, These feminine.
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.)
Better pleased Than Asmodeus with the fishy fume.
Milton, Paradise Lost, iv. 168.
Abaddon and Asmodëus caught at me.
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).
The old knight, father of Brenhilda. The lady of Aspramonte, the knight's wife. Brenhilda of Aspramonte, their daughter, wife of count Robert.
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.
With these Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians called Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns. Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 438 (1665).
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.
The lady Astarte his? Hush! who comes here? (iii. 4.) ...The same Astarte? no! (iii. 4.)
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."
With these [the host of heaven] in troop Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians called Astartê, queen of heaven, with crescent horns.
Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 438 (1665).
(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.
But while as Astrophel did live and reign, Amongst all swains was none his paragon.
Spenser, Colin Clout's Come Home Again (1591).
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.).
[Illustration] "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.
Her comfort is (if for her any be), That none can show more cause of grief than she.
Wm. Browne, Britannia's Pastorals, ii. 5 (1613).
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.
And hew out a huge mountain of pathos, As Philip's son proposed to do with Athos.
Byron, Don Juan, xii. 86.
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.
But what are these to great Atossa's mind?
Pope.
(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.
... nor shines the knife, Nor shears of Atropos before their vision.
Byron, Don Juan, ii. 64.
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.
Till civil-suited Morn appear, Not tricked and flounced, as she was wont With the Attic boy to hunt, But kerchiefed in a comely cloud. II Penseroso (1638).
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.
Who but must laugh if such a man there be. Who would not weep if Atticus were he? Pope, Prologue to the Satires.
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).
The character of "Audrey," that of a female fool, should not have been assumed [i.e. by Miss Pope, in her last appearance in public]; the last line of the farewell address was, "And now poor Audrey bids you all farewell" (May 26, 1808).-- James Smith, Memoirs, etc. (1840).
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.
Such were the exploits of the Maid of Saragossa, who by her valor elevated herself to the highest rank of heroines. When the author was at Seville, she walked daily on the Prado, decorated with medals and orders, by order of the Junta.--Lord Byron.
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.
The aullay, hugest of four-footed kind, The aullay-horse, that in his force, With elephantine trunk, could bind And lift the elephant, and on the wind Whirl him away, with sway and swing, E'en like a pebble from a practised sling.
Southey, Curse of Kehama, xvi. 2 (1809).
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.
... once I read That stout Pendragon on his litter sick Came to the field, and vanquishèd his foes.
Shakespeare, 1 Henry VI., act iii. sc. 2 (1589).
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:
Thou wear a lion's hide! doff it for shame, And hang a calf-skin on those recreant limbs. Shakespeare, King John, act iii. sc. 1 (1596).
(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.
Noon gleams on the lake, Noon glows on the fell; Awake thee, awake, White maid of Avenel!
Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).
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.
... the Christless code That must have life for a blow.
Tennyson, Maud, II. i. 1.
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.
Of physicke speake for me, king Avicen ... Yet was his glory never set on shelfe, Nor never shall, whyles any worlde may stande Where men have minde to take good bookes in hande.
G. Gascoigne, The Fruits of Warre, lvii. (died 1577).
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.
Upreared His mighty standard; that proud honor claimed Azâzel as his right.
Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 534 (1665).
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.
There Azyoruca veiled her awful form In those eternal shadows. There she sat, And as the trembling souls who crowd around The judgment-seat received the doom of fate, Her giant arms, extending from the cloud, Drew them within the darkness.
Southey, Curse of Kehama, xxiii 15 (1809).
BAAL, 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.
... [the] general names Of Baälim and Ashtaroth: those male; These female.
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.
I learnt to prize Babieca from his head unto his hoof.
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."
Sometimes you would see this Lewis Baboon behind his counter, selling broad-cloth, sometimes measuring linen; next day he would be dealing in mercery-ware; high heads, ribbons, gloves, fans, and lace, he understood to a nicety ... nay, he would descend to the selling of tapes, garters, and shoebuckles. When shop was shut up he would go about the neighborhood, and earn half-a-crown, by teaching the young men and maidens to dance. By these means he had acquired immense riches, which he used to squander away at back-sword [in war], quarter-staff, and cudgel-play, in which he took great pleasure.--Dr. Arbuthnot, History of John Bull, ii. (1712).
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.
Have you not heard the poets tell How came the dainty Baby Bell Into this World of ours? The gates of heaven were left ajar: With folded hands and dreamy eyes, Wandering out of Paradise, She saw this planet like a star Hung in the glistening depths of even,-- Its bridges, running to and fro, O'er which the white-winged angels go, Bearing the holy dead to heaven. She touched a bridge of flowers--those feet So light they did not bend the bells Of the celestial asphodels, They fell like dew upon the flowers; Then all the air grew strangely sweet! And thus came dainty Baby Bell Into this world of ours. (1854.)
BACCHAN'TES (3 syl.), priestesses of Bacchus.
Round about him Bacchus fair Bacchantês, Bearing cymbals, flutes, and thyrses, Wild from Naxian groves, or Zantê's Vineyards, sing delirious verses. Longfellow, Drinking Song.
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).
When I first saw Miss Pope she was performing "Mrs. Candour," to Miss Farren's "lady Teazle," King as "sir Peter," Parsons "Crab-tree," Dodd "Backbite," Baddeley "Moses," Smith "Charles," and John Palmer "Joseph" [Surface].--James Smith, Memoirs, etc.
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.
A semely man our hoste was withal For to han been a marshal in an halle, A fairer burgeis is ther non in Chepe.
Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, Prologue.
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.
And, therefore in the name of dulness, be The well-hung Balaam.
Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel.
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!"
Prostrate upon his royal face, prostrate before the court, the queen, the people--down like a pleading conscience or a suppliant faith, Nebuchadrezzar the Great lay in the dust, and worshipped him right royally.
"Thou art the Master of the Magicians!" said the king. "For thou commandest the power of thy God and thou controllest the spirit of man!" ...
Plain moral purity and religious fervor had done for the young man what a lifetime of political scheming had failed to do for many a grey-headed disappointed adventurer. Then, as in all ages, intrigue regarded the success of sincerity with astonishment.--The Master of the Magicians, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward (1890).
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.
Balder the beautiful, God of the summer sun.
Longfellow, Tegnier's Death.
(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).
He knew with Balisarda's lightest blows, Nor helm, nor shield, nor cuirass could avail, Nor strongly tempered plate, nor twisted mail.
Book XXIII
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).
She fancied herself already more potent than Balkis, and pictured to her imagination the genii falling prostrate at the foot of her throne.--W. Beckford, Vathek.
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).
The Rev. Micah Balwhidder is a fine representation of the primitive Scottish pastor; diligent, blameless, loyal, and exemplary in his life, but without the fiery zeal and "kirk-filling eloquence" of the supporters of the Covenant.--R. Chambers, English Literature, ii. 591.
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.
Baly built A city, like the cities of the gods, Being like a god himself. For many an age Hath ocean warred against his palaces, Till overwhelmed they lie beneath the waves, Not overthrown.
Southey, Curse of Kehama, xv. 1 (1809).
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).
Yonder I see the most valiant knight of the world, and the man of most renown, for such two brethren as are king Ban and king Bors are not living.--Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 14 (1470).
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--
(1) Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. (2) Not so happy, yet much happier. (3) Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.
Shakespeare, Macbeth, act i. sc. 3 (1606).
(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 Frietchie's work is o'er And the Rebel rides on his raids no more.
Honor to her! and let a tear Fall, for her sake, on Stonewall's bier.
Over Barbara Frietchie's grave Flag of Freedom and Union wave.
Peace and order and beauty draw Bound thy symbol of light and law,
And ever the stars above look down On thy stars below in Frederick Town.
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.)
Like Barbarossa, who sits in a cave, Taciturn, sombre, sedate, and grave.
Longfellow, The Golden Legend.
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.
I am not Barbason, you cannot conjure me.--_Henry V_. ii. 1.
BAR'BASON, the name of a demon mentioned in The Merry Wives of Windsor, act ii. sc. 2 (1596).
I am not Barbason; you cannot conjure me.--Shakespeare, Henry V. act ii. sc. I (1599).
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.
Shared the fall of the antichrist Barcochebar.--Professor Selwin, Ecce Homo.
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.
He of the hundred tales of love.
Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 56 (1818).
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.
We are much of the mind of Falstaff's tailor. We must have better assurance for sir John than Bardolph's.--Macaulay.
(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.
Prince thou art,--the grown-up man Only is republican.
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).
The filthiest and most spiteful Yahoo of the fiction was a noble creature compared with the Barère of history.--Lord Macaulay.
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.
Bargulus, Illyrius latro, de quo est apud Theopompum magnas opes habuit.--Cicero, De Officiis, ii. 11.
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.
He dies when the tide goes out, confirming the superstition that people can't die till the tide goes out, or be born till it is in. The last words he utters are "Barkis is willin'."--C. Dickens, David Copperfield, xxx. (1849).
(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.
[Illustration] 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).
[Illustration] 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:
"Would any of the stock of Bar'rabas Had been her husband, rather than a Christian."
Merchant of Venice, act iv. sc. 1 (1598).
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.
He had an aquiline nose, but not straight, having a peculiar inclination towards the left cheek; expression, therefore, sinister.--C. Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, ii. 16 (1859).
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.
Barzillai, crowned with honors and with years,... In exile with his god-like prince he mourned, For him he suffered, and with him returned.
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
To seek the wigwam of her chief once more.
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.
Knight, knight, good mother, Basilisco-like.
Shakespeare, King John, act i. sc. 1 (1596).
(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."
Natus in ardente Lydiæ basiliscus arena, Vulnerat aspectu, luminibusque nocet.
Mantuanus.
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.
Basilius is strong and active, pitches the bar admirably, wrestles with amazing dexterity, and is an excellent cricketer. He runs like a buck, leaps like a wild goat, and plays at skittles like a wizard. Then he has a fine voice for singing, he touches the guitar so as to make it speak, and handles a foil as well as any fencer in Spain.--Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. ii. 4 (1615).
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.
And Ethelred with them [the Danes] nine sundry fields that fought ... Then Reading ye regained, led by that valiant lord, Where Basrig ye outbraved, and Halden sword to sword.
Drayton, Polyolbion, xii. (1613).
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.
My father [Charles II.] whom with reverence I name ... Is grown in Bathsheba's embraces old.
Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel, ii.
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.
When Tantalus in hell sees store and starves; And senseless Battus for a touchstone serves.
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.
His color bay, and hence his name he drew-- Bayardo called. A star of silver hue Emblazed his front.
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.
[Illustration] 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."
No species of novel-writing exposes itself to a severer trial, since it not only resigns all Bayes' pretensions "to elevate the imagination," ... but places its productions within the range of [general] criticism.--Encyc. Brit. Art. "Romance."
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).
[Illustration] 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:
Fair and fine, forsooth! Sir Fine-face, sir Fair-hands? But see thou to it That thine own fineness, Lancelot, some fine day, Undo thee not.
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).
The Bee of Attica rivalled Æschylus when in the possession of the stage.--Sir W. Scott, The Drama.
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.
"Will without power," said the sagacious Casimir, to Milor Beefington, "is like children playing at soldiers."--Macaulay.
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.
One next himself in power and next in crime--Beëlzebub.
Paradise Lost, i. 80 (1665).
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:
"Stay at home, pretty bees, fly not hence, Mistress Mary is dead and gone."
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).
[Illustration] "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:
Belial came last; than whom a spirit more lewd Fell not from Heaven, or more gross to love Vice for itself. To him no temple stood Or altar smoked; yet who more oft than he In temples, and at altars, when the priest Tarns atheist, as did Eli's sons, who filled With lust and violence the house of God? In courts and palaces he also reigns, And in luxurious cities, where the noise Of riot ascends above their loftiest towers And injury and outrage; and when night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.
Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 490
On the other side up rose Belial, in act more graceful and humane; A fairer person lost not Heaven; he seemed For dignity composed, and high exploit. But all was false and hollow; though his tongue. Dropt manna, and could make the worse appear The better reason, to perplex and dash Maturest counsels; for his thoughts were low To vice industrious, but to nobler deeds Timorous and slothful.
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.
Its very name and date concealed Beneath a cankering crust. (1859.)
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).
The character of Jones, otherwise a model of generosity, openness, and manly spirit, mingled with thoughtless dissipation, is unnecessarily degraded by the nature of his intercourse with lady Bellaston.--Encyc. Brit. Art. "Fielding."
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:
Or whether thou to our moist vows denied Sleep'st by the fable of Bellerus old.
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:
King Lot of Lothan and Orkney wedded Margawse; Nentres, of the land of Carlot, wedded Elain; and that Morgan le Fay was [Arthurs] third sister.--Pt. i. 2, 35, 36.
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.
A difference [is] 'twixt broyles and bloudie warres,-- Yet have I shot at Maister Bellum's butte, And thrown his ball, although I toucht no tutte [benefit].
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.
[Illustration] 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).
[Illustration] "Belphoebê" is queen Elizabeth. As queen she is Gloriana, but as woman she is Belphoebê, the beautiful and chaste.
Either Grloriana let her choose, Or in Belphoebe fashioned to be;
In one her rule, in the other her rare chastitie.
Spenser, Faery Queen (introduction to bk. iii.).
BELTED WILL, lord William Howard, warden of the western marches (1563-1640).
His Bilboa blade, by Marchmen felt, Hung in a broad and studded belt; Hence in rude phrase the Borderers still Called noble Howard "Belted Will."
Sir W. Scott.
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).
One of the most distinguishing testimonies which that hero gave of his fortitude, constancy, and love, was his retiring to the Poor Rock when in disgrace with his mistress Oriana, to do penance under the name of Beltenebros or the Lovely Obscure.--Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. iii. 11 (1605).
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:
Don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt? Sweet Alice, whose hair was so brown; Who wept with delight when you gave her a smile, And trembled with fear at your frown. (1845.)
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.
Let Hebron, nay, let hell produce a man So made for mischief as Ben Jochanan. A Jew of humble parentage was he, By trade a Levite, though of low degree.