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CHARACTER SKETCHES
OF ROMANCE, FICTION
AND THE DRAMA
A REVISED AMERICAN EDITION
OF THE READER'S HANDBOOK
BY
THE REV. E. COBHAM BREWER, LL.D.
EDITED BY
MARION HARLAND
VOLUME III
[Colophon]
NEW YORK SELMAR HESS PUBLISHER
MDCCCXCII
Copyright, 1892, by SELMAR HESS.
PHOTOGRAVURES PRINTED ON THE HESS PRESS.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOLUME III.
PHOTOGRAVURES AND ETCHINGS.
_Illustration_ _Artist_
DEATH OF MINNEHAHA (_colored_) W. L. DODGE
MADAME CHRYSANTH[`E]ME
MEPHISTOPHELES AND FAUST A. JACOMIN
MILLER (THE), HIS SON AND THE ASS EUG[`E]NE LEJEUNE
NEWCOME (COLONEL) FREDERICK BARNARD
OPHELIA MADELEINE LEMAIRE
ORPHEUS G. MOREAU
PECKSNIFF (MR.) FREDERICK BARNARD
PENDENNIS (MAJOR) FREDERICK BARNARD
WOOD ENGRAVINGS AND TYPOGRAVURES.
MACARTHY (LAWRENCE) AND HIS SISTER ELLEN SCANLAN
MACHEATH WITH LUCY AND POLLY STUART NEWTON
MAIDEN (THE) AND LOVER BENCZUR-GYULA
MANFRED AND ASTARTE K. LISKA
MANON LESCAUT (THE BURIAL OF) P. A. J. DAGNAN-BOUVERET
MANRICO AND LEONORA FERD. KELLER
MANUEL (DON) DISCOVERS BEATRICE C. JAEGER
MARGARET BEFORE THE MATER DOLOROSA
MARIE ANTOINETTE ON HER WAY TO THE GUILLOTINE F. FLAMING
MARIE MICHON (THE ADVENTURE OF) G. BOULANGER
MARY (HIGHLAND) B. E. SPENCE
MASANIELLO EDOUARD HAMMAN
MASCARILLE (COQUELIN AS)
MATHIAS (THE MESMERIST AND) ADRIEN MARIE
MATTHEW (FATHER) AND SIR ROLFE W. B. DAVIS
MAUPRAT (BERNARD) AND JEAN MAUPRAT
MAZEPPA A. WAGNER
MEDEA N. SICHEL
MERMAIDENS (THE) ARNOLD B[:O]CKLIN
METAMORA (FORREST AS)
MICAWBER (MR. WILKINS) FREDERICK BARNARD
MIGNON G. HOM
MIRANDA AND FERDINAND R. E. PINE
M'LISS EDWARD LONG
MOOR (FRANZ) FR. PECHT
MORLAND (CATHARINE) R. W. BUSS
MOSES (PREPARING) FOR THE FAIR D. MACLISE
MOYA (THE POET PEDRO DE) AND THE PLAYERS D. MACLISE
MULLER (MAUD)
NIOBE WITH HER CHILDREN SOLOMON J. SOLOMON
NORMA AND POLLIONE ALBERT BAUER
OLDBUCK (MR.) AND JENNY ROB. HERDMAN
OLIVIA
OLIVIA (THE RETURN OF) G. S. NEWTON
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE L. THIERSCH
OTTILIA AND THE CHILD
OTTOCAR (PRINCE) AND MAX EUGEN KLIMSCH
PALISSY THE POTTER MRS. E. M. WARD
PANGLOSS (JEFFERSON AS DOCTOR)
PEGGY (MISS) AND HER FRIENDS DUDLEY HARDY
PENELOPE R. VON DEUTSCH
PENSEROSO (IL) J. C. HORSLEY
PENTHESILEA, QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS
PERI AT HEAVEN'S GATE (THE) FR. HEYSER
PHARAOH AND THE BEARERS OF EVIL TIDINGS LECOMTE-DU-NOUY
PHEDRA AND HIPPOLYTUS PIERRE GU['E]RIN
PHOEBUS DE CHATEAUPERS G. BRION
PICCIOLA (CHARNEY EXAMINING) BARRIAS
PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN (THE) H. KAULBACH
PIZARRO BEFORE CHARLES V.
PORTIA AND THE CASKETS ALEX. CABANEL
PORTIA AT THE GRAVE OF THE MESSIAH H. F[:U]GER
POSA (DON CARLOS, THE KING AND THE MARQUIS OF) FERDINAND RITTER
PRISCILLA DAVIDSON KNOWLES
PROMETHEUS AND THE OCEAN NYMPHS EDUARD M[:U]LLER
PRYNNE (HESTER) H. G. BOUGHTON
PSYCHE (CUPID AND) PAUL BAUDRY
PSYCHE AND CHARON A. ZICK
PUCK AND THE FAIRIES ARTHUR HUGHES
PUSS-IN-BOOTS GUSTAVE DOR['E]
PYGMALION AND GALATEA JEAN RAOUX
QUIXOTE (DON) IN HIS STUDY GUSTAVE DOR['E]
REBECCA (THE ABDUCTION OF) L['E]ON COGNIET
RED RIDINGHOOD (LITTLE) EUG[`E]NE LEJEUNE
REINIKE FOX BEFORE KING LION W. VON KAULBACH
REINIKE FOX TO BE HUNG W. VON KAULBACH
RHODOPE, THE EGYPTIAN PRINCESS FERD. KELLER
RICHLAND (MISS) VISITS MR. HONEYWOOD W. P. FRITH
ROB ROY PARTING RASHLEIGH AND FRANCIS
OSBALDISTONE J. B. MCDONALD
ROBSART (AMY)
ROLAND (MADAME) ALBERT LYNCH
ROLAND AT THE BATTLE OF RONCESVALLES LOUIS GUESNET
ROMEO AND JULIET IN FRIAR LAWRENCE'S CELL CARL BECKER
ROSE AND BLANCHE (DAGOBERT WITH) EDWARD H. CORBOULD
ROUMESTAN (NUMA) EMILE BAYARD
RUGGIERO ON THE HIPPOGRIFF GUSTAVE DOR['E]
CHARACTER SKETCHES OF ROMANCE, FICTION, AND THE DRAMA.
=Mark Tapley=, a serving companion of Martin Chuzzlewit, who goes out with
him to Eden, in North America. Mark Tapley thinks there is no credit in
being jolly in easy circumstances; but when in Eden he found every
discomfort, lost all his money, was swindled by every one, and was
almost killed by fevers, then indeed he felt it would be a real credit
"to be jolly under the circumstances."--C. Dickens, _Martin Chuzzlewit_
(1843).
=Markham=, a gentleman in the train of the earl of Sussex.--Sir W. Scott,
_Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Markham_ (_Mrs._), pseudonym of Mrs. Elizabeth Perrose[TN-1] (born
Elizabeth Cartwright), authoress of _History of England_, etc.
=Markleham= (_Mrs._), the mother of Annie. Devoted to pleasure, she always
maintained that she indulged in it for "Annie's sake." Mrs. Markleham is
generally referred to as "the old soldier."--C. Dickens, _David
Copperfield_ (1849).
=Marksman=, one of Fortunio's seven attendants. He saw so clearly and to
such a distance, that he generally bandaged his eyes in order to temper
the great keenness of his sight.--Comtesse D'Aunoy, _Fairy Tales_
("Fortunio," 1682).
=Marlborough= (_The duke of_), John Churchill. He was called by Marshal
Turenne _Le Bel Anglais_ (1650-1722).
=Marlow= (_Sir Charles_), the kind-hearted old friend of Squire
Hardcastle.
_Young Marlow_, son of Sir Charles. "Among women of reputation and
virtue he is the modestest man alive; but his acquaintances give him a
very different character among women of another stamp" (act i. 1).
Having mistaken Hardcastle's house for an inn, and Miss Hardcastle for
the barmaid, he is quite at his ease, and makes love freely. When fairly
caught, he discovers that the supposed "inn" is a private house, and the
supposed barmaid is the squire's daughter; but the ice of his shyness
being broken, he has no longer any difficulty in loving according to
his station.--Goldsmith, _She Stoops to Conquer_ (1773).
When Goldsmith was between 16 and 17 he set out for Edgworthstown, and
finding night coming on, asked a man which was the "best house" in the
town--meaning the best inn. The man pointed to the house of Sir Ralph
Fetherstone (or _Mr. Fetherstone_), and Oliver, entering the parlor,
found the master of the mansion sitting at a good fire. Oliver told him
he desired to pass the night there, and ordered him to bring in supper.
"Sir Ralph" knowing his customer, humored the joke, which Oliver did not
discover till next day, when he called for his bill. (We are told in
_Notes and Queries_ that Ralph Fetherstone was only _Mr._, but his
grandson was _Sir Thomas_).
=Marmaduke Wharne.= Eccentric old Englishman long resident in America.
Benevolent and beneficent, but gruff in manner and speech.--A. D. T.
Whitney, _Leslie Goldthwaite's Summer_ (1866).
=Marmaduke= (_Sir_). A man who has lost all earth can give--wealth, love,
fame and friends, but thus comforts himself:
"I account it worth
All pangs of fair hopes crossed,--
All loves and honors lost,--
To gain the heavens, at cost
Of losing earth."
Theodore Tilton, _Sir Marmaduke's Musings_ (1867).
=Marmion.= Lord Marmion was betrothed to Constance de Beverley, but he
jilted her for Lady Clare, an heiress, who was in love with Ralph de
Wilton. The Lady Clare rejected Lord Marmion's suit, and took refuge
from him in the convent of St. Hilda, in Whitby. Constance took the veil
in the convent of St. Cuthbert, in Holy Isle, but after a time left the
convent clandestinely, was captured, taken back, and buried alive in the
walls of a deep cell. In the mean time, Lord Marmion, being sent by
Henry VIII. on an embassy to James IV. of Scotland, stopped at the hall
of Sir Hugh de Heron, who sent a palmer as his guide. On his return,
Lord Marmion commanded the abbess of St. Hilda to release the Lady
Clare, and place her under the charge of her kinsman, Fitzclare of
Tantallon Hall. Here she met the palmer, who was Ralph de Wilton, and as
Lord Marmion was slain in the battle of Flodden Field, she was free to
marry the man she loved.--Sir W. Scott, _Marmion_ (1808).
_Marmion_ (_Lord_), a descendant of Robert de Marmion, who obtained from
William the Conqueror, the manor of Scrivelby, in Lincolnshire. This
Robert de Marmion was the first royal champion of England, and the
office remained in the family till the reign of Edward I., when in
default of male issue it passed to John Dymoke, son-in-law of Philip
Marmion, in whose family it remains still.
=Marnally= (_Bernard_). Good-looking Irish tutor at "Happy-go-Lucky," a
country house. He is accused of murdering the infant children of a young
widow with whom he is in love, but is acquitted and goes back to
Ireland. Some years later, he revisits America, meets his old love and
marries her.--Miriam Coles Harris, _Happy-go-Lucky_ (1881).
=Marner= (_Silas_). Miser and misogynist in humble life, who finds a
baby-girl in his cottage one night, and in bringing her up, learns to
have patience with life and charity with his kind.--George Eliot, _Silas
Marner_.
=Ma'ro=, Virgil, whose full name was Publius Virgilius Maro (B.C. 70-19).
Oh, were it mine with the sacred Maro's art
To wake to sympathy the feeling heart,
Like him the smooth and mournful verse to dress
In all the pomp of exquisite distress ...
Then might I ...
Falconer, _The Shipwreck_, iii. 5 (1756).
=Mar'onites= (3 _syl._), a religious semi-Catholic sect of Syria,
constantly at war with their near neighbors, the Druses, a
semi-Mohammedan sect. Both are now tributaries of the sultan, but enjoy
their own laws. The Maronites number about 400,000, and the Druses about
half that number. The Maronites owe their name to J. Maron, their
founder; the Druses to Durzi, who led them out of Egypt into Syria. The
patriarch of the Maronites resides at Kanobin; the hakem of the Druses
at Deir-el-kamar. The Maronites, or "Catholics of Lebanon," differ from
the Roman Catholics in several points, and have a pope or patriarch of
their own. In 1860 the Druses made on them a horrible onslaught, which
called forth the intervention of Europe.
=Marotte= (2 _syl._), a footman of Gorgibus; a plain bourgeois, who hates
affectation. When the fine ladies of the house try to convert him into a
fashionable flunky, and teach him a little grandiloquence, he bluntly
tells them he does not understand Latin.
_Marotte._ Voil[`a] un laquais qui demande si vous [^e]tes au logis,
et dit que son ma[^i]tre, vous venir voir.
_Madelon._ Apprenez, sotte, [`a] vous ['e]noncer moins vulgaiment.
Dites: Voil[`a] un n['e]cessaire que demande si vous [^e]tes en
commodit['e] d'etre visibles.
_Marotte._ Je n'entends point le Latin.--Moli[`e]re, _Les
Pr['e]cieuses Ridicules_, vii. (1659).
=Marphi'sa=, sister of Roge'ro, and a female knight of amazing prowess.
She was brought up by a magician, but being stolen at the age of seven,
was sold to the king of Persia. When she was 18, her royal master
assailed her honor; but she slew him, and usurped the crown. Marphisa
went to Gaul to join the army of Agramant, but subsequently entered the
camp of Charlemagne, and was baptized.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_
(1516).
=Marphu'rius=, a doctor of the Pyrrhonian school. Sganarelle consults him
about his marriage; but the philosopher replies, "Perhaps; it is
possible; it may be so; everything is doubtful;" till at last Sganarelle
beats him, and Marphurius says he shall bring an action against him for
battery. "Perhaps," replies Sganarelle; "it is possible; it may be so,"
etc., using the very words of the philosopher (sc. ix.).--Moli[`e]re, _Le
Mariage Forc['e]_ (1664).
=Marplot=, "the busy body." A blundering, good-natured, meddlesome young
man, very inquisitive, too officious by half, and always bungling
whatever he interferes in. Marplot is introduced by Mrs. Centlivre in
two comedies, _The Busy Body_ and _Marplot in Lisbon_.
That unlucky dog Marplot ... is ever doing mischief, and yet (to
give him his due) he never designs it. This is some blundering
adventure, wherein he thought to show his friendship, as he calls
it.--Mrs. Centlivre, _The Busy Body_, iii. 5 (1709).
[Asterism] This was Henry Woodward's great part (1717-1777). His
unappeasable curiosity, his slow comprehension, his annihilation under
the sense of his dilemmas, were so diverting, that even Garrick
confessed him the decided "Marplot" of the stage.--Boaden, _Life of
Siddons_.
N. B.--William Cavendish, duke of Newcastle, brought out a free
tranlation[TN-2] of Moli[`e]re's _L'Etourdi_, which he entitled _Marplot_.
=Marquis de Basqueville=, being one night at the opera, was told by a
messenger that his mansion was on fire. "Eh bien," he said to the
messenger, "adressez-vous [`a] Mme. la marquise qui est en face dans cette
loge; car c'est affaire de m['e]nage."--Chapus, _Dieppe et ses Environs_
(1853).
=Marrall= (_Jack_), a mean-spirited, revengeful time-server. He is the
clerk and tool of Sir Giles Overreach. When Marrall thinks Wellborn
penniless, he treats him like a dog; but as soon as he fancies he is
about to marry the wealthy dowager, Lady Allworth, he is most servile,
and offers to lend him money. Marrall now plays the traitor to his
master, Sir Giles, and reveals to Wellborn the scurvy tricks by which he
has been cheated of his estates. When, however, he asks Wellborn to take
him into his service, Wellborn replies, "He who is false to one master
will betray another;" and will have nothing to say to him.--Massinger,
_A New Way to Pay Old Debts_ (1628).
=Married Men of Genius.= The number of men of genius unhappy in their
wives is very large. The following are notorious examples:--Socrat[^e]s
and Xantipp[^e]; Saadi, the Persian poet; Dant[^e] and Gemma Donati;
Milton, with Mary Powell; Marlborough and Sarah Jennings; Gustavus
Adolphus and his flighty queen; Byron and Miss Milbanke; Dickens and
Miss Hogarth; etc. Every reader will be able to add to the list.
=Mars=, divine Fortitude personified. Bacchus is the tutelary demon of the
Mahommedans, and Mars the guardian potentate of the Christians.--Camoens,
_The Lusiad_ (1569).
_That Young Mars of Men_, Edward the Black prince, who with 8,000 men
defeated, at Poitiers, the French king, John, whose army amounted to
60,000--some say even more (A. D. 1356).[TN-3]
_The Mars of Men_, Henry Plantagenet, earl of Derby, third son of Henry,
earl of Lancaster, and near kinsman of Edward III. (See DERBY.)
=Marse' Chan.= Brave Virginian soldier whose lady-love enacts "My Lady
Disdain" until news is brought her that he has fallen in battle. Then
she grieves for him as a widow for her husband, and when she dies, she
is buried by him.--Thomas Nelson Page, _In Ole Virginia_ (1887).
=Mars of Portugal= (_The_), Alfonso de Albuquerque, viceroy of India
(1452-1515).
=Mars Wounded.= A very remarkable parallel to the encounter of Di[)o]med
and Mars in the _Iliad_, v., occurs in Ossian. Homer says that Diomed
hurled his spear against Mars, which, piercing the belt, wounded the
war-god in the bowels; "Loud bellowed Mars, nine thousand men, ten
thousand, scarce so loud, joining fierce battle." Then Mars ascending,
wrapped in clouds, was borne upwards to Olympus.
Ossian, in _Carrick-Thura_, says that Loda, the god of his foes, came like
a "blast from the mountain. He came in his terror and shook his dusky
spear. His eyes were flames, and his voice like distant thunder. 'Son of
night,' said Fingal, 'retire. Do I fear thy gloomy form, spirit of dismal
Loda? Weak is thy shield of cloud, feeble thy meteor sword.'"[TN-4] Then
cleft he the gloomy shadow with his sword. It fell like a column of
smoke. It shrieked. Then rolling itself up, the wounded spirit rose on the
wind, and the island shook to its foundation."
=Marseilles' Good Bishop=, Henri Fran[c,]ois Xavier de Belsunce
(1671-1775). Immortalized by his philanthropic diligence in the plague
at Marseilles (1720-1722).
Charles Borrom[=e]o, archbishop of Milan a century previously (1576),
was equally diligent and self-sacrificing in the plague of Milan
(1538-1584).
Sir John Lawrence, lord mayor of London during the great plague,
supported 40,000 dismissed servants, and deserves immortal honor.
Darwin refers to Belsunce and Lawrence in his _Loves of the Plants_, ii.
433.
=Marshal Forwards=, Bl[:u]cher; so called for his dash in battle, and the
rapidity of his movements, in the campaign of 1813 (1742-1819).
=Marsi=, a part of the Sabellian race, noted for Magic, and said to have
been descended from Circ[^e].
Marsis vi quadam genitali datum, ut serpentium virulentorum
domitores sint, et incantationibus herbarumque succis faciant
medelarum mira.--_Gellius_, xvi. 11.
=Marsig'lio=, a Saracen king, who plotted the attack upon Roland, "under
the tree on which Judas hanged himself." With a force of 600,000 men,
divided into three companies, Marsiglio attacked the paladin in
Roncesvall[^e]s and overthrew him; but Charlemagne, coming up, routed the
Saracen, and hanged him on the very tree under which he planned the
attack.--Turpin, _Chronicle_ (1122).
=Marsilia=, "who bears up great Cynthia's train," is the marchioness of
Northampton, to whom Spenser dedicated his _Daphnaida_. This lady was
Helena, daughter of Wolfgangus Swavenburgh, a Swede.
No less praiseworthy is Marsilia,
Best known by bearing up great Cynthia's train.
She is the pattern of true womanhead....
Worthy next after Cynthia [_queen Elizabeth_] to tread,
As she is next her in nobility.
Spenser, _Colin Clout's Come Home Again_ (1595).
=Mar'syas=, the Phrygian flute-player. He challenged Apollo to a contest
of skill, but being beaten by the god, was flayed alive for his
presumption.
=Mar'tafax and Ler'mites= (3 _syl._), two famous rats brought up before
the White Cat for treason, but acquitted.--Comtesse D'Aunoy, _Fairy
Tales_ ("The White Cat," 1682).
=Marta'no=, a great coward, who stole the armor of Gryphon, and presented
himself in it before King Norandi'no. Having received the honors due to
the owner, Martano quitted Damascus with Origilla; but Aquilant unmasked
the villain, and he was hanged (bks. viii., ix.).--Ariosto, _Orlando
Furioso_ (1516).
=Marteau des Heretiques=, Pierre d'Ailly; also called _L'Aigle de la
France_ (1350-1420).
=Martel= (_Charles_), Charles, natural son of P['e]pin d'H['e]ristal.
M. Collin de Plancy says that this "palace mayor" of France was not
called "Martel" because he _martel['e]_ ("hammered") the Saracens under
Abd-el-Rahman in 732, but because his patron saint was _Martellus_ (or
_St. Martin_).--_Biblioth[`e]que des L['e]gendes._
Thomas Delf, in his translation of Chevreuil's _Principles of Harmony,
etc., of Colors_ (1847), signs himself "Charles Martel."
=Martext= (_Sir Oliver_), a vicar in Shakespeare's comedy of _As You Like
It_ (1600).
=Martha:=
"Yea, Lord! Yet man must earn
And woman bake the bread;
And some must watch and wake
Early for other's sake
Who pray instead."
Julia C. R. Dorr, _Afternoon Songs_ (1885).
_Martha_, sister to "The Scornful Lady" (no name given).--Beaumont and
Fletcher, _The Scornful Lady_ (1616).
_Martha_, the servant-girl at Shaw's Castle.--Sir W. Scott, _St. Ronan's
Well_ (time, George III.).
_Martha_, the old housekeeper at Osbaldistone Hall.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob
Roy_ (time, George I.).
_Martha_, daughter of Ralph and Louise de Lascours, and sister of Diana
de Lascours. When the crew of the _Urania_ rebelled, Martha, with Ralph
de Lascours (the captain), Louise de Lascours, and Barabas, were put
adrift in a boat, and cast on an iceberg in "the Frozen Sea." The
iceberg broke, Ralph and Louise were drowned, Barabas was picked up by a
vessel, and Martha fell into the hands of an Indian tribe, who gave her
the name of Orgari'ta ("withered corn"). She married Carlos, but as he
married under a false name, the marriage was illegal, and when Carlos
was given up to the hands of justice, Orgarita was placed under the
charge of her grandmother, Mde. de Th['e]ringe, and [probably] espoused
Horace de Brienne.--E. Stirling, _The Orphan of the Frozen Sea_ (1856).
_Martha_, a friend of Margaret. She makes love to Mephistophel[^e]s, with
great worldly shrewdness.--Goethe, _Faust_ (1798).
_Martha, alias_ ULRICA, mother of Bertha, who is betrothed to Hereward
and marries him.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).
_Martha_ (_The Abbess_), abbess of Elcho Nunnery. She is a kinswoman of
the Glover family.--Sir W. Scott, _Fair Maid of Perth_ (time, Henry
IV.).
_Martha_ (_Dame_), housekeeper to major Bridgenorth.--Sir W. Scott,
_Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
=Martha Hilton=, serving-maid in the household of the widowed Governor
Wentworth, until, on his sixtieth birthday, he surprised the guests
assembled to do him honor by wedding her in their sight.--Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, _Lady Wentworth_.
=Marth['e]=, a young orphan, in love with Fr['e]d['e]ric Auvray, a young
artist who loves her in return, but leaves her, goes to Rome, and falls
in love with another lady, Elena, sister of the Duke Strozzi. Marth['e]
leaves the Swiss pastor, who is her guardian, and travels in midwinter to
Rome, dressed as a boy, and under the name of Piccolino. She tells her
tale to Elena, who abandons the fickle, false one, and Fr['e]d['e]ric
forbids the Swiss wanderer ever again to approach him. Marth['e], in
despair, throws herself into the Tiber, but is rescued. Fr['e]d['e]ric
repents, is reconciled, and marries the forlorn maiden.--Mons. Guiraud,
_Piccolino_ (an opera, 1875).
=Marthon=, an old cook at Arnheim Castle.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of
Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
_Marthon, alias_ RIZPAH, a Bohemian woman, attendant on the Countess
Hameline of Croye.--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Martian Laws= (not _Mercian_ as Wharton gives it in his _Law Dictionary_)
are the laws collected by Martia, the wife of Guithelin, great grand-son
of Mulmutius, who established in Britain the "Mulmutian Laws" (_q.v._).
Alfred translated both these codes into Saxon-English, and called the
Martian code _Pa Marchitle Lage_. These laws have no connection with the
kingdom of Mercia.--Geoffrey, _British History_, iii. 13 (1142).
Guynteline, ... whose queen, ... to show her upright mind,
To wise Mulmutius' laws her Martian first did frame.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, viii. (1612).
=Martigny= (_Marie le comptesse de_), wife of the earl of
Etherington.--Sir W. Scott, _St. Ronan's Well_ (time, George III.).
=Martin=, in Swift's _Tale of the Tub_, is Martin Luther; "John" is
Calvin; and "Peter" the pope of Rome (1704).
In Dryden's _Hind and Panther_, "Martin" means the Lutheran party
(1687).
_Martin_, the old verdurer near Sir Henry Lee's lodge.--Sir W. Scott,
_Woodstock_ (time, Commonwealth).
_Martin_, the old shepherd in the service of the lady of Avenel.--Sir W.
Scott, _The Monastery_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Martin_, the ape in the beast-epic of _Reynard the Fox_ (1498).
_Martin_ (_Dame_), partner of Darsie Latimer at the fishers'
dance.--Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
_Martin_ (_Sarah_), the prison reformer of Great Yarmouth. This young
woman, though but a poor dressmaker, conceived a device for the
reformation of prisoners in her native town, and continued for
twenty-four years her earnest and useful labor of love, acting as
schoolmistress, chaplain and industrial superintendent. In 1835, Captain
Williams, inspector of prisons, brought her plans before the Government,
under the conviction that the nation at large might be benefitted by
their practical good sense (1791-1843).
=Martin Weldeck=, the miner. His story is read by Lovel to a picnic party
at St. Ruth's ruins.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
=Martine= (3 _syl._), wife of Sganarelle. She has a furious quarrel with
her husband, who beats her, and she screams. M. Robert, a neighbor,
interferes, says to Sganarelle, "Quelle infamie! Peste soit le coquin,
de battre ainsi sa femme." The woman snubs him for his impertinence, and
says, "Je veux qu'il me battre, moi;" and Sganarelle beats him soundly
for meddling with what does not concern him.--Moli[`e]re, _Le M['e]decin
Malgr['e] Lui_ (1666).
=Martival= (_Stephen de_), a steward of the field at the tournament.--Sir
W. Scott, _Ivanhoe_ (time, Richard I.).
=Martivalle= (_Martius Galeotti_), astrologer to Louis XI. of France.--Sir
W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Martyr King= (_The_), Henry VI., buried at Windsor beside Edward IV.
Here o'er the Martyr King [_Henry VI._] the marble weeps.
And fast beside him once-feared Edward [_IV._] sleeps;
The grave unites where e'en the grave finds rest,
And mingled lie the oppressor and th'opprest.
Pope.
_Martyr King_ (_The_), Charles I. of England (1600, 1625-1649).
Louis XVI. of France is also called Louis "the Martyr" (1754,
1774-1793).
=Martyrs to Science.=
Claude Louis, Count Berthollet, who tested on himself the effects of
carbonic acid on the human frame, and died under the experiment
(1748-1822).
Giordano Bruno, who was burnt alive for maintaining that matter is the
mother of all things (1550-1600).
Galileo, who was imprisoned twice by the Inquisition for maintaining
that the earth moved round the sun, and not the sun round the earth
(1564-1642).
And scores of others.
=Marvellous Boy= (_The_), Thomas Chatterton (1752-1770).
I thought of Chatterton, the marvellous boy,
The sleepless soul that perished in his pride.
Wordsworth.
=Marwood= (_Alice_), daughter of an old woman who called herself Mrs.
Brown. When a mere girl she was concerned in a burglary and was
transported. Carker, manager in the firm of Dombey and Son, seduced her,
and both she and her mother determined on revenge. Alice bore a striking
resemblance to Edith (Mr. Dombey's second wife), and in fact they were
cousins, for Mrs. Brown was "wife" of the brother-in-law of the Hon.
Mrs. Skewton (Edith's mother).--C. Dickens, _Dombey and Son_ (1846).
_Marwood_ (_Mistress_), jilted by Fainall, and soured against the whole
male sex. She says, "I have done hating those vipers--men, and am now
come to despise them;" but she thinks of marrying to keep her husband
"on the rack of fear and jealousy."--W. Congreve, _The Way of the World_
(1700).
=Mary=, the pretty housemaid of the worshipful, the mayor of Ipswich
(_Nupkins_). When Arabella Allen marries Mr. Winkle, Mary enters her
service; but eventually marries Sam Weller, and lives at Dulwich, as Mr.
Pickwick's housekeeper.--C. Dickens, _The Pickwick Papers_ (1836).
_Mary_, niece of Valentine, and his sister Alice. In love with Mons.
Thomas.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _Mons. Thomas_ (1619).
_Mary. The queen's Marys_, four young ladies of quality, of the same age
as Mary, afterwards "queen of Scots." They embarked with her in 1548, on
board the French galleys, and were destined to be her playmates in
childhood, and her companions when she grew up. Their names were Mary
Beaton (or _Bethune_), Mary Livingston (or _Leuison_), Mary Fleming (or
_Flemyng_), and Mary Seaton (_Seton_ or _Seyton_).
[Asterism] Mary Carmichael has no place in authentic history, although
an old ballad says:
Yestrien the queen had four Marys;
This night she'll hae but three:
There was Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.
[Asterism] One of Whyte Melville's novels is called _The Queen's Marys_.
=Mary Anne=, a slang name for the guillotine; also called _L'abbaye de
monte-[`a]-regret_ ("the mountain of mournful ascent"). (See MARIANNE.)
_Mary Anne_, a generic name for a secret republican society in France.
[TN-5]See MARIANNE.)--B. Disraeli, _Lothair_.
Mary Anne was the red-name for the republic years ago, and there
always was a sort of myth that these secret societies had been
founded by a woman.
The Mary-Anne associations, which are essentially republic, are
scattered about all the provinces of France.--_Lothair._
=Mary Graham=, an orphan adopted by old Martin Chuzzlewit. She eventually
married Martin Chuzzlewit, the grandson, and hero of the tale.
=Mary Scudder.= Blue-eyed daughter of a "capable" New England housewife.
From childhood she has loved her cousin. Her mother objects on the
ground that James is "unregenerate," and brings Mary to accept Dr.
Hopkins, her pastor. The doctor, upon discovering the truth, resigns his
betrothed to the younger lover.--Harriet Beecher Stowe, _The Minister's
Wooing_ (1862).
=Mary Stuart=, an historical tragedy by J. Haynes (1840). The subject is
the death of David Rizzio.
[Asterism] Schiller has taken Mary Stuart for the subject of a tragedy.
P. Lebrun turned the German drama into a French play. Sir W. Scott, in
_The Abbot_, has taken for his subject the flight of Mary to England.
=Mary Tudor.= Victor Hugo has a tragedy so called (1833), and Tennyson, in
1878, issued a play entitled _Queen Mary_, an epitome of the reign of
the Tudor Mary.
=Mary and Byron.= The "Mary" of Lord Byron was Miss Chaworth. Both were
under the guardianship of Mr. White. Miss Chaworth married John Musters,
and Lord Byron married Miss Milbanke; both equally unfortunate. Lord
Byron, in _The Dream_, refers to his love-affair with Mary Chaworth.
=Mary in Heaven= (_To_) and _Highland Mary_, lyrics addressed by Robert
Burns to Mary Campbell, between whom and the poet there existed a strong
attachment previous to the latter's departure from Ayrshire to
Nithsdale. _Mary Morison_, a youthful effusion, was written to the
object of a prior passion. The lines in the latter
Those smiles and glances let me see,
That make the miser's treasure poor,
resembles those in _Highland Mary_--
Still o'er those scenes my mem'ry wakes,
And fondly broods with miser care.
=Mary of Mode'na=, the second wife of James II. of England, and mother of
"The Pretender."
Mamma was to assume the character and stately way of the royal
"Mary of Modena."--Percy Fitzgerald, _The Parvenu Family_, iii.
239.
=Mary Queen of Scots= was confined first at Carlisle; she was removed in
1568 to Bolton; in 1569 she was confined at Tutbury, Wingfield, Tutbury,
Ashby-de-la-Zouche, and Coventry; in 1570 she was removed to Tutbury,
Chatsworth, and Sheffield; in 1577 to Chatsworth; in 1578 to Sheffield;
in 1584 to Wingfield; in 1585 to Tutbury, Chartley, Tixhall, and
Chartley; in 1586 (September 25) to Fotheringay.
[Asterism] She is introduced by Sir W. Scott, in his novel entitled _The
Abbot_.
Schiller has taken Mary Stuart for the subject of his best tragedy, and
P. Lebrun brought out in France a French version thereof (1729-1807).
_Mary queen of Scots._ The most elegant and poetical compliment ever
paid to woman was paid to Mary queen of Scots, by Shakespeare, in
_Midsummer Night's Dream_. Remember, the _mermaid_ is "Queen Mary;" the
_dolphin_ means the "dauphin of France," whom Mary married; the _rude
sea_ means the "Scotch rebels;" and the _stars that shot from their
spheres_ means "the princes who sprang from their allegiance to Queen
Elizabeth."
Thou remember'st
Since once I sat upon a promontory,
And heard a _mermaid_, on a _dolphin's_ back,
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,
That the _rude sea_ grew civil at her song;
And certain _stars shot madly from their spheres_,
To hear the sea-maid's music.
Act ii. sc. 1 (1592).
These "stars" were the earl of Northumberland, the earl of Westmoreland,
and the duke of Norfolk.
=Mary, the Maid of the Inn=, the delight and sunshine of the parish, about
to be married to Richard, an idle, worthless fellow. One autumn night,
two guests were drinking at the inn, and one remarked he should not much
like to go to the abbey on such a night. "I'll wager that Mary will go,"
said the other, and the bet was accepted. Mary went, and, hearing
footsteps, stepped into a place of concealment, when presently passed
her two young men carrying a young woman they had just murdered. The hat
of one blew off, and fell at Mary's feet. She picked it up, and flew to
the inn, told her story, and then, producing the hat, found it was
Richard's. Her senses gave way, and she became a confirmed maniac for
life.--R. Southey, _Mary, the Maid of the Inn_ (from Dr. Plot's _History
of Staffordshire_, 1686).
=Mary Pyncheon.= (See PYNCHEON.)
=Mary Woodcock.= (See WOODCOCK.)
=Mar'zavan=, foster-brother of the Princess Badou'ra.--_Arabian Nights_
("Camaralzaman and Badoura").
=Masaniello=, a corruption of [Tom]maso Aniello, a Neapolitan fisherman,
who headed an insurrection in 1647 against the duke of Arcos; and he
resolved to kill the duke's son for having seduced Fenella, his sister,
who was deaf and dumb. The insurrection succeeded, and Masaniello was
elected by his rabble "chief magistrate of Portici;" but he became
intoxicated with his greatness, so the mob shot him, and flung his dead
body into a ditch. Next day, however, it was taken out and interred with
much ceremony and pomp. When Fenella heard of her brother's death, she
threw herself into the crater of Vesuvius.
[Asterism] Auber has an opera on the subject (1831), the libretto by
Scribe. Caraffa had chosen the same subject for an opera previously.
=Mascarille= (3 _syl._), the valet of La Grange. In order to reform two
silly, romantic girls, La Grange and Du Croisy introduce to them their
valets, as the "marquis of Mascarille" and the "viscount of Jodelet."
The girls are taken with their "aristocratic visitors;" but when the
game has gone far enough, the masters enter and unmask the trick. By
this means the girls are taught a most useful lesson, and are saved from
any serious ill consequences.--Moli[`e]re, _Les Pr['e]cieuses Ridicules_
(1659).
[Asterism] Moli[`e]re had already introduced the same name in two other of
his comedies, _L'Etourdi_ (1653) and _Le D['e]pit Amoureux_ (1654).
=Masetto=, a rustic engaged to Zerl[=i]na; but Don Giovanni intervenes
before the wedding, and deludes the foolish girl into believing that he
means to make her a great lady and his wife.--Mozart, _Don Giovanni_
(libretto by L. da Ponte, 1787).
=Mask'well=, the "double dealer." He pretends to love Lady Touchwood, but
it is only to make her a tool for breaking the attachment between
Mellefont (2 _syl._) and Cynthia. Maskwell pretends friendship for
Mellefont merely to throw dust in his eyes respecting his designs to
carry off Cynthia, to whom Mellefont is betrothed. Cunning and hypocrisy
are Maskwell's substitutes for wisdom and honesty.--W. Congreve, _The
Double Dealer_ (1700).
=Massasowat.= The account given by Edward Winslow of the illness of
Massasowat--the friendly Indian chief whose alliance with the pilgrim
father ceased only with his life--is a curious contribution to colonial
literature. The remedies and diet used by Winslow are so extraordinary
as to give unintentional point to his remark--"We, with admiration,
blessed GOD for giving his blessing to such rare and ignorant
means."--Edward Winslow, _Good News from New England_ (1624).
=Mason= (_William_). The medallion to this poet in Westminster Abbey was
by Bacon.
_Mason_ (_Lady_). She forges a will purporting to be by her husband,
securing his estate to herself and her son. Nobody suspects the fraud
for years. When inquiry arises, Lady Mason is engaged to a gallant old
baronet who will not credit her guilt until, conscience-smitten, she
throws herself at his feet and acknowledges all.
_Lucius Mason._ The priggish, good-looking youth for whom Lady Mason
risks so much. When he learns the truth he is stern in his judgment of
the unhappy woman.--Anthony Trollope, _Orley Farm_.
=Master= (_The_). Goethe is called _Der Meister_ (1749-1832).
I beseech you, Mr. Tickler, not to be so sarcastic on "The
Master."--_Noctes Ambrosiana._
_Master_ (_The Old_). Mythical personage, whose breakfast-table
monologues are among the most charming that enliven the pages of Oliver
Wendell Holmes's _Poet at the Breakfast Table_. "I think he suspects
himself of a three-story intellect, and I don't feel sure that he isn't
right."
=Master Adam=, Adam Billaut, the French poet (1602-1662).
=Master Humphrey=, the narrator of the story called "The Old Curiosity
Shop."--C. Dickens, _Master Humphrey's Clock_ (1840).
=Master Leonard=, grand-master of the nocturnal orgies of the demons. He
presided at these meetings in the form of a three-horned goat with a
black human face.--_Middle Age Demonology._
=Master, like Man= (_Like_).
Such mistress, such Nan;
Such master, such man.
Tusser, xxxviii. 22.
Again:
Such master, such man; and such mistress, such maid;
Such husband and huswife; such houses arraid.
T. Tusser, _Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry_,
xxxix. 22 (1557).
=Master Matthew=, a town gull.--Ben Jonson, _Every Man in His Humor_
(1598).
=Master Stephen=, a country gull of melancholy humor. (See MASTER
MATTHEW).--Ben Jonson, _Every Man in His Humor_ (1598).
=Master of Sentences=, Pierre Lombard, author of a book called _Sentences_
(1100-1164).
=Masters= (_Doctor_), physician to Queen Elizabeth.--Sir W. Scott,
_Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Masters_ (The Four): (1) Michael O'Clerighe (_or_ Clery), who died
1643; (2) Cucoirighe O'Clerighe; (3) Maurice Conry; (4) Fearfeafa Conry;
authors of _Annals of Donegal_.
=Mat Mizen=, mate of H.M. ship _Tiger_. The type of a daring, reckless,
dare-devil English sailor. His adventures with Harry Clifton, in Delhi,
form the main incidents of Barrymore's melodrama, _El Hyder, Chief of
the Ghaut Mountains_.
=Mat-o'-the Mint=, a highwayman in Captain Macheath's gang. Peachum says,
"He is a promising, sturdy fellow, and diligent in his way. Somewhat too
bold and hasty; one that may raise good contributions on the public if
he does not cut himself short by murder."--Gay, _The Beggar's Opera_, i.
(1727).
=Matabrune= (3 _syl._), wife of King Pierron of the Strong Island, and
mother of Prince Oriant, one of the ancestors of Godfrey of
Bouillon.--_Mediaeval Romance of Chivalry._
=Mathematical Calculators.=
George Parkes Bidder, president of the Institution of Civil Engineers
(1800- ).
Jedediah Buxton, of Elmeton, in Derbyshire. He would tell how many
letters were in any one of his father's sermons, after hearing it from
the pulpit. He went to hear Garrick, in _Richard III._, and told how
many words each actor uttered (1705-1775).
Zerah Colburn, of Vermont, U. S., came to London in 1812, when he was
eight years old. The duke of Gloucester set him to multiply five figures
by three, and he gave the answer instantly. He would extract the cube
root of nine figures in a few seconds (1804- ).
Vito Mangiamele, son of a Sicilian shepherd. In 1839 MM. Arago, Lacroix,
Libri, and Sturm examined the boy, then 11 years old, and in half a
minute he told them the cube root of seven figures, and in three seconds
of nine figures (1818- ).
Alfragan, the Arabian astronomer (died 820).
=Mathilde= (2 _syl._), heroine of a tale so called by Sophie Ristaud, Dame
Cottin (1773-1807).
_Mathilde_ (3 _syl._), sister of Gessler, the tyrannical governor of
Switzerland, in love with Arnoldo, a Swiss, who saved her life when it
was imperilled by an avalanche. After the death of Gessler she married
the bold Swiss.--Rossini, _Guglielmo Tell_ (an opera, 1829).
=Mathis=, a German miller, greatly in debt. One Christmas Eve a Polish Jew
came to his house in a sledge, and, after rest and refreshment, started
for Nantzig, "four leagues off." Mathis followed him, killed him with an
axe, and burnt the body in a lime-kiln. He then paid his debts, greatly
prospered, and became a highly respected burgomaster. On the wedding
night of his only child, Annette, he died of apoplexy, of which he had
previous warning by the constant sound of sledge-bells in his ears. In
his dream he supposed himself put into a mesmeric sleep in open court,
when he confessed everything, and was executed.--J. R. Ware, _The Polish
Jew_.
[Asterism] This is the character which first introduced H. Irving to
public notice.
=Math'isen=, one of the three anabaptists who induced John of Leyden to
join their rebellion; but no sooner was John proclaimed "the
prophet-king" than the three rebels betrayed him to the emperor. When
the villains entered the banquet-hall to arrest their dupe, they all
perished in the flames of the burning palace.--Meyerbeer, _Le Proph[`e]te_
(an opera, 1849).
=Matilda=, wife of the earl of Leicester, in the "first American tragedy
regularly produced" in the United States.
She plans to poison her lord, a plot discovered and thwarted by him. In
shame and remorse she stabs herself to the heart, praying Leicester to
"pity her youthful paramour."--William Dunlap, _Leicester, A Tragedy_
(1794).
_Matilda_, sister of Rollo and Otto, dukes of Normandy, and daughter of
Sophia.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Bloody Brother_ (1639).
_Matilda_, daughter of Lord Robert Fitzwalter.
[Asterism] Michael Drayton has a poem of some 650 lines, so called.
_Matilda_, daughter of Rokeby, and niece of Mortham. Matilda was beloved
by Wilfred, son of Oswald; but she herself loved Redmond, her father's
page, who turned out to be Mortham's son.--Sir W. Scott, _Rokeby_
(1812).
=Matsys= (_Quintin_), a blacksmith of Antwerp. He fell in love with Liza,
the daughter of Johann Mandyn, the artist. The father declared that
none but an artist should have her to wife; so Matsys relinquished his
trade, and devoted himself to painting. After a while, he went into the
studio of Mandyn to see his picture of the fallen angel; and on the
outstretehed[TN-6] leg of one of the figures painted a bee. This was so
life-like, that when the old man returned, he proceeded to frighten it
off with his handkerchief. When he discovered the deception, and found
out it was done by Matsys, he was so delighted that he at once gave Liza
to him for wife.
=Matthew Merrygreek=, the servant of Ralph Roister Doister. He
is a flesh-and-blood representative of "vice" in the old
morality-plays.--Nicholas Udall, _Ralph Roister Doister_ (the first
English comedy, 1634).
=Matthias de Mon[c,]ada=, a merchant. He is the father of Mrs.
Witherington, wife of General Witherington.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Surgeon's Daughter_ (time, George II.).
=Matthias de Silva= (_Don_), a Spanish beau. This exquisite one day
received a challenge for defamation, soon after he had retired to bed,
and said to his valet, "I would not get up before noon to make one in
the best party of pleasure that was ever projected. Judge, then, if I
shall rise at six o'clock in the morning to get my throat cut."--Lesage,
_Gil Blas_, iii. 8 (1715).
(This reply was borrowed from the romance of Espinel, entitled _Vida del
Escudero Mar[c,]os de Obregon_, 1618).
=Mattie=, maid servant of Bailie Nicol Jarvie, and afterwards his
wife.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).
=Maud Muller=, pretty, shy haymaker, of whom the judge, passing by,
craves a cup of water. He falls in love with the rustic maiden, but dare
not wed her. She, too, recollects him with tenderness, dreaming vainly
of what might have been her different lot.
"Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these, 'It might have been.'"
J. G. Whittier, _Maud Muller_.
Bret Harte has written a clever parody upon Maud Muller,--"_Mrs. Judge
Jenkins_."
"There are no sadder words of tongue or pen,
Than 'It is, but _it hadn't orter been!_'"
=Maude=, (1 _syl._), wife of Peter Pratefast, "who loved cleanliness."
She kepe her dishes from all foulenes;
And when she lacked clowtes withouten fayle,
She wyped her dishes with her dogges tayll.
Stephen Hawes, _The Pastyme of Pleasure_, xxix. (1515).
=Maugis=, the Nestor of French romance. He was one of Charlemagne's
paladins, a magician and champion.
[Asterism] In Italian romance he is called "Malagigi" (_q.v._).
=Maugis d'Aygremont=, son of Duke Bevis d'Aygremont, stolen in infancy by
a female slave. As the slave rested under a white-thorn, a lion and a
leopard devoured her, and then killed each other in disputing over the
infant. Oriande la f[`e]e, attracted to the spot by the crying of the
child, exclaimed, "by the powers above, the child is _mal gist_ ('badly
nursed')!" and ever after it was called Mal-gist or Mau-gis'. When grown
to manhood, he obtained the enchanted horse Bayard, and took from
Anthenor (the Saracen) the the[TN-7] sword Flamberge. Subsequently he gave
both to his cousin Renaud (_Renaldo_). Romance of _Maugis d'Aygremont et
de Vivian son Fr[`e]re_.
[Asterism] In the Italian romance, Maugis is called "Malagigi," Bevis
is "Buovo," Bayard is "Bayardo," Flamberge is "Fusberta," and Renaud is
"Renaldo."
=Maugrabin= (_Zamet_), a Bohemian, hung near Plessis l['e]s Tours.
_Hayraddin Maugrabin_, the "Zingaro," brother of Zamet Maugrabin. He
assumes the disguise of Rouge Sanglier, and pretends to be a herald from
Li[`e]ge [_Le.aje_].--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Mau'graby=, son of Hal-il-Maugr[)a]by and his wife Yandar.
Hal-il-Maugraby founded Dom-Daniel "under the roots of the ocean" near
the coast of Tunis, and his son completed it. He and his son were the
greatest magicians that ever lived. Maugraby was killed by Prince
Habed-il-Rouman, son of the caliph of Syria, and with his death
Dom-Daniel ceased to exist.--_Continuation of Arabian Nights_ ("History
of Maugraby").
Did they not say to us every day that if we were naughty the
Maugraby would take us?--_Continuation of Arabian Nights_, iv. 74.
=Maugys=, a giant who kept the bridge leading to a castle in which a lady
was besieged. Sir Lybius, one of the knights of the Round Table, did
battle with him, slew him, and liberated the lady.--_Libeaux_ (a
romance).
=Maul=, a giant who used to spoil young pilgrims with sophistry. He
attacked Mr. Greatheart with a club; but Greatheart pierced him under
the fifth rib, and then cut off his head.--Bunyan, _Pilgrim's Progress_,
ii. (1684).
=Maul of Monks=, Thomas Cromwell, visitor-general of English monasteries,
which he summarily suppressed (1490-1540).
=Maulstatute= (_Master_), a magistrate.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the
Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
=Maun'drel=, a wearisome gossip, a chattering woman.
_Maundrels_, vagaries, especially those of a person in delirium, or the
disjointed gabble of a sleeper.
[Asterism] The word is said to be a corruption of Mandeville (_Sir
John_), who published a book of travels, full of idle tales and
maundering gossip.
=Mauprat= (_Adrien de_), colonel and chevalier in the king's army; "the
wildest gallant and bravest knight of France." He married Julie; but the
king accused him of treason for so doing, and sent him to the Bastille.
Being released by the Cardinal Richelieu, he was forgiven, and made
happy with the blessing of the king.--Lord Lytton, _Richelieu_ (1839).
_Mauprat_, the last of a fierce race of French robber nobles. His wild
nature is subdued into real nobility by his love for his beautiful
cousin.--George Sand, _Mauprat_ (1836).
=Maurice Beevor= (_Sir_), a miser, and (failing the children of the
countess) heir to the Arundel estates. The countess having two sons
(Arthur and Percy), Sir Maurice hired assassins to murder them; but his
plots were frustrated, and the miser went to his grave "a sordid,
spat-upon, revengeless, worthless, and rascally poor cousin."--Lord
Lytton, _The Sea-Captain_ (1839).
=Mause= (_Old_), mother of Cuddie Headrigg, and a covenanter.--Sir W.
Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
=Mauso'lus=, king of Caria, to whom his wife Art[)e]misia erected a
sepulchre which was one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" (B.C. 353).
The chief mausoleums besides this are those of Augustus; Hadrian (now
called the castle of St. Angelo) at Rome; Henri II., erected by
Catherine de Medicis; St. Peter the martyr, in the church of St.
Eustatius, by G. Balduccio; that to the memory of Louis XVI.; and the
tomb of Napoleon in Les Invalides, Paris. The one erected by Queen
Victoria to Prince Albert may also be mentioned.
=Mauthe Dog=, a black spectre spaniel that haunted the guard-room of
Peeltown in the Isle of Man. One day a drunken trooper entered the
guard-room while the dog was there, but lost his speech, and died within
three days.--Sir W. Scott, _Lay of the Last Minstrel_, vi. 26 (1805).
=Mauxalin'da=, in love with Moore, of Moore Hall; but the valiant
combatant of the dragon deserts her for Margery, daughter of Gubbins, of
Roth'ram Green.--H. Carey, _Dragon of Wantley_ (1696-1743).
=Mavortian=, a soldier or son of Mavors (_Mars_).
Hew dreadfull Mavortian the poor price of a dinner.--Richard Brome,
_Plays_ (1653).
=Mawworm=, a vulgar copy of Dr. Cantwell "the hypocrite." He is a most
gross abuser of his mother tongue, but believes he has a call to preach.
He tells old Lady Lambert that he has made several sermons already, but
"always does 'em extrumpery" because he could not write. He finds his
"religious vocation" more profitable than selling "grocery, tea, small
beer, charcoal, butter, brickdust, and other spices," and so comes to
the conclusion that it "is sinful to keep shop." He is a convert of Dr.
Cantwell, and believes in him to the last.
Do despise me; I'm the prouder for it. I like to be despised.--I.
Bickerstaff, _The Hypocrite_, ii. 1 (1768).
=Max=, a huntsman, and the best marksman in Germany. He was plighted to
Agatha, who was to be his wife, if he won the prize in the annual match.
Caspar induced Max to go to the wolf's glen at midnight and obtain seven
charmed balls from Samiel, the Black Huntsman. On the day of contest,
while Max was shooting, he killed Caspar, who was concealed in a tree,
and the king in consequence abolished this annual _f[^e]te_.--Weber, _Der
Freisch[:u]tz_ (an opera, 1822).
=Maxime= (2 _syl._), an officer of the Prefect Almachius. He was ordered
to put to death Valerian and Tibur'c[^e], because they refused to worship
the image of Jupiter; but he took pity on them, took them to his house,
became converted and was baptized. When Valerian and Tiburc[^e] were
afterwards martyred, Maxime said he saw angels come and carry them to
heaven, whereupon Almachius caused him to be beaten with rods "til he
his lif gan lete."--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ ("Second Nun's Tale,"
1388).
[Asterism] This is based on the story of "Cecilia" in the _Legenda
Aurea_; and both are imitations of the story of Paul and the jailer of
Philippi (_Acts_ xvi. 19-34).
=Maximil'ian= (son of Frederick III.), the hero of the _Teuerdank_, the
_Orlando Furioso_ of the Germans, by Melchior Pfinzing.
....[_here_] in old heroic days
Sat the poet Melchoir, singing Kaiser Maximilian's praise.
Longfellow, _Nuremberg_.
=Maximin=, a Roman tyrant.--Dryden, _Tyrannic Love_, or _the Royal
Martyr_.
=Maximus=, (called by Geoffrey, "Maximian"), a Roman senator, who in 381,
was invited to become king of Britain. He conquered Armorica
(_Bretagne_), and "published a decree for the assembling together there
of 100,000 of the common people of Britain, to colonize the land, and
30,000 soldiers to defend the colony." Hence Armorica was called, "The
other Britain" or "Little Britain."--Geoffrey, _British History_, v. 14
(1142).
Got Maximus at length the victory in Gaul,
... where after Gratian's fall.
Armorica to them the valiant victor gave....
Which colony ... is "Little Britain" called.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, ix. (1612).
=Maxwell=, deputy chamberlain at Whitehall.--Sir W. Scott, _Fortunes of
Nigel_ (time, James I.).
_Maxwell_ (_Mr. Pate_), laird of Summertrees, called "Pate in Peril;"
one of the papist conspirators with Redgauntlet.--Sir W. Scott,
_Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
_Maxwell_ (_The Right Hon. William_), Lord Evandale, an officer in the
king's army.--Sir W. Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
=May=, a girl who married January, a Lombard baron 60 years old. She loved
Damyan, a young squire; and one day the baron caught Damyan and May
fondling each other, but the young wife told her husband his eyes were
so defective that they could not be trusted. The old man accepted the
solution--for what is better than "a fruitful wife and a confiding
spouse?"--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ ("The Merchant's Tale," 1388).
=May unlucky for Brides.= Mary, queen of Scotland, married Bothwell, the
murderer of her husband, Lord Darnley, on May 12.
Mense malum Maio nubere vulgus ait.
Ovid, _Fasti_, v.
=May-Day= (_Evil_), May 1, 1517, when the London apprentices rose up
against the foreign residents and did incalcuable[TN-8] mischief. This
riot began May 1, and lasted till May 22.
=May Queen= (_The_), a poem in three parts by Tennyson (1842). Alice, a
bright-eyed, merry child, was chosen May queen, and, being afraid she
might oversleep herself, told her mother to be sure to call her early.
I sleep so sound all night, mother, that I shall never wake,
If you do not call me loud when the day begins to break;
But I must gather knots of flowers, and buds and garlands gay,
For I'm to be queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be queen o' the May.
The old year passed away, and the black-eyed rustic maiden was dying.
She hoped to greet the new year before her eyes closed in death, and
bade her mother once again to be sure to call her early; but it was not
now because she slept so soundly. Alas! no.
Good night, sweet mother; call me before the day is born.
All night I lie awake, but I fall asleep at morn;
But I would see the sun rise upon the glad New Year,
So, if you're waking, call me, call me early, mother dear.
The day rose and passed away, but Alice lingered on till March. The
snow-drops had gone before her, and the violets were in bloom. Robin had
dearly loved the child, but the thoughtless village beauty, in her
joyous girlhood, tossed her head at him, and never thought of love, but
now, that she was going to the land of shadows, her dying words were:
And say to Robin a kind word, and tell him not to fret;
There's many worthier than I, would make him happy yet.
If I had lived--I cannot tell--I might have been his wife;
But all these things have ceased to be, with my desire of life.
=Maye= (_The_), that subtle and abstruse sense which the goddess Maya
inspires. Plato, Epicharmos, and some other ancient philosophers refer
it to the presence of divinity. "It is the divinity which stirs within
us." In poetry it gives an inner sense to the outward word, and in
common minds it degenerates into delusion or second sight. Maya is an
Indian deity, and personates the "power of creation."
Hartmann poss[`e]de la M[^a]ye ... il laisse p['e]n['e]trer dans ses
['e]crits les sentiments, et les pens['e]es dont son [^a]me est
remplie, et cherche sans cesse [`a] resoudre les antith[`e]ses.--G.
Weber, _Hist. de la Litt['e]rature Allemande_.
=Mayeux=, a stock name in France for a man deformed, vain, and licentious,
but witty and brave. It occurs in a large number of French romances and
caricatures.
=Mayflower=, a ship of 180 tons, which in December, 1620, started from
Plymouth, and conveyed to Massachusetts 102 puritans, called the
"Pilgrim Fathers," who named their settlement New Plymouth.
... the _Mayflower_ sailed from the harbor [_Plymouth_],
Took the wind on her quarter, and stood for the open Atlantic,
Borne on the sand of the sea, and the swelling hearts of the pilgrims.
Longfellow, _Courtship of Miles Standish_, v. (1858).
_Men of the Mayflower_, the Pilgrim Fathers, who went out in the
_Mayflower_ to North America in 1620.
_Mayflower_ (_Phoebe_), servant at Sir Henry Lee's lodge.--Sir W. Scott,
_Woodstock_ (time, commonwealth).
=Maylie= (_Mrs._), the lady of the house attacked burglariously by Bill
Sykes and others. Mrs. Maylie is mother of Harry Maylie, and aunt of
Rose Fleming, who lives with her.
She was well advanced in years, but the high-backed oaken chair in
which she sat was not more upright than she. Dressed with the
utmost nicety and precision in a quaint mixture of bygone costume,
with some slight concession to the prevailing taste, which rather
served to point the old style pleasantly than to impair its effect,
she sat in a stately manner, with her hands folded before her.
_Harry Maylie_, Mrs. Maylie's son. He marries his cousin, Rose
Fleming.--C. Dickens, _Oliver Twist_ (1837).
=Mayor of Garratt= (_The_). Garratt is between Wandsworth and Tooting. The
first mayor of this village was elected towards the close of the
eighteenth century, and the election came about thus: Garratt Common had
often been encroached on, and in 1780 the inhabitants associated
themselves together to defend their rights. The chairman was called
_Mayor_, and as it happened to be the time of a general election, the
society made it a law that a new "mayor" should be elected at every
general election. The addresses of these mayors, written by Foote,
Garrick, Wilks, and others, are satires and political squibs. The first
mayor of Garratt was "Sir" John Harper, a retailer of brickdust; and the
last was "Sir" Harry Dimsdale, a muffin-seller (1796). In Foote's farce
so called, Jerry Sneak is chosen mayor, son-in-law of the landlord
(1763).
=Mayors= (_Lord_) who have founded noble houses:
_Lord Mayor._
AVELAND (_Lord_), from Sir Gilbert Heathcote 1711
BACON (_Lord_), from Sir Thomas Cooke, draper 1557
BATH (_Marquis of_), from Sir Rowland Heyward, cloth-worker 1570
BRAYBROOKE (_Lord_), from Sir John Gresham, grocer 1547
BROOK (_Lord_), from Sir Samuel Dashwood, vintner 1702
BUCKINGHAM (_Duke of_), from Sir John Gresham, grocer 1547
COMPTON (_Lord_), from Sir Wolston Dixie, skinner 1585
CRANBOURNE (_Viscount_), from Sir Christopher Gascoigne 1753
DENBIGH (_Earl of_), from Sir Godfrey Fielding, mercer 1452
DONNE (_Viscount_), from Sir Gilbert Heathcote 1711
FITZWILLIAM (_Earl of_), from Sir Thomas Cooke, draper 1557
PALMERSTON (_Lord_), from Sir John Houblon, grocer 1695
SALISBURY (_Marquis of_), from Sir Thomas Cooke, draper 1557
WARWICK (_Earl of_), from Sir Samuel Dashwood, vintner 1702
WILTSHIRE (_Earl of_), from Sir Godfrey Boleine 1457
(queen Elizabeth was his granddaughter).
=Maypole= (_The_), the nickname given to Erangard Melousine de
Schulemberg, duchess of Kendal, the mistress of George I., on account of
her leanness and height (1719, died, 1743).
=Mazarin of Letters= (_The_), D'Alembert (1717-1783).
=Mazarine= (_A_), a common council-man of London; so called from the
mazarine-blue silk gown worn by this civil functionary.
=Mazeppa= (_Jan_), a hetman of the Cossacks, born of a noble Polish family
in Podolia. He was a page in the court of Jan Casimir, king of Poland,
and while in this capacity intrigued with Theresia, the young wife of a
Podolian count, who discovered the amour, and had the young page lashed
to a wild horse, and turned adrift. The horse rushed in mad fury, and
dropped down dead in the Ukraine, where Mazeppa was released by a
Cossack, who nursed him carefully in his own hut. In time the young page
became a prince of the Ukraine, but fought against Russia in the battle
of Pultowa. Lord Byron (1819) makes Mazeppa tell his tale to Charles
XII. after the battle (1640-1709).
"Muster Richardson" had a fine appreciation of genius, and left the
original "Mazeppa" at Astley's a handsome legacy [1766-1836].--Mark
Lemon.
=M. B. Waistcoat=, a clerical waistcoat. M. B. means "Mark [_of the_]
Beast;" so called because, when these waistcoats were first worn by
Protestant clergymen (about 1830), they were stigmatized as indicating a
popish tendency.
He smiled at the folly which stigmatized an M. B.
waistcoat[TN-9]--Mrs. Oliphant, _Phoebe, Jun._, ii. 1.
=McGrath= (_Miss Jane_), "is a woman. Uv course doorin' the war she wuz
loyal ez she understood loyalty. She believed in her State. She hed two
brothers which went into the Confedrit servis, and she gave 'em both
horses. But wood any sister let her brother go afoot?... Her case is one
wich I shel push the hardest.... Ef Congress does not consider it
favorably it will show that Congress hez no bowels."--D. R. Locke's,
_The Struggles--Social, Financial and Political--of Petroleum_, V.
Nasby.
=Meadows= (_Sir William_), a kind country gentleman, the friend of Jack
Eustace, and father of young Meadows.
_Young Meadows_ left his father's home because the old gentleman wanted
him to marry Rosetta, whom he had never seen. He called himself Thomas,
and entered the service of Justice Woodcock as gardener. Here he fell in
love with the supposed chamber-maid, who proved to be Rosetta, and their
marriage fulfilled the desire of all the parties interested.--I.
Bickerstaff, _Love in a Village_.
Charles Dignum made his _d['e]but_ at Drury Lane, in 1784, in the
character of "Young Meadows." His voice was so clear and
full-toned, and his manner of singing so judicious, that he was
received with the warmest applause.--_Dictionary of Musicians._
=Meagles= (_Mr._), an eminently "practical man," who, being well off,
travelled over the world for pleasure. His party consisted of himself,
his daughter Pet, and his daughter's servant called Tatty-coram. A jolly
man was Mr. Meagles; but clear-headed, shrewd, and persevering.
_Mrs. Meagles_, wife of the "practical man," and mother of Pet.--C.
Dickens, _Little Dorrit_ (1857).
=Meal-Tub Plot=, a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Dangerfield for the
purpose of cutting off those who opposed the succession of James, duke
of York, afterwards James II. The scheme was concealed in a meal-tub in
the house of Mrs. Cellier (1685).
=Measure for Measure.= There was a law in Vienna that made it death for a
man to live with a woman not his wife; but the law was so little
enforced that the mothers of Vienna complained to the duke of its
neglect. So the duke deputed Angelo to enforce it, and, assuming the
dress of a friar, absented himself awhile, to watch the result. Scarcely
was the duke gone, when Claudio was sentenced to death for violating
the law. His sister Isabel went to intercede on his behalf, and Angelo
told her he would spare her brother if she would give herself to him.
Isabel told her brother he must prepare to die, as the conditions
proposed by Angelo were out of the question. The duke, disguised as a
friar, heard the whole story, and persuaded Isabel to "assent in words,"
but to send Mariana (the divorced wife of Angelo), to take her place.
This was done; but Angelo sent the provost to behead Claudio, a crime
which "the friar" contrived to avert. Next day, the duke returned to the
city, and Isabel told her tale. The end was, the duke married Isabel,
Angelo took back his wife, and Claudio married Juliet, whom he had
seduced.--Shakespeare, _Measure for Measure_ (1603).
[Asterism] This story is from Whetstone's _Heptameron_ (1578). A similar
story is given also in Giraldi Cinthio's third decade of stories.
=Medam'othi=, the island at which the fleet of Pantag'ruel landed on the
fourth day of their voyage. Here many choice curiosities were bought,
such as "the picture of a man's voice," an "echo drawn to life,"
"Plato's ideas," some of "Epicurus's atoms," a sample of "Philome'la's
needlework," and other objects of _vertu_ to be obtained nowhere
else.--Rabelais, _Pantagruel_, iv. 3 (1545).
[Asterism] _Medamothi_ is a compound Greek word, meaning "never in any
place." So _Utopia_ is a Greek compound, meaning "no place;"
_Kennaquhair_ is a Scotch compound, meaning "I know not where;" and
_Kennahtwhar_ is Anglo-Saxon for the same. All these places are in
91[degrees] north lat. and 180[degrees] 1' west long., in the
Nilt[=a]l[^e] Ocean.
=Medea=, a famous sorceress of Colchis who married Jason, the leader of
the Argonauts, and aided him in getting possession of the golden fleece.
After being married ten years, Jason repudiated her for Glauc[^e]; and
Medea, in revenge, sent the bride a poisoned robe, which killed both
Glauc[^e] and her father. Medea then tore to pieces her two sons, and fled
to Athens in a chariot drawn by dragons.
The story has been dramatized in Greek by Eurip[)i]d[^e]s; in Latin by
Sen[)e]ca and by Ovid; in French by Corneille (_M['e]d['e]e_, 1635),
Longepierre (1695), and Legouv['e] (1849); in English by Glover (1761).
Mrs. Yates was a superb "Medea."--Thomas Campbell.
=Mede'a and Absyr'tus.= When Medea fled with Jason from Colchis (in Asia),
she murdered her brother, Absyrtus, and, cutting the body into several
pieces, strewed the fragments about, that the father might be delayed in
picking them up, and thus be unable to overtake the fugitives.
Meet I an infant of the duke of York,
Into as many gobbets will I cut it
As wild Medea young Absyrtus did.
Shakespeare, 2 _Henry VI._ act v. sc. 2 (1591).
=Mede'a's Kettle.= Medea, the sorceress, cut to pieces an old ram, threw
the parts into her caldron, and by her incantations changed the old ram
into a young lamb. The daughters of Pelias thought they would have their
father restored to youth, as AEson had been. So they killed him, and put
the body in Medea's caldron; but Medea refused to utter the needful
incantation, and so the old man was not restored to life.
Change the shape, and shake off age. Get thee Medea's kettle, and
be boiled anew.--W. Congreve, _Love for Love_, iv. (1695).
=M['e]decin Malgr['e] Lui= (_Le_) a comedy by Moli[`e]re (1666). The
"enforced doctor" is Sganarelle, a faggot-maker, who is called in by
G['e]ronte to cure his daughter of dumbness. Sganarelle soon perceives
that the malady is assumed in order to prevent a hateful marriage, and
introduces her lover as an apothecary. The dumb spirit is at once
exorcised, and the lovers made happy with "pills matrimoniac."
In 1723 Fielding produced a farce called _The Mock Doctor_, which was
based on this comedy. The doctor he calls "Gregory," and G['e]ronte "Sir
Jasper." Lucinde, the dumb girl, he calls "Charlotte," and Anglicizes
her lover, L['e]andre, into "Leander."
=Medham= ("_the keen_"), one of Mahomet's swords.
=Medicine= (_The Father of_), Aretaeos of Cappadocia (second and third
centuries).
[Asterism] Also Hippoc'rates, of Cos (B.C. 460-357).
=Medina=, the Golden Mean personified, Step-sister of Elissa (_parsimony_)
and Perissa (_extravagance_). The three sisters could never agree on any
subject.--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_, ii. (1590).
=Medley= (_Matthew_), the factotum of Sir Walter Waring. He marries Dolly,
daughter of Goodman Fairlop, the woodman.--Sir H. P. Dudley, _The
Woodman_ (1771).
=Medo'ra=, the beloved wife of Conrad, the corsair. When Conrad was taken
captive by the Pacha Seyd, Medora sat day after day expecting his
return, and feeling the heart-anguish of hope deferred. Still he
returned not, and Medora died. In the mean time, Gulnare, the favorite
concubine of Seyd, murdered the pacha, liberated Conrad, and sailed with
him to the corsair's island home. When, however, Conrad found his wife
dead, he quitted the island, and went no one knew whither. The sequel of
the story forms the poem called _Lara_.--Byron, _The Corsair_ (1814).
=Medo'ro=, a Moorish youth of extraordinary beauty, but of humble race;
page to Agramante. Being wounded, Angelica dressed his wounds, fell in
love with him, married him, and retired with him to Cathay, where, in
right of his wife, he became a king. This was the cause of Orlando's
madness.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
When Don Roldan [_Orlando_] discovered in a fountain proofs of
Angelica's dishonorable conduct with Medoro, it distracted him to
such a degree that he tore up huge trees by the roots, sullied the
purest streams, destroyed flocks, slew shepherds, fired their huts,
pulled houses to the ground, and committed a thousand other most
furious exploits worthy of being reported in fame's
register.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. iii. 11 (1605).
=Medu'sa= (_The soft_), Mary Stuart, queen of Scots (1545-1577).
Rise from thy bloody grave,
Thou soft Medusa of the "Fated Line,"
Whose evil beauty looked to death the brave!
Lord Lytton, _Ode_, i. (1839).
=Meeta=, the "maid of Mariendorpt," a true woman and a true heroine. She
is the daughter of Mahldenau, minister of Mariendorpt, whom she loves
almost to idolatry. Her betrothed is Major Rupert Roselheim. Hearing of
her father's captivity at Prague, she goes thither on foot to crave his
pardon.--S. Knowles, _The Maid of Mariendorpt_ (1838).
=Meg=, a pretty, bright, dutiful girl, daughter of Toby Veck, and engaged
to Richard, whom she marries on New Year's Day.--C. Dickens, _The
Chimes_ (1844).
=Meg Dods=, the old landlady at St. Ronan's Well.--Sir W. Scott, _St.
Ronan's Well_ (time, George III.).
=Meg Merrilees=, a half-crazy sibyl or gypsy woman.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy
Mannering_ (time, George II.).
=Meg Murdochson=, an old gypsy thief, mother of Madge Wildfire.--Sir W.
Scott, _Heart of Midlothian_ (time, George II.).
=Megid'don=, the tutelar angel of Simon the Canaanite. This Simon, "once a
shepherd, was called by Jesus from the field, and feasted Him in his hut
with a lamb."--Klopstock, _The Messiah_, iii. (1748).
=Megingjard=, the belt of Thor, whereby his strength was doubled.
=Megissog'won= ("_the great pearl feather_"), a magician, and the
Man[)i]to of wealth. It was Megissogwon who sent the fiery fever on man,
the white fog, and death. Hiawatha slew him, and taught man the science
of medicine. This great Pearl-Feather slew the father of Niko'mis (the
grandmother of Hiawatha). Hiawatha all day long fought with the magician
without effect; at nightfall the woodpecker told him to strike at the
tuft of hair on the magician's head, the only vulnerable place;
accordingly, Hiawatha discharged his three remaining arrows at the hair
tuft, and Megissogwon died.
"Honor be to Hiawatha!
He hath slain the great Pearl-Feather;
Slain the mightiest of magicians--
Him that sent the fiery fever, ...
Sent disease and death among us."
Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, ix. (1855).
=Megnoun.= (See MEJNOUN.)
=Meg'ra=, a lascivious lady in the drama called _Philaster_, or _Love
Lies a-bleeding_, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1608).
=Meiklehose= (_Isaac_), one of the elders of Roseneath parish.--Sir W.
Scott, _Heart of Midlothian_ (time, George II.).
=Meiklewham= (_Mr. Saunders_), "the man of law," in the managing committee
of the Spa hotel.--Sir W. Scott, _St. Ronan's Well_ (time, George III.).
=Meister= (_Wilhelm_), the hero and title of a novel by Goethe. The object
is to show that man, despite his errors and short-comings, is led by a
guiding hand, and reaches some higher aim at last (1821).
=Meistersingers=, or minstrel tradesmen of Germany. An association of
master tradesmen to revive the national minstrelsy, which had fallen
into decay with the decline of the minnesingers, or love minstrels
(1350-1523). Their subjects were chiefly moral or religious, and
constructed according to rigid rules. The three chief were Hans
Rosenbl[:u]t (armorial painter, born 1450), Hans Folz (surgeon, born
1479), and Hans Sachs (cobbler, 1494-1574). The next best were Heinrich
von Mueglen, Konrad Harder, Master Altschwert, Master Barthel Regenbogen
(the blacksmith), Muscabl[:u]t (the tailor), and Hans Blotz (the
barber).
=Mej'noun and Lei'lah= (2 _syl._), a Persian love tale, the Romeo and
Juliet of Eastern romance. They are the most beautiful, chaste, and
impassionate of lovers; the models of what lovers would be if human
nature were perfect.
When he sang the loves of Megn[^o]un and Leileh ... tears insensibly
overflowed the cheeks of his auditors.--W. Beckford, _Vathek_
(1786).
=Mela Dryfoos.= Loud young lady of the gilded period, "physically too
amiable and too well corporeally ever to be quite cross," but selfish
and coarse and reposing confidently upon the importance given her by her
father's money.--W. D. Howells, _A Hazard of New Fortunes_ (1889).
=Melan'chates= (4 _syl._), the hound that killed Actaeon, and was changed
into a hart.
Melanchates, that hound
That plucked Actaeon to the grounde,
Gaue him his mortal wound, ...
Was chaung['e]d to a harte.
J. Skelton, _Philip Sparow_ (time, Henry VIII).
=Melantius=, a rough, honest soldier, who believes every one is true till
convicted of crime, and then is he a relentless punisher. Melantius and
Diph'ilus are brothers of Evadn[^e].--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Maid's
Tragedy_ (1610).
[Asterism] The master scene between Antony and Ventidius in Dryden's
_All for Love_ is copied from _The Maid's Tragedy_. "Ventidius" is in
the place of Melantius.
=Melchior=, one of the three kings of Cologne. He was the "Wise Man of the
East" who offered to the infant Jesus _gold_, the emblem of royalty. The
other two were Gaspar and Balthazar. Melchior means "king of light."
_Melchior_, a monk attending the black priest of St. Paul's.--Sir W.
Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
_Melchior_ (_i.e. Melchior Pfinzing_), a German poet who wrote the
_Teuerdank_, an epic poem which has the kaiser Maximilian (son of
Frederick III.) for its hero. This poem was the _Orlando Furioso_ of the
Germans.
Sat the poet Melchior, singing kaiser Maximilian's praise.
Longfellow, _Nuremberg_.
=Melea'ger=, son of Althaea, who was doomed to live while a certain log
remained unconsumed. Althaea kept the log for several years, but being
one day angry with her son, she cast it on the fire, where it was
consumed. Her son died at the same moment.--Ovid, _Metam._, viii. 4.
Sir John Davies uses this to illustrate the immortality of the soul. He
says that the life of the soul does not depend on the body as Meleager's
life depended on the fatal brand.
Again, if by the body's prop she stand--
If on the body's life her life depend,
As Meleager's on the fatal brand;
The body's good she only would intend.
_Reason_, iii. (1622).
=Melesig'enes= (5 _syl._). Homer is so called from the river Mel[^e]s (2
_syl._), in Asia Minor, on the banks of which some say he was born.
... various measured verse,
AEolian charms and Dorian lyric odes,
And his who gave them breath, but higher sung,
Blind Melesig[=e]n[^e]s, thence Homer called,
Whose poem Phoebus challenged for his own.
Milton, _Paradise Regained_ (1671).
=Melema= (_Tito_). Beautiful accomplished Greek adventurer who marries and
is unfaithful to Romola. He dies by the hand of an old man who had been
the benefactor of his infancy and youth, and whom he had basely deserted
and ignored.--George Eliot, _Romola_.
=Me'li= (_Giovanni_), a Sicilian, born at Palermo; immortalized by his
eclogues and idylls. Meli is called "The Sicilian Theocritus"
(1740-1815).
Much it pleased him to peruse
The songs of the Sicilian Muse--
Bucolic songs by Meli sung.
Longfellow, _The Wayside Inn_ (prelude, 1863).
=Meliadus=, father of Sir Tristan; prince of Lyonnesse, and one of the
heroes of Arthurian romance.--_Tristan de Leonois_ (1489).
[Asterism] Tristan, in the _History of Prince Arthur_, compiled by Sir
T. Malory (1470), is called "Tristram;" but the old minnesingers of
Germany (twelfth century) called the name "Tristan."
=Mel'ibe= (3 _syl._), a rich young man married to Prudens. One day, when
Melib[^e] was in the fields, some enemies broke into his house, beat his
wife, and wounded his daughter Sophie in her feet, hands, ears, nose and
mouth. Melib[^e] was furious and vowed vengeance, but Prudens persuaded
him "to forgive his enemies, and to do good to those who despitefully
used him." So he called together his enemies, and forgave them, to the
end that "God of His endeles mercie wole at the tyme of oure deyinge
forgive us oure giltes that we have trespased to Him in this wreeched
world."--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ (1388).
[Asterism] This prose tale is a liberal translation of a French
story.--See _MS. Reg._, xix. 7; and _MS. Reg._, xix. 11, British Museum.
=Melibee=, a shepherd, and the reputed father of Pastorella. Pastorella
married Sir Calidore.--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_, vi. 9 (1596).
"Melibee" is Sir Francis Walsingham. In the _Ruins of Time_, Spenser
calls him "Meliboe." Sir Philip Sidney (the "Sir Calidore" of the
_Fa[:e]ry Queen_) married his daughter Frances. Sir Francis Walsingham
died in 1590, so poor that he did not leave enough to defray his funeral
expenses.
=Meliboeus=, one of the shepherds in _Eclogue_ i. of Virgil.
Spenser, in the _Ruins of Time_ (1591), calls Sir Francis Walsingham
"the good Meliboe;" and in the last book of the _Fa[:e]ry Queen_ he calls
him "Melibee."
=Melin'da=, cousin of Sylvia. She loves Worthy, whom she pretends to
dislike, and coquets with him for twelve months. Having driven her
modest lover to the verge of distraction, she relents, and consents to
marry him.--G. Farquhar, _The Recruiting Officer_ (1705).
=Mel'ior=, a lovely fairy, who carried off, in her magic bark,
Parthen'opex, of Blois, to her secret island.--_Parthenopex de Blois_ (a
French romance, twelfth century).
=Melisen'dra= (_The princess_), natural daughter of Marsilio, and the
"supposed daughter of Charlemagne." She eloped with Don Gayferos. The
king, Marsilio, sent his troops in pursuit of the fugitive. Having made
Melisendra his wife, Don Gayferos delivered her up captive to the Moors
at Saragossa. This was the story of the puppet-show of Master Peter,
exhibited to Don Quixote and his squire at "the inn beyond the
hermitage."--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II. ii. 7 (1615).
=Melissa=, a prophetess who lived in Merlin's cave. Bradamant gave her the
enchanted ring to take to Roge'ro; so, under the form of Atlant[^e]s, she
went to Alc[=i]na's isle, delivered Rog[=e]ro, and disenchanted all the
captives in the island.
In bk. xix. Melissa, under the form of Rod[)o]mont, persuaded Agramant
to break the league which was to settle the contest by single combat,
and a general battle ensued.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
[Asterism] This incident of bk. xix. is similar to that in Homer's
_Iliad_, iii. iv., where Paris and Menel[=a]os agree to settle the
contest by single combat; but Minerva persuades Pand[)a]ros to break
the truce, and a general battle ensues.
=Me'lita= (now _Malta_). The point to which the vessel that carried St.
Paul was driven was the "Porto de San Paolo," and according to
tradition, the cathedral of Citta Vecchia stands on the site of the
house of Publius, the Roman governor. St. Paul's grotto, a cave in the
vicinity, is so named in honor of this great apostle.
=Meli'tus=, a gentleman of Cyprus, in the drama called _The Laws of
Candy_, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1647).
=Melizyus=, king of Thessaly, in the golden era of Saturn. He was the
first to tame horses for the use of man.
_Melizyus_ (_King_) held his court in the Tower of Chivalry, and there
knighted Graunde Amoure, after giving him the following advice:
And first _Good Hope_ his legge harneyes should be;
His habergion, of _Perfect Ryhteousnes_,
Gird first with the girdle of _Chastitie_;
His rich placarde should be good busines,
Brodred with _Alms_ ...
The helmet _Mekenes_, and the shelde _Good Fayeth_,
His swerde _God's Word_, as St. Paule sayeth.
Stephen Hawes, _The Passe-tyme of Plesure_, xxviii. (1515).
=Mell= (_Mr._), the poor, down-trodden second master at Salem House, the
school of Mr. Creakles. Mr. Mell played the flute. His mother lived in
an almshouse, and Steerforth used to taunt Mell with this "degradation,"
and indeed caused him to be discharged. Mell emigrated to Australia, and
succeeded well in the new country.--C. Dickens, _David Copperfield_
(1849).
=Melle'font= (2 _syl._), in love with Cynthia, daughter of Sir Paul
Pliant. His aunt, Lady Touchwood, had a criminal fondness for him, and,
because he repelled her advances, she vowed his ruin. After passing
several hair-breadth escapes from the "double dealing" of his aunt and
his "friend," Maskwell, he succeeded in winning and marrying the lady of
his attachment.--W. Congreve, _The Double Dealer_ (1700).
=Mellifluous Doctor= (_The_), St. Bernard, whose writings were called "a
river of paradise" (1091-1153).
=Melnotte= (_Claude_), a gardener's son, in love with Pauline, "the Beauty
of Lyons," but treated by her with contempt. Beauseant and Glavis, two
other rejected suitors, conspired with him to humble the proud fair one.
To this end, Claude assumed to be the prince of Como, and Pauline
married him, but was indignant when she discovered how she had been
duped. Claude left her to join the French army, and, under the name of
Morier, rose in two years and a half to the rank of colonel. He then
returned to Lyons, and found his father-in-law on the eve of bankruptcy,
and Pauline about to be sold to Beauseant to pay the creditors. Claude
paid the money required, and claimed Pauline as his loving and truthful
wife.--Lord L. B. Lytton, _Lady of Lyons_ (1838).
=Melo= (_Juan de_), born at Castile in the fifteenth century. A dispute
having arisen at Esalo'na upon the question whether Achill[^e]s or Hector
were the braver warrior, the Marquis de Ville'na called out, "Let us see
if the advocates of Achill[^e]s can fight as well as prate." At the word,
there appeared in the assembly a gigantic fire-breathing monster, which
repeated the same challenge. Every one shrank back except Juan de Melo,
who drew his sword and placed himself before King Juan II. to protect
him, "tide life, tide death." The king appointed him alcayd[^e] of Alcala
la Real, in Grana'da, for his loyalty.--_Chronica de Don Alvaro de
Luna._
=Melrose= (_Violet_), an heiress, who marries Charles Middlewick. This was
against the consent of his father, because Violet had the bad taste to
snub the retired tradesman, and considered vulgarity as the
"unpardonable sin."
_Mary Melrose_, Violet's cousin, but without a penny. She marries Talbot
Champneys; but his father, Sir Geoffrey, wanted him to marry Violet, the
heiress.--H. J. Byron, _Our Boys_ (a comedy, 1875).
=Melusi'na=, the most famous of the _f['e]es_ of France. Having enclosed
her father in a mountain for offending her mother, she was condemned to
become a serpent every Saturday. When she married the count of Lusignan,
she made her husband vow never to visit her on that day, but the
jealousy of the count made him break his vow. Melusina was, in
consequence, obliged to leave her mortal husband, and roam about the
world as a ghost till the day of doom. Some say the count immured her in
the dungeon wall of his castle.--_Jean d'Arras_ (fourteenth century).
[Asterism] The cry of despair given by the _f['e]e_ when she discovered
the indiscreet visit of her husband, is the origin of the phrase, _Un
cri de M['e]lusine_ ("A shriek of despair").
=Melvil= (_Sir John_), a young baronet, engaged to be married to Miss
Sterling, the elder daughter of a City merchant, who promises to settle
on her [pounds]800,000. A little before the marriage, Sir John finds
that he has no regard for Miss Sterling, but a great love for her
younger sister, Fanny, to whom he makes a proposal of marriage. His
proposal is rejected; and it is soon brought to light that Miss Fanny
had been clandestinely married to Lovewell for four months.--Colman and
Garrick, _The Clandestine Marriage_ (1766).
=Melville= (_Major_), a magistrate at Cairnvreckan village.--Sir W. Scott,
_Waverley_ (time, George II.).
_Melville_ (_Sir Robert_), one of the embassy from the privy council to
Mary queen of Scots.--Sir W. Scott, _The Abbot_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Melville_, the father of Constantia.--C. Macklin, _The Man of the
World_ (1764).
_Melville_ (_Julia_), a truly noble girl, in love with Faulkland, who is
always jealous of her without a shadow of cause. She receives his
innuendos without resentment, and treats him with sincerity and
forbearance (see act i. 2).--Sheridan, _The Rivals_ (1775).
=Melyhalt= (_The Lady_), a powerful subject of King Arthur, whose domains
Sir Galiot invaded; notwithstanding which the lady chose Sir Galiot as
her fancy knight and chevalier.
=Memnon=, king of the Ethiopians. He went to the assistance of his uncle,
Priam, and was slain by Achill[^e]s. His mother, Eos, inconsolable at his
death, weeps for him every morning, and her tears constitute what we
call dew.
_Memnon_, the black statue of King Amen'ophis III., at Thebes, in Egypt,
which, being struck with the rays of the morning sun, gives out musical
sounds. Kircher says these sounds are due to a sort of clavecin or
AEolian harp enclosed in the statue, the cords of which are acted upon by
the warmth of the sun. Cambyses, resolved to learn the secret, cleft the
statue from head to waist; but it continued to utter its morning melody
notwithstanding.
_Memnon_, "the mad lover," general of As'torax, king of
Paphos.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Mad Lover_ (1617).
_Memnon_, the title of a novel by Voltaire, the object of which is to
show the folly of aspiring to too much wisdom.
=Memnon's Sister.= He'mera, mentioned by Dictys Cretensis.
Black, but such as in esteem
Prince Memnon's sister might beseem.
Milton, _Il Penseroso_ (1638).
=Memorable= (_The Ever-_), John Hales, of Eton (1584-1656).
=Memory.= The persons most noted for their memory are:
Magliabecchi, of Florence, called "The Universal Index and Living
Cyclopaedia" (1633-1714).
P. J. Beronicius, the Greek and Latin improvisator, who knew by heart
Horace, Virgil, Cicero, Juvenal, both the Plinys, Homer, and
Aristoph[)a]n[^e]s. He died at Middleburgh, in 1676.
Andrew Fuller, after hearing 500 lines twice, could repeat them without
a mistake. He could also repeat verbatim a sermon or speech; could tell
either backwards or forwards every shop sign from the Temple to the
extreme end of Cheapside, and the articles displayed in each of the
shops.
"Memory" Woodfall could carry in his head a debate, and repeat it a
fortnight afterwards.
"Memory" Thompson could repeat the names, trades, and particulars of
every shop from Ludgate Hill to Piccadilly.
William Ratcliff, the husband of the novelist, could repeat a debate the
next morning.
_Memory_ (_The Bard of_), Samuel Rogers, author of the _Pleasures of
Memory_ (1762-1855).
=Men of Prester John's Country.= Prester John, in his letter to Manuel
Comn[=e]nus, says his land is the home of men with horns; of one-eyed
men (the eye being in some cases before the head, and in some cases
behind it); of giants, forty ells in height (_i.e._ 120 feet); of the
phoenix, etc.; and of ghouls who feed on premature children. He gives
the names of fifteen different tributary states, amongst which are those
of Gog and Magog (now shut in behind lofty mountains); but at the end of
the world these fifteen states will overrun the whole earth.
=Menalcas=, any shepherd or rustic. The name occurs in the _Idylls_ of
Theoc'ritos, the _Eclogues_ of Virgil, and the _Shepheardes Calendar_ of
Spenser.
=Men'cia of Mosquera= (_Donna_) married Don Alvaro de Mello. A few days
after the marriage, Alvaro happened to quarrel with Don An'drea de Baesa
and kill him. He was obliged to flee from Spain, leaving his bride
behind, and his property was confiscated. For seven years she received
no intelligence of his whereabouts (for he was a slave most of the
time), but when seven years had elapsed the report of his death in Fez
reached her. The young widow now married the marquis of Guardia, who
lived in a grand castle near Burgos, but walking in the grounds one
morning she was struck with the earnestness with which one of the
under-gardeners looked at her. This man proved to be her first husband,
Don Alvaro, with whom she now fled from the castle; but on the road a
gang of robbers fell upon them. Alvaro was killed, and the lady taken to
the robbers' cave, where Gil Blas saw her and heard her sad tale. The
lady was soon released, and sent to the castle of the marquis of
Guardia. She found the marquis dying from grief, and indeed he died the
day following, and Mencia retired to a convent.--Lesage, _Gil Blas_, i.
11-14 (1715).
=Mendo'za=, a Jew prize-fighter, who held the belt at the close of the
last century, and in 1791 opened the Lyceum in the Strand, to teach "the
noble art of self-defence."
I would have dealt the fellow that abused you such a recompense in
the fifth button, that my friend Mendoza could not have placed it
better.--R. Cumberland, _Shiva, the Jew_, iv. 2 (1776).
There is a print often seen in old picture shops, of Humphreys and
Mendoza sparring, and a queer angular exhibition it is. What that
is to the modern art of boxing, Quick's style of acting was to
Dowton's.--_Records of a Stage Veteran._
_Mendoza_ (_Isaac_), a rich Jew, who thinks himself monstrously wise,
but is duped by every one. (See under ISAAC.)--Sheridan, _The Duenna_
(1775).
=Menech'mians=, persons exactly like each other, as the brothers Dromio.
So called from the Mencoechmi of Plautus.
=Menec'rates= (4 _syl._), a physician of Syracuse, of unbounded vanity
and arrogance. He assumed to himself the title of Jupiter, and in a
letter to Philip, king of Macedon, began thus: "Menecrat[^e]s Jupiter to
King Philip, greeting." Being asked by Philip to a banquet, the
physician was served only with frankincense, like the gods; but
Menecrat[^e]s was greatly offended, and hurried home.
=Mengs= (_John_), the surly innkeeper at Kirchhoff village.--Sir W. Scott,
_Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Menippee= (_Satyre_), a famous political satire, written during the
time of what is called in French History the Holy League, the objects of
which were to exterminate the Huguenots, to confine the king (Henri
III.) in a monastery, and to crown the duc de Guise. The satire is
partly in verse, and partly in prose, and its object is to expose the
perfidious intentions of Philip of Spain and the culpable ambition of
the Guises.
It is divided into two parts, the first of which is entitled _Catholicon
d'Espagne_, by Pierre Leroy (1593), exposing those who had been
corrupted by the gold of Spain; the second part is entitled
_Abr['e]g['e] des Etats de la Ligue_, by Gillot, Pithou, Rapin and
Passerat, published 1594.
[Asterism] Menippus was a cynic philosopher and poet of Gadara, in
Phoenicia, who wrote twelve books of satires in prose and verse.
Varro wrote in Latin a work called _The Satires of Menippus_ (_Satyrae
Menippeae_).
=Mennibojou=, a North American Indian deity.
=Mentz= (_Baron von_), a Heidelberg bully, whose humiliation at the hands
of the fellow-student he has insulted is the theme of an exciting
chapter in Theodore S. Fay's novel, _Norman Leslie_ (1835).
=Menteith= (_the earl of_), a kinsman of the earl of Montrose.--Sir W.
Scott, _Legend of Montrose_ (time, Charles I.).
=Mentor=, a wise and faithful adviser or guide. So called from Mentor, a
friend of Ulyss[^e]s, whose form Minerva assumed when she accompanied
Telemachus in his search for his father.--F['e]nelon, _T['e]l['e]maque_
(1700).
=Mephistoph'eles= (5 _syl._), the sneering, jeering, leering attendant
demon of Faust in Goethe's drama of _Faust_, and Gounod's opera of the
same name. Marlowe calls the name "Mephostophilis" in his drama entitled
_Dr. Faustus_. Shakespeare, in his _Merry Wives of Windsor_ writes the
name "Mephostophilus;" and in the opera he is called "Mefistofele" (5
_syl._). In the old demonology, Mephistophel[^e]s was one of the seven
chief devils, and second of the fallen archangels.
=Mephostophilis=, the attendant demon of Faustus, in Marlowe's tragedy of
_Dr. Faustus_ (1589).
There is an awful melancholy about Marlowe's "Mephostophilis,"
perhaps more expressive than the malignant mirth of that fiend in
the renowned work of Goethe.--Hallam.
=Mephostophilus=, the spirit or familiar of Sir John Faustus or [Dr.] John
Faust (Shakespeare, _Merry Wives of Windsor_, 1596). Subsequently it
became a term of reproach, about equal to "imp of the devil."
=Mercedes=, Spanish woman, who, to disarm suspicion, drinks the wine
poisoned for the French soldiery who have invaded the town. She is
forced to let her baby drink it, also, and gives no sign of perturbation
until the invaders, twenty in number, have partaken of the wine, and the
baby grows livid and expires before their eyes.--Thomas Bailey Aldrich,
_Mercedes_ (drama, 1883).
=Mercer= (_Major_), at the presidency of Madras.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Surgeon's Daughter_ (time, George II.).
=Merchant of Venice= (_The_), Antonio, who borrowed 3000 ducats for three
months of Shylock, a Jew. The money was borrowed to lend to a friend
named Bassanio, and the Jew, "in merry sport," instead of interest,
agreed to lend the money on these conditions: If Antonio paid it within
three months, he should pay only the principal; if he did not pay it
back within that time, the merchant should forfeit a pound of his own
flesh, from any part of his body the Jew might choose to cut it off. As
Antonio's ships were delayed by contrary winds, he could not pay the
money, and the Jew demanded the forfeiture. On the trial which ensued,
Portia, in the dress of a law doctor, conducted the case, and, when the
Jew was going to take the forfeiture, stopped him by saying that the
bond stated "a pound of flesh," and that, therefore, he was to shed no
drop of blood, and he must cut neither more nor less than an exact
pound, on forfeit of his life. As these conditions were practically
impossible, the Jew was nonsuited and fined for seeking the life of a
citizen.--Shakespeare, _Merchant of Venice_ (1598).
The story is in the _Gesta Romanorum_, the tale of the bond being ch.
xlviii., and that of the caskets ch. xcix.; but Shakespeare took his
plot from a Florentine novelette called _Il Pecorone_, written in the
fourteenth century, but not published till the sixteenth.
There is a ballad on the subject, the date of which has not been
determined. The bargain runs thus:
"No penny for the loan of it,
For one year shall you pay--
You may do me a good turn
Before my dying day;
But we will have a merry jest,
For to be talk[^e]d long;
You shall make me a bond," quoth he,
"That shall be large or strong."
=Merchant's Tale= (_The_), in Chaucer, is substantially the same as the
first Latin metrical tale of Adolphus, and is not unlike a Latin prose
tale given in the appendix of T. Wright's edition of AEsop's fables. The
tale is this:
A girl named May married January, an old Lombard baron, 60 years of
age, but entertained the love of Damyan, a young squire. She was
detected in familiar intercourse with Damyan, but persuaded her
husband that his eyes had deceived him, and he believed
her.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ (1388).
=Mercian Laws.= (See MARTIAN.)
=Mercilla=, a "maiden queen of great power and majesty, famous through all
the world, and honored far and nigh." Her kingdom was disturbed by a
soldan, her powerful neighbor, stirred up by his wife Adic[)i]a. The
"maiden queen" is Elizabeth; the "soldan," Philip of Spain, and "Adicia"
is injustice, presumption, or the bigotry of popery.--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry
Queen_, v. (1596).
=Mercu'tio=, kinsman of Prince Escalus, and Romeo's friend. An airy,
sprightly, elegant young nobleman, so full of wit and fancy that Dryden
says Shakespeare was obliged to kill him in the third act, lest the poet
himself should have been killed by Mercutio.--Shakespeare, _Romeo and
Juliet_ (1598).
=Mercutio of Actors= (_The_), William Lewis (1748-1811).
=Mercy=, a young pilgrim, who accompanied Christiana in her walk to Zion.
When Mercy got to the Wicket Gate, she swooned from fear of being
refused admittance. Mr. Brisk proposed to her, but being told that she
was poor, left her, and she was afterwards married to Matthew, the
eldest son of Christian.--Bunyan, _Pilgrim's Progress_, ii. (1684).
=Merdle= (_Mr._), banker, a skit on the directors of the Royal British
bank, and on Mr. Hudson, "the railway king." Mr. Merdle, of Harley
Street, was called the "Master Mind of the Age." He became insolvent,
and committed suicide. Mr. Merdle was a heavily made man, with an obtuse
head, and coarse, mean, common features. His chief butler said of him,
"Mr. Merdle never was a gentleman, and no ungentlemanly act on Mr.
Merdle's part would surprise me." The great banker was "the greatest
forger and greatest thief that ever cheated the gallows."
Lord Decimus [_Barnacle_] began waving Mr. Merdle about ... as
Gigantic Enterprise. The wealth of England, Credit, Capital,
Prosperity, and all manner of blessings.--Bk. ii. 24.
_Mrs. Merdle_, wife of the bank swindler. After the death of her
husband, society decreed that Mrs. Merdle should still be admitted among
the sacred few; so Mrs. Merdle was still received and patted on the back
by the upper ten.--C. Dickens, _Little Dorrit_ (1857).
=Meredith= (_Mr._), one of the conspirators with Redgauntlet.--Sir W.
Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
_Meredith_ (_Mr. Michael_), "the man of mirth," in the managing
committee of the Spa hotel.--Sir. W. Scott, _St. Ronan's Well_. (time,
George III.).
_Meredith_ (_Sir_), a Welsh knight.--Sir W. Scott, _Castle Dangerous_
(time, Henry I.).
_Meredith_ (_Owen_), pseudonym of the Hon. Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton
(Lord Lytton), author of _The Wanderer_ (1859), etc. This son of Lord
Bulwer Lytton, poet and novelist, succeeded to the peerage in 1873.
=Me'rida= (_Marchioness_), betrothed to Count Valantia.--Mrs. Inchbald,
_Child of Nature_.
=Meridarpax=, the pride of mice.
Now nobly towering o'er the rest, appears
A gallant prince that far transcends his years;
Pride of his sire, and glory of his house,
And more a Mars in combat than a mouse;
His action bold, robust his ample frame,
And Meridarpax his resounding name.
Parnell, _The Battle of the Frogs and Mice_, iii. (about 1712).
=Merid'ies= or "Noonday Sun," one of the four brothers who kept the
passages of Castle Perilous. So Tennyson has named him; but in the
_History of Prince Arthur_, he is called "Sir Perm[=o]n[^e]s, the Red
Knight."--Tennyson, _Idylls_ ("Gareth and Lynette"); Sir T. Malory,
_History of Prince Arthur_, i. 129 (1470).
=Merion= (_James_), New York lawyer, who plays the lover to three women,
honestly believing himself enamoured of each.--Ellen Olney Kirke, _A
Daughter of Eve_ (1889).
=Merle= (_Madame_), a plausible woman with an ambition to be thought the
incarnation of propriety, who carries with her the knowledge that she is
the mistress of a man who has a wife, and that Madame Merle's
illegitimate daughter is brought up by the step-mother, who knows
nothing of the shameful story.--Henry James, _The Portrait of a Lady_
(1881).
=Merlin= (_Ambrose_), prince of enchanters. His mother was Matilda, a nun,
who was seduced by a "guileful sprite," or incubus, "half angel and half
man, dwelling in mid-air betwixt the earth and moon." Some say his
mother was the daughter of Pubidius, lord of Math-traval, in Wales; and
others make her a princess, daughter of Demetius, king of Demet'ia.
Blaise baptized the infant, and thus rescued it from the powers of
darkness.
Merlin died spell-bound, but the author and manner of his death are
given differently by different authorities. Thus, in the _History of
Prince Arthur_ (Sir T. Malory, 1470), we are told that the enchantress
Nimue or Ninive inveigled the old man, and "covered him with a stone
under a rock." In the _Morte d'Arthur_ it is said "he sleeps and sighs
in an old tree, spell-bound by Vivien." Tennyson, in his _Idylls_
("Vivien"), says that Vivien induced Merlin to take shelter from a storm
in a hollow oak tree, and left him spell-bound. Others say he was
spell-bound in a hawthorn bush, but this is evidently a blunder. (See
MERLIN THE WILD.)
[Asterism] Merlin made "the fountain of love," mentioned by Bojardo in
_Orlando Innamorato_, l. 3.
Ariosto, in _Orlando Furioso_, says he made "one of the four fountains"
(ch. xxvi).
He also made the Round Table at Carduel for 150 knights, which came into
the possession of King Arthur on his marriage with Queen Guinever; and
brought from Ireland the stones of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain.
Allusion is made to him in the _Fa[:e]ry Queen_; in Ellis's _Specimens of
Early English Metrical Romances_; in Drayton's _Polyolbion_; in
_Kenilworth_, by Sir W. Scott, etc. T. Heywood has attempted to show the
fulfilment of Merlin's prophecies.
Of Merlin and his skill what region doth not hear?...
Who of a British nymph was gotten, whilst she played
With a seducing sprite ...
But all Demetia thro' there was not found her peer.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, v. (1612).
_Merlin_ (_The English_), W. Lilly, the astrologer, who assumed the _nom
de plume_ of "Mer'linus Angl[)i]cus" (1602-1681).
=Merlin the Wild=, a native of Caledonia, who lived in the sixteenth
century, about a century after the great Ambrose Merlin, the sorcerer.
Fordun, in his _Scotichronicon_, gives particulars about him. It was
predicted that he would die by earth, wood, and water, which prediction
was fulfilled thus: A mob of rustics hounded him, and he jumped from a
rock into the Tweed, and was impaled on a stake fixed in the river bed.
His grave is still shown beneath an aged hawthorn bush at Drummelzier, a
village on the Tweed.
=Merlin's Cave=, in Dynevor, near Carmarthen, noted for its ghastly noises
of rattling iron chains, brazen caldrons, groans, strokes of hammers,
and ringing of anvils. The cause is this: Merlin set his spirits to
fabricate a brazen wall to encompass the city of Carmarthen, and as he
had to call on the Lady of the Lake, bade them not to slacken their
labor till he returned; but he never did return, for Vivien by craft got
him under the enchanted stone, and kept him there. Tennyson says he was
spell-bound by Vivien in a hollow oak tree, but the _History of Prince
Arthur_ (Sir T. Malory) gives the other version.--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry
Queen_, iii. 3 (1590).
=Merop's Son=, a nobody, a _terrae filius_, who thinks himself somebody.
Thus Pha[:e]ton (Merop's son), forgetting that his mother was an earthborn
woman, thought he could drive the horses of the sun, but not being able
to guide them, nearly set the earth on fire. Many presume like him, and
think themselves capable or worthy of great things, forgetting all the
while that they are only "Merop's son."
Why, Pha[:e]ton (for thou art Merop's son),
Wilt thou aspire to guide the heavenly car,
And with thy daring folly burn the world?
Shakespeare, _Two Gentlemen of Verona_, act iii. sc. 1 (1594).
=Merrilees= (_Meg_), a half-crazy woman, part sibyl and part gypsy. She is
the ruler and terror of the gypsy race. Meg Merrilees was the nurse of
Harry Bertram.--Sir W. Scott, _Gay Mannering_ (time, George II.).
In the dramatized version of Scott's novel, Miss Cushman [1845-9]
made "Meg Merrilees" her own. She showed therein indisputably the
attributes of genius. Such was her power over the intention and
feeling of the part, that the mere words were quite a secondary
matter. It was the figure, the gait, the look, the gesture, the
tone, by which she put beauty and passion into language the most
indifferent.--Henry Morley.
=Merry Andrew=, Andrew Borde, physician to Henry VIII. (1500-1549).
[Asterism] Prior has a poem on _Merry Andrew_.
=Merry Monarch= (_The_), Charles II., of England (1630, 1660-1685).
=Merry Mount.= Name of the home of a certain Englishman, called in the
chronicle "the pestilent Morton," who set up a May-pole in colonial
Massachusetts.
"That worthy gentleman, Mr. John Endicott, ... visiting those
parts, caused that May-pole to be cut down, and rebuked them for
their profaneness ... so they now (or others) changed the name of
their place, 'Merry Mount,' again, and called it 'Mount
Dagon.'"--William Bradford, _History of the Plymouth Plantation_
(1630-50).
=Mer'rylegs=, a highly trained, performing dog, belonging to Signor Jupe,
clown in Sleary's circus. This dog leaves the circus when his master
disappears, but several years afterwards finds its way back and
dies.--C. Dickens, _Hard Times_ (1854).
=Merthyr Tydvil=, a corruption of _Martyr St. Tidfil_, a Welsh princess
who suffered martyrdom.
=Merton= (_Tommy_), one of the chief characters in _Sanford and Merton_, a
tale for boys, by Thomas Day (1783-9).
_Merton_ (_Tristram_). Thomas Babington Macaulay (Lord Macaulay), so
signs the ballads and sketches which he inserted in _Knight's Quarterly
Magazine_.
=Mertoun= (_Basil_), _alias_ VAUGHAN, formerly a pirate.
_Mordaunt Mertoun_, son of Basil Mertoun. He marries Brenda Troil.--Sir
W. Scott, _The Pirate_ (time, William III.).
=Merveilleuse= [_Mair.vay.'uze_], the sword of Doolin of Mayence. It was
so sharp that, if placed edge downwards on a block of wood, it would cut
through it of itself.
=Mervett= (_Gustavus de_), in _Charles XII._, an historical drama by J. R.
Planch['e] (1826).
=Mervyn= (_Mr. Arthur_), guardian of Julia Mannering.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy
Mannering_ (time, George II.).
=Messali'na=, wife of the Emperor Claudius of Rome. Her name is a by-word
for incontinency (A.D. *-48).
_Messalina_ (_The Modern_), Catherine II. of Russia (1729-1796).
=Messalina of Germany=, Barbary of Cilley, second wife of Kaiser Sigismund
of Germany (fifteenth century).
=Messala.= Haughty young Roman who feigns friendship for Ben-Hur, and
betrays his confidence. In after years the scheme of revenge nursed by
the ruined youth is fulfilled in the famous chariot-race.--Lew Wallace,
_Ben Hur_, _A Tale of the Christ_ (1880).
=Messiah= (_The_), an epic poem in fifteen books, by F. G. Klopstock. The
first three were published in 1748, and the last in 1773. The subject is
the last days of Jesus, His crucifixion and resurrection. Bk. i. Jesus
ascends the Mount of Olives, to spend the night in prayer. Bk. ii. John
the Beloved, failing to exorcise a demoniac, Jesus goes to his
assistance; and Satan, rebuked, returns to hell, where he tells the
fallen angels his version of the birth and ministry of Christ, whose
death he resolves on. Bk. iii. Messiah sleeps for the last time on the
Mount of Olives; the tutelar angels of the twelve apostles, and a
description of the apostles are given. Satan gives Judas a dream, and
then enters the heart of Caiaphas. Bk. iv. The council in the palace of
Caiaphas decree that Jesus must die; Jesus sends Peter and John to
prepare the Passover, and eats His Last Supper with His apostles. Bk. v.
The three hours of agony in the garden. Bk. vi. Jesus, bound, is taken
before Annas, and then before Caiaphas. Peter denies his Master. Bk.
vii. Christ is brought before Pilate; Judas hangs himself; Pilate sends
Jesus to Herod, but Herod sends Him again to Pilate, who delivers Him to
the Jews. Bk. viii. Christ nailed to the cross. Bk. ix. Christ on the
cross. Bk. x. The Death of Christ. Bk. xi. The vail[TN-10] of the Temple
rent, and the resurrection of many from their graves. Bk. xii. The
burial of the body, and death of Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Bk. xiii.
The resurrection and suicide of Philo. Bk. xiv. Jesus shows Himself to
His disciples. Bk. xv. Many of those who had risen from their graves
show themselves to others. Conclusion.
_Messiah_, an oratorio by Handel (1749). The liberetto was by Charles
Jennens, nicknamed "Soliman the Magnificent."
=Metanoi'a=, Repentance personified, by William Browne, in _Britannia's
Pastorals_, v. (Greek, _m[)e]tanoia_, "repentance".)
Faire Metanoia is attending
To croune thee with those joys that know no ending.
_Pastorals_, v. 1 (1613).
=Metasta'sio.= The real name of this Italian poet was Trapassi (_death_).
He was brought up by Gravina, who Grecized the name (1698-1782).
[Asterism] So "Melancthon" is the Greek form of _Schwarzerd[^e]_ ("black
earth"); "Oecolampadius" is the Greek form of the German name
_Hausschein_; "Desiderius Erasmus" is _Gheraerd Gheraerd_ (the first
"Gheraerd" is Latinized into _Desiderius_, and the latter is Grecized
into _Erasmus_).
=Meth'os=, drunkenness personified. He is twin-brother of Gluttony,
their mother being Caro (_fleshly lust_). In the battle of Mansoul,
Methos is slain by Agnei'a (_wifely chastity_) spouse of Eucra't[^e]s
(_temperance_), and sister of Parthen'ia (_maiden chastity_). (Greek,
_meth[^e]_ or _meth[)u]s_ is "drunkenness.")--Phineas Fletcher, _The
Purple Island_, vii., xi. (1633).
=Met'ophis=, the corrupt chief minister of Sesostris.
Il avait l'ame aussi corrumpue et aussi artificieuse que
Sesostris ['e]tait sinc[`e]re et g['e]n['e]reux.--F['e]nelon,
_T['e]l['e]maque_ (1700).
=Mexit'li=, chief god and idol of the Az'tecas. He leaped full-grown into
life, and with a spear slew those who mocked his mother, Coatlan'tona (4
_syl._).
Already at [_his mother's breast_] the blow was aimed,
When forth Mexitli leapt, and in his hand
The angry spear.
Southey, _Madoc_, ii. 21 (1805).
[Asterism] Of course, it will be remembered that Minerva, like Mexitli,
was born full-grown and fully armed.
=Mezen'tius=, king of the Tyrrhenians, who put criminals to death by tying
them face to face with dead bodies.--Virgil, _AEneid_, viii. 485.
=Mezzora'mia=, an earthly paradise in Africa, accessible by only one road.
Gaudentio di Lucca discovered the road, and lived at Mezzoramia for
twenty-five years.--Simon Berington, _Gaudentio di Lucca_.
=M. F. H.=, Master [_of the_] Fox-hounds.
=Micaw'ber= (_Mr. Wilkins_), a most unpractical, half-clever man, a great
speechifier, letter writer, projector of bubble schemes, and, though
confident of success, never succeeding. Having failed in everything in
the old country, he migrated to Australia, and became a magistrate at
Middlebay.--C. Dickens, _David Copperfield_ (1849).
[Asterism] This truly amiable, erratic genius is a portrait of Dickens's
own father, "David Copperfield" being Dickens, and "Mrs. Nickleby" (one
can hardly believe it) is said to be Dickens's mother.
=Mi'chael= (2 _syl._), the special protector and guardian of the Jews.
This archangel is messenger of peace and plenty.--Sale's _Kor[^a]n_, ii.
notes.
[Asterism] That Michael was really the protector and guardian angel of
the Jews we know from _Dan._ x. 13, 21; xii. 1.
Milton makes Michael the leader of the heavenly host in the war in
heaven. The word means "God's power." Gabriel was next in command to the
archangel Michael.
Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince
_Paradise Lost_, vi. 44 (1665).
[Asterism] Longfellow, in his _Golden Legend_, says that Michael is the
presiding spirit of the planet Mercury, and brings to man the gift of
prudence ("The Miracle-Play," iii., 1851).
_Michael_, the "trencher favorite" of Arden of Feversham, in love with
Maria, sister of Mosby. A weak man, who both loves and honors Arden, but
is inveigled by Mosby to admit ruffians into Arden's house to murder
him.--Geo. Lillo, _Arden of Feversham_ (1592).
=Michael, God of Wind= (_St._). At the promontory of Malea is a chapel
built to St. Michael, and the sailors say when the wind blows from that
quarter it is occasioned by the violent motion of St. Michael's wings.
Whenever they sail by that promontory, they pray St. Michael to keep his
wings still.
_St. Michael's Chair._ It is said that any woman who has sat on
Michael's chair (on St. Michael's Mount, in Cornwall), will rule her
husband ever after.
=Michael Angelo of Battle-Scenes= (_The_), Michael Angelo Cerquozzi, of
Rome (1600-1660).
=Michael Angelo of France= (_The_), Jean Cousin (1500-1590).
=Michael Angelo des Kermesses=, Peter van Laar, called _Le Bamboche_, born
at Laaren (1613-1673).
Or _Michel-Ange des Bamboches_.
=Michael Angelo of Music= (_The_), Johann Christoph von Gl[:u]ck
(1714-1787).
=Michael Angelo of Sculptors= (_The_), Pierre Puget (1623-1694).
R['e]n['e] Michael Slodtz is also called the same (1705-1764).
=Michael Angelo Titmarsh=, one of the pseudonyms under which Thackeray
contributed to _Frazer's Magazine_ (1811-1863).
=Michael Armstrong=, "the factory boy." The hero and title of a novel by
Mrs. Trollope (1839). The object of this novel is to expose what the
authoress considered to be the evils of the factory system.
=Michael Perez=, the copper captain. (See PEREZ.)
=Michael, the Stammerer=, born at Armorium, in Phrygia, mounted the throne
as emperor of Greece in A.D. 820. He used all his efforts to introduce
the Jewish Sabbath and sacrifice.
I think I have proved ...
The error of all those doctrines so vicious ...
That are making such terrible work in the Churches
By Michael the Stammerer.
Longfellow, _The Golden Legend_ (1851).
=Michal=, in the satire of _Absalom and Achitophel_, by Dryden and Tate,
is meant for Catharine, the wife of Charles II.--Pt. ii. (1682).
=Michelot=, an unprincipled, cowardly, greedy man, who tries to discover
the secret of "the gold-mine." Being procurator of the president of
Lyons, his office was "to capture and arrest" those charged with civil
or criminal offences.--E. Stirling, _The Gold-Mine, or Miller of
Grenoble_ (1854).
=Micomico'na=, the pretended queen of Micomicon. Don Quixote's adventure
to Micomiconnia came to nothing, for he was taken home in a cage, almost
as soon as he was told of the wonderful enchantments.--Cervantes, _Don
Quixote_, I. iv. 2 (1605.)
=Mi'das= (_Justice_), appointed to adjudge a musical contest between Pol
and Pan. He decides in favor of Pan, whereupon Pol throws off his
disguise, appears as the god Apollo, and, being indignant at the
decision, gives Midas "the ears of an ass."--Kane O'Hara, _Midas_
(1764).
Edward Shuter (1728-1776) was pronounced by Garrick "the greatest comic
actor;" and C. Dibdin says: "Nothing on earth could have been superior
to his 'Midas.'"
_Midas's Ears._ The servant who used to cut the king's hair, discovering
the deformity, was afraid to whisper the secret to any one, but, being
unable to contain himself, he dug a hole in the earth, and, putting his
mouth into it, cried out, "King Midas has ass's ears!" He then filled up
the hole and felt relieved.
Tennyson makes the barber a woman:
No livelier than the dame
That whispered "Asses' ears" among the sedge.
Tennyson, _The Princess_.
=Middleburgh= (_Mr. James_), an Edinburgh magistrate.--Sir W. Scott,
_Heart of Midlothian_ (time, George II.).
=Middlemas= (_Mr. Matthew_), a name assumed by General Witherington.
_Mrs. Middlemas_, wife of the general (born Zelia de Mon[c,]ada).
_Richard Middlemas_, alias _Richard Tresham_, a foundling, apprenticed
to Dr Gray. He discovers that he is the son of General Witherington, and
goes to India, where he assumes the character of Sadoc, a black slave in
the service of Mde. Montreville. He delivers Menie Gray by treachery to
Tippoo Saib, and Hyder Ali gives him up to be crushed to death by an
elephant.--Sir W. Scott, _The Surgeon's Daughter_ (time, George II.).
=Middlewick= (_Mr. Perkyn_), a retired butterman, the neighbor of Sir
Geoffrey Champneys, and the father of Charles. The butterman is innately
vulgar, drops his _h's_ and inserts them out of place, makes the
greatest geographical and historical blunders, has a tyrannical temper,
but a tender heart. He turns his son adrift for marrying Violet Melrose,
an heiress, who snubbed the plebeian father. When reduced to great
distress, the old butterman goes to his son's squalid lodgings and
relents. So all ends happily.
_Charles Middlewick_, son of the retired butterman, well educated, and a
gentleman. His father wanted him to marry Mary Melrose, a girl without
a penny, but he preferred Violet, an heiress.--H. J. Byron, _Our Boys_
(1875).
=Midge=, the miller's son, one of the companions of Robin Hood. (See
MUCH.)
_Midge_ (_The_), a well-born but friendless waif, thrown at the age of
thirteen upon the charity of Dr. Peters, an eccentric bachelor. She
cares for his house and for him in quaint, womanly fashion, very
bewitching, until she is grown. The suit of another and a younger man,
makes the doctor know, to his cost, how well he loves her. He holds his
peace, and marries Midge to her lover.
"Then he went into the big pantry. In the corner on the shelf,
still lay the crock in which the Midge had hidden her head, heavy
with childish grief, years before. The old stool stood before it.
He sat down on it and rested his hot forehead on the cool rim of
the jar.
"And that's the end of the story."--H. C. Bunner, _The Midge_
(1886).
=Midian Mara=, the Celtic mermaid.
=Midlo'thian= (_The Heart of_), a tale of the Porteous riot, in which the
incidents of Effie and Jeanie Deans are of absorbing interest. Effie was
seduced by Geordie Robertson (_alias_ George Staunton), while in the
service of Mrs. Saddletree. She murdered her infant, and was condemned
to death; but her half-sister, Jeanie, went to London, pleaded her cause
before the queen, and obtained her pardon. Jeanie, on her return to
Scotland, married Reuben Butler; and Geordie Robertson (then Sir George
Staunton) married Effie. Sir George being shot by a gypsy boy, Effie
(_i.e._ Lady Staunton), retired to a convent on the Continent.--Sir W.
Scott, _Heart of Midlothian_ (time, George II.).
=Midshipman Easy.= (See EASY.)
=Midsummer Night's Dream.= Shakespeare says there was a law in Athens,
that if a daughter refused to marry the husband selected for her by her
father, she might be put to death. Eg[=e]us (3 _syl._), an Athenian,
promised to give his daughter, Hermia, in marriage to Dem[=e]trius; but,
as the lady loved Lysander, she refused to marry the man selected by her
father, and fled from Athens with her lover. Demetrius went in pursuit
of her, followed by Hel[)e]na, who doted on him. All four came to a
forest, and fell asleep. In their dreams a vision of fairies passed
before them, and on awaking, Demetrius resolved to forego Hermia, who
disliked him, and to take to wife Helena, who sincerely loved him. When
Egeus was informed thereof, he readily agreed to give his daughter to
Lysander, and the force of the law was not called into action (1592).
[Asterism] Several of the incidents of this comedy are borrowed from the
_Diana_ of Montemayor, a Spaniard (sixteenth century).
=Midwinter= (_Ozias_), the _alias_ of another Allan Armadale. His father
has murdered the father of the real Allan, and the son of the homicide
resolves to keep his own identity a secret, while trying to atone to
Allan for the wrong done him. He loves and marries the perfidious
governess of Allan's betrothed.--Wilkie Collins, _Armadale_.
=Miggs= (_Miss_), the handmaiden and "comforter" of Mrs. Varden. A tall,
gaunt young woman, addicted to pattens; slender and shrewish, of a sharp
and acid visage. She held the male sex in utter contempt, but had a
secret exception in favor of Sim Tappertit, who irreverently called her
"scraggy." Miss Miggs always sided with madam against master, and made
out that she was a suffering martyr, and he an inhuman Nero. She called
ma'am "mim;" said her sister lived at "twenty-sivin;" Simon she called
"Simmun." She said Mrs. Varden was "the mildest, amiablest,
forgivingest-sperited, longest-sufferingest female in existence."
Baffled in all her matrimonial hopes, she was at last appointed female
turnkey to a county Bridewell, which office she held for thirty years,
when she died.
Miss Miggs, baffled in all her schemes ... and cast upon a
thankless, undeserving world, turned very sharp and sour ... but
the justices of the peace for Middlesex ... selected her from 124
competitors to the office of turnkey for a county Bridewell, which
she held till her decease, more than thirty years afterwards,
remaining single all that time.--C. Dickens, _Barnaby Rudge_
(1841).
=Mign'on=, a beautiful, dwarfish, fairy-like Italian girl, in love with
Wilhelm, her protector. She glides before us in the mazy dance, or
whirls her tambourine like an Ariel. Full of fervor, full of love, full
of rapture, she is overwhelmed with the torrent of despair at finding
her love is not returned, becomes insane, and dies.--Goethe, _Wilhelm
Meister's Apprenticeship_ (1794-6).
Sir W. Scott drew his "Fenella," in _Peveril of the Peak_, from this
character; and Victor Hugo has reproduced her in his _Notre Dame_, under
the name of "Esmeralda."
=Mignonette:=
"A pitcher of mignonette
In a tenement's highest casement
Queer sort of flower-pot--yet
That pitcher of mignonette
Is a garden in heaven set
To the little sick child in the basement,
The pitcher of mignonette.
In the tenement's highest casement."
Henry Cuyler Bunner, _Airs from Arcady and Elsewhere_ (1884).
=Migonnet=, a fairy king, who wished to marry the princess brought up by
Violenta, the fairy mother.
Of all dwarfs he was the smallest. His feet were like an eagle's,
and close to the knees, for legs he had none. His royal robes were
not above half a yard long, and trailed one-third part upon the
ground. His head was as big as a peck, and his nose long enough for
twelve birds to perch on. His beard was bushy enough for a canary's
nest, and his ears reached a foot above his head.--Comtesse
D'Aulnoy, _Fairy Tales_ ("The White Cat," 1682).
=Mikado= (_of Japan_), the hero of Gilbert and Sullivan's opera "The
Mikado." The plot turns upon the complications brought about [TN-11] the
Mikado's severe laws against flirting:
"So he decreed in words succint,
That all who flirted, leered or winked,
Unless connubially linked,
Should forthwith be beheaded."
=Mi'lan= (_The duke of_), an Italian prince, an ally of the
Lancastrians.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Milan Decree=, a decree of Napoleon Bonaparte, dated Milan, December 27,
1807, declaring "the whole British empire to be in a state of blockade,
and prohibiting all countries from trading with Great Britain, or using
any article made therein."
[Asterism] As Britain was the best customer of the very nations
forbidden to deal with her, this very absurd decree was a two-edged
sword, cutting both ways.
=Mildred=, the bride, "fresh and fair as May," whom Philip, the pastor,
installs as _Mistress of the Manse_, in Josiah Gilbert Holland's poem of
that name (1874).
=Mildmay= (_Frank_), hero of sea-story bearing his name.--Frederick
Marryatt.
=Mile'sian Fables= (_Milesiae Fabulae_), very wanton and ludicrous tales.
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton (Lord Lytton) published six of the _Lost Tales
of Mil[=e]tus_ in rhymeless verse. He pretends he borrowed them from the
scattered remnants preserved by Apollodo'rus and Conon, contained in the
pages of Pausa'nias and Athenaeus, or dispersed throughout the
Scholiasts. The Milesian tales were, for the most part, in prose; but
Ovid tells us that Aristi'd[^e]s rendered some of them into verse, and
Sisenna into Latin.
Junxit Aristides Milesia carmina secum
Pulsus Aristides nec tamen urba sua est.
The original tales by Antonius Diog'en[^e]s are described by Photius. It
appears that they were great favorites with the luxurious Sybarites. A
compilation was made by Arist[=i]d[^e]s, by whom (according to Ovid)
some were versified also. The Latin translation by Sisenna was made
about the time of the civil wars of Ma'rius and Sylla. Parthen'ius
Nice'nus, who taught Virgil Greek, borrowed thirty-six of the tales,
which he dedicated to Cornelius Gallus, and entitled _Er[^o]tik[^o]n
Path[^e]mat[^o]n_ ("love stories").
_Milesia Crimina_, amatory offences. Venus was worshipped at Mil[=e]tus,
and hence the loose amatory tales of Antonius Diogen[^e]s were entitled
_Milesiae Fabulae_.
=Mile'sians=, the "ancient" Irish. The legend is that Ireland was once
peopled by the Fir-bolg or Belgae from Britain, who were subdued by
Milesians from Asia Minor, called the Gaels of Ireland.
=Miles= (_Throckmorton_), harum-scarum, brave, indiscreet, over-generous
hero of Constance Cary Harrison's story, _Flower de Hundred_ (1890).
=Milford= (_Colonel_), a friend of Sir Geoffrey Peveril.--Sir W. Scott,
_Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
_Milford_ (_Jack_), a natural son of Widow Warren's late husband. He was
the crony of Harry Dornton, with whom he ran "the road to ruin." Jack
had a fortune left him, but he soon scattered it by his extravagant
living, and was imprisoned for debt. Harry then promised to marry Widow
Warren if she would advance him [pounds]6,000 to pay off his friend's
debts with. When Harry's father heard of this bargain, he was so moved
that he advanced the money himself; and Harry, being set free from his
bargain, married the widow's daughter instead of the widow. Thus all
were rescued from "the road to ruin."--Holcroft, _The Road to Ruin_
(1792).
=Milinowski=, a portly, imposing American widow, who, after twenty years
spent under the marital rule of a Prussian army officer, "takes kindly
to the prose of life." She is the exemplary and not unkindly chaperone
of _Miss Caroline Lester_, heroine of Charlotte Dunning's book _Upon a
Cast_ (1885).
=Milk-Pail= (_The_), which was to gain a fortune, (See PERRETTE.)
=Millamant=, the _pr['e]tendue_ of Edward Mirabell. She is a most
brilliant girl, who says she "loves to give pain, because cruelty is a
proof of power; and when one parts with one's cruelty, one parts with
one's power." Millamant is far gone in poetry, and her heart is not in
her own keeping. Sir Wilful Witwould makes love to her, but she detests
"the superannuated lubber."--W. Congreve, _The Way of the World_ (1700).
=Miller= (_James_), the "tiger" of the Hon. Mr. Flammer. James was brought
up in the stable, educated on the turf and _pav['e]_, polished and
completed in the fives-court. He was engaged to Mary Chintz, the maid
of Miss Bloomfield.--C. Selby, _The Unfinished Gentleman_.
_Miller_, (_Joe_), James Ballantyne, author of _Old Joe Miller, by the
Editor of New J. M._, three vols. (1801).
[Asterism] Mottley compiled a jest-book in the reign of James II.,
entitled _Joe Miller's Jests_. The phrase, "That's a Joe Miller," means
"that's a jest from Mottley's book."
_Miller_ (_Maximilian Christopher_), the Saxon giant; height eight feet.
His hand measured a foot; his second finger was nine inches long; his
head unusually large. He wore a rich Hungarian jacket and a huge plumed
cap. This giant was exhibited in London in the year 1733. He died aged
60; was born at Leipsic (1674-1734).
=Miller= (_Draxy_), bonny daughter of a thriftless, honest man, whose
energy in the effort to recover some hundreds of acres of woodland
deeded to her in jest, and supposed to be unprofitable, leads to comfort
for her father, and a happy marriage for herself.--_Saxe Holm Stories_
(1886).
=Miller of Mansfield= (_The_), John Cockle, a miller and keeper of
Sherwood Forest. Hearing the report of a gun, John Cockle went into the
forest at night to find poachers, and came upon the king (Henry VIII.),
who had been hunting, and had got separated from his courtiers. The
miller collared him; but, being told he was a wayfarer, who had lost
himself in the forest, he took him home with him for the night. Next
day, the courtiers were brought to the same house, having been seized as
poachers by the under-keepers. It was then discovered that the miller's
guest was the king, who knighted the miller, and settled on him 1000
marks a year.--R. Dodsley, _The King and the Miller of Mansfield_
(1737).
=Miller of Trompington= (_The_), Simon Simkin, an arrant thief. Two
scholars undertook to see that a sack of corn was ground for "Solar Hill
College," without being tampered with; so one stood at the hopper, and
the other at the trough below. In the mean time, Simon Simkin let loose
the scholars' horse; and while they went to catch it, he purloined half
a bushel of the flour, which was made into cakes, and substituted meal
in its stead. But the young men had their revenge; they not only made
off with the flour, meal, and cakes without payment, but left the miller
well trounced also.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ ("The Reeve's Tale,"
1388).
A trick something like that played off on the Miller of
Trompington.--_Review of Kirkton_, xix. 253.
=Miller on the Dee.= "There was a Jolly Miller once lived on the River
Dee," is a song by Isaac Bickerstaff, introduced in _Love in a Village_,
i. 1 (1763).
=Mills= (_Miss_), the bosom friend of Dora. Supposed to have been blighted
in early life in some love affair, and hence she looks on the happiness
of others with a calm, supercilious benignity, and talks of herself as
being "in the desert of Sahara."--C. Dickens, _David Copperfield_
(1849).
=Millwood= (_Sarah_), the courtezan who enticed George Barnwell to rob his
master and murder his uncle. Sarah Millwood spent all the money that
George Barnwell obtained by these crimes, then turned him out of doors,
and informed against him. Both were hanged.--George Lillo, _George
Barnwell_ (1732).
=Milly=, the wife of William Swidger. She is the good angel of the
tale.--C. Dickens, _The Haunted Man_ (1848).
=Milo=, an athlete of Croto'na, noted for his amazing strength. He could
carry on his shoulders a four-year-old heifer. When old, Milo attempted
to tear in twain an oak tree, but the parts, closing on his hands, held
him fast, till he was devoured by wolves.
_Milo_ (_The English_), Thomas Topham, of London (1710-1752).
=Milton=, introduced by Sir Walter Scott in _Woodstock_ (time,
Commonwealth).
=Milton of Germany=, Frederick Gottlieb Klopstock, author of _The
Messiah_, an epic poem (1724-1803).
A very German Milton indeed.
Coleridge.
=Milton's Monument=, in Westminster Abbey, was by Rysbrack.
=Milvey= (_The Rev. Frank_), a "young man expensively educated and
wretchedly paid, with quite a young wife and half a dozen young
children. He was under the necessity of teaching ... to eke out his
scanty means, yet was generally expected to have more time to spare than
the idlest person in the parish, and more money than the richest."
_Mrs. Milvey_ (_Margaretta_), a pretty, bright little woman, emphatic
and impulsive, but "something worn by anxiety. She had repressed many
pretty tastes and bright fancies, and substituted instead schools, soup,
flannel, coals, and all the week-day cares and Sunday coughs of a large
population, young and old."--C. Dickens, _Our Mutual Friend_ (1864).
=Minagro'bis=, admiral of the cats in the great sea-fight of the cats and
rats. Minagrobis won the victory by devouring the admiral of the rats,
who had made three voyages round the world in very excellent ships, in
which he was neither one of the officers nor one of the crew, but a kind
of interloper.--Comtesse D'Aulnoy, _Fairy Tales_ ("The White Cat,"
1682).
=Min'cing=, lady's-maid to Millamant. She says _mem_ for ma'am, _fit_ for
fought, _la'ship_ for ladyship, etc.--W. Congreve, _The Way of the
World_ (1700).
=Minikin= (_Lord_), married to a cousin of Sir John Trotley, but,
according to _bon ton_, he flirts with Miss Tittup; and Miss Tittup, who
is engaged to Colonel Tivy, flirts with a married man.
_Lady Minikin_, wife of Lord Minikin. According to _bon ton_, she hates
her husband, and flirts with Colonel Tivy; and Colonel Tivy, who is
engaged to Miss Tittup, flirts with a married woman. It is _bon ton_ to
do so.--Garrick, _Bon Ton_ (1760).
=Minjekah'wun=, Hiawatha's mittens, made of deer-skin. When Hiawatha had
his mittens on, he could smite the hardest rocks asunder.
He [_Hiawatha_] had mittens, Minjekahwun,
Magic mittens made of deer-skin;
When upon his hands he wore them,
He could smite the rocks asunder.
Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, iv. (1855).
=Minna and Brenda=, two beautiful girls, the daughters of Magnus Troil,
the old udaller of Zetland. Minna was stately in form, with dark eyes
and raven locks; credulous and vain, but not giddy; enthusiastic,
talented and warm-hearted. She loved Captain Clement Cleveland; but
Cleveland was killed in an encounter on the Spanish main. Brenda had
golden hair, a bloom on her cheeks, a fairy form, and a serene, cheerful
disposition. She was less the heroine than her sister, but more the
loving and confiding woman. She married Mordaunt Mertoun (ch. iii).--Sir
W. Scott, _The Pirate_ (time, William III.).
=Minna von Barnhelm.= A wealthy girl who is engaged to Major von Tellheim,
a Prussian soldier. He loses his fortune, is wounded and suspected of
dishonor, and from regard for Minna strives to break the engagement.
Everything is righted, and they marry.--G. E. Lessing.
=Minneha'ha= ("_the laughing water_"), daughter of the arrow-maker of
Daco'tah, and wife of Hiawatha. She was called Minnehaha from the
waterfall of that name between St. Anthony and Fort Snelling.
From the waterfall, he named her
Minnehaha, Laughing Water.
Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, iv. (1855).
=Minnesingers=, the Troubadours of Germany during the Hohenstaufen period
(1138-1294), minstrels who composed and sung short lyrical
poems--usually in praise of women or in celebration of the beauties of
nature--called _Minne_, or love songs. The names of nearly three hundred
of these poets have come down to us, including all classes of society,
the most famous being Dietmar von Aist, Ulrich von Lichenstein, Heinrich
von Frauenlob, and above all Walther von der Vogelweid (1168-1230).
Wolfram von Eschenbach, Gottfried von Strasburg, and Hartmann von der
Aue are also classed among the Minnesingers, but their principal fame
was won in the field of metrical romance.
[Asterism] The story runs that Vogelweid bequeathed his worldly all to a
Wurtzburg monastery upon condition that they should feed the doves at
noon every day upon his grave. The multiplying birds aroused the
avaricious alarm of the abbot, who forbade the daily distribution.
"Time has long effaced the inscriptions
On the cloister's funeral stones,
And tradition only tells us
Where repose the poet's bones.
But around the vast cathedral
By sweet echoes mutiplied[TN-12]
Still the birds repeat the legend
And the name of Vogelweid."
H. W. Longfellow, _Walter von der Vogelweid_ 186-.
=Mino'na=, "the soft blushing daughter of Torman," a Gaelic bard in the
_Songs of Selma_, one of the most famous portions of Macpherson's
_Ossian_.
=Minor= (_The_), a comedy by Samuel Foote (1760). Sir George Wealthy, "the
minor," was the son of Sir William Wealthy, a retired merchant. He was
educated at a public school, sent to college, and finished his training
in Paris. His father, hearing of his extravagant habits, pretended to be
dead, and, assuming the guise of a German baron, employed several
persons to dodge the lad, some to be winners in his gambling, some to
lend money, some to cater to other follies, till he was apparently on
the brink of ruin. His uncle, Mr. Richard Wealthy, a City merchant,
wanted his daughter, Lucy, to marry a wealthy trader, and as she refused
to do so, he turned her out of doors. This young lady was brought to Sir
George as a _fille de joie_, but she touched his heart by her manifest
innocence, and he not only relieved her present necessities, but
removed her to an asylum where her "innocent beauty would be guarded
from temptation, and her deluded innocence would be rescued from
infamy." The whole scheme now burst as a bubble. Sir George's father,
proud of his son, told him he was his father, and that his losses were
only fictitious; and the uncle, melted into a better mood, gave his
daughter to his nephew, and blessed the boy for rescuing his discarded
child.
=Minotti=, governor of Corinth, then under the power of the doge. In 1715
the city was stormed by the Turks; and during the siege one of the
magazines in the Turkish camp blew up, killing 600 men. Byron says it
was Minotti himself who fired the train, and that he perished in the
explosion.--Byron, _Siege of Corinth_ (1816).
=Minstrel= (_The_), an unfinished poem, in Spenserian metre, by James
Beattie. Its design was to trace the progress of a poetic genius, born
in a rude age, from the first dawn of fancy to the fullness of poetic
rapture. The first canto is descriptive of Edwin, the minstrel; canto
ii. is dull philosophy, and there, happily, the poem ends. It is a pity
it did not end with the first canto (1773-4).
And yet poor Edwin was no vulgar boy,
Deep thought oft seemed to fix his infant eye.
Dainties he heeded not, nor gaude, nor toy,
Save one short pipe of rudest minstrelsy;
Silent when sad, affectionate, tho' shy;
And now his look was most demurely sad;
And now he laughed aloud, though none knew why.
The neighbors stared and sighed, yet blessed the lad;
Some deemed him wondrous wise, and some believed him mad.
Canto i. 16.
_Minstrel_ (_Lay of the Last_). Ladye Margaret, "the flower of Teviot,"
was the daughter of Lord Walter Scott, of Branksome Hall. She loved
Baron Henry, of Cranstown; but between the two families a deadly feud
existed. One day the elfin page of Lord Cranstown inveigled the heir of
Branksome Hall (then a lad) into the woods, where he fell into the hands
of the English, who marched with 3000 men to Branksome Hall; but, being
told that Douglas was coming to the rescue with 10,000 men, the two
armies agreed to settle by single combat whether the lad should be given
up to the mother or be made King Edward's page. The two champions were
Sir Richard Musgrave (_English_) and Sir William Deloraine (_Scotch_).
The Scotch champion slew Sir Richard, and the boy was delivered to his
mother. It now turned out that Sir William Deloraine was Lord Cranstown,
who claimed and received the hand of Ladye Margaret as his reward.--Sir
W. Scott (1805).
=Minstrel of the Border=, Sir W. Scott; also called "The Border Minstrel"
(1771-1832).
My steps the Border Minstrel led.
Wordsworth, _Yarrow Revisited_.
Great Minstrel of the Border.
Wordsworth.
=Minstrel of the English Stage= (_The Last_), James Shirley, last of the
Shakespeare school (1594-1666).
[Asterism] Then followed the licentious French school, headed by John
Dryden.
=Minstrels= (_Royal Domestic_).
Of William I., Berdie, called _Regis Jocula'tor_.
Of Henry I., Galfrid and Royer, or Raher.
Of Richard I., Blondel.
=Mint Julep=, a Virginian beverage, celebrated in song by Charles Fenno
Hoffman (185-). A favorite variety of this drink is compounded of
brandy, water, sugar, mint-leaves and pounded ice, and is called a
"hail-storm."
"The draught was delicious, and loud the acclaim,
'Though something seemed wanting for all to bewail;
But JULEPS the drink of immortals became
When Jove himself added a handful of hail."
Charles Fenno Hoffman, _Poems_ (1846).
=Mintz=, _alias_ Araminta Sophronia--the best cook and housemaid in
town--rules the Stackpole family with a rod of red-hot steel until the
son of the house defies her by marrying the head scholar in the Boston
Cooking School.--Augusta Larned, _Village Photographs_ (1887).
=Miol'ner= (3 _syl._), Thor's hammer.
This is my hammer, Mi[:o]lner the mighty;
Giants and sorcerers cannot withstand it.
Saemund Sigfusson, _Edda_ (1130).
=Miquelets= (_Les_), soldiers of the Pyrenees, sent to co-operate with the
dragoons of the _Grand Monarque_ against the Camisards of the Cevennes.
=Mir'abel=, the "wild goose," a travelled Monsieur, who loves women in a
loose way, but abhors matrimony, and especially dislikes Oria'na; but
Oriana "chases" the "wild goose" with her woman's wiles, and catches
him.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Wild-goose Chase_ (1652).
_Mirabel_ (_Old_). He adores his son, and wishes him to marry Oria'na.
As the young man shilly-shallies, the father enters into several schemes
to entrap him into a declaration of love; but all his schemes are
abortive.
_Young Mirabel_, the son, called "the inconstant." A handsome, dashing
young rake, who loves Oriana, but does not wish to marry. Whenever
Oriana seems lost to him the ardor of his love revives; but immediately
his path is made plain, he holds off. However, he ultimately marries
her.--G. Farquhar, _The Inconstant_ (1702).
=Mirabell= (_Edward_), in love with Millamant. He liked her, "with all her
faults; nay, liked her for her faults, ... which were so natural that
(in his opinion) they became her."--W. Congreve, _The Way of the World_
(1700).
Not all that Drury Lane affords
Can paint the rakish "Charles" so well,
Or give such life to "Mirabell"
[_As Montague Talbot_, 1778-1831].
Crofton Croker.
=Mirabella=, "a maiden fair, clad in mourning weeds, upon a mangy jade
unmeetly set, with a lewd fool called Disdain" (canto 6). Timias and
Serena, after quitting the hermit's cell, meet her. Though so sorely
clad and mounted, the maiden was "a lady of great dignity and honor, but
scornful and proud." Many a wretch did languish for her through a long
life. Being summoned to Cupid's judgment hall, the sentence passed on
her was that she should "ride on a mangy jade, accompanied by a fool,
till she had saved as many lovers as she had slain" (canto 7). Mirabella
was also doomed to carry a leaky bottle, which she was to fill with
tears, and a torn wallet, which she was to fill with repentance: but her
tears and her repentance dropped out as fast as they were put in, and
were trampled under foot by Scorn (canto 8).--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_,
vi. 6-8 (1596).
[Asterism] "Mirabella" is supposed to be meant for Rosalind, who jilted
Spenser, and who is called by the poet "a widow's daughter of the glen,
and poor."
=Mir'amont=, brother of Justice Brisac, and uncle of the two brothers,
Charles (the scholar) and Eustace (the courtier). Miramont is an
ignorant, testy old man, but a great admirer of learning and
scholars.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Elder Brother_ (1637).
=Miran'da=, daughter of Prospero, the exiled duke of Milan, and niece of
Antonio, the usurping duke. She is brought up on a desert island, with
Ariel, the fairy spirit, and Cal'iban, the monster, as her only
companions. Ferdinand, son of the king of Naples, being shipwrecked on
the island, falls in love with her, and marries her.--Shakespeare, _The
Tempest_ (1609).
Identifying herself with the simple yet noble-minded Miranda in the
isle of wonder and enchantment.--Sir W. Scott.
_Miranda_, an heiress, the ward of Sir Francis Gripe. As she must obtain
his consent to her marriage before she could obtain possession of her
fortune, she pretended to love him, although he was 64 years old; and
the old fool believed it. When, therefore, Miranda asked his consent to
marry, he readily gave it, thinking himself to be the man of her choice;
but the sly little hussy laughed at her old guardian, and plighted her
troth to Sir George Airy, a man of 24.--Mrs. Centlivre, _The Busy Body_
(1709).
=Mir'ja=, one of the six Wise Men of the East, led by the guiding star to
Jesus. Mirja had five sons, who followed his holy life.--Klopstock, _The
Messiah_, v. (1771).
=Mirror= (_Alasnam's_), a mirror which showed Alasnam if "a beautiful girl
was also chaste and virtuous." The mirror was called "the touchstone of
virtue."--_Arabian Nights_ ("Prince Zeyn Alasnam").
_Mirror_ (_Cambuscan's_), a mirror sent to Cambuscan', king of Tartary,
by the king of Araby and Ind. It showed those who consulted it if any
adversity were about to befall them; if any one they loved were friend
or foe.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ ("The Squire's Tale," unfinished.)
"Or call up him who left half-told,
The story of Cambuscan bold.
* * * * *
That owned the virtuous ring and glass."
Milton, _Il Penseroso_.
_Mirror_ (_Kelly's_), Dr. Dee's speculum. Kelly was the doctor's
speculator or seer. The speculum resembled a "piece of polished cannel
coal."
Kelly did all his feats upon
The devil's looking-glass, a stone.
S. Butler, _Hudibras_ (1663-78).
_Mirror_ (_Lao's_), a looking-glass which reflected the mind as well as
the outward form.--Goldsmith, _Citizen of the World_, xlv. (1759).
_Mirror_ (_Merlin's Magic_) or Venus's looking-glass, fabricated in
South Wales, in the days of King Ryence. It would show to those that
looked therein anything which pertained to them, anything that a friend
or foe was doing. It was round like a sphere, and was given by Merlin to
King Ryence.
That never foe his kingdom might invade
But he it knew at home before he heard
Tidings thereof.
Britomart, who was King Ryence's daughter and heiress, saw in the mirror
her future husband and also his name, which was Sir Artegal.--Spenser,
_Fa[:e]ry Queen_, iii. 2 (1590).
_Mirror_ (_Prester John's_), a mirror which possessed similar virtues to
that made by Merlin. Prester John could see therein whatever was taking
place in any part of his dominions.
[Asterism] Dr. Dee's speculum was also spherical, and possessed a
similar reputed virtue.
_Mirror_ (_Reynard's Wonderful_). This mirror existed only in the brain
of Master Fox. He told the queen lion that whoever looked therein could
see what was being done a mile off. The wood of the frame was part of
the same block out of which Crampart's magic horse was made.--_Reynard
the Fox_, xii. (1498).
_Mirror_ (_Venus's_), generally called "Venus's looking-glass," the same
as Merlin's magic mirror (_q.v._).[TN-13]
_Mirror_ (_Vulcan's_). Vulcan made a mirror which showed those who
looked into it the past, present, and future. Sir John Davies says that
Cupid handed this mirror to Antin'ous, when he was in the court of
Ulysses, and Antinous gave it to Penel'op[^e], who beheld therein the
court of Queen Elizabeth and all its grandeur.
Vulcan, the king of fire, that mirror wrought ...
As there did represent in lively show
Our glorious English court's divine image
As it should be in this our golden age.
Sir John Davies, _Orchestra_ (1615).
=Mirror of King Ryence=, a mirror made by Merlin. It showed those who
looked into it whatever they wished to see.--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_,
iii. (1590).
=Mirror of Knighthood=, a romance of chivalry. It was one of the books in
Don Quixote's library, and the cur['e] said to the barber:
"In this same _Mirror of Knighthood_ we meet with Rinaldo de
Montalban and his companions, with the twelve peers of France, and
Turpin, the historian. These gentlemen we will condemn only to
perpetual exile, as they contain something of the famous Bojardo's
invention, whence the Christian poet Ariosto borrowed the
groundwork of his ingenious compositions; to whom I should pay
little regard if he had not written in his own language
[_Italian_]."--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. i. 6 (1605).
=Mirror of all Martial Men=, Thomas, earl of Salisbury (died 1428).
=Mirrour for Magistraytes=, begun by Thomas Sackville, and intended to be
a poetical biography of remarkable Englishmen. Sackville wrote the
"Induction," and furnished one of the sketches, that of Henry Stafford,
duke of Buckingham (the tool of Richard III.). Baldwynne, Ferrers,
Churchyard, Phair, etc., added others. Subsequently, John Higgins,
Richard Nichols, Thomas Blenerhasset, etc., supplied additional
characters; but Sackville alone stands out pre-eminent in merit. In the
"Induction," Sackville tells us he was conducted by Sorrowe into the
infernal regions. At the porch sat Remorse and Dread, and within the
porch were Revenge, Miserie, Care, and Slepe. Passing on, he beheld Old
Age, Maladie, Famine, and Warre. Sorrowe then took him to Ach[)e]ron,
and ordered Charon to ferry them across. They passed the three-headed
Cerb[)e]rus and came to Pluto, where the poet saw several ghosts, the
last of all being the duke of Buckingham, whose "_complaynt_" finishes
the part written by Thomas Sackville (1557). (See BUCKINGHAM.)
[Asterism] Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, must not be mistaken for
George Villiers, duke of Buckingham 150 years later.
=Mirza= (_The Vision of_). Mirza, being at Grand Cairo on the fifth day of
the moon, which he always kept holy, ascended a high hill, and, falling
into a trance, beheld a vision of human life. First he saw a prodigious
tide of water rolling through a valley with a thick mist at each
end--this was the river of time. Over the river was a bridge of a
thousand arches, but only three score and ten were unbroken. By these,
men were crossing, the arches representing the number of years the
traveller lived before he tumbled into the river. Lastly, he saw the
happy valley, but when he asked to see the secrets hidden under the dark
clouds on the other side, the vision was ended, and he only beheld the
valley of Bagdad, with its oxen, sheep, and camels grazing on its
sides.--Addison, _Vision of Mirza_ (_Spectator_, 159).
=Misbegot= (_Malcolm_), natural son of Sybil Knockwinnock, and an ancestor
of Sir Arthur Wardour.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George
III.).
=Miser= (_The_), a comedy by H. Fielding, a _r['e]chauff['e]_ of
Moli[`e]re's comedy _L'Avare_. Lovegold is "Harpagon," Frederick is
"Cl['e]ante," Mariana is "Mariane," and Ramilie is "La Fl['e]che."
Lovegold, a man of 60, and his son Frederick, both wish to marry
Mariana, and, in order to divert the old miser from his foolish passion,
Mariana pretends to be most extravagant. She orders a necklace and
ear-rings of the value of [pounds]3000, a petticoat and gown from a
fabric which is [pounds]12 a yard, and besets the house with duns.
Lovegold gives [pounds]2000 to break off the bargain, and Frederick
becomes the bridegroom of Mariana.
=Misers.=--See _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_.
=Misere're= (_The_), sung on Good Fridays in Catholic churches, is the
composition of Gregorio Allegri, who died in 1640.
=Mishe-Mok'wa=, the great bear slain by Mudjekeewis.--Longfellow,
_Hiawatha_, ii. (1855).
=Mishe-Nah'ma=, the great sturgeon, "king of fishes," subdued by Hiawatha.
With this labor, the "great teacher" taught the Indians how to make oil
for winter. When Hiawatha threw his line for the sturgeon, that king of
fishes first persuaded a pike to swallow the bait and try to break the
line, but Hiawatha threw it back into the water. Next, a sun-fish was
persuaded to try the bait, with the same result. Then the sturgeon, in
anger, swallowed Hiawatha and canoe also; but Hiawatha smote the heart
of the sturgeon with his fist, and the king of fishes swam to the shore
and died. Then the sea-gulls opened a rift in the dead body, out of
which Hiawatha made his escape.
"I have slain the Mish[^e]-Nahma,
Slain the king of fishes" said he.
Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, vii. (1855).
=Misnar=, sultan of India, transformed by Ulin into a toad. "He[TN-14] was
disenchanted by the dervise Shemshel'nar, the most "pious worshipper of
Alla amongst all the sons of Asia." By prudence and piety, Misnar
and his vizier, Horam, destroyed all the enchanters who filled India
with rebellion, and, having secured peace, married Hem'junah, daughter
of Zebenezer, sultan of Cassimir, to whom he had been betrothed when he
was known only as the prince of Georgia.--James Ridley, _Tales of the
Genii_, vi., vii. (1751).
=Misog'onus=, by Thomas Rychardes, the third English comedy (1560). It is
written in rhyming quatrains, and not in couplets like _Ralph Roister
Doister_ and _Gammer Gurton's Needle_.
=Miss in Her Teens=, a farce by David Garrick (1753). Miss Biddy Bellair
is in love with Captain Loveit, who is known to her only by the name of
Rhodophil; but she coquets with Captain Flash and Mr. Fribble, while her
aunt wants her to marry an elderly man by the name of Stephen Loveit,
whom she detests. When the Captain returns from the wars, she sets
Captain Flash and Mr. Fribble together by the ears; and while they stand
fronting each other, but afraid to fight, Captain Loveit enters,
recognizes Flash as a deserter, takes away his sword, and dismisses
Fribble as beneath contempt.
=Mississippi Bubble=, the "South Sea scheme" of France, projected by John
Law, a Scotchman. So called because the projector was to have the
exclusive trade of Louisiana, on the banks of the Mississippi, on
condition of his taking on himself the National Debt (incorporated 1717,
failed 1720).
The debt was 208 millions sterling. Law made himself sole creditor of
this debt, and was allowed to issue ten times the amount in paper money,
and to open "the Royal Bank of France," empowered to issue this paper
currency. So long as a 20-franc note was worth 20 francs, the scheme was
a prodigious success, but immediately the paper money was at a discount,
a run on the bank set in, and the whole scheme burst.
=Miss Ludington.= A beautiful girl changed by illness into "a sad and
faded woman." She had a portrait painted from an ivory miniature of
herself, taken before the change, and conceives the idea that _what she
was once_ must still exist somewhere. The phantasy is played upon by
impostors, who undertake to materialize the fancied creature and
introduce her as the soul-sister of the credulous spinster. The
instrument of the audacious fraud becomes conscience stricken and
reveals it.--Edward Bellamy, _Miss Ludington's Sister_ (1884).
=Mistletoe Bough= (_The_). The song so called is by Thomas Haynes Bayley,
who died 1839. The tale is this: Lord Lovel married a young lady, a
baron's daughter, and on the wedding night the bride proposed that the
guest should play "hide-and-seek." The bride hid in an old oak chest,
and the lid, falling down, shut her in, for it went with a spring-lock.
Lord Lovel sought her that night and sought next day, and so on for a
week, but nowhere could he find her. Some years later, the old chest was
sold, and, on being opened, was found to contain the skeleton of the
bride.
Rogers, in his _Italy_, gives the same story, and calls the lady
"Ginevra" of Mod[)e]na.
Collet, in his _Relics of Literature_, has a similar story.
Another is inserted in the _Causes C['e]l[`e]bres_.
Marwell Old Hall (near Winchester), once the residence of the Seymours,
and afterwards of the Dacre family, has a similar tradition attached to
it, and "the very chest is said to be now the property of the Rev. J.
Haygarth, rector of Upham."
Bramshall, Hampshire, has a similar tale and chest.
The great house at Malsanger, near Basingstoke, also in Hampshire, has a
similar tradition connected with it.
=Mi'ta=, sister of Aude. She married Sir Miton de Rennes, and became the
mother of Mitaine. (See next art.)--_Croquemitaine_, xv.
=Mitaine=, daughter of Mita and Miton, and godchild of Charlemagne. She
went in search of Fear Fortress, and found that it existed only in the
imagination, for as she boldly advanced towards it, the castle gradually
faded into thin air. Charlemagne made Mitaine, for this achievement,
Roland's squire, and she fell with him in the memorable attack at
Roncesvall[^e]s. (See previous art.)--_Croquemitaine_, iii.
=Mite= (_Sir Matthew_), a returned East Indian merchant, dissolute,
dogmatical, ashamed of his former acquaintances, hating the aristocracy,
yet longing to be acknowledged by them. He squanders his wealth on
toadies, dresses his livery servants most gorgeously, and gives his
chairmen the most costly exotics to wear in their coats. Sir Matthew is
forever astonishing weak minds with his talk about rupees, lacs,
jaghires, and so on.--S. Foote, _The Nabob_.
=Mithra= or =Mithras=, a supreme divinity of the ancient Persians,
confounded by the Greeks and Romans with the _sun_. He is the
personification of Ormuzd, representing fecundity and perpetual
renovation. Mithra is represented as a young man with a Phrygian cap, a
tunic, a mantle on his left shoulder, and plunging a sword into the neck
of a bull. Scaliger says the word means "greatest" or "supreme." Mithra
is the middle of the triplasian deity: the Mediator, Eternal Intellect,
and Architect of the world.
Her towers, where Mithra once had burned,
To Moslem shrines--oh shame!--were turned;
Where slaves, converted by the sword,
Their mean apostate worship poured,
And cursed the faith their sires adored.
Moore, _Lalla Rookh_ ("The Fire-Worshippers," 1817).
=Mithridate= (3 _syl._), a medicinal confection, invented by
Damoc'rat[^e]s, physician to Mithrida't[^e]s, king of Pontus, and
supposed to be an antidote to all poisons and contagion. It contained
seventy-two ingredients. Any panacea is called a "mithridate."
Their kinsman garlic bring, the poor man's mithridate.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xx. (1622).
_Mithridate_ (3 _syl._), a tragedy by Racine, (1673). "Monime" (2
_syl._), in this drama, was one of Mdlle. Rachel's great characters.
=Mithrida'tes= (4 _syl._), surnamed "the Great." Being conquered by the
Romans, he tried to poison himself, but poison had no effect on him, and
he was slain by a Gaul. Mithridat[^e]s was active, intrepid,
indefatigable, and fruitful in resources; but he had to oppose such
generals as Sulla, Lucullus, and Pompey. His ferocity was unbounded, his
perfidy was even grand.
[Asterism] Racine has written a French tragedy on the subject, called
_Mithridate_ (1673); and N. Lee brought out his _Mithridat[^e]s_ in
English about the same time.
=Mixit= (_Dr._), the apothecary at the Black Bear inn at Darlington.--Sir
W. Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).
=M'liss=, brave, arch, and loving girl of the Wild West; the heroine of
one of Bret Harte's most popular sketches.
=M. M. Sketch= (_An_), a memorandum sketch.
=Mne'me= (2 _syl._), a well-spring of Boeo'tia, which quickens the memory.
The other well-spring in the same vicinity, called _L[^e]'th[^e]_, has the
opposite effect, causing blank forgetfulness.--Pliny.
Dant[^e] calls this river Eu'no[^e]. It had the power of calling to the
memory all the good acts done, all the graces bestowed, all the mercies
received, but no evil.--Dant[^e], _Purgatory_, xxxiii. (1308).
=Mo'ath=, a well-to-do Bedouin, father of Onei'za (3 _syl._), the
beloved of Thalaba. Oneiza, having married Thalaba, died on the bridal
night, and Moath arrived just in time to witness the mad grief of his
son-in-law.--Southey, _Thalaba, the Destroyer_, ii., viii. (1798).
=Mocca'sins=, an Indian buskin.
He laced his moccasins [_sic_] in act to go.
Campbell, _Gertrude of Wyoming_, i. 24 (1809).
=Mochingo=, an ignorant servant of the Princess Ero'ta.--Beaumont and
Fletcher, _The Laws of Candy_ (1647).
=Mock Doctor= (_The_), a farce by H. Fielding (1733), epitomized from
_Le M['e]decin Malgr['e] Lui_, of Moli[`e]re (1666). Sir Jasper wants to
make his daughter marry a Mr. Dapper; but she is in love with Leander
and pretends to be dumb. Sir Jasper hears of a dumb doctor, and sends
his two flunkies to fetch him. They ask one Dorcas to direct them to
him, and she points them to her husband, Gregory, a faggot-maker; but
tells them he is very eccentric, and must be well beaten, or he will
deny being a physician. The faggot-maker is accordingly beaten into
compliance, and taken to the patient. He soon learns the facts of the
case, and employs Leander as apothecary. Leander makes the lady speak,
and completes his cure with "pills matrimoniac." Sir Jasper takes the
joke in good part, and becomes reconciled to the alliance.
=Mocking-Bird.= "During the space of a minute, I have heard it imitate the
woodlark, chaffinch, blackbird, thrush, and sparrow.... Their few
natural notes resemble those of the nightingale, but their song is of
greater compass and more varied."--Ashe, _Travels in America_, ii. 73.
=Moclas=, a famous Arabian robber, whose name is synonymous with "thief."
(See ALMANZOR, the caliph.)
=Mode= (_Sir William_), in Mrs. Centlivre's drama, _The Beaux' Duel_
(1703).
=Mode'love= (_Sir Philip_), one of the four guardians of Anne Lovely, the
heiress. Sir Philip is an "old beau, that has May in his fancy and
dress, but December in his face and his heels. He admires all new
fashions ... loves operas, balls, and masquerades" (act i. 1). Colonel
Freeman personates a French fop, and obtains his consent to marry his
ward, the heiress.--Mrs. Centlivre, _A Bold Stroke for a Wife_ (1717).
=Modely=, a man of the world, gay, fashionable, and a libertine. He had
scores of "lovers," but never loved till he saw the little rustic lass
named Aura Freehold, a farmer's daughter, to whom he proposed
matrimony.--John Philip Kemble, _The Farm-house_.
=Modish= (_Lady Betty_), really in love with Lord Morelove, but treats him
with assumed scorn or indifference, because her pride prefers "power to
ease." Hence she coquets with Lord Foppington (a married man), to
mortify Morelove and arouse his jealousy. By the advice of Sir Charles
Easy, Lord Morelove pays her out in her own coin, by flirting with Lady
Graveairs, and assuming an air of indifference. Ultimately, Lady Betty
is reduced to common sense, and gives her heart and hand to Lord
Morelove.--Colley Cibber, _The Careless Husband_ (1704).
=Modo=, the fiend that urges to murder, and one of the five that possessed
"poor Tom."--Shakespeare, _King Lear_, act iv. sc. 1 (1605).
=Modred=, son of Lot, king of Norway, and Anne, own sister of King Arthur
(pt. viii. 21; ix. 9). He is always called "the traitor." While King
Arthur was absent, warring with the Romans, Modred was left regent, but
usurped the crown, and married his aunt, the queen (pt. x. 13). When
Arthur heard thereof, he returned, and attacked the usurper, who fled to
Winchester (pt. xi. 1). The king followed him, and Modred drew up his
army at Cambula, in Cornwall, where another battle was fought. In this
engagement Modred was slain, and Arthur also received his death-wound
(pt. xi. 2). The queen, called Guanhuma'ra (but better known as
Guen'evere), retired to a convent in the City of Legions, and entered
the order of Julius the Martyr (pt. xi. 1).--Geoffrey, _British History_
(1142).
[Asterism] This is so very different from the accounts given in
Arthurian romance of Mordred, that it is better to give the two names as
if they were different individuals.
_Modred_ (_Sir_), nephew of King Arthur. He hated Sir Lancelot, and
sowed discord among the knights of the Round Table. Tennyson says that
Modred "tampered with the lords of the White Horse," the brood that
Hengist left. Geoffrey of Monmouth says, he made a league with Cheldric,
the Saxon leader in Germany, and promised to give him all that part of
England which lies between the Humber and Scotland, together with all
that Hengist and Horsa held in Kent, if he would aid him against King
Arthur. Accordingly, Cheldric came over with 800 ships, filled "with
pagan soldiers" (_British History_, xi. 1).
When the king was in Brittany, whither he had gone to chastise Sir
Lancelot for adultery with the queen, he left Sir Modred regent, and Sir
Modred raised a revolt. The king returned, drew up his army against the
traitor, and in this "great battle of the West" Modred was slain and
Arthur received his death-wound.--Tennyson, _Idylls of the King_
("Guinevere," 1858).
[Asterism] This version is in accordance neither with Geoffrey of
Monmouth (see previous art.), nor with Arthurian romance (see MORDRED),
and is, therefore, given separately.
=Modu=, the prince of all devils that take possession of a human being.
_Mado_ was the chief devil that had possession of Sarah Williams;
but ... Richard Mainy was molested by a still more considerable
fiend called _Modu_, ... the prince of all other devils.--Harsnett;
_Declaration of Popish Impostures_, 268.
=Modus=, cousin of Helen; a "musty library, who loved Greek and Latin;"
but cousin Helen loved the bookworm, and taught him how to love far
better than Ovid could with his _Art of Love_. Having so good a teacher,
Modus became an apt scholar, and eloped with Cousin Helen.--S. Knowles,
_The Hunchback_ (1831).
=Moe'chus=, adultery personified; one of four sons of Caro (_fleshly
lust_). His brothers were Pornei'us (_fornication_), Acath'arus and
Asel'g[^e]s (_lasciviousness_). In the battle of Mansoul, Moechus is slain
by Agnei'a (_wifely chastity_), the spouse of Encra't[^e]s (_temperance_)
and sister of Parthen'ia (_maidenly chastity_). (Greek, _moichos_ "an
adulterer.")--Phineas Fletcher, _The Purple Island_, xi. (1633).
=Moeli'ades= (4 _syl._). Under this name William Drummond signalized
Henry, prince of Wales, eldest son of James I., in the monody entitled
_Tears on the Death of Moeliad[:e]s_. The word is an anagram of
_Mil[^e]s a Deo_. The prince, in his masquerades and martial sports,
used to call himself "Moeliad[^e]s of the Isles."
Moeliad[^e]s, bright day-star of the West.
W. Drummond, _Tears on the Death of Moeliades_ (1612).
The burden of the monody is:
Moeliad[^e]s sweet courtly nymphs deplore,
From Thul[^e] to Hydasp[^e]s' pearly shore.
=Moffat= (_Mabel_), domestic of Edward Redgauntlet.--Sir W. Scott,
_Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
=Mogg Megone.= Indian sachem who, at the behest of a white girl, kills her
betrayer, and brings his scalp to her. In the storm of anguished remorse
awakened by the sight of the bloody trophy, the woman murders Megone in
his sleep, and is henceforth banned by the church, driven by conscience,
a miserable wanderer upon the earth.--John Greenleaf Whittier, _Mogg
Megone_.
=Moha'di= (_Mahommed_), the twelfth imaum, whom the Orientals believe is
not dead, but is destined to return and combat Antichrist before the
consummation of all things.
[Asterism] Prince Arthur, Merlin, Charlemagne, Barbarossa, Dom
Sebastian, Charles V., Elijah Mansur, Desmond of Kilmallock, etc., are
traditionally not dead, but only sleeping till the fullness of time,
when each will awake and effect most wondrous restorations.
=Mohair= (_The Men of_), the citizens of France.
The men of mohair, as the citizens were called.--_Asylum Christi_,
viii.
=Moha'reb=, one of the evil spirits of Dom-Daniel, a cave "under the roots
of the ocean." It was given out that these spirits would be extirpated
by one of the family of Hodei'rah (3 _syl._), so they leagued against
the whole race. First, Okba was sent against the obnoxious race, and
succeeeded[TN-15] in killing eight of them, Thalaba alone having escaped
alive. Next, Abaldar was sent against Thalaba, but was killed by a
simoom. Then Loba'ba was sent to cut him off, but perished in a
whirlwind. Lastly, Mohareb undertook to destroy him. He assumed the
guise of a warrior, and succeeded in alluring the youth to the very
"mouth of hell;" but Thalaba, being alive to the deceit, flung Mohareb
into the abyss.--Southey, _Thalaba, the Destroyer_, v. (1797).
=Mohicans= (_Last of the_), Uncas, the Indian chief, son of Chingachook,
and called "Deerfoot."--J. F. Cooper, _The Last of the Mohicans_ (a
novel, 1826).
The word ought to be pronounced _Mo.hek'.kanz_, but is usually called
_Mo.h[)e].kanz_.
=Mohocks=, a class of ruffians who at one time infested the streets of
London. So called from the Indian Mohocks. At the Restoration, the
street bullies were called Muns and Tityre Tus; they were next called
Hectors and Scourers; later still, Nickers and Hawcabites; and lastly,
Mohocks.
Now is the time that rakes their revels keep,
Kindlers of riot, enemies of sleep;
His scattered pence the flying Nicker flings,
And with the copper shower the casement rings;
Who has not heard the Scowerer's midnight fame?
Who has not trembled at the Mohock's name?
Gay, _Trivia_, iii. 321, etc. (1712).
=Mohun= (_Lord_), the person who joined Captain Hill in a dastardly attack
on the actor, Mountford, on his way to Mrs. Bracegirdle's house, in
Howard Street. Captain Hill was jealous of Mountford, and induced Lord
Mohun to join him in this "valiant exploit." Mountford died next day,
Captain Hill fled from the country, and Mohun was tried but acquitted.
The general features of this cowardly attack are very like that of the
Count Koningsmark on Thomas Thynne of Lingleate Hill. Count Koningsmark
was in love with Elizabeth Percy (widow of the earl of Ogle), who was
contracted to Mr. Thynne; but before the wedding day arrived, the count,
with some hired ruffians, assassinated his rival in his carriage as it
was passing down Pall Mall.
[Asterism] Elizabeth Percy, within three months of the murder, married
the duke of Somerset.
=Moidart= (_John of_), captain of the clan Ronald, and a chief in the army
of Montrose.--Sir W. Scott, _Legend of Montrose_, (time, Charles I.).
=Moi'na= (2 _syl._), daughter of Reutha'mir, the principal man of
Balclu'tha, a town on the Clyde, belonging to the Britons. Moina married
Clessammor (the maternal uncle of Fingal), and died in childbirth of her
son Carthon, during the absence of her husband.--Ossian, _Carthon_.
=Mokanna=, the name given to Hakem ben Haschem, from a silver gauze veil
worn by him "to dim the lustre of his face," or rather to hide its
extreme ugliness. The history of this impostor is given by D'Herbelot,
_Biblioth[`e]que Orientale_ (1697).
[Asterism] Mokanna forms the first story of _Lalla Rookh_ ("The Veiled
Prophet of Khorassan"), by Thomas Moore (1817).
=Mokattam= (_Mount_), near Cairo (Egypt), noted for the massacre of the
Caliph Hakem B'amr-ellah, who was given out to be incarnate deity, and
the last prophet who communicated between God and man (eleventh
century). Here, also;[TN-16] fell in the same massacre his chief prophet,
and many of his followers. In consequence of this persecution, Durzi,
one of the "prophet's" chief apostles, led the survivors into Syria,
where they settled between the Libanus and Anti-Libanus, and took the
name of Durzis, corrupted into Druses.
As the khalif vanished erst,
In what seemed death to uninstructed eyes,
On red Mokattam's verge.
Robert Browning, _The Return of the Druses_, i.
=Molay= (_Jacques_), grand-master of the Knights Templar, as he was led to
the stake, summoned the pope (Clement V.), within forty days, and the
king (Philippe IV.), within forty weeks, to appear before the throne of
God to answer for his death. They both died within the stated periods.
(See SUMMONS TO DEATH.)
=Moli[`e]re= (_The Italian_), Charlo Goldoni (1707-1793).
_Moli[`e]re_ (_The Spanish_), Leandro Fernandez Moratin (1760-1828).
=Moll Cutpurse=, Mary Frith, who once attacked General Fairfax on
Hounslow Heath.
=Moll Flanders=, a woman of great beauty, born in the Old Bailey. She was
twelve years a courtezan, five years a wife, twelve years a thief, eight
years a convict in Virginia; but ultimately grew rich, and died a
penitent in the reign of Charles II.
[Asterism] Daniel Defoe wrote her life and adventures, which he called
_The Fortunes of Moll Flanders_ (1722).
=Molly=, Jaggers's housekeeper. A mysterious, scared-looking woman, with a
deep scar across one of her wrists. Her antecedents were full of
mystery, and Pip suspected her of being Estella's mother.--C. Dickens,
_Great Expectations_ (1860).
=Molly Maggs=, a pert young housemaid, in love with Robin. She hates
Polyglot, the tutor of "Master Charles," but is very fond of Charles.
Molly tries to get "the tuterer Polypot" into a scrape, but finds, to
her consternation, that Master Charles is in reality the party to be
blamed.--J. Poole, _The Scapegoat_.
=Molly Maguires=, stout, active young men, dressed up in women's clothes,
with faces blackened, or otherwise disguised. This secret society was
organized in 1843, to terrify the officials employed by Irish landlords
to distrain for rent, either by grippers, (_bumbailiffs_),
process-servers, keepers, or drivers (_persons who impound cattle till
the rent is paid_.[TN-17]--W. S. Trench, _Realities of Irish Life_, 82.
=Molly Mog=, an innkeeper's daughter at Oakingham, Berks. Molly Mog was
the toast of all the gay sparks in the former half of the eighteenth
century; but died a spinster at the age of 67 (1699-1766).
[Asterism] Gay has a ballad on this _Fair Maid of the Inn_. Mr. Standen,
of Arborfield, the "enamoured swain," died in 1730. Molly's sister was
quite as beautiful as "the fair maid" herself. A portrait of Gay still
hangs in Oakingham Inn.
=Molly Wilder=, New England girl, who shelters and cares for a young
French nobleman wrecked on the Cape Cod coast. A love affair and a
clandestine marriage follow. The marriage is acknowledged when peace is
established between the French and English.--Jane G. Austin, _A Nameless
Nobleman_ (1881).
=Molmu'tius.= (See MULMUTIUS.)
=Moloch= (_ch = k_), the third in rank of the Satanic hierarchy, Satan
being first, and Be[:e]lzebub second. The word means "king." The rabbins
say the idol was of brass, with the head of a calf. Moloch was the god
of the Am'monites (3 _syl._), and was worshipped in Rabba, their chief
city.
First Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears,
Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud,
Their children's cries unheard, that passed thro' fire
To his grim idol. Him the Ammonite
Worshipped in Rabba.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, i. 392, etc. (1665).
=Mo'ly= (Greek, _m[^o]lu_), mentioned in Homer's _Odyssey_. An herb with a
black root and white blossom, given by Herm[^e]s to Ulysses, to counteract
the spells of Circ[^e], (See HAEMONY.)
... that M[=o]'ly
That Herm[^e]s once to wise Ulysses gave.
Milton, _Comus_ (1634).
The root was black,
Milk-white the blossom; M[^o]ly is its name
In heaven.
Homer, _Odyssey_, x. (Cowper's trans.).
=Momus's Lattice.= Momus, son of Nox, blamed Vulcan, because, in making
the human form, he had not placed a window in the breast for the
discerning of secret thoughts.
Were Momus' lattice in our breasts,
My soul might brook to open it more widely
Than theirs [i. e. _the nobles_].
Byron, _Werner_, iii., 1 (1822).
=Mon= or =Mona=, Anglesia, the residence of the Druids. Suetonius
Paul[=i]nus, who had the command of Britain in the reign of Nero (from
A.D. 59 to 62), attacked Mona, because it gave succor to the rebellious.
The frantic inhabitants ran about with fire-brands, their long hair
streaming to the wind, and the Druids invoked vengeance on the Roman
army.--See Drayton, _Polyolbion_, viii. (1612).
=Mon'aco= (_The king of_), noted because whatever he did was never right
in the opinion of his people, especially in that of Rabagas, the
demagogue: If he went out, he was "given to pleasure;" if he stayed at
home, he was "given to idleness;" if he declared war, he was "wasteful
of the public money;" if he did not, he was "pusillanimous;" if he ate,
he was "self-indulgent;" if he abstained, he was "priest-ridden."--M.
Sardou, _Rabagas_ (1872).
_Monaco._ _Proud as a Monegasque._ A French phrase. The tradition is
that Charles Quint ennobled every one of the inhabitants of Monaco.
=Monaldini= (_Signor_), rich, _bourgeois_ citizen of Rome, who purchases,
fits up and lets to desirable tenants an old palace.--Mary Agnes
Tincker, _Signor Monaldini's Niece_ (1879).
=Monarch of Mont Blanc=, Albert Smith; so-called, because for many years
he amused a large London audience, night after night, by relating "his
ascent of Mont Blanc" (1816-1860).
=Monarque= (_Le Grand_), Louis XIV., of France (1638, 1643-1715).
=Monastery= (_The_), a novel by Sir W. Scott (1820). _The Abbot_ appeared
the same year. These two stories are tame and very defective in plot;
but the character of Mary queen of Scots, in _The Abbot_, is a correct
and beautiful historical portrait. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth is in
_Kenilworth_.
=Mon[c,]ada= (_Matthias de_), a merchant, stern and relentless. He arrests
his daughter the day after her confinement of a natural son.
_Zilia de Mon[c,]ada_, daughter of Matthias, and wife of General
Witherington.--Sir W. Scott, _The Surgeon's Daughter_, (time, George
II.).
=Monda'min=, maize or Indian corn (_mon-da-min_, "the Spirit's grain").
Sing the mysteries of mondamin,
Sing the blessing of the corn-fields.
Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, xiii. (1855).
=Mone'ses= (3 _syl._), a Greek prince, betrothed to Arpasia, whom for the
nonce he called his sister. Both were taken captive by Baj'azet. Bajazet
fell in love with Arpasia, and gave Mon[=e]s[^e]s a command in his army.
When Tamerlane overthrew Bajazet, Mon[=e]s[^e]s explained to the Tartar
king how it was that he was found in arms against him, and said his best
wish was to serve Tamerlane. Bajazet now hated the Greek, and, as
Arpasia proved obdurate, thought to frighten her into compliance by
having Mon[=e]s[^e]s bow-strung in her presence; but the sight was so
terrible that it killed her.--N. Rowe, _Tamerlane_ (1702).
=Money=, a drama by Lord E. L. B. Lytton (1840). Alfred Evelyn, a poor
scholar, was secretary and factotum of Sir John Vesey, but received no
wages. He loved Clara Douglas, a poor dependent of Lady Franklin;
proposed to her, but was not accepted, "because both were too poor to
keep house." A large fortune being left to the poor scholar, he proposed
to Georgina, the daughter of Sir John Vesey; but Georgina loved Sir
Frederick Blount, and married him. Evelyn, who loved Clara, pretended to
have lost his fortune, and, being satisfied that she really loved him,
proposed a second time, and was accepted.
=Moneytrap=, husband of Araminta, but with a _tendresse_ for Clarissa, the
wife of his friend Gripe.--Sir John Vanbrugh, _The Confederacy_ (1695).
=Monflathers= (_Miss_), mistress of a boarding and day establishment, to
whom Mrs. Jarley sent little Nell, to ask her to patronize the wax-work
collection. Miss Monflathers received the child with frigid virtue, and
said to her, "Don't you think you must be very wicked to be a wax-work
child? Don't you know it is very naughty to be a wax child when you
might have the proud consciousness of assisting, to the extent of your
infant powers, the noble manufacturers of your country?" One of the
teachers here chimed in with "How doth the little--;" but Miss
Monflathers remarked, with an indignant frown, that "the little busy
bee" applied only to genteel children, and the "works of labor and of
skill" to painting and embroidery, not to vulgar children and wax-work
shows."[TN-18]--Charles Dickens, _The Old Curiosity Shop_, xxxi.
(1840).
=Monford=, the lover of Charlotte Whimsey. He plans various devices to
hoodwink her old father, in order to elope with the daughter.--James
Cobb, _The First Floor_ (1756-1818).
=Monime= (2 _syl._), in Racine's tragedy of _Mithridate_. This was one of
Mdlle. Rachel's great characters, first preformed[TN-19] by her in 1838.
=Monim'ia=, "the orphan," sister of Chamont, and ward of Lord Acasto.
Monimia was in love with Acasto's son, Castalio, and privately married
him. Polydore (the brother of Castalio) also loved her, but his love was
dishonorable love. By treachery, Polydore obtained admission to
Monimia's chamber, and passed the bridal night with her, Monimia
supposing him to be her husband; but when the next day she discovered
the deceit, she poisoned herself; and Polydore, being apprised that
Monimia was his brother's wife, provoked a quarrel with him, ran on his
brother's sword, and died.--Otway, _The Orphan_ (1680).
More tears have been shed for the sorrows of "Belvid[=e]ra" and
"Monimia," than for those of "Juliet" and "Desdemona."--Sir W.
Scott, _The Drama_.
_Monimia_, in Smollett's novel of _Count Fathom_ (1754).
=Moniplies= (_Richie_), the honest, self-willed Scotch servant of Lord
Nigel Olifaunt, of Glenverloch.--Sir W. Scott, _Fortunes of Nigel_
(time, James I.).
=Monk= (_General_), introduced by Sir Walter Scott in _Woodstock_ (time,
Commonwealth.[TN-20]
_Monk_ (_The Bird Singing to a_). The monk is Felix, who listened to a
bird for a hundred years, and thought the time only an hour.--Longfellow,
_The Golden Legend_, ii. (1851).
_Monk_ (_The_), a novel, by Sir Matthew G. Lewis (1794).
=Monk Lewis.= Matthew Gregory Lewis; so called from his novel (1773-1818).
=Monk of Bury=, John Lydgate, poet, who wrote the _Siege of Troy_, the
_Story of Thebes_, and the _Fall of Princes_ (1375-1460).
Nothynge I am experte in poetry,
As the monke of Bury, floure of eloquence.
Stephen Hawes, _The Passe-Tyme[TN-21] of Plesure_ (1515).
=Monk of Westminister=, Richard, of Cirencester, the chronicler
(fourteenth century).
This chronicle, _On the Ancient State of Britain_, was first brought to
light in 1747, by Dr. Charles Julius Bertram, professor of English at
Copenhagen; but the original being no better known than that of Thomas
Rowley's poems, published by Chatterton, grave suspicions exist that Dr.
Bertram was himself the author of the chronicles.
=Monks= (_The Father of_), Ethelwold, of Winchester (*-984).
_Monks_, _alias_ Edward Leeford, a violent man, subject to fits. Edward
Leeford, though half-brother to Oliver Twist, was in collusion with Bill
Sykes, to ruin him. Failing in this, he retired to America, and died in
jail.--C. Dickens, _Oliver Twist_ (1837).
=Monkbarns= (_Laird of_), Mr Jonathan Oldbuck, the antiquary.--Sir W.
Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
=Mon'ker and Nakir= [_Na.keer'_], the two examiners of the dead, who put
questions to departed spirits respecting their belief in God and
Mahomet, and award their state in after-life according to their
answers.--_Al Kor[^a]n._
"Do you not see those spectres that are stirring the burning coals?
Are they Monker and Nakir come to throw us into them?"--W.
Beckford, _Vathek_ (1786).
=Monmouth=, the surname of Henry V. of England, who was born in that town
(1388, 1413-1422).
[Asterism] Mon-mouth is the _mouth of the Monnow_.
_Monmouth_ (_The duke of_), commander-in-chief of the royal army.--Sir
W. Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
[Asterism] The duke of Monmouth was nicknamed "The Little Duke," because
he was diminutive in size. Having no name of his own, he took that of
his wife, "Scott," countess of Buccleuch. Pepys says: "It is reported
that the king will be tempted to set the crown on the Little Duke"
(_Diary_, seventeenth century).
=Mon'ema=, wife of Quia'ra, the only persons of the whole of the
Gu[=a]rani race who escaped the small-pox plague which ravaged that part
of Paraguay. They left the fatal spot, and settled in the Modai woods.
Here they had one son, Yer[=u]ti, and one daughter, Mooma, but Qui[=a]ra
was killed by a jag[)u]ar before the latter was born. Mon[)e]ma left
the Mondai woods, and went to live at St. Jo[)a]chin, in Paraguay, but
soon died from the effects of a house and city life.--Southey, _A Tale
of Paraguay_ (1814).
Mononia, when nature embellished the tint
Of thy fields and thy mountains so fair,
Did she ever intend that a tyrant should print
The footstep of slavery there?
T. Moore, _Irish Melodies_, i. ("War Song," 1814).
=Monsieur=, Philippe, Duc d'Orl['e]ans, brother of Louis XIV. (1674-1723).
[Asterism] Other gentlemen were Mons. A or Mons. B, but the regent was
Mons. without any adjunct.
Similarly, the daughter of the duc de Chartres (the regent's grandson)
was Mademoiselle.
=Monsieur le Coadjuteur=, Paul de Gondi, afterwards Cardinal de Retz
(1614-1679).
=Monsieur le duc=, Louis Henri de Bourbon, eldest son of the prince de
Cond['e] (1692-1740).
=Monsieur Thomas=, a drama by Beaumont and Fletcher (1619).
=Monsieur Tonson=, a farce by Moncrieff. Jack Ardourly fails in love with
Adolphine de Courcy in the street, and gets Tom King to assist in
ferreting her out. Tom King discovers that his sweeting lives in the
house of a French refugee, a barber, named Mons. Morbleu; but not
knowing the name of the young lady, he inquires for Mr. Thompson, hoping
to pick up information. Mons. Morbleu says no Mons. Tonson lives in the
house, but only Mde. Bellegarde and Mdlle. Adolphine de Courcy. The old
Frenchman is driven almost crazy by different persons inquiring for
Mons. Tonson; but ultimately Jack Ardourly marries Adolphine, whose
mother is Mrs. Thompson after all.
Taylor wrote a drama of the same title in 1767.
=Monster= (_The_), Renwick Williams, a wretch who used to prowl about
London by night, armed with a double-edged knife, with which he
mutilated women. He was condemned July 8, 1790.
=Mont Rognon= (_Baron of_), a giant of enormous strength and insatiable
appetite. He was bandy-legged, had an elastic stomach, and four rows of
teeth. He was a paladin of Charlemagne, and one of the four sent in
search of Croquemitaine and Fear Fortress.--_Croquemitaine._
=Mont St. Michel=, in Normandy. Here nine druidesses used to sell arrows
to sailors to charm away storms. The arrows had to be discharged by a
young man 25 years of age.
The Laplanders drove a profitable trade by selling winds to sailors.
Even so late as 1814, Bessie Millie, of Pom[=o]na (Orkney Islands),
helped to eke out a livelihood by selling winds for sixpence.
Eric, king of Sweden, could make the winds blow from any quarter he
liked by a turn of his cap. Hence, he was nicknamed "Windy Cap."
=Mont Tr['e]sor=, in France; so called by Gontran "the Good," king of
Burgundy (sixteenth century). One day, weary with the chase, Gontran
laid himself down near a small river, and fell asleep. The squire who
watched his master, saw a little animal come from the king's mouth, and
walk to the stream, over which the squire laid his sword, and the
animal running across, entered a hole in the mountain. When Gontran was
told of this incident, he said he had dreamt that he crossed a bridge of
steel, and, having entered a cave at the foot of a mountain, entered a
palace of gold. Gontran employed men to undermine the hill, and found
there vast treasures, which he employed in works of charity and
religion. In order to commemorate this event he called the hill Mont
Tr['e]sor.--Claud Paradin, _Symbola Heroica_.
[Asterism] This story has been ascribed to numerous persons.
=Mon'tague= (3 _syl._), head of a noble house in Verona, at feudal enmity
with the house of Cap[)u]let. Romeo belonged to the former, and Juliet
to the latter house.
_Lady Montague_, wife of Lord Montague, and mother of
Romeo.--Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_ (1598).
=Montalban.=
_Don Kyrie Elyson de Montalban_, a hero of romance, in the _History of
Tirante the White_.
_Thomas de Montalban_, brother of Don Kyrie Elyson, in the same romance
of chivalry.
_Rinaldo de Montalban_, a hero of romance, in the _Mirror of
Knighthood_, from which work both Bojardo and Ariosto have largely
borrowed.
_Montalban_, now called Montauban (a contraction of _Mons Alba'nus_), in
France, in the department of Tarn-et-Garonne.
Jousted in Aspramont or Montalban.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, i. 583 (1665).
_Montalban_ (_The Count_), in love with Volant[^e] (3 _syl._), daughter of
Balthazar. In order to sound her, the count disguised himself as a
father confessor; but Volant[^e] detected the trick instantly, and said to
him, "Come, come, count, pull off your lion's hide, and confess yourself
an ass." However, as Volant[^e] really loved him, all came right at
last.--J. Tobin, _The Honeymoon_ (1804).
=Montanto= (_Signor_), a master of fence and a great braggart.--Ben
Jonson, _Every Man in His Humour_ (1598).
=Montargis= (_The Dog of_), named Dragon. It belonged to Captain Aubri de
Montdidier, and is especially noted for his fight with the Chevalier
Richard Macaire. The dog was called Montargis, because the encounter was
depicted over the chimney of the great hall in the castle of Montargis.
It was in the forest of Bondi, close by this castle, that Aubri was
assassinated.
=Monte Christo= (_Count_), convict who escapes from prison, and finds
immense treasure, with which he does incredible things.
Assuming the title of "count," he adds the name of the island on which
his treasure is buried, and plays the grande seignior in society,
punishing his former persecutors and false friends, and rewarding his
old allies. Finally he is brought to confess that man cannot play
providence, and to recall the words "Vengeance is mine!"--Alexander
Dumas, _Count of Monte Christo_.
=Montenay= (_Sir Philip de_), an old English knight.--Sir W. Scott,
_Castle Dangerous_ (time, Henry I.).
=Montesi'nos=, a legendary hero, who received some affront at the French
court, and retired to La Mancha, in Spain. Here he lived in a cavern, some
sixty feet deep, called "The Cavern of Montesinos." Don Quixote descended
part of the way down this cavern, and fell into a trance, in which he saw
Montesinos himself, Durandart[^e] and Belerma under the spell of Merlin,
Dulcin'ea del Toboso enchanted into a country wench, and other visions,
which he more than half believed to be realities.--Cervantes, _Don
Quixote_, II. ii. 5, 6 (1615).
[Asterism] This Durandart[^e] was the cousin of Montesinos, and Belerma
the lady he served for seven years. When he fell at Roncesvall[^e]s, he
prayed his cousin to carry his heart to Belerma.
=Montespan= (_The marquis de_), a conceited court fop, silly and
heartless. When Louis XIV. took Mde. de Montespan for his concubine, he
banished the marquis, saying:
Your strange and countless follies--
The scenes you make--your loud domestic broils--
Bring scandal on our court. Decorum needs
Your banishment.... Go!
And for your separate household, which entails
A double cost, our treasure shall accord you
A hundred thousand crowns.
Act iv. 1.
The foolish old marquis says, in his self-conceit:
A hundred thousand crowns for being civil
To one another! Well now, that's a thing
That happens but to marquises. It shows
My value in the state. The king esteems
My comfort of such consequence to France,
He pays me down a hundred thousand crowns,
Rather than let my wife disturb my temper!
Act v. 2.
_Madame de Montespan_, wife of the marquis. She supplanted La Valli[`e]re
in the base love of Louis XIV. La Valli[`e]re loved the _man_, Montespan
the _king_. She had wit to warm but not to burn, energy which passed for
feeling, a head to check her heart, and not too much principle for a
French court. Mde. de Montespan was the _prot['e]g['e]e_ of the Duke de
Lauzun, who used her as a stepping-stone to wealth; but when in favor,
she kicked down the ladder by which she had climbed to power. However,
Lauzun had his revenge; and when La Valli[`e]re took the veil, Mde. de
Montespan was banished from the court.--Lord E. L. B. Lytton, _The
Duchess de la Valli[`e]re_ (1836).
=Montfau[c,]on= (_The Lady Calista of_), attendant of Queen
Berengaria.--Sir. W. Scott, _The Talisman_ (time, Richard I.).
=Mont-Fitchet= (_Sir Conrade_), a preceptor of the Knights Templar.--Sir
W. Scott, _Ivanhoe_ (time, Richard I.).
=Montfort= (_De_), the hero and title of a tragedy, intended to depict the
passion of hate, by Joanna Baillie (1798). The object of De Montfort's
hatred is Rezenvelt, and his passion drives him on to murder.
[Asterism] De Montfort was probably the suggestive inspiration of
Byron's _Manfred_ (1817).
=Montgomery= (_Mr._), Lord Godolphin, lord high treasurer of England in
the reign of Queen Anne. The queen called herself "Mrs. Morley," and
Sarah Jennings, duchess of Marlborough, was "Mrs. Freeman."
=Monthermer= (_Guy_), a nobleman, and the pursuivant of King Henry
II.--Sir W. Scott, _The Betrothed_ (time, Henry II.).
=Montjoie=, chief herald of France.--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_
(time, Edward IV.).
=Montorio=, the hero of a novel, who persuaded his "brother's sons" to
murder their father by working on their fears, and urging on them the
doctrine of fatalism. When the deed was committed, Montorio discovered
that the young murderers were not his nephews, but his own sons.--Rev.
C. R. Maturin, _Fatal Revenge_ (1807).
=Montreal d'Albano=, called "Fra Moriale," knight of St. John of
Jerusalem, and captain of the Grand Company in the fourteenth century,
when sentenced to death by Rienzi, summoned his judge to follow him
within the month. Rienzi was killed by the fickle mob within the stated
period. (See SUMMONS TO DEATH.)
=Montreville= (_Mde. Adela_), or the Begum Mootee Mahul, called "the queen
of Sheba."--Sir W. Scott, _The Surgeon's Daughter_ (time, George II.).
=Montrose= (_The duke of_), commander-in-chief of the king's army.--Sir W.
Scott, _Rob Roy_, xxxii. (time, George I.).
_Montrose_ (_The Marquis of_).--Sir W. Scott, _Woodstock_ (time,
Commonwealth).
_Montrose_ (_James Grahame, earl of_), the king's lieutenant in
Scotland. He appears first disguised as Anderson, servant of the earl of
Menteith.--Sir W. Scott, _Legend of Montrose_ (time, Charles I.).
=Monuments= (_The_), Poor family in London.
_Father_, a convict who gets out of prison on a ticket-of-leave.
_Mother_, Hester, an honest washerwoman, afterwards in almshouse, and
blind.
_Claude._ Bright young fellow, educated by Lady Mildred Eldredge.
_Melenda_, a work-girl, fierce and virtuous, starving, yet independent.
_Joe_, plumber and house-decorator, typical British workman.
_Polly_, adopted by Lady Mildred, called "Violet," and brought up with
her own daughter.
_Sam_, a red-hot socialist, ready with impracticable plans of leagues
and reformation.--Walter Besant, _Children of Gibeon_ (1890).
=Montserrat= (_Conrade, marquis of_), a crusader.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Talisman_ (time, Richard I.).
=Moody= (_John_), the guardian of Peggy Thrift, an heiress, whom he brings
up in the country, wholly without society. John Moody is morose,
suspicious, and unsocial. When 50 years of age, and Peggy 19, he wants
to marry her, but is out-witted by "the country girl," who prefers
Belville, a young man of more suitable age.
_Alithea Moody_, sister of John. She jilts Sparkish, a conceited fop,
and marries Harcourt.--_The Country Girl_ (time, Garrick, altered from
Wycherly).
=Mooma=, youngest sister of Yer[=u]ti. Their father and mother were the
only persons of the whole Guar[=a]ni race who escaped a small-pox plague
which ravished that part of Paraguay. They left the fatal spot and lived
in the Mondai woods, where both their children were born. Before the
birth of Mooma, her father was eaten by a jag[)u]ar, and the three
survivors lived in the woods alone. When grown to a youthful age, a
Jesuit priest persuaded them to come and live at St. Jo[)a]chin (3
_syl._); so they left the wild woods for a city life. Here the mother
soon flagged and died. Mooma lost her spirits, was haunted with
thick-coming fancies of good and bad angels, and died. Yer[=u]ti begged
to be baptized, received the rite, cried, "Ye are come for me! I am
ready;" and died also.--Southey, _A Tale of Paraguay_ (1814).
_Moon_ (_Man in the_), said to be Cain, with a bundle of thorns.
Now doth Cain with fork of thorns confine
On either hemisphere, touching the wave
Beneath the towers of Seville. Yesternight
The moon was round.
Dant[^e], _Hell_, xx. (1300).
_Moon_ (_Minions of the_), thieves or highwaymen. (See MOON'S MEN.)
=Moon and Mahomet.= Mahomet made the moon perform seven circuits round
Caaba or the holy shrine of Mecca, then enter the right sleeve of his
mantle and go out at the left. At its exit, it split into two pieces,
which re-united in the centre of the firmament. This miracle was
performed for the conversion of Hahab, the Wise.
=Moon-Calf=, an inanimate, shapeless human mass, said by Pliny to be
engendered of woman only.--_Nat. Hist._, x. 64.
=Moon's Men=, thieves or highwaymen, who ply their vocation by night.
The fortune of us that are but moon's men doth ebb and flow like
the sea.--Shakespeare, 1 _Henry IV._ act i. sc. 2 (1597).
=Moonshine= (_Saunders_), a smuggler.--Sir W. Scott, _Bride of Lammermoor_
(time, William III.).
=Moore= (_Mr. John_), of the Pestle and Mortar, Abchurch Lane,
immortalized by his "worm-powder," and called the "Worm Doctor."
=Moors.= The Moors of Aragon are called Tangarins; those of Gran[=a]da
are Mudajares; and those of Fez are called Elches. They are the best
soldiers of the Spanish dominions. In the Middle Ages, all Mohammedans
were called _Moors_; and hence Camoens, in the _Lusiad_, viii., called
the Indians so.
=Mopes= (_Mr._), the hermit, who lived on Tom Tiddler's Ground. He was
dirty, vain, and nasty, "like all hermits," but had landed property, and
was said to be rich and learned. He dressed in a blanket and skewer,
and, by steeping himself in soot and grease, soon acquired immense fame.
Rumor said he murdered his beautiful young wife, and abandoned the
world. Be this as it may, he certainly lived a nasty life. Mr. Traveller
tried to bring him back into society, but a tinker said to him "Take my
word for it, when iron is thoroughly rotten, you can never botch it, do
what you may."--C. Dickens, _A Christmas Number_ (1861).
=Mopsus=, a shepherd, who, with Menalcas, celebrates the funeral eulogy of
Daphnis.--Virgil, _Eclogue_, v.
=Mora=, the betrothed of Oscar, who mysteriously disappears on his bridal
eve, and is mourned for as dead. His younger brother, Allan, hoping to
secure the lands and fortune of Mora, proposes marriage, and is
accepted. At the wedding banquet, a stranger demands "a pledge to the
lost Oscar," and all accept it except Allan, who is there and then
denounced as the murderer of his brother. Oscar then vanishes, and Allan
dies.--Byron, _Oscar of Alva_.
=Moradbak=, daughter of Fitead, a widower. Hudjadge, king of Persia, could
not sleep, and commanded Fitead, his porter and jailer, under pain of
death, to find some one to tell him tales. Fitead's daughter, who was
only 11, undertook to amuse the king with tales, and was assisted in
private by the sage Abou'melek. After a perfect success, Hudjadge
married Moradbak, and at her recommendation, Aboumelek was appointed
overseer of the whole empire.--Comte de Caylus, _Oriental Tales_ (1743).
=Morakan'abad=, grand vizier of the Caliph Vathek.--Beckford, _Vathek_
(1784).
=Moral Philosophy= (_The Father of_), Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274).
=Moran, Son of Fithil=, one of the scouts in the army of Swaran, king of
Lochlin (_Denmark_).--Ossian, _Fingal_.
=Moran's Collar=, a collar for magistrates, which had the supernatural
power of pressing the neck of the wearer if his judgments deviated from
strict justice, and even of causing strangulation if he persevered in
wrong doing. Moran, surnamed "the Just," was the wise counsellor of
Feredach, an early king of Ireland.
=Morat=, in _Aurungzebe_, a drama by Dryden (1675).
Edward Kynaston [1619-1687] shone with uncommon lustre in "Morat"
and "Muley Moloch." In both these parts he had a fierce, lion-like
majesty in his port and utterance, that gave the spectators a kind
of trembling admiration.--Colley Cibber.
=Morbleu!= This French oath is a corrupt contraction of Mau'graby; thus,
_maugre bleu_, _mau'bleu_. Maugraby was the great Arabian enchanter, and
the word means "barbarous," hence a barbarous man or barbarian. The oath
is common in Provence, Languedoc, and Gascoigne. I have often heard it
used by the medical students at Paris.
Probably it is a punning corruption of _Mort de Dieu_.
=Mordaunt=, the secretary, at Aix, of Queen Margaret, the widow of Henry
VI. of England.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Mor'decai= (_Beau_), a rich Italian Jew, one of the suitors of
Charlotte Goodchild, but, supposing the report to be true that she has
lost her fortune, he calls off and retires.--C. Macklin, _Love
[`a]-la-Mode-_[TN-22] (1759).
_Mordecai._ Earnest young Jew, supporting himself by repairing watches,
jewelry, etc. He is devoted to his race, proud of his lineage, and versed
in all pertaining to Hebrew history. He dies of consumption.--George
Eliot, _Daniel Deronda_.
=Mordent=, father of Joanna, by a former wife. In order to marry Lady
Anne, he deserts Joanna and leaves her to be brought up by strangers.
Joanna is placed under Mrs. Enfield, a crimp, and Mordent consents to a
proposal of Lennox to run off with her. Mordent is a spirit embittered
with the world--a bad man, with a goading conscience. He sins and
suffers the anguish of remorse; does wrong, and blames Providence
because when he "sows the wind he reaps the whirlwind."
_Lady Anne_, the wife of Mordent, daughter of the earl of Oldcrest,
sister of a viscount, niece of Lady Mary, and one of her uncles is a
bishop. She is wholly neglected by her husband, but, like Griselda
(_q.v._), bears it without complaint.--Holcroft, _The Deserted
Daughter_ (1784, altered into _The Steward_).
=Mordred= (_Sir_), son of Margawse (sister of King Arthur), and Arthur,
her brother, while she was the wife of Lot, king of Orkney (pt. i. 2,
35, 36). The sons of Lot himself and his wife were Gaw'ain, Agravain,
Ga'heris, and Gareth, all knights of the Round Table. Out of hatred to
Sir Launcelot, Mordred and Agravain accuse him to the king of too great
familiarity with Queen Guenever, and induce the king to spend a day in
hunting. During his absence, the queen sends for Sir Launcelot to her
private chamber, and Mordred and Agravain, with twelve other knights,
putting the worst construction on the interview, clamorously assail the
chamber, and call on Sir Launcelot to come out. This he does, and kills
Agravain with the twelve knights, but Mordred makes his escape and tells
the king, who orders the queen to be burnt alive. She is brought to the
stake, but is rescued by Sir Launcelot, who carries her off to Joyous
Guard, near Carlisle, which the king besieges. While lying before the
castle, King Arthur receives a bull from the pope, commanding him to
take back his queen. This he does, but as he refuses to be reconciled to
Sir Launcelot, the knight betakes himself to Benwick, in Brittany. The
king lays siege to Benwick, and during his absence leaves Mordred
regent. Mordred usurps the crown, and tries, but in vain, to induce the
queen to marry him. When the king hears thereof, he raises the siege of
Benwick, and returns to England. He defeats Mordred at Dover, and at
Barondown, but at Salisbury (_Camlan_) Mordred is slain fighting with
the king, and Arthur receives his death-wound. The queen then retires to
a convent at Almesbury, is visited by Sir Launcelot, declines to marry
him, and dies.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_ iii. 143-174
(1470).
[Asterism] The wife of Lot is called "Anne" by Geoffrey, of Monmouth
(_British History_, viii. 20, 21); and "Bellicent" by Tennyson, in
_Gareth and Lynette_.
This tale is so very different from those of Geoffrey of Monmouth, and
Tennyson, that all three are given. (See MODRED.)
=Mor'dure= (2 _syl._), son of the emperor of Germany. He was guilty of
illicit love with the mother of Sir Bevis, of Southampton, who murdered
her husband and then married Sir Mordure. Sir Bevis, when a mere lad,
reproved his mother for the murder of his father, and she employed Saber
to kill him; but the murder was not committed, and young Bevis was
brought up as a shepherd. One day, entering the hall where Mordure sat
with his bride, Bevis struck at him with his axe. Mordure slipped aside,
and the chair was "split to shivers." Bevis was then sold to an
Armenian, and was presented to the king, who knighted him and gave him
his daughter Josian in marriage.--M. Drayton, _Polyolbion_, ii. (1612).
_Mordure_ (2 _syl._), Arthur's sword, made by Merlin. No enchantment had
power over it, no stone or steel was proof against it, and it would
neither break nor bend. (The word means "hard biter.")--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry
Queen_, ii. 8 (1590).
=More= (_Margareta_), the heroine and feigned authoress of _Household of
Sir Thomas More_, by Miss Manning (1851).
=More of More Hall=, a legendary hero, who armed himself with armor full
of spikes, and, concealing himself in the cave where the dragon of
Wantley dwelt, slew the monster by kicking it in the mouth, where alone
it was mortal.
[Asterism] In the burlesque of H. Carey, entitled _The Dragon of
Wantley_, the hero is called "Moore of Moore Hall," and he is made to be
in love with Gubbins's daughter, Margery, of Roth'ram Green (1696-1743).
=Morecraft=, at first a miser, but after losing most of his money he
became a spendthrift.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Scornful Lady_
(1616).
[Asterism] "Luke," in Massinger's _City Madam_, is the exact opposite.
He was at first a poor spendthrift, but coming into a fortune he turned
miser.
=Morell= (_Sir Charles_), the pseudonym of the Rev. James Ridley, affixed
to some of the early editions of _The Tales of the Genii_, from 1764.
=More'love= (_Lord_), in love with Lady Betty Modish, who torments him
almost to madness by an assumed indifference, and rouses his jealousy by
coquetting with Lord Foppington. By the advice of Sir Charles Easy, Lord
Morelove pays the lady in her own coin, assumes an indifference to her,
and flirts with Lady Grave'airs. This brings Lady Betty to her senses,
and all ends happily.--Colley Cibber, _The Careless Husband_ (1704).
=Mor[:e]'no= (_Don Antonio_), a gentleman of Barcelona, who entertained
Don Quixote with mock-heroic hospitality.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II.
iv. 10 (1615).
=Morfin= (_Mr._), a cheerful bachelor, in the office of Mr. Dombey,
merchant. He calls himself "a creature of habit," has a great respect
for the head of the house, and befriends John Carker when he falls into
disgrace by robbing his employer. Mr. Morfin is a musical amateur, and
finds in his violoncello a solace for all cares and worries. He marries
Harriet Carker, the sister of John and James.--C. Dickens, _Dombey and
Son_ (1846).
=Morgan= (_le Fay_), one of the sisters of King Arthur (pt. i. 18); the
others were Margawse, Elain, and Anne (Bellicent was his half-sister).
Morgan calls herself "queen of the land of Gore" (pt. i. 103). She was
the wife of King Vrience (pt. i. 63), the mother of Sir Ew'ain (pt. i.
73), and lived in the castle of La Belle Regard (pt. ii. 122).
On one occasion, Morgan le Fay stole her brother's sword, "Excalibur,"
with its scabbard, and sent them to Sir Accolon, of Gaul, her paramour,
that he might kill her brother Arthur in mortal combat. If this villany
had succeeded, Morgan intended to murder her husband, marry Sir Accolon,
and "devise to make him king of Britain;" but Sir Accolon, during the
combat, dropped the sword, and Arthur, snatching it up, would have slain
him had he not craved mercy and confessed the treasonable design (pt. i.
70). After this, Morgan stole the scabbard and threw it into the lake
(pt. i. 73). Lastly, she tried to murder her brother by means of a
poisoned robe; but Arthur told the messenger to try it on, that he might
see it, and when he did so he dropped down dead, "being burnt to a coal"
(pt. i. 75).--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_ (1470).
W. Morris, in his _Earthly Paradise_ ("August"), makes Morgan la F['e]e
the bride of Ogier, the Dane, after his earthly career was ended.
_Morgan_, a feigned name adopted by Belarius, a banished
lord.--Shakespeare, _Cymbeline_ (1605).
_Morgan_, one of the soldiers of Prince Gwenwyn of Powys-land.--Sir W.
Scott, _The Betrothed_ (time, Henry II.).
=Morgane= (2 _syl._), a fay, to whose charge Zephyr committed young
Passelyon and his cousin, Bennucq. Passelyon fell in love with the fay's
daughter, and the adventures of these young lovers are related in the
romance of _Perceforest_, iii.
=Morgante= (3 _syl._), a ferocious giant, converted to Christianity by
Orlando. After performing the most wonderful feats, he died at last from
the bite of a crab.--Pulci, _Morgante Maggiore_ (1488).
He [_Don Quixote_] spoke favorably of Morgante, who, though of
gigantic race, was most gentle in his manners.--Cervantes, _Don
Quixote_, I. i. 1 (1605).
=Morgause= or MARGAWSE, wife of King Lot. Their four sons were Gaw'ain,
Agravain, Ga'heris, and Gareth (ch. 36); but Morgause had another son by
Prince Arthur, named Mordred. Her son Gaheris, having caught his mother
in adultery with Sir Lamorake, cut off her head.
=Morgia'na=, the female slave, first of Cassim, and then of Ali Baba,
"crafty, cunning, and fruitful in inventions." When the thief marked the
door of her master's house with white chalk in order to recognize it,
Morgiana marked several other doors in the same manner; next day she
observed a red mark on the door, and made a similar one on others, as
before. A few nights afterwards, a merchant with thirty-eight oil-jars
begged a night's lodging; and as Morgiana wanted oil for a lamp, she
went to get some from one of the leather jars. "Is it time?" asked a
voice. "Not yet," replied Morgiana, and going to the others, she
discovered that a man was concealed in thirty-seven of the jars. From
the last jar she took oil, which she made boiling hot, and with it
killed the thirty-seven thieves. When the captain discovered that all
his men were dead, he decamped without a moment's delay. Soon
afterwards, he settled in the city as a merchant, and got invited by Ali
Baba to supper, but refused to eat salt. This excited the suspicion of
Morgiana, who detected in the pretended merchant the captain of the
forty thieves. She danced awhile for his amusement, playfully sported
with his dagger, and suddenly plunged it into his heart. When Ali Baba
knew who it was that she had slain, he not only gave the damsel her
liberty, but also married her to his own son.--_Arabian Nights_ ("Ali
Baba, or the Forty Thieves").
=Morglay=, the sword of Sir Bevis, of Hamptoun, _i.e._ Southampton, given
to him by his wife, Josian, daughter of the king of Armenia.--Drayton,
_Polyolboin_,[TN-23] ii. (1612).
You talk of Morglay, Excalibur [_Arthur's sword_], and Durindana
[_Orlando's sword_], or so. Tut! I lend no credit to that is fabled
of 'em.--Ben Jonson, _Every Man in His Humor_, iii. 1 (1598).
=Morgue la Faye=, a _f['e]e_ who watched over the birth of Ogier, the
Dane, and after he had finished his earthly career, restored him to
perpetual youth, and took him to live with her in everlasting love in
the isle and castle of Av'alon.--_Ogier, le Danois_ (a romance).
=Mor'ice= (_Gil_ or _Ch[)i]ld_), the natural son of Lady Barnard, "brought
forth in her father's house wi' mickle sin and shame." One day, Gil
Morice sent Willie to the baron's hall, with a request that Lady
Barnard would go at once to Greenwood to see the ch[)i]ld. Lord Barnard,
fancying the "ch[)i]ld" to be some paramour, forbade his wife to leave
the hall, and went himself to Greenwood, where he slew Gil Morice, and
sent his head to Lady Barnard. On his return, the lady told her lord he
had slain her son, and added, "Wi' the same spear, oh, pierce my heart,
and put me out o' pain!" But the baron repented of his hasty deed, and
cried, "I'll lament for Gil Morice, as gin he were mine ain."--Percy,
_Reliques, etc._, III. i.
[Asterism] This tale suggested to Home the plot of his tragedy called
_Douglas_.
=Mor'land=, in _Lend Me Five Shillings_, by J. M. Morton (1838).
_Morland_ (_Henry_), "the heir-at-law" of Baron Duberly. It was
generally supposed that he had perished at sea; but he was cast on Cape
Breton, and afterwards returned to England, and married Caroline Dormer,
an orphan.--G. Colman, _The Heir-at-Law_ (1797).
Mr. Beverley behaved like a father to me [_B. Webster_], and
engaged me as a walking gentleman for his London theatre, where I
made my first appearance as "Henry Morland," in _The Heir-at-Law_,
which, to avoid legal proceedings, he called _The Lord's
Warming-pan_.--Peter Paterson.
=Morley= (_Mrs._), the name under which Queen Anne corresponded with Mrs.
Freeman (_The Duchess of Marlborough_).
=Morna=, daughter of Cormac, king of Ireland. She was in love with
C[^a]thba, youngest son of Torman. Duch[^o]mar, out of jealousy, slew
his rival, and then asked Morna to be his bride. She replied, "Thou art
dark to me, O, Duch[^o]mar, and cruel is thine arm to Morna." She then
begged him for his sword, and when "he gave it to her she thrust it
into his heart." Duch[^o]mar fell, and begged the maid to pull out the
sword that he might die, but when she did so, he seized it from her and
plunged it into her side. Whereupon Cuthullin said:
"Peace to the souls of the heroes! Their deeds were great in fight.
Let them ride around me in clouds. Let them show their features in
war. My soul shall then be firm in danger, mine arm like the
thunder of heaven. But be thou on a moonbeam, O, Morna, near the
window of my rest, when my thoughts are at peace, when the din of
war is past."--Ossian, _Fingal_, i.
_Morna_, wife of Compal, and mother of Fingal. Her father was Thaddu,
and her brother Clessammor.--Ossian.
=Mornay=, the old seneschal, at Earl Herbert's tower at Peronne.--Sir W.
Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Morning Star of the Reformation=, John Wycliffe (1324-1384).
=Morocco= or MAROCCUS, the performing horse, generally called "Bankes's
Horse." Among other exploits, we are told that "it went up to the top of
St. Paul's." Both horse and man were burnt alive at Rome, by order of
the pope, as magicians.--Don Zara del Fogo, 114 (1660).
[Asterism] Among the entries at Stationers' Hall is the
following:--_Nov. 14, 1595: A Ballad showing the Strange Qualities of a
Young Nagg called Morocco._
In 1595 was published the pamphlet _Maroccus Extaticus_, or _Bankes's
Horse in a Trance_.
=Morocco Men=, agents of lottery assurances. In 1796, The great State
lottery employed 7500 morocco men. Their business was to go from house
to house among the customers of the assurances, or to attend in the
back parlors of public-houses, where the customers came to meet them.
=Morolt= (_Dennis_), the old squire of Sir Raymond Berenger.--Sir W.
Scott, _The Betrothed_ (time, Henry II.).
=Morose= (2 _syl._), a miserly old hunks, who hates to hear any voice but
his own. His nephew, Sir Dauphine, wants to wring out of him a third of
his property, and proceeds thus: He gets a lad to personate "a silent
woman," and the phenomenon so delights the old man, that he consents to
a marriage. No sooner is the ceremony over, than the boy-wife assumes
the character of a virago of loud and ceaseless tongue. Morose, driven
half-mad, promises to give his nephew a third of his income if he will
take this intolerable plague off his hands. The trick being revealed,
Morose retires into private life, and leaves his nephew master of the
situation.--Ben Jonson, _The Silent Woman_ (1609).
("Wasp" in _Bartholomew Fair_, "Corbaccio" in _The Fox_, and "Ananias"
in _The Alchemist_.)
=Moroug=, the monkey mistaken for the devil. A woman of Cambalu died, and
Moroug, wishing to personate her, slipped into her bed, and dressed
himself in her night-clothes, while the body was carried to the
cemetery. When the funeral party returned, and began the usual
lamentations for the dead, pug stretched his night-capped head out of
the bed, and began moaning and grimacing most hideously. All the
mourners thought it was the devil, and scampered out as fast they could
run. The priests assembled, and resolved to exorcise Satan; but pug,
noting their terror, flew on the chief of the bonzes, and bit his nose
and ears most viciously. All the others fled in disorder; and when pug
had satisfied his humor, he escaped out of the window. After a while,
the bonzes returned, with a goodly company well armed, when the chief
bonze told them how he had fought with Satan, and prevailed against him.
So he was canonized, and made a saint in the calendar for ever.--T. S.
Gueulette, _Chinese Tales_ ("The Ape Moroug," 1723).
=Morrel= or =Morell=, a goat-herd, who invites Thomalin, a shepherd, to
come to the higher grounds, and leave the low-lying lands. He tells
Thomalin that many hills have been canonized, as St. Michael's Mount, St.
Bridget's Bower in Kent, and so on; then there was Mount Sinah and Mount
Parnass, where the Muses dwelt. Thomalin replies, "The lowlands are
safer, and hills are not for shepherds." He then illustrates his remark
by the tale of shepherd Algrind, who sat, like Morrel, on a hill, when an
eagle, taking his white head for a stone, let a shell-fish fall on it,
and cracked his skull.--Spenser, _Shepheardes Calendar_, vii.
[AEschylus was killed by a tortoise dropped on his head by an eagle].
(This is an allegory of the high and low church parties. Morel is an
anagram of Elmer or Aylmer, bishop of London, who "sat on a hill," and
was the leader of the high-church party. Algrind is Grindal, archbishop
of Canterbury, head of the low-church party, who in 1578 was
sequestrated for writing a letter to the queen on the subject of
puritanism. Thomalin represents the puritans. This could not have been
written before 1578, unless the reference to Algrind was added in some
later edition).
=Morris=, a domestic of the earl of Derby.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the
Peak_ (time, Charles II).
_Morris_ (_Mr._), the timid fellow-traveller of Frank Osbaldistone, who
carried the portmanteau. Osbaldistone says, concerning him, "Of all the
propensities which teach mankind to torment themselves, that of
causeless fear is the most irritating, busy, painful, pitiable."--Sir W.
Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).
_Morris_ (_Peter_), the pseudonym of John G. Lockhart, in _Peter's
Letters to His Kinsfolk_ (1819).
_Morris_ (_Dinah_). Beautiful gospeller, who marries Adam Bede, after
the latter recovers from his infatuation for pretty _Hetty Sorrel_.
Hetty is seduced by the young squire, murders her baby, and is condemned
to die for the crime. Dinah visits the doomed girl in prison, wins her
to a confession and repentance, and accompanies her in the gallows-cart.
They are at the scaffold when a reprieve arrives.--George Eliot, _Adam
Bede_.
=Morris-Dance=, a comic representation of every grade of society. The
characters were dressed partly in Spanish and partly in English costume.
Thus, the huge sleeves were Spanish, but the laced stomacher English.
Hobby-horse represented the king and all the knightly order; Maid
Marian, the queen; the friar, the clergy generally; the fool, the court
jester. The other characters represented a franklin or private
gentleman, a churl or farmer, and the lower grades were represented by a
clown. The Spanish costume is to show the origin of the dance.
A representation of a morris-dance may still be seen at Betley, in
Staffordshire, in a window placed in the house of George Tollet, Esq.,
in about 1620.
=Morrison= (_Hugh_), a Lowland drover, the friend of Robin Oig.--Sir W.
Scott, _The Two Drovers_ (time, George III.).
=Mortality= (_Old_), a religious itinerant who frequented country
churchyards and the graves of covenanters. He was first discovered in
the burial ground at Gandercleugh, clearing the moss from the gray[TN-24]
tombstones, renewing with his chisel the half-defaced inscriptions, and
repairing the decorations of the tombs.--Sir W. Scott, _Old Mortality_
(time, Charles II.).
[Asterism] "Old Mortality" is said to be meant for Robert Patterson.
=Morta'ra=, the boy who died from being covered all over with gold-leaf by
Leo XII., to adorn a pageant.
=Mortcloke= (_Mr._), the undertaker at the funeral of Mrs. Margaret
Bertram of Singleside.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George
II.).
=Morte d'Arthur=, a compilation of Arthurian tales, called on the
title-page _The History of Prince Arthur_, compiled from the French by
Sir Thomas Malory, and printed by William Caxton in 1470. It is divided
into three parts. The first part contains the birth of King Arthur, the
establishment of the Round Table, the romance of Balin and Balan, and
the beautiful allegory of Gareth and Linet'. The second part is mainly
the romance of Sir Tristram. The third part is the romance of Sir
Launcelot, the quest of the Holy Graal, and the death of Arthur,
Guenever, Tristram, Lamorake, and Launcelot.
[Asterism] The difference of style in the third part is very striking.
The end of ch. 44, pt. i., is manifestly the close of a romance. The
separate romances are not marked by any formal indication; but, in the
modern editions, the whole is divided into chapters, and these are
provided with brief abstracts of their contents.
This book was finished the ninth year of the reign of King Edward
IV. by Sir Thomas Malory, knight. Thus endeth this noble and joyous
book, entitled _La Morte d'Arthur_, notwithstanding it treateth of
the birth, life and acts of the said King Arthur, and of his noble
knights of the Round Table ... and the achieving of the Holy
Sancgreall, and in the end the dolorous death and departing out of
the world of them all.--Concluding paragraph.
_Morte d'Arthur_, by Tennyson. The poet follows closely the story of the
death of Arthur, as told by Malory. The king is borne off the field by
Sir Bedivere. Arthur orders the knight to throw his sword Excalibur into
the mere. Twice the knight disobeyed the command, intending to save the
sword; but the dying king detected the fraud, and insisted on being
obeyed. Sir Bedivere then cast the sword into the mere, and an arm,
clothed in white samite, caught it by the hilt, brandished it three
times, and drew it into the mere. Sir Bedivere then carried the dying
king to a barge, in which were three queens, who conveyed him to the
island-valley of Avil'ion, "where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow,
nor ever wind blows loudly." Here was he taken to be healed of his
grievous wound; but whether he lived or died we are not told.
In his "Idylls of the King," Tennyson has taken the stories as told by
Malory, and has turned them into his own melodious verse; yet, while
adhering to the substance of each tale, he has in minor matters taken
such liberties as have been allowed to poets since the earliest times.
Shakespeare, in his "Julius Caesar," makes a like use of Sir Thomas
North's translation of Plutarch; the speech of Mark Antony over the body
of Caesar, to cite the most striking instance among many, is almost a
literal transcription of North's version, but subjected to the laws of
verse.
=Mortemar= (_Alberick of_), an exiled nobleman, _alias_ Theodorick, the
hermit of Engaddi, the enthusiast.--Sir W. Scott, _The Talisman_ (time,
Richard I.).
=Mor'timer= (_Mr._), executor of Lord Abberville, and uncle of Frances
Tyrrell. "He sheathed a soft heart in a rough case." Externally, Mr.
Mortimer seemed unsympathetic, brusque and rugged; but in reality he was
most benevolent, delicate and tender-hearted. "He did a thousand noble
acts without the credit of a single one." In fact, his tongue belied his
heart, and his heart his tongue.--Cumberland, _The Fashionable Lover_
(1780).
_Mortimer_ (_Sir Edward_), a most benevolent man, oppressed with some
secret sorrow. In fact, he knew himself to be a murderer. The case was
this: Being in a county assembly, the uncle of Lady Helen insulted him,
struck him down, and kicked him. Sir Edward rode home to send a
challenge to the ruffian; but, meeting him on the road drunk, he
murdered him, was tried for the crime, but was honorably acquitted. He
wrote a statement of the case, and kept the papers connected with it in
an iron chest. One day Wilford, his secretary, whose curiosity had been
aroused, saw the chest unlocked, and was just about to take out the
documents when Sir Edward entered, and threatened to shoot him; but he
relented, made Wilford swear secrecy, and then told him the whole story.
The young man, unable to live under the jealous eyes of Sir Edward, ran
away; but Sir Edward dogged him, and at length arrested him on the
charge of robbery. The charge broke down, Wilford was acquitted, Sir
Edward confessed himself a murderer, and died.--G. Colman, _The Iron
Chest_ (1796).
=Mortimer Lightwood=, solicitor employed in the "Harmon murder" case. He
was the great friend of Eugene Wrayburn, barrister-at-law, and it was
the ambition of his life to imitate the _nonchalance_ and other
eccentricities of his friend. At one time he was a great admirer of
Bella Wilfer. Mr. Veneering called him "one of his oldest friends;" but
Mortimer was never in the merchant's house but once in his life, and
resolved never to enter it again.--C. Dickens, _Our Mutual Friend_
(1864).
=Morten= (_Sir_), a spectre who appears at King Olaf's feast, in the guise
of a one-eyed old man, and carouses with the guests until bed-time. When
the morning breaks, he has departed, and no trace of him is to be found.
"King Olaf crossed himself and said--
'I know that Odin the Great is dead;
Sure is the triumph of our Faith,
This one-eyed stranger was his wraith.'
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang."
H. W. Longfellow, _The Wraith of Odin_.
=Morton=, a retainer of the earl of Northumberland.--Shakespeare, 2 _Henry
IV._ (1508).[TN-25]
_Morton_ (_Henry_), a leader in the covenanters' army with Balfour.
While abroad, he is Major-general Melville. Henry Morton marries Miss
Edith Bellenden.
_Old Ralph Morton of Milnwood_, uncle of Henry Morton.
_Colonel Silas Morton of Milnwood_, father of Henry Morton.--Sir W.
Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
_Morton_ (_The earl of_), in the service of Mary queen of Scots, and a
member of the privy council of Scotland.--Sir W. Scott, _The Monastery_
and _The Abbot_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Morton_ (_The Rev. Mr._)[TN-26] the Presbyterian pastor of Cairnvreckan
village.--Sir W. Scott, _Waverley_ (time, George II.).
=Mortsheugh= (_Johnie_), the old sexton of Wolf's Hope village.--Sir W.
Scott, _The Bride of Lammermoor_ (time, William III.).
=Morvi'dus=, son of Danius by his concubine, Tangust[)e]la. In his reign,
there "came from the Irish coasts a most cruel monster, which devoured
the people continually, but as soon as Morvidus heard thereof, he
ventured to encounter it alone. When all his darts were spent, the
monster rushed upon him, and swallowed him up like a small
fish."--Geoffrey of Monmouth, _British History_, iii. 15 (1142).
=Mosby=, an unmitigated villain. He seduced Alicia, the wife of Arden of
Feversham. Thrice he tried to murder Arden, but was baffled, and then
frightened Alicia into conniving at a most villainous scheme of murder.
Pretending friendship, Mosby hired two ruffians to murder Arden while he
was playing a game of draughts. The villains, who were concealed in an
adjacent room, were to rush on their victim when Mosby said, "Now I take
you." The whole gang was apprehended and executed.--_Arden of Feversham_
(1592), altered by George Lillo (1739).
=Mosca=, the knavish confederate of Vol'pone (2 _syl._), the rich
Venetian "fox."--Ben Jonson, _Volpone_ or _The Fox_ (1605).
If your mother, in hopes to ruin me, should consent to marry my
pretended uncle, he might, like "Mosca" in _The Fox_, stand upon
terms.--W. Congreve, _The Way of the World_, ii. 1. (1700).
=Mo'ses=, the Jew money-lender in Sheridan's comedy, _The School for
Scandal_ (1777).
=Moses' Clothes.= The _Kor[^a]n_ says: "God cleared Moses from the scandal
which was rumored against him" (ch. xxxiii.). The scandal was that his
body was not properly formed, and therefore he would never bathe in the
presence of others. One day, he went to bathe, and laid his clothes on a
stone, but the stone ran away with them into the camp. Moses went after
it as fast as he could run, but the Israelites saw his naked body, and
perceived the untruthfulness of the common scandal.--Sale, _Al Kor[^a]n_,
xxxiii. notes.
=Moses' Horns.= The Vulgate gives _quod cornuta esset facies sua_, for
what our version has translated "he wist not _that the skin of his face
shone_." The Hebrew word used means both a "horn" and an "irradiation."
Michael Angelo followed the Vulgate.
=Moses' Rod.=
While Moses was living with Re'u[:e]l [_Jethro_], the Midianite, he
noticed a staff in the garden, and he took it to be his
walking-stick. This staff was Joseph's, and Re'uel carried it away
when he fled from Egypt. This same staff Adam carried with him out
of Eden. Noah inherited it, and gave it to Shem. It passed into the
hands of Abraham, and Abraham left it to Isaac; and when Jacob fled
from his brother's anger into Mesopotamia, he carried it in his
hand, and gave it at death to his son Joseph.--_The Talmud_, vi.
=Moses Slow of Speech.= The tradition is this: One day, Pharaoh was
carrying Moses in his arms, when the child plucked the royal beard so
roughly that the king, in a passion, ordered him to be put to death.
Queen Asia said to her husband, the child was only a babe, and was so
young he could not discern between a ruby and a live coal. Pharaoh put
it to the test, and the child clapped into his mouth the burning coal,
thinking it something good to eat. Pharaoh's anger was appeased, but the
child burnt its tongue so severely that ever after it was "slow of
speech."--Shalshel, _Hakkabala_, 11.
_Moses Slow of Speech._ The account given in the _Talmud_ is somewhat
different. It is therein stated that Pharaoh was sitting one day with
Moses on his lap, when the child took the crown from the king's head and
placed it on his own. The "wise men" of Egypt persuaded Pharaoh that
this act was treasonable, and that the child should be put to death.
Jithro [_sic_] the priest of Midian, said it was the act of a child who
knew no better. "Let two plates," said he, "be set before the child, one
containing gold and the other live coals, and you will presently see
that he will choose the coals in preference to the gold." The advice of
Jithro being followed, the boy Moses snatched at the coals, and putting
one of them into his mouth, burnt his tongue so severely that ever after
he was "heavy of speech."--_The Talmud_, vi.
=Moses Pennell.= Waif rescued from a wrecked vessel, and adopted by old
Captain Pennell and his wife. He is, in time, discovered to belong to a
noble Cuban family.--Harriet Beecher Stowe, _The Pearl of Orr's
Island_.
=Most Christian King= (_Le Roy Tres-Christien_). The king of France is so
called by others, either with or without his proper name; but he never
styles himself so in any letter, grant, or rescript.
In St. Remigius or Remy's Testament, King Clovis is called
_Christianissimus Ludovicus_.--Flodoard, _Historia Remensis_, i. 18
(A.D. 940).
=Motallab= (_Abd al_), one of the four husbands of Zesbet, the mother of
Mahomet. He was not to know her as a wife till he had seen Mahomet in
his pre-existing state. Mahomet appeared to him as an old man, and told
him he had chosen Zesbet, for her virtue and beauty, to be his
mother.--Comte de Caylus, _Oriental Tales_ ("History of Abd al
Motallab," 1743).
=Mo'tar= ("_One doomed_ or _devoted to sacrifice_"). So Prince Assad was
called, when he fell into the hands of the old fire-worshipper, and was
destined by him to be sacrificed on the fiery mountain.--_Arabian
Nights_ ("Amgiad and Assad").
=Moth=, page to Don Adriano de Arma'do, the fantastic Spaniard. He is
cunning and versatile, facetious and playful.--Shakespeare, _Love's
Labor's Lost_ (1594).
_Moth_, one of the fairies.--Shakespeare, _Midsummer Night's Dream_
(1592).
=Moths and Candles.= The moths fell in love with the night-fly; and the
night-fly, to get rid of their importunity, maliciously bade them to go
and fetch fire for her adornment. The blind lovers flew to the first
flame to obtain the love-token, and few escaped injury or
death.--Kaempfer, _Account of Japan_, vii. (1727).
=Mother Ann=, Ann Lee, the "spiritual mother" of the Shakers (1731-1784).
[Asterism] Mother Ann is regarded by the Shakers as the female form, and
Jesus as the male form, of the Messiah.
=Mother Bunch=, a celebrated ale-wife in Dekker's _Satiromaster_ (1602).
[Asterism] In 1604 was published _Pasquil's Jests, mixed with Mother
Bunch's Merriments_. In 1760 was published, in two parts, _Mother
Bunch's Closet Newly Broke Open, etc._, by a "Lover of Mirth and Hater
of Treason."
Mother Bunch's _Fairy Tales_ are known in every nursery.
=Mother Carey's Chickens.= The fish-fags of Paris in the first Great
Revolution were so called, because, like the "stormy petrel," whenever
they appeared in force in the streets of Paris, they always foreboded a
tumult or political storm.
=Mother Carey's Goose=, the great black petrel or gigantic fulmar of the
Pacific Ocean.
=Mother Douglas=, a noted crimp, who lived at the north-east corner of
Covent Garden. Her house was superbly furnished. She died 1761.
[Asterism] Foote introduces her in _The Minor_, as "Mrs. Cole" (1760);
and Hogarth in his picture called "The March to Finchley."
=Mother Goose=, in French _Contes de Ma M[`e]re l'Oye_, by Charles
Perrault (1697).
[Asterism] There are ten stories in this book, seven of which are from
the _Pentamerone_.
_Mother Goose_, according to a new exploded story, was a native of
Boston, and the author of the nursery rhymes that bear her name. She
used to sing her rhymes to her grandson, and Thomas Fleet, her
brother-in-law, published the first edition of these rhymes, entitled
_Songs for the Nursery_, or _Mother Goose's Melodies_, in 1719.
[Asterism] Dibdin wrote a pantomime entitled _Mother Goose_.
=Mother Hubbard=, an old lady, whose whole time and attention were taken
up by her dog, who was most willful; but the dame never lost her temper,
or forgot her politeness. After running about all day to supply Master
Doggie,
The dame made a curtsey, the dog made a bow;
The dame said, "Your servant!" the dog said, "Bow, wow!"
_A Nursery Tale in Rhyme._
=Mother Hubberd=, the supposed narrator of a tale called _The Fox and the
Ape_, related to the poet Spenser to beguile the weary hours of
sickness. Several persons told him tales, but
Amongst the rest a good old woman was
Hight Mother Hubberd, who did far surpass
The rest in honest mirth that seemed her well;
She, when her turn was come her tale to tell,
Told of a strange adventure that betided
Betwixt a fox and ape by him misguided;
The which, for that my sense it greatly pleased ...
I'll write it as she the same did say.
Spenser.
=Mother Hubberd's Tale.= A fox and an ape determined to travel about the
world as _chevaliers de l'industrie_. First, Ape dressed as a
broken-down soldier, and Fox as his servant. A farmer agreed to take
them for his shepherds; but they devoured all his lambs and then
decamped. They next "went in for holy orders." Reynard contrived to get
a living given him, and appointed the ape as his clerk; but they soon
made the parish too hot to hold them, and again sheered off. They next
tried their fortune at court; the ape set himself up as a foreigner of
distinction with Fox for his groom. They played the part of rakes, but
being found to be desperate rogues, had to flee with all despatch, and
seek another field of action. As they journeyed on, they saw a lion
sleeping, and Master Fox persuaded his companion to steal the crown,
sceptre and royal robes. The ape, arrayed in these, assumed to be king,
and Fox was his prime minister; but so ill did they govern, that Jupiter
interfered, the lion was restored, and the ape was docked of his tail
and had his ears cropt.
Since which, all apes but half their ears have left,
And of their tails are utterly bereft.
So Mother Hubberd her discourse did end.
Spenser, _Mother Hubberd's Tale_.
=Mother Shipton=, T. Evan Preece, of South Wales, a prophetess, whose
predictions (generally in rhymes) were at one time in everybody's mouth
in South Wales, especially in Glamorganshire.
[Asterism] She predicted the death of Wolsey, Lord Percy, and others.
Her prophecies are still extant, and contain the announcement that "the
end of the world shall come in eighteen hundred and eighty-one."
=Mother of the People= (_The_), Marguerite of France, _La M[`e]re des
Peuples_, daughter of Fran[c,]ois I. (1523-1574).
=Mould= (_Mr._), undertaker. His face had a queer attempt at melancholy,
sadly at variance with a smirk of satisfaction which might be read
between the lines. Though his calling was not a lively one, it did not
depress his spirits, as in the bosom of his family he was the most
cheery of men, and to him the "tap, tap" of coffin-making was as sweet
and exhilarating as the tapping of a woodpecker.--C. Dickens, _Martin
Chuzzlewit_ (1844).
=Mouldy= (_Ralph_), "a good-limbed fellow, young, strong, and of good
friends." Ralph was pricked for a recruit in Sir John Falstaff's
regiment. He promised Bardolph forty shillings "to stand his friend."
Sir John being told this, sent Mouldy home, and when Justice Shallow
remonstrated, saying that Ralph "was the likeliest man of the lot,"
Falstaff replied, "Will you tell me, Master Shallow, how to choose a
man? Care I for the limb, the thews, the stature, bulk, and big
assemblance of a man? Give me the spirit, Master Shallow."--Shakespeare,
2 _Henry IV._ act iii. sc. 2 (1598).
=Moullahs=, Mohammedan lawyers, from which are selected the judges.
=Mountain= (_The_), a name given in the French revolution to a faction
which sat on the benches most elevated in the Hall of Assembly. The
Girondins sat in the centre or lowest part of the hall, and were
nicknamed the "plain." The "mountain" for a long time was the dominant
part; it utterly overthrew the "plain" on August 31, 1793, but was in
turn overthrown at the fall of Robespierre (9 Thermidor ii. or July 27,
1794).
_Mountain_ (_The Old Man of the_), the imaum Hassan ben Sabbah el
Homari. The sheik Al Jebal was so called. He was the prince of the
Assassins.
[Asterism] In Rymer's _Foedera_ (vol. i.), Dr. Clarke, the editor, has
added two letters of this sheik; but the doctor must be responsible for
their genuineness.
=Mountain Brutus= (_The_), William Tell (1282-1350).
=Mountain of Flowers=, the site of the palace of Violenta, the mother
fairy who brought up the young princess afterwards metamorphosed into
"The White Cat."--Comtesse D'Aunoy, _Fairy Tales_ ("The White Cat,"
1682).
=Mountain of Miseries.= Jupiter gave permission for all men to bring their
grievances to a certain plain, and to exchange them with any others that
had been cast off. Fancy helped them; but though the heap was so
enormous, not one single _vice_ was to be found amongst the rubbish. Old
women threw away their wrinkles, and young ones their mole-spots; some
cast on the heap poverty; many their red noses and bad teeth; but no one
his crimes. Now came the choice. A galley-slave picked up gout, poverty
picked up sickness, care picked up pain, snub noses picked up long ones,
and so on. Soon all were bewailing the change they had made; and Jupiter
sent Patience to tell them they might, if they liked, resume their old
grievances again. Every one gladly accepted the permission, and Patience
helped them to take up their own bundle and bear it without
murmuring.--Addison, _The Spectator_ (1711, 1712, 1714).
=Mourning.= In Colman's _Heir-at-Law_ (1796), every character is in
mourning: the Dowlases as relatives of the deceased Lord Duberly; Henry
Morland as heir of Lord Duberly; Steadfast as the chief friend of the
family; Dr. Pangloss as a clergyman; Caroline Dormer for her father
recently buried; Zekiel and Cicely Homespun for the same reason; Kenrick
for his deceased master.--James Smith, _Memoirs_ (1840).
=Mourning Bride= (_The_), a drama by W. Congreve (1697). "The mourning
bride" is Alme'ria, daughter of Manuel, king of Grana'da, and her
husband was Alphonso, prince of Valentia. On the day of their espousals
they were shipwrecked, and each thought the other had perished; but they
met together in the court of Granada, where Alphonso was taken captive
under the assumed name of Osmyn. Osmyn, having effected his escape,
marched to Granada, at the head of an army, found the king dead, and
"the mourning bride" became his joyful wife.
=Mouse-Tower= (_The_), on the Rhine. It was here that Bishop Hatto was
devoured by mice. (See HATTO.)
[Asterism] _Mauth_ is a toll or custom house, and the mauth or
toll-house for collecting duty on corn being very unpopular, gave rise
to the tradition.
=Moussa=, Moses.
=Mowbray= (_Mr. John_), lord of the manor of St. Ronan's.
_Clara Mowbray_, sister of John Mowbray. She was betrothed to Frank
Tyrrel, but married Valentine Bulmer.--Sir W. Scott, _St. Ronan's Well_
(time, George III.).
_Mowbray_ (_Sir Miles_), a dogmatical, self-willed old man, who fancied
he could read character, and had a natural instinct for doing the right
thing; but he would have been much wiser if he had paid more heed to the
proverb, "Mind your own business and not another's."
_Frederick Mowbray_, his eldest son, a young man of fine principle, and
greatly liked. His "first love" was Clara Middleton, who, being poor,
married the rich Lord Ruby. His lordship soon died, leaving all his
substance to his widow, who bestowed it, with herself, on Frederick
Mowbray, her first and only love.
_David Mowbray_, younger brother of Frederick. He was in the navy, and
was a fine, open-hearted, frank and honest British tar.
_Lydia Mowbray_, sister of Frederick and David, and the wife of Mr.
Wrangle.--R. Cumberland, _First Love_ (1796).
=Mow'cher= (_Miss_), a benevolent little dwarf, patronized by Steerforth.
She is full of humor and comic vulgarity. Her chief occupation is that
of hair-dressing.--C. Dickens, _David Copperfield_ (1849).
=Mowis=, the bridegroom of snow, who wooed and won a beautiful bride, but
at dawn melted in the sun. The bride hunted for him night and day, but
never saw him more.--_Indian Legend._
Mowis, the bridegroom of snow, who won and wedded a maiden,
But, when the morning came, arose and passed from the wigwam,
Fading and melting away, and dissolving into the sunshine,
Till she beheld him no more, tho' she followed far into the forest.
Longfellow, _Evangeline_, ii. 4 (1849).
=Moxon= (_Mr._), clergyman at Agawam (Mass.). Sincere in his bigotry,
pitiable in the superstition that darkens his life, honestly persuaded
that he and his are the victims of witchcraft, and that duty forces him
to punish those who have afflicted the Lord's saints.--Josiah Gilbert
Holland, _The Bay Path_ (1857).
=Mozaide= (2 _syl._), the Moor who befriended Vasco de Gama when he first
landed on the Indian continent.
The Moor attends Mozaide, whose zealous care
To Gama's eyes revealed each treacherous snare.
Camoens, _Lusiad_, ix. (1569).
=Mozart= (_The English_), Sir Henry Bishop (1780-1855).
_Mozart_ (_The Italian_), Cherubini, of Florence (1760-1842).
=Much=, the miller's son, the bailiff or "acater" of Robin Hood. (See
MIDGE.)
Robyn stode in Bernysdale,
And lened hym to a tree;
And by hym stode Lytell Johan,
A good yeman was he;
And also dyde good Scathelock,
And Much, the miller's sone.
Ritson, _Robin Hood Ballads_, i. 1 (1594).
_Much, the miller's son_, in the morris-dance. His feat was to bang,
with an inflated bladder, the heads of gaping spectators. He represented
the fool or jester.
=Much Ado about Nothing=, a comedy by Shakespeare (1600). Hero, the
daughter of Leonato, is engaged to be married to Claudio of Aragon; but
Don John, out of hatred to his brother, Leonato, determines to mar the
happiness of the lovers. Accordingly, he bribes the waiting-maid of Hero
to dress in her mistress's clothes, and to talk with his man by night
from the chamber balcony. The villain tells Claudio that Hero has made
an assignation with him, and invites him to witness it. Claudio is fully
persuaded that the woman he sees is Hero, and when next day she presents
herself at the altar, he rejects her with scorn. The priest feels
assured there is some mistake, so he takes Hero apart, and gives out
that she is dead. Then Don John takes to flight, the waiting-woman
confesses, Claudio repents, and, by way of amendment (as Hero is dead)
promises to marry her cousin, but this cousin turns out to be Hero
herself.
[Asterism] A similar tale is told by Ariosto in his _Orlando Furioso_,
v. (1516).
Another occurs in the _Fa[:e]ry Queen_, by Spenser, bk. ii. 4, 38, etc.
(1590).
George Turbervil's _Geneura_ (1576) is still more like Shakespeare's
tale. Belleforest and Bandello have also similar tales (see _Hist._,
xviii.).
=Mucklebacket= (_Saunders_), the old fisherman at Musselcrag.
_Old Elspeth Mucklebacket_, mother of Saunders, and formerly servant to
Lady Glenallan.
_Maggie Mucklebacket_, wife of Saunders.
_Steenie Mucklebacket_, eldest son of Saunders. He is drowned.
_Little Jennie Mucklebacket_, Saunders's child.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
=Mucklethrift= (_Bailie_), ironmonger and brazier of Kippletringan, in
Scotland.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.).
=Mucklewrath= (_Habukkuk_), a fanatic preacher.--Sir W. Scott, _Old
Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
_Mucklewrath_ (_John_), smith at Cairnvreckan village.
_Dame Mucklewrath_, wife of John. A terrible virago.--Sir W. Scott,
_Waverley_ (time, George II.).
=Muckworm= (_Sir Penurious_), the miserly old uncle and guardian of
Arbella. He wants her to marry Squire Sapskull, a raw Yorkshire tike;
but she loves Gaylove, a young barrister, and, of course, Muckworm is
outwitted.--Carey, _The Honest Yorkshireman_ (1736).
=Mudarra=, son of Gon[c,]olo Bustos de Salas de Lara, who murdered his
uncle Rodri'go, while hunting, to avenge the death of his seven
half-brothers. The tale is, that Rodrigo Velasquez invited his seven
nephews to a feast, when a fray took place in which a Moor was slain;
the aunt, who was a Moorish lady, demanded vengeance, whereupon the
seven boys were allured into a ravine and cruelly murdered. Mudarra was
the son of the same father as "the seven sons of Lara," but not of the
same mother.--_Romance of the Eleventh Century._
=Muddle=, the carpenter under Captain Savage and Lieutenant
O'Brien.--Captain Marryat, _Peter Simple_ (1833).
=Muddlewick= (_Triptolemus_), in _Charles XII._, an historical drama by
J. R. Planch['e] (1826).
=Mudjekee'wis=, the father of Hiawatha, and subsequently potentate of the
winds. He gave all the winds but one to his children to rule; the one he
reserved was the west wind, which he himself ruled over. The dominion of
the winds was given to Mudjekeewis, because he slew the great bear
called the Mish[^e]-Mokwa.
Thus was slain the Mish[^e]-Mokwa ...
"Honor be to Mudjekeewis!
Henceforth he shall be the west wind.
And hereafter, e'en for ever,
Shall he hold supreme dominion,
Over all the winds of heaven."
Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, ii. (1855).
=Mug= (_Matthew_), a caricature of the duke of Newcastle.--S. Foote, _The
Mayor of Garratt_ (1763).
=Mugello=, the giant slain by Averardo de Medici, a commander under
Charlemagne. This giant wielded a mace from which hung three balls,
which the Medici adopted as their device.
[Asterism] They have been adopted by pawnbrokers as a symbol of their
trade.
=Muggins= (_Dr._), a sapient physician, who had the art "to suit his
physic to his patients' taste;" so when King Artaxaminous felt a little
seedy after a night's debauch, the doctor prescribed to his majesty "to
take a morning whet."--W. B. Rhodes, _Bombastes Furioso_ (1790).
=Muhldenau=, the minister of Mariendorpt, and father of Meeta and Adolpha.
When Adolpha was an infant, she was lost in the siege of Magdeburg; and
Muhldenau, having reason to suppose that the child was not killed went
to Prague in search of her. Here Muhldenau was seized as a spy, and
condemned to death. Meeta, hearing of his capture, walked to Prague to
beg him off, and was introduced to the governor's supposed daughter,
who, in reality, was Meeta's sister, Adolpha. Rupert Roselheim, who was
betrothed to Meeta, stormed the prison and released Muhldenau.--S.
Knowles, _The Maid of Mariendorpt_ (1838).
=Mulatto=, a half-caste. Strictly speaking, _Zambo_ is the issue of an
Indian and a Negress; _Mulatto_, of a White man and a Negress;
_Terzeron_, of a White man and a Mulatto woman; _Quadroon_, of a
Terzeron and a White.
=Mul'ciber=, Vulcan, who was blacksmith, architect, and god of fire.
In Ausonian land
Men called him Mulciber; and how he fell
From heaven, they fabled, thrown by angry Jove
Sheer o'er the crystal battlements; from morn
To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve,
A Summer's day; and with the setting sun
Dropt from the Zenith like a falling star,
On Lemnos, the AEgean isle.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, 739, etc. (1665).
=Muley Bugentuf=, king of Morocco, a blood-and-thunder hero. He is the
chief character of a tragedy of the same name, by Thomas de la Fuenta.
In the first act, the king of Morocco, by way of recreation, shot a
hundred Moorish slaves with arrows; in the second, he beheaded
thirty Portuguese officers, prisoners of war; and in the third and
last act, Muley, mad with his wives, set fire with his own hand to
a detached palace, in which they were shut up, and reduced them all
to ashes.... This conflagration, accompanied with a thousand
shrieks, closed the piece in a very diverting manner.--Lesage, _Gil
Blas_, ii. 9 (1715).
=Mull Sack.= John Cottington, in the time of the Commonwealth, was so
called, from his favorite beverage. John Cottington emptied the pockets
of Oliver Cromwell when lord protector; stripped Charles II. of
[pounds]1500; and stole a watch and chain from Lady Fairfax.
[Asterism] Mull sack is spiced sherry negus.
=Mulla's Bard=, Spenser, author of the _Fa[:e]ry Queen_. The Mulla, a
tributary of the Blackwater, in Ireland, flowed close by the spot where
the poet's house stood. He was born and died in London (1553-1599).
... it irks me while I write,
As erst the bard of Mulla's silver stream,
Oft as he told of deadly dolorous plight
Sighed as he sung, and did in tears indite.
Shenstone, _The Schoolmistress_ (1758).
_Mulla._ Thomas Campbell, in his poem on the _Spanish Parrot_, calls the
island of Mull, "Mulla's Shore."
=Mullet= (_Professor_), the "most remarkable man" of North America. He
denounced his own father for voting on the wrong side at an election for
president, and wrote thunderbolts in the form of pamphlets, under the
signature of "Suturb" or Brutus reversed.--C. Dickens, _Martin
Chuzzlewit_ (1844).
=Mullins= (_Rev. Peter_). A minister of the gospel, who holds so hard to
the belief that the laborer is worthy of his hire, that he can see
nothing but the hire.
"How am I to know whether my services are acceptable unless every
year there is some voluntary testimonial concerning them? It seems
to me that I must have such a testimonial. I find myself looking
forward to it."--Josiah Gilbert Holland, _Arthur Bonnicastle_
(1873).
=Mul'mutine Laws=, the code of Dunvallo Mulmutius, sixteenth king of the
Britons (about B.C. 400). This code was translated by Gildas from
British into Latin, and by Alfred into English. The Mulmutine laws
obtained in this country till the Conquest.--Holinshed, _History of
England, etc._, iii. 1 (1577).
Mulmutius made our laws,
Who was the first of Britain which did put
His brows within a golden crown, and call'd
Himself a king.
Shakespeare, _Cymbeline_, act iii. sc. 1 (1605).
=Mulmutius= (_Dunwallo_), son of Cloten, king of Cornwall. "He excelled
all the kings of Britain in valor and gracefulness of person." In a
battle fought against the allied Welsh and Scotch armies, Mulmutius
tried the very scheme which Virgil (_AEneid_, ii.) says was attempted by
AEneas and his companions--that is, they dressed in the clothes and bore
the arms of the enemy slain, and thus disguised, committed very great
slaughter. Mulmutius, in his disguise, killed both the Cambrian and
Albanian kings, and put the allied army to thorough rout.--Geoffrey,
_British History_, ii. 17.
Mulmutius this land in such estate maintained
As his great Belsire Brute.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, viii. (1612).
=Mulvaney= (_Terence_). Rollicking, epigrammatic, harum-scarum Irish
trooper, in the Indian service, whose adventures and sayings are
narrated in _Soldiers Three_, _The Courting of Dinah Shadd_, _etc._, by
Rudyard Kipling.
=Multon= (_Sir Thomas de_), of Gilsland. He is Lord de Vaux, a crusader,
and master of the horse to King Richard I.--Sir. W. Scott, _The
Talisman_ (time, Richard I.).
=Mumblazen= (_Master Michael_), the old herald, a dependant of Sir Hugh
Robsart.--Sir W. Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).
=Mumbo Jumbo=, an African bogie, hideous and malignant, the terror of
women and children.
=Mumps= (_Tib_), keeper of the "Mumps' Ha' ale-hous'," on the road to
Charlie's Hope farm.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.).
=Munchau'sen= (_The Baron_), a hero of most marvellous adventures.--Rudolf
Erich Raspe (a German, but storekeeper of the Dolcoath mines, in
Cornwall, 1792).
[Asterism] The name is said to refer to Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von
M[:u]nchhausen, a German officer in the Russian army, noted for his
marvellous stories (1720-1797). It is also supposed to be an implied
satire on the traveller's tales of Baron de Tott, in his _M['e]moires sur
les Turcs et Tartares_ (1784), and those of James Bruce, "The African
Traveller," in his _Travels to Discover the Sources of the Nile_ (1790).
_Munchausen_ (_The Baron_). The French Baron Munchausen is represented
by M. de Crac, the hero of a French operetta.
=Mu'nera=, daughter of Pollent[^e], the Saracen, to whom he gave all the
spoils he could lay his hands on. Munera was beautiful and rich
exceedingly; but Talus, having chopped off her golden hands and silver
feet, tossed her into the moat.--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_, v. 2 (1596).
=Mungo=, a black slave of Don Diego.
Dear heart, what a terrible life am I led!
A dog has a better dat's sheltered and fed ...
Mungo here, Mungo dere,
Mungo everywhere ...
Me wish to the Lord me was dead.
I. Bickerstaff, _The Padlock_ (1768).
=M[:u]nster= (_Baroness_). American woman married to a German prince, who
wants to get rid of her. She comes to America with her brother to visit
relatives, and is bored by everything, and forever threatening to write
to the reigning prince to recall her to Germany.--Henry James, Jr., _The
Europeans_ (1878).
=Murat= (_The Russian_), Michael Miloradowitch (1770-1820).
=Murdstone= (_Edward_), the second husband of Mrs. Copperfield. His
character was "firmness," that is, an unbending self-will, which
rendered the young life of David intolerably wretched.
_Jane Murdstone_, sister of Edward, as hard and heartless as her
brother. Jane Murdstone became the companion of Dora Spenlow, and told
Mr. Spenlow of David's love for Dora, hoping to annoy David. At the
death of Mr. Spenlow, Jane returned to live with her brother.--Dickens,
_David Copperfield_ (1849).
=Murray= or =Moray= (_The bonnie earl of_), James Stewart, the "Good
Regent," a natural son of James V. of Scotland, by Margaret, daughter of
John, Lord Erskine. He joined the reform party in 1556, and went to
France in 1561, to invite Mary queen of Scots to come and reside in her
kingdom. He was an accomplice in the murder of Rizzio, and during the
queen's imprisonment was appointed regent. According to an ancient
ballad, this bonny earl "was the queen's love," _i.e._ Queen Anne of
Denmark, daughter of Frederick II., and wife of James I. of England. It
is said that James, being jealous of the handsome earl, instigated the
earl of Huntly to murder him (1531-1570).
Introduced by Sir W. Scott in _The Monastery_ and _The Abbot_ (time,
Elizabeth).
_Murray_ (_John_), of Broughton, secretary to Charles Edward, the Young
Pretender. He turned king's evidence, and revealed to Government all the
circumstances which gave rise to the rebellion, and the persons most
active in its organization.
If crimes like these hereafter are forgiven,
Judas and Murray both may go to heaven.
_Jacobite Relics_, ii. 374.
=Musaeus=, the poet (B.C. 1410), author of the elegant tale of _Leander
and Hero_. Virgil places him in the Elysian fields attended by a vast
multitude of ghosts, Musaeus being taller by a head than any of them
(_AEneid_, vi. 677).
Swarm ... as the infernal spirits
On sweet Musaeus when he came to hell.
C. Marlowe, _Dr. Faustus_ (1590).
=Muscadins of Paris=, Paris exquisites, who aped the London cockneys in
the first French Revolution. Their dress was top-boots with thick soles,
knee-breeches, a dress-coat with long tails and high stiff collar, and a
thick cudgel called a _constitution_. It was thought John Bull-like to
assume a huskiness of voice, a discourtesy of manners, and a swaggering
vulgarity of speech and behavior.
Cockneys of London! Muscadins of Paris!
Byron, _Don Juan_, viii. 124 (1824).
=Mus'carol=, king of flies, and father of Clarion, the most beautiful of
the race.--Spenser, _Muiopotmos, or The Butterfly's Fate_ (1590).
=Muse= (_The Tenth_), Marie Lejars de Gournay, a French writer
(1566-1645).
Antoinette Deshoulieres; also called "The French Call[)i][)o]p[^e]." Her
best work is an allegory called _Les Moutons_ (1633-1694).
Mdlle. Scud['e]ri was preposterously so called (1607-1701).
Also Delphine Gray, afterwards Mde. Emile de Girardin. Her _nom de
plume_ was "viconte de Launay." B['e]ranger sang of "the beauty of her
shoulders," and Ch[^a]teaubriand, of "the charms of her smile"
(1804-1855).
=Muse-Mother=, Mnemos'yn[^e], goddess of memory, and mother of the Muses.
Memory,
That sweet Muse-mother.
E. B. Browning, _Prometheus Bound_ (1850).
=Muses= (_Symbols of the_).
CAL'LIOPE [_K[)a]l'.ly.[)o].py_], the epic Muse: a tablet and stylus,
sometimes a scroll.
CLIO, Muse of history: a scroll or open chest of books.
ER'ATO, Muse of love ditties: a lyre.
EUTER'P[^E], Muse of lyric poetry: a flute.
MELPOM'EN[^E], Muse of tragedy: a tragic mask, the club of Hercules, or a
sword. She wears the cothurnus, and her head is wreathed with vine
leaves.
POL'YHYM'NIA, Muse of sacred poetry: sits pensive, but has no attribute,
because deity is not to be represented by any visible symbol.
TERPSIC'HOR[^E] [_Terp.sick'.o.ry_], Muse of choral song and dance: a lyre
and the plectrum.
THALI'A, Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry: a comic mask, a shepherd's
staff, or a wreath of ivy.
URAN'IA, Muse of astronomy: carries a staff pointing to a globe.
=Museum= (_A Walking_), Long[=i]nus, author of a work on _The Sublime_
(213-273).
=Musgrave= (_Sir Richard_), the English champion who fought with Sir
William Deloraine, the Scotch champion, to decide by combat whether
young Scott, the heir of Branksome Hall, should become the page of King
Edward, or be delivered up to his mother. In the combat, Sir Richard was
slain, and the boy was delivered over to his mother.--Sir W. Scott, _Lay
of the Last Minstrel_ (1805).
_Musgrave_ (_Sir Miles_), an officer in the king's service under the
earl of Montrose.--Sir W. Scott, _Legend of Montrose_ (time, Charles
I.).
=Music.= Amphion is said to have built the walls of Thebes by the music of
his lyre. Ilium and the capital of Arthur's kingdom were also built to
divine music. The city of Jericho was destroyed by music (_Joshua_ vi.
20).
They were building still, seeing the city was built
To music.
Tennyson.
_Music and Men of Genius._ Hume, Dr. Johnson, Sir W. Scott, Robert Peel
and Lord Byron had no ear for music, and neither vocal nor instrumental
music gave them the slightest pleasure. To the poet Rogers it gave
actual discomfort. Even the harmonious Pope preferred the harsh
dissonance of a street organ to Handel's oratorios.
_Music_ (_Father of_), Giovanni Battista Pietro Aloisio da Palestri'na
(1529-1594).
_Music_ (_Father of Greek_), Terpander (fl. B.C. 676).
=Music's First Martyr.= Menaphon says that when he was in Thessaly he saw
a youth challenge the birds in music; and a nightingale took up the
challenge. For a time the contest was uncertain; but then the youth, "in
a rapture," played so cunningly that the bird, despairing, "down dropped
upon his lute, and brake her heart."
[Asterism] This beautiful tale, by Strada (in Latin) has been translated
in rhyme by R. Crashaw. Versions have been given by Ambrose Philips, and
others; but none can compare with the exquisite relation of John Ford,
in his drama entitled _The Lover's Melancholy_ (1628).
=Musical Small-Coal Man=, Thos. Britton, who used to sell small coals and
keep a musical club (1654-1714).
=Musicians= (_Prince of_), Giovanni Battista Pietro Aloisio da Palestri'na
(1529-1594).
=Musidora=, the _dame du coeur_ of Damon. Damon thought her coyness was
scorn; but one day he caught her bathing, and his delicacy on the
occasion so enchanted her that she at once accepted his proffered
love.--Thomson, _Seasons_ ("Summer," 1727).
=Musido'rus=, a hero, whose exploits are told by Sir Philip Sidney, in his
_Arcadia_ (1581).
=Musketeer=, a soldier armed with a musket, but specially applied to a
company of gentlemen who were a mounted guard in the service of the king
of France from 1661.
They formed two companies, the _grey_ and the _black_; so called from
the color of their hair. Both were clad in scarlet, and hence their
quarters were called the _Maison rouge_. In peace they followed the
king in the chase, to protect him; in war they fought either on foot or
horseback. They were suppressed in 1791; restored in 1814, but only for
a few months; and after the restoration of Louis XVIII. we hear no more
of them. Many Scotch gentlemen enrolled themselves among these dandy
soldiers, who went to war with curled hair, white gloves, and perfumed
like milliners.
[Asterism] A. Dumas has a novel called _The Three Musketeers_ (1844),
the first of a series; the second is _Twenty Years Afterwards_; and the
third, _Viconte de Bragelonne_.
=Muslin=, the talkative, impertinent, intriguing _suivante_ of Mrs.
Lovemore. Mistress Muslin is sweet upon William, the footman, and loves
cards.--A. Murphy, _The Way to Keep Him_ (1760).
=Mus'tafa=, a poor tailor of China, father of Aladdin, killed by illness
brought on by the idle vagabondism of his son.--_Arabian Nights_
("Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp").
=Mutton=, a courtezan, sometimes called a "laced mutton." "Mutton Lane,"
in Clerkenwell, was so called because it was a suburra or quarter for
harlots. The courtezan was called a "Mutton" even in the reign of Henry
III., for Bracton speaks of them as _oves_.--_De Legibus_, etc., ii.
(1569).
=Mutton-Eating King= (_The_), Charles II. of England (1630, 1659-1685).
Here lies our mutton-eating king,
Whose word no man relies on;
He never _said_ a foolish thing,
And never _did_ a wise on'.
Earl of Rochester.
=Mutual Friend= (_Our_), a novel by Charles Dickens (1864). The "mutual
friend" is Mr. Boffin, "the golden dustman," who was the mutual friend
of John Harmon and of Bella Wilfer. The tale is this: John Harmon was
supposed to have been murdered by Julius Handford; but it was Ratford,
who was murdered by Rogue Riderhood, and the mistake arose from a
resemblance between the two persons. By his father's will, John Harmon
was to marry Bella Wilfer; but John Harmon knew not the person destined
by his father for his wife, and made up his mind to dislike her. After
his supposed murder, he assumed the name of John Rokesmith, and became
the secretary of Mr. Boffin, "the golden dustman," residuary legatee of
old John Harmon, by which he became possessor of [pounds]100,000. Boffin
knew Rokesmith, but concealed his knowledge for a time. At Boffin's
house, John Harmon (as Rokesmith) met Bella Wilfer, and fell in love
with her. Mr. Boffin, in order to test Bella's love, pretended to be
angry with Rokesmith for presuming to love Bella; and, as Bella married
him, he cast them both off "for a time," to live on John's earnings. A
baby was born, and then the husband took the young mother to a beautiful
house, and told her he was John Harmon, that the house was their house,
that he was the possessor of [pounds]100,000 through the disinterested
conduct of their "mutual friend," Mr. Boffin; and the young couple lived
happily with Mr. and Mrs. Boffin, in wealth and luxury.
=Mutusa-ili=, Babylonian sage and unsuspected Jew, high in repute for
wisdom and prophetic powers.--Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D.
Ward, _The Master of the Magicians_ (1890).
=My Book= (_Dr._). Dr. John Aberne'thy (1765-1830) was so called because
he used to say to his patients, "Read my book" (_On Surgical
Observations_).
=My Little All.=
I was twice burnt out, and lost my little all both
times.--Sheridan, _The Critic_, i. 1 (1779).
=Myrebeau= (_Le sieure de_), one of the committee of the states of
Burgundy.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Myro=, a statuary of Eleu'th[)e]rae, who carved a cow so true to nature
that even bulls mistook it for a living animal. (See HORSE PAINTED.)
E'en Myro's statues, which for art surpass
All others, once were but a shapeless mass.
Ovid, _Art of Love_, iii.
=Myrra=, an Ionian slave, and the beloved concubine of Sardanapa'lus,
the Assyrian king. She roused him from his indolence to resist
Arba'c[^e]s, the Mede, who aspired to his throne, and when she found his
cause hopeless, induced him to mount a funeral pile, which she fired
with her own hand, and then, springing into the flames, she perished
with the tyrant.--Byron, _Sardanapalus_ (1819).
=Myrtle= (_Mrs. Lerviah_), sentimental Christian, who finds Magdalens and
poor, ill-clad, homeless girls "so depressing," but begs Nixy Trent, the
only one who ever entered her house, "to consider that there is hope for
us all in the way of salvation which our Lord has marked out for
sinners." After which crumb of ghostly consolation she proceeds to turn
Nixy out of the house.--Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, _Hedged In_ (1870).
=Mysie=, the female attendant of Lady Margaret Bellenden, of the Tower of
Tillietudlem.--Sir W. Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
_Mysie_, the old housekeeper at Wolf's Crag Tower.--Sir W. Scott, _Bride
of Lammermoor_ (time, William III.).
=Mysis=, the scolding wife of Sile'no, and mother of Daph'n[^e] and
Nysa. It is to Mysis that Apollo sings that popular song, "Pray, Goody,
please to moderate the rancour of your tongue" (act i. 3).--Kane O'Hara,
_Midas_ (1764).
=Mysterious Husband= (_The_), a tragedy by Cumberland (1783). Lord
Davenant was a bigamist. His first wife was Marianne Dormer, whom he
forsook in three months to marry Louisa Travers. Marianne, supposing her
husband to be dead, married Lord Davenant's son. Miss Dormer's brother
was the betrothed of the second Lady Davenant before her marriage with
his lordship. She was told that he had proved faithless and had married
another. The report of Lord Davenant's death and the marriage of Captain
Dormer were both false. When the villainy of Lord Davenant could be
concealed no longer, he destroyed himself.
=Nat=, the fairy that addressed Orpheus, in the infernal regions, and
offered him for food a roasted ant, a flea's thigh, butterflies' brains,
some sucking mites, a rainbow tart etc., to be washed down with
dew-drops and beer made from seven barleycorns--a very heady
liquor.--King, _Orpheus and Eurydice_ (1730-1805).
=Nab-man= (_The_), a sheriff's officer.
Old Dornton has sent the nab-man after him at last.--_Guy
Mannering_, ii. 3.
[Asterism] This is the dramatized version of Sir W. Scott's novel, by
Terry (1816).
=Nacien=, the holy hermit who introduced Galahad to the "Siege Perilous,"
the only vacant seat in the Round Table. This seat was reserved for the
knight who was destined to achieve the quest of the Holy Graal. Nacien
told the king and his knights that no one but a virgin knight could
achieve that quest.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, iii.
(1470).
=Nadab=, in Dryden's satire of _Absalom and Achitophel_, is meant for Lord
Howard, a profligate, who laid claim to great piety. As Nadab offered
incense with strange fire and was slain, so Lord Howard, it is said,
mixed the consecrated wafer with some roast apples and sugar.--Pt. i.
(1681).
=Nadgett=, a man employed by Montague Tigg (manager of the "Anglo-Bengalee
Company") to make private inquiries. He was a dried-up, shrivelled old
man. Where he lived and how he lived, nobody knew; but he was always to
be seen waiting for some one who never appeared; and he would glide
along apparently taking no notice of any one.--C. Dickens, _Martin
Chuzzlewit_ (1844).
=Nag's Head Consecration=, a scandal perpetuated by Pennant, on the dogma
of "apostolic succession." The "high-church clergy" assert that the
ceremony called holy orders has been transmitted without interruption
from the apostles. Thus, the apostles laid hands on certain persons, who
(say they) became ministers of the gospel; these persons "ordained"
others in the same manner; and the succession has never been broken.
Pennant says, at the Reformation the bishops came to a fix. There was
only one bishop, viz., Anthony Kitchen, of Llandaff, and Bonner would
not allow him to perform the ceremony. In this predicament, the fourteen
candidates for episcopal ordination rummaged up Story, a deposed bishop,
and got him to "lay hands" on Parker, as archbishop of Canterbury. As it
would have been profanation for Story to do this in a cathedral or
church, the ceremony was performed in a tavern called the Nag's Head,
corner of Friday Street, Cheapside. Strype refutes this scandalous tale
in his _Life of Archbishop Parker_, and so does Dr. Hook; but it will
never be stamped out.
=Naggleton= (_Mr._ and _Mrs._), types of a nagging husband and wife. They
are for ever jangling at trifles and willful misunderstandings.--_Punch_
(1864-5).
=Naked Bear= (_The_). _Hush! the naked bear will hear you!_ a threat and
reproof to unruly children in North America. The naked bear, says the
legend, was larger and more ferocious than any of the species. It was
quite naked, save and except one spot on its back, where was a tuft of
white hair.--Heckewelder, _Transactions of the American Phil. Soc._, iv.
260.
Thus the wrinkled old Nokomis
Nursed the little Hiawatha,
Rocked him in his linden cradle,
Stilled his fretful wail by saying
"Hush! the naked bear will get thee!"
Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, iii. (1855).
=Nakir'=, =Nekir=, or =Nakeer=. (See MONKER AND NAKIR.)
=Nala=, a legendary king of India, noted for his love of Damayanti, and
his subsequent misfortunes. This legendary king has been the subject of
numerous poems.
[Asterism] Dean Milman has translated into English the episode from the
_Mah[^a]bh[^a]rata_, and W. Yates has translated the Nalodaya of the great
Sanskrit poem.
=Nama=, a daughter of man, beloved by the angel Zaraph. Her wish was to
love intensely and to love holily, but as she fixed her love on a
seraph, and not on God, she was doomed to abide on earth, "unchanged in
heart and frame," so long as the earth endureth; but at the great
consummation both Nama and her seraph will be received into those courts
of love, where "love never dieth."--Moore, _Loves of the Angels_, ii.
(1822).
=Namby= (_Major_), a retired officer, living in the suburbs of London. He
had been twice married; his first wife had four children, and his second
wife three. Major Namby, though he lived in a row, always transacted his
domestic affairs by bawling out his orders from the front garden, to the
annoyance of his neighbors. He used to stalk half-way down the garden
path, with his head high in the air, his chest stuck out, and
flourishing his military cane. Suddenly he would stop, stamp with one
foot, knock up the hinder brim of his hat, begin to scratch the nape of
his neck, wait a moment, then wheel round, look at the first-floor
window, and roar out, "Matilda!" (the name of his wife) "don't do
so-and-so;" or "Matilda! do so-and-so." Then he would bellow to the
servants to buy this, or not to let the children eat that, and so
on.--Wilkie Collins, _Pray Employ Major Namby_ (a sketch).
=Names of Terror.= The following amongst others, have been employed as
bogie-names to frighten children with:--
ATTILA was a bogie-name to the Romans.
BO or BOH, son of Odin, was a fierce Gothic captain. His name was used
by his soldiers when they would fight or surprise the enemy.--Sir
William Temple.
[Asterism] Warton tells us that the Dutch scared their children with the
name of Boh.
BONAPARTE, at the close of the eighteenth and beginning of the
nineteenth centuries, was a name of terror in Europe.
CORVI'NUS (_Mathias_), the Hungarian, was a scare-name to the Turks.
LILIS or LILITH was a bogie-name used by the ancient Jews to unruly
children. The rabbinical writers tell us that Lilith was Adam's wife
before the creation of Eve. She refused to submit to him, and became a
horrible night-spectre, especially hostile to young children.
LUNSFORD, a name employed to frighten children in England. Sir Thomas
Lunsford, governor of the Tower, was a man of most vindictive temper,
and the dread of everyone.
Made children with your tones to run for't,
As bad as Bloody-bones or Lunsford.
S. Butler, _Hudibras_, iii. 2, line 1112, (1678).
NARSES (2 _syl._) was the name used by Assyrian mothers to scare their
children with.
The name of Narses was the formidable sound with which the Assyrian
mothers were accustomed to terrify their infants.--Gibbon, _Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire_, viii. 219 (1776-88).
RAWHEAD and BLOODY-BONES were at one time bogie-names to children.
Servants awe children and keep them in subjection by telling them
of Rawhead and Bloody-bones.--Locke.
RICHARD I., "Coeur de Lion." This name, says Camden (_Remains_), was
employed by the Saracens as a "name of dread and terror."
His tremendous name was employed by the Syrian mothers to silence
their infants; and if a horse suddenly started from the way, his
rider was wont to exclaim, "Dost thou think King Richard is in the
bush?"--Gibbon, _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, xi. 146
(1776-88).
SEBASTIAN (_Don_), a name of terror once used by the Moors.
Nor shall Sebastian's formidable name
Be longer used to still the crying babe.
Dryden, _Don Sebastian_ (1690).
TALBOT (_John_), a name used in France _in terrorem_ to unruly children.
They in France to feare their young children crye, "The Talbot
commeth!"--Hall, _Chronicles_ (1545).
Here (said they) is the terror of the French,
The scarecrow that affrights our children so.
Shakespeare, 1 _Henry VI._ act.[TN-27] i. sc. 4 (1589).
Is this the Talbot so much feared abroad,
That with his name the mothers still their babes?
Shakespeare, 1 _Henry VI._ act iv. sc. 5 (1589).
TAMERLANE, a name used by the Persians _in terrorem_.
TARQUIN, a name of terror in Roman nurseries.
The nurse to still her child, will tell my story,
And fright her crying babe with Tarquin's name.
Shakespeare, _Rape of Lucrece_ (1594).
(See also NAKED BEAR.)
=Namo=, duke of Bavaria, and one of Charlemagne's twelve
paladins.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
=Namou'na=, an enchantress. Though first of created beings, she is still
as young and beautiful as ever.--_Persian Mythology._
=Namous=, the envoy of Mahomet in paradise.
=Nancy=, eldest daughter of an English country family, in straitened
circumstances. Nancy is a romp and untamed, but sound-hearted, and
loves her brothers and sister tenderly. To advance their interests she
marries Sir Roger Tempest, who is much her senior. In time, and after
many misunderstandings, she learns to love him, and "they live happily
together ever after."--Rhoda Broughton, _Nancy_.
_Nancy_, servant to Mrs. Pattypan. A pretty little flirt, who coquets
with Tim Tartlet and young Whimsey, and helps Charlotte Whimsey in her
"love affairs."--James Cobb, _The First Floor_ (1756-1818).
_Nancy_, a poor misguided girl, who really loves the villain Bill Sykes
(1 _syl._). In spite of her surroundings, she has still some good
feelings, and tries to prevent a burglary planned by Fagin and his
associates. Bill Sykes, in a fit of passion, strikes her twice upon the
face with the butt-end of a pistol, and she falls dead at his feet.--C.
Dickens, _Oliver Twist_ (1837).
_Nancy_, the sailor's fancy. At half-past four he parted from her; at
eight next morn he bade her adieu. Next day a storm arose, and when it
lulled the enemy appeared; but when the fight was hottest, the jolly tar
"put up a prayer for Nancy." Dibdin, _Sea Songs_ ("'Twas post meridian
half-past four," 1790).
_Nancy_ (_Miss_), Mrs. Anna Oldfield, a celebrated actress, buried in
Westminster Abbey. She died in 1730, and lay in state, attended by two
noblemen. Mrs. Oldfield was buried in a "very fine Brussels lace
head-dress, a new pair of kid gloves, and a robe with lace ruffles and a
lace collar." (See NARCISSA.)
=Nancy Dawson=, a famous actress, who took London by storm. Her father
was a poster in Clare Market (1728-1767).
Her easy mien, her shape so neat,
She foots, she trips, she looks so sweet;
I die for Nancy Dawson.
=Nancy of the Vale=, a village maiden, who preferred Strephon to the gay
lordlings who sought her hand in marriage.--Shenstone, _A Ballad_
(1554).
=Nannic=, deformed brother of Guenn, and her darling. He is versed in all
manner of auguries and much feared and consulted by the peasants on this
account.--Blanche Willis Howard, _Guenn_.
=Nannie=, Miss Fleming, daughter of a farmer in the parish of Tarbolton,
in Ayrshire. Immortalized by R. Burns.
_Nannie (Little)._
"This world, whose brightest day
Seems to us so dreary,
Nannie found all bright and gay,
Love-alight and cheery,
Stayed a little while to play
And went home unweary."
Elizabeth Akers Allen, _Poems_ (1866).
=Nan'tolet=, father of Rosalura and Lillia-Bianca.--Beaumont and Fletcher,
_The Wild-Goose Chase_ (1652).
=Napoleon I.=, called by the Germans "Kaiser Kl[:a]s" (_q.v._).
"M" is curiously coupled with the history of Napoleon I. and III. (See
M.)
The following is a curious play on the word Napoleon.
Napole[^o]n apole[^o]n pole[^o]n ole[^o]n le[^o]n e[^o]n [^o]n
_Napoleon_ _Apollyon_ _cities_ _destroying_ _a lion_ _going_} _being._
_about_}
That is:
Napoleon Apollyon is [_being_] a lion going about destroying cities.
_Chauvinism_, Napoleon idolatry. Chauvvin[TN-28] is a blind idolater of
Napoleon I., in Scribe's drama entitled _Soldat Laboureur_.
=Napoleon III.= _His nicknames._
ARENENBERG (_Comte d'_). So he called himself after his escape from
the fortress of Ham.
BADINGUET, the name of the man he shot in his Boulogne escapade.
BOUSTRAPA, a compound of Bou[logne], Stra[sbourg] and Pa[ris], the
places of his noted escapades.
GROSBEC. So called from the rather unusual size of his nose.
MAN OF DECEMBER. So called because December was his month of glory.
Thus, he was elected president December 11, 1848; made his _coup
d'['e]tat_ December 2, 1851; and was created emperor December 2,
1852.
MAN OF SEDAN. So called because at Sedan he surrendered his sword
to the king of Prussia (September, 1870).
RATIPOLE, same as the west of England RANTIPOLE, a harum-scarum,
half idiot, half madcap.
THE LITTLE. Victor Hugo gave him this title; but the hatred of Hugo
to Napoleon was monomania.
VERHUEL, the name of his supposed father.
_Number 2._ The second of the month was Louis Napoleon's day. It was
also one of the days of his uncle, the other being the fifteenth.
The _coup d'['e]tat_ was December 2; he was made emperor December 2, 1852;
the Franco-Prussian war opened at Saarbr[:u]ck, August 2, 1870; he
surrendered his sword to William of Prussia, September 2, 1870.
Napoleon I. was crowned December 2, 1804; and the victory of Austerlitz
was December 2, 1805.
_Numerical Curiosities._ 1. 1869, the last year of Napoleon's glory; the
next year was that of his downfall. As a matter of curiosity, it may be
observed that if the day of his birth, or the day of the empress's
birth, or the date of the capitulation of Paris, be added to that of
the coronation of Napoleon III., the result always points to 1869. Thus,
he was crowned 1852; he was born 1808; the Empress Eug['e]nie was born
1826: the capitulation of Paris was 1871. Whence:
1852 1852 1852 coronation
1 } 1 } 1 }
8 } birth of 8 } birth of 8 } capitulation
0 } Napoleon. 2 } Eug['e]nie. 7 } of
8 } 6 } 1 } Paris.
____ ____ ____
1869 1869 1869
2. 1870, the year of his downfall. By adding the numerical values of the
birth date either of Napoleon or Eug['e]nie to the date of the marriage,
we get their fatal year of 1870. Thus, Napoleon was born 1808;
Eug['e]nie, 1826; married, 1853.
1853 1853 year of marriage.
1 } 1 }
8 } birth of 8 } birth of Eug['e]nie.
0 } Napoleon. 2 }
8 } 6 }
____ ____
1870 1870
2. _Empereur._ The votes for the president to be emperor were 7,119,791;
those against him were 1,119,000. If now the numbers 711979r/[1][1][1][6]
be written on a piece of paper, and held up to the light, the reverse side
will show the word _empereur_. (The dash is the dividing mark, and forms
the long stroke of the "p.")
=Napoleon and Talleyrand.= Napoleon I. one day entered a roadside inn, and
called for breakfast. There was nothing in the house but eggs and cider
(which Napoleon detested). "What shall we do?" said the emperor to
Talleyrand. In answer to this, the _grand chambellan_ improvised the
rhymes following:--
Le bon roi Dagobert
Aimait le bon vin au dessert.
Le grand St. Eloi
Lui dit, "O mon roi,
Le droit r['e]uni
L'a bien rench['e]ri."
"Eh bien!" lui dit le roi ...
But he could get no further. Whereupon Napoleon himself instantly capped
the line thus:
"Je boirai du cidre avec toi."
Chapus, _Dieppe, etc._ (1853).
Our royal master, Dagobert,
Good wine loved at his dessert.
But St. Eloi
Once said, "Mon roi,
We here prepare
No dainty fare."
"Well," cried the king, "so let it be,
Cider to-day we'll drink with thee."
=Napoleon of the Drama.= Alfred Bunn, lessee of Drury Lane Theatre
(1819-1826) was so called; and so was Robert William Elliston, his
predecessor (1774-1826, died 1831).
=Napoleon of Mexico=, the emperor Augusto Iturbid[^e] (1784-1824).
=Napoleon of Oratory=, W. E. Gladstone (1809- ).
=Napoleon of Peace=, Louis Philippe of France (1773, reigned 1830-1848,
died 1850).
=Narcissa=, meant for Elizabeth Lee, the step-daughter of Dr. Young. In
Night ii. the poet says she was clandestinely buried at Montpelier,
because she was a Protestant.--Dr. Young, _Night Thoughts_ (1742-6).
_Narcissa_, Mrs. Oldfield, the actress, who insisted on being rouged and
dressed in Brussels lace when she was "laid out." (See NANCY.)
"Odious! In woolen? 'Twould a saint provoke!"
Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke.
"No, let a charming chintz and Brussels lace
Wrap my cold limbs and shade my lifeless face;
One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead!
And, Betty, give this cheek a little red."
Pope, _Moral Essays_, i. (1731).
=Narcisse=, an airy young Creole. He has boundless faith in himself, and a
Micawberish confidence in the future. He would like to be called
"Papillon," the butterfly; "'Cause thass my natu'e! I gatheth honey
eve'y day fum eve'y opening floweh, as the bahd of Avon
wemawked."--George W. Cable, _Dr. Sevier_ (1883).
=Narcissus=, a flower. According to Grecian fable, Narcissus fell in love
with his own reflection in a fountain, and, having pined away because he
could not kiss it, was changed into the flower which bears his
name.--Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, iii. 346, etc.
Echo was in love with Narcissus, and died of grief because he would not
return her love.
Narcissus fair,
As o'er the fabled fountain hanging still.
Thomson, _Seasons_ ("Spring," 1728).
[Asterism] Gl[:u]ck, in 1779, produced an opera called _Echo et Narcisse_.
=Narren-Schiff= ("_The ship of fools_"), a satirical poem, in German, by
Brandt (1491), lashing the follies and vices of the period. Brandt makes
knowledge of one's self the beginning of wisdom; maintains the equality
of man; and speaks of life as a brief passage only. The book at one time
enjoyed unbounded popularity.
=Narses= (2 _syl._), a Roman general against the Goths; the terror of
children.
The name of Narses was the formidable sound with which the Assyrian
mothers were accustomed to terrify their infants.--Gibbon, _Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire_, viii. 219 (1776-88).
_Narses_, a domestic slave of Alexius Comn[=e]nus, emperor of
Greece.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).
=Naso=, Ovid, the Roman poet, whose full name was Publius Ovidius Naso.
(_Naso_ means "nose.") Hence the pun of Holofernes:
And why Naso, but for smelling out the odoriferous flowers of
fancy?--Shakespeare, _Love's Labor's Lost_, act iv. sc. 2 (1594).
=Nathan the Wise=, a prudent and wealthy old Jew who lives near Jerusalem
in the time of Saladin. The play is a species of argument for religious
toleration.--G. E. Lessing, _Nathan der Weise_ (1778).
=Nathaniel= (_Sir_), the grotesque curate of Holofern[^e]s.--Shakespeare,
_Love's Labor's Lost_ (1594).
=Nathos=, one of the three sons of Usnoth, lord of Etha (in Argyllshire),
made commander of the Irish army at the death of Cuthullin. For a time
he propped up the fortune of the youthful Cormac, but the rebel Cairbar
increased in strength and found means to murder the young king. The army
under Nathos then deserted to the usurper, and Nathos, with his two
brothers, was obliged to quit Ireland. Dar'-Thula, the daughter of
Colla, went with them to avoid Cairbar, who persisted in offering her
his love. The wind drove the vessel back to Ulster, where Cairbar lay
encamped, and the three young men, being overpowered, were slain. As for
Dar-Thula, she was pierced with an arrow, and died also.--Ossian,
_Dar-Thula_.
=Nation of Gentlemen.= The Scotch were so called by George IV., when he
visited Scotland in 1822.
=Nation of Shopkeepers.= The English were so called by Napoleon I.
=National Assembly.= (1) The French deputies which met in the year 1789.
The states-general was convened, but the clergy and nobles refused to
sit in the same chamber with the commons, so the commons or deputies of
the _tiers ['e]tat_ withdrew, constituted themselves into a deliberative
body, and assumed the name of the _Assembl['e]e Nationale_. (2) The
democratic French parliament of 1848, consisting of 900 members elected
by manhood suffrage, was so called also.
=National Convention=, the French parliament of 1792. It consisted of 721
members, but was reduced, first to 500, then to 300. It succeeded the
National Assembly.
=Natty Bumpo=, called "Leather-stocking." He appears in five of F.
Cooper's novels: (1) _The Deerslayer_; (2) _The Pathfinder_; (3)
"Hawkeye" in _The Last of the Mohicans_; (4) "Natty Bumpo," in _The
Pioneer_; and (5) "The Trapper," in _The Prairie_, in which he dies.
=Nausic'aa= (4 _syl._), daughter of Alcinous, king of the Phoea'cians,
who conducted Ulysses to the court of her father when he was shipwrecked
on the coast.
=Navigation= (_The Father of_), Don Henrique, duke of Viseo, the greatest
man that Portugal has produced (1394-1460).
_Navigation_ (_The Father of British Inland_), Francis Egerton, duke of
Bridgewater (1736-1803).
=Neaera=, a name used by Horace, Virgil, Tibullus, and Milton as a synonym
of sweetheart.
To sport with Amaryllis in the shade,
Or with the tangles of Neaera's hair.
Milton, _Lycidas_ (1638).
=Neal'liny= (4 _syl._), a suttee, the young widow of Ar'valan, son of
Keha'ma.--Southey, _Curse of Kehama_, i. 11 (1809).
=Nebuchadnezzar= [_Ne-boch-ad-ne-Tzar_], in Russian, means "there is no
God but the Czar."--M. D., _Notes and Queries_ (21st July, 1877).
=Neck.= Calig'ula, the Roman emperor used to say, "Oh that the Roman
people had but one neck, that I might cut it off at a blow!"
I love the sex, and sometimes would reverse
The tyrant's wish, that, "mankind only had
One neck, which he with one fell stroke might pierce."
Byron, _Don Juan_, vi. 27 (1824).
=Neck or Nothing=, a farce by Garrick (1766). Mr. Stockwell promises to
give his daughter in marriage to the son of Sir Harry Harlowe, of
Dorsetshire, with a _dot_ of [pounds]10,000; but it so happens that the
young man is privately married. The two servants of Mr. Belford and Sir
Harry Harlowe try to get possession of the money, by passing off Martin
(Belford's servant) as Sir Harry's son; but it so happens that Belford
is in love with Miss Stockwell, and hearing of the plot through Jenny,
the young lady's-maid, arrests the two servants as vagabonds. Old
Stockwell gladly consents to his marriage with Nancy, and thinks himself
well out of the terrible scrape.
=Nectaba'nus=, the dwarf at the cell of the hermit of Engaddi. Sir W.
Scott, _The Talisman_ (time, Richard I.).
=Nectar=, the beverage of the gods. It was white as cream, for when
Heb[^e] spilt some of it, the white arch of heaven, called the Milky
Way, was made. The food of the gods was _ambrosia_.
=Ned= (_Lying_), "the chimney-sweeper of Savoy," that is, the duke of
Savoy, who joined the allied army against France in the war of the
Spanish Succession.--Dr. Arbuthnot, _History of John Bull_ (1712).
=Negro'ni=, a princess, the friend of Lucrezia di Borgia. She invited the
notables who had insulted the Borgia to a banquet, and killed them with
poisoned wine.--Donizetti, _Lucrezia di Borgia_ (an opera, 1834).
=Ne'gus=, sovereign of Abyssinia. Erco'co, or Erquico, on the Red Sea,
marks the north-east boundary of this empire.
The empire of Negus to his utmost port,
Ercoco.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, xi. 397 (1665).
=Nehemiah Holdenough=, a Presbyterian preacher.--Sir W. Scott, _Woodstock_
(time, commonwealth).
=Neilson= (_Mr. Christopher_), a surgeon at Glasgow.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob
Roy_ (time, George I.).
=Neim'heid= (2 _syl._) employed four architects to build him a palace in
Ireland; and, that they might not build another like it or superior to
it for some other monarch, had them all secretly murdered.--O'Halloran,
_History of Ireland_.
[Asterism] A similar story is told of N[^o]manal-A[^o]uar, king of
Hirah, who employed Senna'mar to build him a palace. When finished, he
cast the architect headlong from the highest tower, to prevent his
building another to rival it.--D'Herbelot, _Biblioth[`e]que
Oriental_[TN-29] (1697).
=Nekayah=, sister of Rasselas, prince of Abyssinia. She escapes with her
brother from the "happy valley," and wanders about with him to find what
condition or rank of life is the most happy. After roaming for a time,
and finding no condition of life free from its drawbacks, the brother
and sister resolved to return to the "happy valley."--Dr. Johnson,
_Rasselas_ (1759).
=Nell=, the meek and obedient wife of Jobson; taught by the strap to know
who was lord and master. Lady Loverule was the imperious, headstrong
bride of Sir John Loverule. The two women by a magical hocus-pocus, were
changed for a time, without any of the four knowing it. Lady Loverule
was placed with Jobson, who soon brought down her turbulent temper with
the strap, and when she was reduced to submission, the two women were
restored again to their respective husbands.--C. Coffey, _The Devil to
Pay_ (1731).
_Nell_ (_Little_), or NELLY TRENT, a sweet, innocent, loving child of 14
summers, brought up by her old miserly grandfather, who gambled away all
his money. Her days were monotonous and without youthful companionship,
her evenings gloomy and solitary; there were no child-sympathies in her
dreary home, but dejection, despondence akin to madness, watchfulness,
suspicion, and imbecility. The grandfather being wholly ruined by
gaming, the two went forth as beggars, and ultimately settled down in a
cottage adjoining a country churchyard. Here Nell died, and the old
grandfather soon afterwards was found dead upon her grave.--C. Dickens,
_The Old Curiosity Shop_ (1840).
=Nelly=, the servant-girl of Mrs. Dinmont.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_
(time, George II.).
=Nelson's Ship=, the _Victory_.
Now from the fleet of the foemen past
Ahead of the _Victory_,
A four-decked ship, with a flagless mast,
An Anak of the sea.
His gaze on the ship Lord Nelson cast:
"Oh, oh! my old friend!" quoth he.
"Since again we have met, we must all be glad
To pay our respects to the _Trinidad_."
So, full on the bow of the giant foe,
Our gallant _Victory_ runs;
Thro' the dark'ning smoke the thunder broke
O'er her deck from a hundred guns.
Lord Lytton, _Ode_, iii. 9 (1839).
=Nem'ean Lion=, a lion of Arg[)o]lis, slain by Hercul[^e]s.
In this word Shakespeare has preserved the correct accent: "As hardy as
the Nem'ean lion's nerve" (_Hamlet_, act i. sc. 5); but Spenser
incorrectly throws the accent on the second syllable, which is _e_
short: "Into the great Neme'an's lion's grove" (_Fa[:e]ry Queen_, v. 1).
Ere Nem[)e]a's beast resigned his shaggy spoils.
Statius, _The Thebaid_, i.
=Nem'esis=, the Greek personification of retribution, or that punishment
for sin which sooner or later overtakes the offender.
... and some great Nemesis
Break from a darkened future.
Tennyson, _The Princess_, (1847).
=Ne'mo=, the name by which Captain Hawdon was known at Krook's. He had
once won the love of the future Lady Dedlock, by whom he had a child
called Esther Summerson; but he was compelled to copy law-writings for
daily bread, and died a miserable death from an overdose of opium.--C.
Dickens, _Bleak House_ (1852).
=Nepen'the= (3 _syl._) or NEPENTHES, a care-dispelling drug, which
Polydamna, wife of Tho'nis, king of Egypt, gave to Helen (daughter of
Jove and Leda). A drink containing this drug "changed grief to mirth,
melancholy to joyfulness, and hatred to love." The water of Ardenne had
the opposite effects. Homer mentions the drug nepenth[^e] in his
_Odyssey_, iv. 228.
That nepenth[^e]s which the wife of Thone,
In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena.
Milton, _Comus_, (1634).
Nepenth[^e] is a drink of sovereign grace.
Devis[`e]d by the gods for to assuage
Heart's grief, and bitter gall away to chase
Which stirs up anger and contentious rage;
Instead thereof sweet peace and quietage
It doth establish in the troubled mind ...
And such as drink, eternal happiness do find.
Spencer, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_, iv. 2 (1596).
=Nep'omuk= or =Nep'omuck= (_St. John_), canon of Prague. He was thrown
from a bridge in 1381, and drowned by order of King Wenceslaus, because
he refused to betray the secrets confided to him by the queen in the
holy rite of confession. The spot whence he was cast into the Moldau is
still marked by a cross with five stars on the parapet, indicative of
the miraculous flames seen flickering over the dead body for three days.
Nepomuk was canonized in 1729, and became the patron saint of bridges.
His statue in stone usually occupies such a position on bridges as it
does in Prague.
Like St. John Nep'omuck in stone, Looking down into the stream.
Longfellow, _The Golden Legend_ (1851).
[Asterism] The word is often accented on the second syllable.
=Neptune= (_Old Father_), the ocean or sea-god.
=Nerestan=, son of Gui Lusignan D'Outremer, king of Jerusalem, and brother
of Zara. Nerestan was sent on his parole to France, to obtain ransom for
certain Christians, who had fallen into the hands of the Saracens. When
Osman, the sultan, was informed of his relationship to Zara, he ordered
all Christian captives to be at once liberated "without money and
without price."--A. Hill, _Zara_ (adapted from Voltaire's tragedy).
=Nereus= (2 _syl._), father of the water-nymphs. A very old prophetic god
of great kindliness. The scalp, chin and breast of Nereus were covered
with seaweed instead of hair.
By hoary N[^e]reus' wrinkled look.
Milton, _Comus_, (1634).
=Neri'n[^e]=, =Doto=, and =Nys[^e]=, the three nereids who guarded the
fleet of Vasco da Gama. When the treacherous pilot had run Vasco's ship
upon a sunken rock, these three sea-nymphs lifted up the prow and turned
it round.
The lovely Nys[^e] and Nerin[^e] spring
With all the vehemence and speed of wing.
Camoens, _Lusiad_, ii. (1569).
=Nerissa=, the clever confidential waiting-woman of _Portia_, the Venetian
heiress. Nerissa is the counterfeit of her mistress, with a fair share
of the lady's elegance and wit. She marries _Gratiano_, a friend of the
merchant _Antonio_.--Shakespeare, _The Merchant of Venice_ (1698).[TN-30]
=Nero of the North=, Christian II. of Denmark (1480, reigned 1534-1558,
died 1559).
=Nesle= (_Blondel de_), the favorite minstrel of Richard Coeur de Lion
[Nesle = _Neel_].--Sir W. Scott, _The Talisman_ (time, Richard I.).
=Nessus's Shirt.= Nessos (in Latin _Nessus_), the centaur, carried the
wife of Hercul[^e]s over a river, and, attempting to run away with her,
was shot by Hercul[^e]s. As the centaur was dying, he told De[:i]ani'ra
(5 _syl._), that if she steeped in his blood her husband's shirt, she
would secure his love forever. This she did, but when Hercul[^e]s put
the shirt on, his body suffered such agony, that he rushed to Mount
Oeta, collected together a pile of wood, set it on fire, and rushing
into the midst of the flames, was burnt to death.
When Cre[=u]sa (3 _syl._), the daughter of King Creon, was about to be
married to Jason, Med[=e]a sent her a splendid wedding robe; but when
Creusa put it on, she was burnt to death by it in excruciating pain.
Morgan le Fay, hoping to kill King Arthur, sent him a superb royal robe.
Arthur told the messenger to try it on, that he might see its effect;
but no sooner had the messenger done so, than he dropped down dead,
"burnt to mere coal."--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 75
(1470).
=Nestor= (_A_), a wise old man. Nestor of Pylos,[TN-31] was the oldest
and most experienced of all the Greek chieftains who went to the siege
of Troy.--Homer, _Iliad_.
=Nestor of the Chemical Revolution.= Dr. Black is so called by Lavoisier
(1728-1799).
=Nestor of Europe=, Leopold, king of Belgium (1790, 1831-1865).
=Neu'ha=, a native of Toobouai, one of the Society Islands. It was at
Toobouai that the mutineers of the _Bounty_ landed, and Torquil married
Neuha. When a vessel was sent to capture the mutineers, Neuha conducted
Torquil to a secret cave, where they lay _perdu_ till all danger was
over, when they returned to their island home.--Byron, _The Island_.
(The character of Neuha is given in canto ii. 7.)
=Nevers= (_Comte de_), to whom Valenti'na (daughter of the governor of the
Louvre) was affianced, and whom she married in a fit of jealousy. The
count having been shot in the Bartholomew slaughter, Valentina married
Raoul [_Rawl_] her first love, but both were killed by a party of
musketeers commanded by the governor of the Louvre.--Meyerbeer, _Les
Huguenots_ (opera, 1836).
[Asterism] The duke [not _count_] de Nevers, being asked by the governor
of the Louvre to join in the Bartholomew Massacre, replied that his
family contained a long list of warriors, but not one assassin.
=Neville= (_Major_), an assumed name of Lord Geraldin, son of the earl of
Geraldin. He first appears as Mr. William Lovell.
_Mr. Geraldin Neville_, uncle to Lord Geraldin.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
_Neville_ (_Miss_), the friend and _confidante_ of Miss Hardcastle. A
handsome, coquettish girl, destined by Mrs. Hardcastle for her son Tony
Lumpkin, but Tony did not care for her, and she dearly loved Mr.
Hastings; so Hastings and Tony plotted together to outwit madam, and of
course won the day.--O. Goldsmith, _She Stoops to Conquer_ (1773).
_Neville_ (_Sir Henry_), chamberlain of Richard Coeur de Lion.--Sir W.
Scott, _The Talisman_ (time, Richard I.).
=New Atlantis= (_The_), an imaginary island in the middle of the Atlantic.
Bacon in his allegorical fiction so called, supposes himself wrecked on
this island, where he finds an association for the cultivation of
natural science, and the promotion of arts.--Lord Bacon, _The New
Atlantis_ (1626).
[Asterism] Called the _New_ Atlantis to distinguish it from Plato's
Atlantis, an imaginary island of fabulous charms.
=New Inn= (_The_), or THE LIGHT HEART, a comedy by Ben Jonson (1628).
=New Way to Pay Old Debts=, a drama by Philip Massinger (1625). Wellborn,
the nephew of Sir Giles Overreach, having run through his fortune and
got into debt, induces Lady Allworth, out of respect and gratitude to
his father, to give him countenance. This induces Sir Giles to suppose
that his nephew is about to marry the wealthy dowager. Feeling convinced
that he will then be able to swindle him out of all the dowager's
property, as he had ousted him out of his paternal estates, Sir Giles
pays his nephew's debts, and supplies him liberally with ready money, to
bring about the marriage as soon as possible. Having paid Wellborn's
debts, the overreaching old man is compelled, through the treachery of
his clerk, to restore the estates also, for the deeds of conveyance are
found to be only blank sheets of parchment, the writing having been
erased by some chemical acids.
=New Zealander=, It was Macaulay who said the time might come when some
"New Zealand artist shall, in the midst of a vast solitude, take his
stand on a broken arch of London bridge to sketch the ruins of St.
Paul's."
[Asterism] Shelley was before Macaulay in the same conceit.--See
_Dedication of Peter Bell the Third_.
=Newcastle= (_The duchess of_), in the court of Charles II.).[TN-32]--Sir
W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
_Newcastle_ (_The marquis of_), a royalist in the service of Charles
I.--Sir W. Scott, _Legend of Montrose_ (time, Charles I.).
=Newcastle Apothecary= (_The_), Mr. Bolus, of Newcastle, used to write his
prescriptions in rhyme. A bottle bearing the couplet, "When taken to be
well shaken," was sent to a patient, and when Bolus called next day to
inquire about its effect, John told the apothecary his master was dead.
The fact is, John had shaken the _sick man_ instead of the bottle, and
had shaken the life out of him.--G. Colman, Jr.
=Newcome= (_Clemency_), about 30 years old, with a plump and cheerful
face, but twisted into a tightness that made it comical. Her gait was
very homely, her limbs seemed all odd ones; her shoes were so
self-willed that they never wanted to go where her feet went. She wore
blue stockings, a printed gown of hideous pattern and many colors, and a
white apron. Her sleeves were short, her elbows always grazed, her cap
anywhere but in the right place; but she was scrupulously clean, and
"maintained a kind of dislocated tidiness." She carried in her pocket "a
handkerchief, a piece of wax-candle, an apple, an orange, a lucky penny,
a cramp-bone, a padlock, a pair of scissors, a handful of loose beads,
several balls of worsted and cotton, a needle-case, a collection of
curl-papers, a biscuit, a thimble, a nutmeg-grater, and a few
miscellaneous articles." Clemency Newcome married Benjamin Britain, her
fellow-servant at Dr. Jeddler's, and opened a country inn called the
Nutmeg-Grater, a cozy, well-to-do place as any one could wish to see,
and there were few married people so well matched as Clemency and Ben
Britain.--C. Dickens, _The Battle of Life_ (1846).
_Newcome_ (_Colonel_), a widower, distinguished for the moral beauty of
his life. He loses his money and enters the Charter House.
_Clive Newcome_, his son. He is in love with Ethel Newcome, his cousin,
whom he marries as his second wife.--Thackeray, _The Newcomes_ (1855).
_Newcome_ (_Johnny_), any raw youth when he first enters the army or
navy.
=Newman Noggs.= Ralph Nickleby's clerk, but Ralph's nephew's friend and
secret coadjutor.--Charles Dickens, _Nicholas Nickleby_.
=Newland= (_Abraham_), one of the governors of the Bank of England, to
whom, in the early part of the nineteenth century, all Bank of England
notes were made payable. A bank-note was called an "Abraham Newland;"
and hence the popular song, "I've often heard say, sham Ab'ram you may,
but must not sham Abraham Newland."
Trees are notes issued from the bank of nature, and as current as
those payable to Abraham Newland.--G. Colman, _The Poor Gentleman_,
i. 2 (1802).
=Newman.= An intelligent American who has made a fortune as a
manufacturer, yet kept his head steady. He sees life with clear,
sometimes with amused eyes.
"In America," Newman reflected, "lads of twenty-five and thirty
have old heads and young hearts, or at least, young morals; abroad
they have young heads and very aged hearts, morals the most
grizzled and wrinkled."--Henry James Jr., _The Americans_ (1877).
=Newton.=
Newton ... declared, with all his grand discoveries recent,
That he himself felt only "like a youth
Picking up shells by the great ocean, truth."
Byron, _Don Juan_, vii. 5 (1824).
Newton discovered the prismatic colors of light, and explained the
phenomenon by the emission theory.
Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night.
God said, "Let Newton be," and all was light.
Pope, _Epitaph, intended for Newton's Monument in Westminster Abbey_
(1727).
Newton is called by Campbell "The Priest of Nature."--_Pleasures of
Hope_, i. (1799).
=Newton and the Apple.= It is said that Newton was standing in the garden
of Mrs. Conduitt, of Woolsthorpe, in the year 1665, when an apple fell
from a tree and set him thinking. From this incident he ultimately
developed his theory of gravitation.
=Nibelung=, a mythical king of Nibelungeland (_Norway_). He had twelve
paladins, all giants. Siegfried [_Sege.freed_], prince of the Netherlands,
slew the giants, and made Nibelungeland tributary.--_Nibelungen Lied_,
iii. (1210).
=Nibelungen Hoard=, a mythical mass of gold and precious stones which
Siegfried [_Sege.freed_], prince of the Netherlands, took from
Nibelungeland and gave to his wife as a dowry. The hoard filled
thirty-six wagons. After the murder of Siegfried, Hagan seized the
hoard, and, for concealment, sank it in the "Rhine at Lockham,"
intending to recover it at a future period, but Hagan was assassinated,
and the hoard was lost for ever.--_Nibelungen Lied_, xix.
=Nibelungen Lied= [_Ne.by-lung.'nleed_], the German _Iliad_ (1210). It is
divided into two parts, and thirty-two lieds or cantos. The first part
ends with the death of Siegfried, and the second part with the death of
Kriemhild.
Siegfried, the youngest of the kings of the Netherlands, went to Worms,
to crave the hand of Kriemhild in marriage. While he was staying with
G[:u]nther, king of Burgundy (the lady's brother), he assisted him to
obtain in marriage Brunhild, queen of Issland, who announced publicly
that he only should be her husband who could beat her in hurling a
spear, throwing a huge stone, and in leaping. Siegfried, who possessed a
cloak of invisibility, aided G[:u]nther in these three contests, and
Brunhild became his wife. In return for these services, G[:u]nther gave
Siegfried his sister Kriemhild, in marriage. After a time, the bride and
bridegroom went to visit G[:u]nther, when the two ladies disputed about
the relative merits of their respective husbands, and Kriemhild, to
exalt Siegfried, boasted that G[:u]nther owed to him his victories and
his wife. Brunhild, in great anger, now employed Hagan to murder
Siegfried, and this he did by stabbing him in the back while he was
drinking from a brook.
Thirteen years elapsed, and the widow married Etzel, king of the Huns.
After a time, she invited Brunhild and Hagan to a visit. Hagan, in this
visit, killed Etzel's young son, and Kriemhild was like a fury. A battle
ensued, in which G[:u]nther and Hagan were made prisoners, and Kriemhild
cut off both their heads with her own hand. Hildebrand, horrified at
this act of blood, slew Kriemhild; and so the poem ends.--Authors
unknown (but the story pieced together by the minnesingers).
[Asterism] The _V[:o]lsunga Saga_ is the Icelandic version of the
_Nibelungen Lied_. This saga has been translated into English by William
Morris.
The _Nibelungen Lied_ has been ascribed to Heinrich von Ofterdingen, a
minnesinger; but it certainly existed before that epoch, if not as a
complete whole, in separate lays, and all that Heinrich von Ofterdingen
could have done was to collect the floating lays, connect them, and form
them into a complete story.
F. A. Wolf, in 1795, wrote a learned book to prove that Homer did for
the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ what Ofterdingen did for the _Nibelungen
Lied_.
Richard Wagner composed a series of operas founded on the Nibelungen
Lied.
=Nibelungen N[^o]t=, the second part of the _Nibelungen Lied_,
containing the marriage of Kriemhild with Etzel, the visit of the
Burgundians to the court of the Hun, and the death of G[:u]nther, Hagan,
Kriemhild, and others. This part contains eighty-three four-line stanzas
more than the first part. The number of lines in the two parts is 9836;
so that the poem is almost as long as Milton's _Paradise Lost_.
=Nibelungers=, whoever possessed the Nibelungen hoard. When it was in
Norway, the Norwegians were so called: when Siegfried [_Sege.freed_] got
the possession of it, the Netherlanders were so called; and when the
hoard was removed to Burgundy, the Burgundians were the Nibelungers.
=Nic. Frog=, the Dutch as a nation; as the English are called John
Bull.--Dr. Arbuthnot, _History of John Bull_ (1712).
=Nica'nor=, "the Protospathaire," a Greek general.--Sir W. Scott, _Count
Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).
=Nice= (_Sir Courtley_), the chief character and title of a drama by
Croune (1685).
=Nicholas=, a poor scholar, who boarded with John, a rich old miserly
carpenter. The poor scholar fell in love with Alison, his landlord's
young wife, who joined him in duping the foolish old carpenter. Nicholas
told John that such a rain would fall on the ensuing Monday as would
drown every one in "less than an hour;" and he persuaded the old fool to
provide three large tubs, one for himself, one for his wife, and the
other for his lodger. In these tubs, said Nicholas, they would be saved;
and when the flood abated, they would then be lords and masters of the
whole earth. A few hours before the time of the "flood," the old
carpenter went to the top chamber of his house to repeat his _pater
nosters_. He fell asleep over his prayers, and was roused by the cry of
"Water! water! Help! help!" Supposing the rain had come, he jumped into
his tub, and was let down by Nicholas and Alison into the street. A
crowd soon assembled, were delighted at the joke, and pronounced the old
man an idiot and fool.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ ("The Miller's
Tale," 1388).
_Nicholas_, the barber of the village in which Don Quixote
lived.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. (1605).
_Nicholas_ (_Brother_), a monk at St. Mary's Convent.--Sir W. Scott,
_The Monastery_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Nicholas_ (_St._), patron saint of boys, parish clerks, sailors,
thieves, and of Aberdeen, Russia, etc.
_Nicholas_ (_St._). The legend is, that an angel told him a father was
so poor he was about to raise money by the prostitution of his three
daughters. On hearing this St. Nicholas threw in at the cottage window
three bags of money, sufficient to portion each of the three damsels.
The gift
Of Nicholas, which on the maidens he
Bounteous bestowed, to save their youthful prime
Unblemished.
Dant[^e], _Purgatory_, xx. (1308).
=Nicholas of the Tower= (_The_), the duke of Exeter, constable of the
Tower.
=Nicholas's Clerks=, highwaymen; so called by a pun on the phrase _Old
Nick_ and _St. Nicholas_ who presided over scholars.
_St. Nicholas's Clerks_, scholars; so called because St. Nicholas was
the patron of scholars. The statutes of Paul's School require the
scholars to attend divine service on St. Nicholas's Day.--Knight, _Life
of Dean Colet_, 362 (1726).
=Nicholas Minturn=, hero of novel of that name, by Josiah Gilbert Holland
(1876).
=Nickleby= (_Nicholas_), the chief character and title of a novel by C.
Dickens (1838). He is the son of a poor country gentleman, and has to
make his own way in the world. He first goes as usher to Mr. Squeers,
schoolmaster at Dotheboys Hall, in Yorkshire; but leaves in disgust with
the tyranny of Squeers and his wife, especially to a poor boy named
Smike. Smike runs away from the school to follow Nicholas, and remains
his humble follower till death. At Portsmouth, Nicholas joins the
theatrical company of Mr. Crummles, but leaves the profession for other
adventures. He falls in with the brothers Cheeryble, who make him their
clerk; and in this post he rises to become a merchant, and ultimately
marries Madeline Bray.
_Mrs. Nickleby_, mother of Nicholas, and a widow. She is an enormous
talker, fond of telling long stories with no connection. Mrs. Nickleby
is a weak, vain woman, who imagines an idiot neighbor is in love with
her because he tosses cabbages and other articles over the garden wall.
In conversation, Mrs. Nickleby rides off from the main point at every
word suggestive of some new idea. As a specimen of her sequence of
ideas, take the following example: "The name began with 'B' and ended
with 'g,' I am sure. Perhaps it was Waters" (p. 198).
[Asterism] "The original of 'Mrs. Nickleby,'" says John Foster, "was the
mother of Charles Dickens."--_Life of Dickens_, iii. 8.
_Kate Nickleby_, sister of Nicholas; beautiful, pure-minded, and loving.
Kate works hard to assist in the expenses of housekeeping, but shuns
every attempt of Ralph and others to allure her from the path of virgin
innocence. She ultimately marries Frank, the nephew of the Cheeryble
brothers.
_Ralph Nickleby_, of Golden Square (London), uncle to Nicholas and Kate.
A hard, grasping money-broker, with no ambition but the love of saving,
no spirit beyond the thirst of gold, and no principle except that of
fleecing every one who comes into his power. This villain is the father
of Smike, and ultimately hangs himself, because he loses money, and sees
his schemes one after another burst into thin air.--C. Dickens,
_Nicholas Nickleby_, (1838).
=Nicneven=, a gigantic, malignant hag of Scotch superstition.
[Asterism] Dunbar, the Scotch poet, describes her in his _Flyting of
Dunbar and Kennedy_ (1508).
=Nicode'mus=, one of the servants of General Harrison.--Sir W. Scott,
_Woodstock_ (time, Commonwealth).
=Nicole= (2 _syl._), a female servant of M. Jourdain, who sees the
folly of her master, and exposes it in a natural and amusing
manner.--Moli[`e]re, _Le Bourgeois Gentlehomme_[TN-33] (1670).
=Night= or =Nox=. So Tennyson calls Sir Peread, the Black Knight of the
Black Lands, one of the four brothers who kept the passages to Castle
Perilous.--Tennyson, _Idylls of the King_ ("Gareth and Lynette"); Sir T.
Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 126 (1470).
=Nightingale= (_The Italian_), Angelica Catala'ni; also called "The Queen
of Song" (1782-1849).
_Nightingale_ (_The Swedish_), Jenny Lind, afterwards Mde. Goldschmidt.
She appeared in London 1847, and retired from public life in 1851
(1821-1887).
=Nightingale and the Lutist.= The tale is, that a lute-master challenged a
nightingale in song. The bird, after sustaining the contest for some
time, feeling itself outdone, fell on the lute, and died broken-hearted.
[Asterism] This tale is from the Latin of Strada, translated by Richard
Crashaw, and called _Music's Duel_ (1650). It is most beautifully told
by John Ford, in his drama entitled _The Lover's Melancholy_, where
Men'aphon is supposed to tell it to Ame'thus (1628).
=Nightingale and the Thorn.=
As it fell upon a day
In the merry month of May,
Sitting in a pleasant shade
Which a grove of myrtles made--
Beasts did leap, and birds did sing,
Trees did grow, and plants did spring,
Everything did banish moan,
Save the nightingale alone;
She, poor bird, as all forlorn,
Leaned her breast up-till a thorn.
Richard Barnfield, _Address to the Nightingale_ (1594).
So Philomel, perched on an aspen sprig,
Weeps all the night her lost virginity,
And sings her sad tale to the merry twig,
That dances at such joyful mysery.
Never lets sweet rest invade her eye;
But leaning on a thorn her dainty chest,
For fear soft sleep should steal into her breast,
Expresses in her song grief not to be expressed.
Giles Fletcher, _Christ's Triumph over Death_ (1610).
The nightingale that sings with the deep thorn,
Which fable places in her breast.
Byron, _Don Juan_, vi. 87 (1824).
=Nightmare of Europe= (_The_), Napoleon Bonaparte (1769, reigned
1804-1814, died 1821).
=Nightshade= (_Deadly_). We are told that the berries of this plant so
intoxicated the soldiers of Sweno, the Danish king, that they became an
easy prey to the Scotch, who cut them to pieces.
[Asterism] Called "deadly," not from its poisonous qualities, but
because it was used at one time for blackening the eyes in mourning.
=Nimrod=, pseudonym of Charles James Apperley, author of _The Chase, The
Road, The Turf_ (1852), etc.[TN-34]
=Nim'ue=, a "damsel of the lake," who cajoled Merlin in his dotage to tell
her the secret "whereby he could be rendered powerless;" and then, like
Delilah, she overpowered him, by "confining him under a stone."
Then after these quests, Merlin fell in a dotage on ... one of the
damsels of the lake, hight Nimue, and Merlin would let her have no
rest, but always he would be with her in every place. And she made
him good cheer till she learned of him what she desired.... And
Merlin shewed to her in a rock, whereas was a great wonder ...
which went under a stone. So by her subtle craft, she made Merlin
go under that stone ... and he never came out, for all the craft
that he could do.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 60
(1470).
It is not unlikely that this name is a clerical error for Nineve or
Ninive. It occurs only once in the three volumes. (See NINIVE.)[TN-35]
[Asterism] Tennyson makes Vivien the seductive betrayer of Merlin, and
says she enclosed him "in the four walls of a hollow tower;" but the
_History_ says "Nimue put him under the stone" (pt. i. 60).
=Nino-Thoma=,[TN-36] daughter of Tor-Thoma (chief of one of the
Scandinavian islands). She eloped with Uthal (son of Larthmor, a petty
king of Berrathon, a neighboring island); but Uthal soon tired of her,
and, having fixed his affections on another, confined her in a desert
island. Uthal, who had also dethroned his father, was slain in single
combat by Ossian, who had come to restore the deposed monarch to his
throne. When Nina-Thoma heard of her husband's death, she languished and
died, "for though most cruelly entreated, her love for Uthal was not
abated."--Ossian, _Berrathon_.
=Nine.= "It is by nines that Eastern presents are given, when they would
extend their magificence[TN-37] to the highest degree." Thus, when
Daki[=a]nos wished to ingratiate himself with the shah,
He caused himself to be preceded by nine superb camels. The first
was loaded with nine suits of gold adorned with jewels; the second
bore nine sabres, the hilts and scabbards of which were adorned
with diamonds; upon the third camel were nine suits of armor; the
fourth had nine suits of house furniture; the fifth had nine cases
full of sapphires; the sixth had nine cases full of rubies; the
seventh nine cases full of emeralds; the eighth had nine cases
full of amethysts; and the ninth had nine cases full of
diamonds.--Comte de Caylus, _Oriental Tales_ ("Dakianos and the
Seven Sleepers," 1743).
=Nine Gods= (_The_) of the Etruscans: Juno, Minerva, and Tin'ia (_the
three chief_). The other six were Vulcan, Mars, Saturn, Hercul[^e]s,
Summa'nus, and Vedius. (See NOVENSILES.)
Lars Por's[)e]na of Clusium
By the nine gods he swore
That the great house of Tarquin
Should suffer wrong no more.
By the nine gods he swore it,
And named a trysting day ...
To summon his array.
Lord Macaulay, _Lays of Ancient Rome_ ("Horatius," i., 1842).
=Nine Orders of Angels= (_The_): (1) Seraphim, (2) Cherubim (_in the first
circle_); (3) Thrones, (4) Dominions (_in the second circle_); (5)
Virtues, (6) Powers, (7) Principalities, (8) Archangels, (9) Angels (_in
the third circle_).
In heaven above
The effulgent bands in triple circles move.
Tasso, _Jerusalem Delivered_, xi. 13 (1575).
Novem vero angelorum ordines dicimus; ... scimus (1) Angelos, (2)
Archangelos, (3) Virtues, (4) Potestates, (5) Principatus, (6)
Dominationes, (7) Thronos, (8) Cherubim, (9) Seraphim.--Gregory,
_Homily_, 34 (A.D. 381).
=Nine Worthies= (_The_). Three were _pagans_: Hector, Alexander, and
Julius Caesar. Three were _Jews_: Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabaeus.
Three were _Christians_: Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillon.
_Nine.[TN-38] Worthies_ (privy councillors to William III.). Four were
_Whigs_: Devonshire, Dorset, Monmouth, and Edward Russell. Five were
_Tories_: Caermarthen, Pembroke, Nottingham, Marlborough, and Lowther.
=Nine Worthies of London= (_The_): Sir William Walworth, Sir Henry
Pritchard, Sir William Sevenoke, Sir Thomas White, Sir John Bonham,
Christopher Croker, Sir John Hawkwood, Sir Hugh Caverley, and Sir Henry
Maleverer.
[Asterism] The chronicles of these nine worthies are written in prose
and verse by Richard Johnson (1592), author of _The Seven Champions of
Christendom_.
=Nineve= (2 _syl._), the Lady of the Lake, in Arthurian romance.
Then the Lady of the Lake, that was always friendly unto King
Arthur, understood by her subtle craft that he was like to have
been destroyed; and so the Lady of the Lake, that hight Nineve,
came into the forest to seek Sir Launcelot du Lake.--Sir T. Malory,
_History of Prince Arthur_, ii. 57 (1470).
[Asterism] This name occurs three times in the _Morte d'Arthur_--once as
"Nimue," once as "Nineve," and once as "Ninive." Probably "Nimue"
(_q.v._) is a clerical error.
=Ninon de Lenclos=, a beautiful Parisian, rich, _spirituelle_, and an
atheist, who abandoned herself to epicurean indulgence, and preserved
her charms to a very advanced age. Ninon de Lenclos renounced marriage,
and had numberless lovers. Her house was the rendezvous of all the most
illustrious persons of the period, as Moli[`e]re, St. Evremont,
Fontenelle, Voltaire, and so on (1615-1705).
=Niobe= [_Ne'.oby_], the beau-ideal of grief. After losing her twelve
children, she was changed into a stone, which wept continually.
[Asterism] The group of "Niobe and her Children" in Florence, discovered
at Rome in 1583, is now arranged in the Uffizii[TN-39] Gallery.
She followed my poor father's body,
Like Niob[^e], all tears.
Shakespeare, _Hamlet_, act i. sc. 2 (1596).
=Niobe of Nations= (_The_). Rome is so called by Byron.--_Childe Harold_,
iv. 79 (1817).
=Nipper= (_Susan_), generally called "Spitfire," from her snappish
disposition. She was the nurse of Florence Dombey, to whom she was much
attached. Susan Nipper married Mr. Toots (after he had got over his
infatuation for Florence).
=Nippotate= (4 _syl._), "a live lion stuffed with straw," exhibited in a
raree-show. This proved to be the body of a tame hedgehog exhibited by
Old Harry, a notorious character in London at the beginning of the
eighteenth century (died 1710).
Of monsters stranger than can be expressed,
There's Nippotat[^e] lies amongst the rest.
_Sutton Nicholls._
=Niquee= [_Ne'.kay_], the sister of Anasterax, with whom she lived in
incest. The fairy Zorphee was her godmother, and enchanted her, in order
to break off this connection.--Vasco de Lobeira, _Amadis de Gaul_
(thirteenth century).
=Nisroch= [_Niz'.rok_], "of principalities the prince." A god of the
Assyrians. In the book of _Kings_ the Septuagint calls him "Meserach,"
and in _Isaiah_ "Nasarach." Josephus calls him "Arask[^e]s." One of the
rebel angels in Milton's _Paradise Lost_. He Says:[TN-40]
Sense of pleasure we may well
Spare out of life, perhaps, and not repine,
But live content, which is the calmest life;
But pain is perfect misery, the worst
Of evils, and, excessive, overturns
All patience.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, (1665).
=Nit=, one of the attendants of Queen Mab.
Hop, and Mop, and Drap so clear,
Pip, and Trip, and Skip, that were
To Mab their sovereign dear--
Her special maids of honor.
Fib, and Tib, and Pinck, and Pin,
Tick, and Quick, and Jil, and Jin,
Tit, and Nit, and Wap, and Win--
The train that wait upon her.
Drayton, _Nymphidia_ (1563-1631).
=Nitchs=, daughter of Amases, king of Egypt. She was sent to Persia to
become the wife of Cambyses.--Georg Ebers, _An Egyptian Princess_.
=Nixon= (_Christal_), agent to Mr. Edward Redgauntlet, the Jacobite.--Sir
W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
_Nixon_ (_Martha_), the old nurse of the earl of Oxford.--Sir W. Scott,
_Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
=No One= (_Caesar or_). Julius Caesar said, "Aut Caesar aut nullus." And
again, "I would sooner be first in a village than second at Rome."
Milton makes Satan say, "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven."
Jonathan Wild used to say, "I'd rather stand on the top of a dunghill
than at the bottom of a hill in paradise."
Tennyson says, "All in all or not at all."--_Idylls_ ("Vivien").
"Six thrice or three dice" (aces were called _dice_, and did not count).
=No Song no Supper=, a musical drama by Prince Hoare, F.S.A. (1790). Crop,
the farmer, has married a second wife called Dorothy, who has an amiable
weakness for a rascally lawyer named Endless. During the absence of her
husband, Dorothy provides a supper for Endless, consisting of roast
lamb and a cake; but just as the lawyer sits down to it, Crop, with
Margaretta, knocks at the door. Endless is concealed in a sack, and the
supper is carried away. Presently Robin, the sweetheart of Margaretta,
arrives, and Crop regrets there is nothing but bread and cheese to offer
him. Margaretta now volunteers a song, the first verse of which tells
Crop there is roast lamb in the house, which is accordingly produced;
the second verse tells him there is a cake, which is produced also; and
the third verse tells him that Endless is concealed in a sack. Had there
been no song there would have been no supper, but the song produced the
roast lamb and new cake.
=Noah's Wife=, W[^a][:i]la (3 _syl._), who endeavored to persuade the
people that her husband was distraught.
The wife of Noah [_W[^a][:i]la_] and the wife of Lot [_W[^a]hela_]
were both unbelievers ... and deceived their husbands ... and it
shall be said to them at the last day, "Enter ye into hell
fire."--Sale, _Al Kor[^a]n_, lxvi.
=Nobbs=, the horse of "Dr. Dove of Doncaster."--Southey, _The Doctor_
(1834).
=Noble= (_The_), Charles III. of Navarre (1361, 1387-1425).
Soliman, _Tchelibi_, the Turk (died 1410).
[Asterism] Khosrou or Chosro[:e]s I. was called "The Noble Soul" (*,
531-579).
=Nodel=, the lion, in the beast-epic called _Reynard the Fox_. Nodel, the
lion, represents the regal element of Germany; Isengrin, the wolf,
represents the baronial element; and Reynard, the fox, the Church
element (1498).
=Noel= (_Eusebe_), schoolmaster of Bout du Monde. "His clothes are old and
worn, and his manner vacant."--E. Stirling, _The Gold Mine_, or _Miller
of Grenoble_, act i. sc. 2 (1854).
=Noggs= (_Newman_), Ralph Nickleby's clerk. A tall man of middle age, with
two goggle eyes (one of which was fixed), a rubicund nose, a
cadavarous[TN-41] face, and a suit of clothes decidedly the worse for
wear. He had the gift of distorting and cracking his finger-joints. This
kind-hearted, dilapidated fellow "kept his hunter and hounds once," but
ran through his fortune. He discovered a plot of old Ralph, which he
confided to the Cheeryble brothers, who frustrated it, and then provided
for Newman.--C. Dickens, _Nicholas Nickleby_ (1838).
=Noko'mis=, mother of Weno'nah, and grandmother of Hiawatha. Nokomis was
the daughter of the Moon. While she was swinging one day, some of her
companions, out of jealousy, cut the ropes, and she fell to earth in a
meadow. The same night her first child, a daughter, was born, and was
named Wenonah.
There among the ferns and mosses ...
Fair Nokomis bore a daughter,
And she called her name Wenonah.
Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, iii. (1855).
=Non Mi Ricordo=, the usual answer of the Italian courier and other
Italian witnesses when on examination at the trial of Queen Caroline
(the wife of George IV.), in 1820.
"Lord Flint," in _Such Things Are_, by Mrs. Inchbald (1786), when asked
a question he wished to evade, used to reply, "My people know, no doubt,
but I cannot recollect."
"Pierre Choppard," in _The Courier of Lyons_, by Edward Stirling (1852),
when asked an ugly question, always answered "I'll ask my wife, my
memory's so slippery."
The North American society called the "Know Nothings," founded in 1853,
used to reply to every question about their order, "I know nothing about
it."
=Nona'cris' Stream=, the river Styx, in Arcadia. Cassander says he has in
a phial some of this "horrid spring," one drop of which, mixed with
wine, would act as a deadly poison. To this Polyperchon replies:
I know its power, for I have seen it tried.
Pains of all sorts thro' every nerve and artery
At once it scatters,--burns at once and freezes--
Till, by extremity of torture forced,
The soul consents to leave her joyless home.
N. Lee, _Alexander the Great_, iv. i (1678).
=Nonentity= (_Dr._), a metaphysician, and thought by most people to be a
profound scholar. He generally spreads himself before the fire, sucks
his pipe, talks little, drinks much, and is reckoned very good company.
You may know him by his long grey wig, and the blue handkerchief round
his neck.
Dr. Nonentity, I am told, writes indexes to perfection, makes
essays, and reviews any work with a single day's
warning.--Goldsmith, _A Citizen of the World_, xxix. (1759).
=Norbert= (_Father_), Pierre Parisot Norbert, the French missionary
(1697-1769).
=Norland= (_Lord_), father of Lady Eleanor Irwin, and guardian of Lady
Ramble (Miss Maria Wooburn). He disinherited his daughter for marrying
against his will, and left her to starve, but subsequently relented, and
relieved her wants and those of her young husband.--Inchbald, _Every One
has His Fault_ (1794).
=Norma=, a vestal who had been seduced, and discovers her paramour trying
to seduce a sister vestal. In despair, she contemplates the murder of
her base-born children.--Bellini, _Norma_ (1831); libretto, by Romani.
=Norman=, forester of Sir William Ashton, lord-keeper of Scotland.--Sir W.
Scott, _Bride of Lammermoor_ (time, William III.).
_Norman_, a "sea-captain," in love with Violet, the ward of Lady
Arundel. It turns out that this Norman is her ladyship's son by her
first husband, and heir to the title and estates; but Lady Arundel,
having married a second husband, had a son named Percy, whom she wished
to make her heir. Norman's father was murdered, and Norman, who was born
three days afterwards, was brought up by Onslow, a village priest. At
the age of 14 he went to sea, and became captain of a man-of-war. Ten
years later he returned to Arundel, and though at first his mother
ignored him, and Percy flouted him, his noble and generous conduct
disarmed hostility, and he not only reconciled his half-brother, but won
his mother's affection, and married Violet, his heart's "sweet
sweeting."--Lord Lytton, _The Sea-Captain_ (1839).
=Norm-nan-Ord= or Norman of the Hammer, one of the eight sons of Torquil
of the Oak.--Sir W. Scott, _Fair Maid of Perth_ (time, Henry IV.).
=Normandy= (_The Gem of_), Emma, daughter of Richard I. (died 1052).
=Norna of the Fitful Head=, "The Reimkennar." Her real name was, Ulla
Troil, but after her seduction by Basil Mertoun (Vaughan), and the birth
of a son named Clement Cleveland (the future pirate), she changed her
name. Towards the end of the novel, Norna gradually recovered her
senses. She was the aunt of Minna and Brenda Troil.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Pirate_ (time, William III.).
[_One_] cannot fail to trace in Norna--the victim of remorse and
insanity, and the dupe of her own imposture, her mind too flooded
with all the wild literature and extravagant superstitions of the
north--something distinct from the Dumfriesshire gypsy, whose
pretensions to supernatural powers are not beyond those of a
Norwood prophetess.--_The Pirate_ (introduction, 1821).
=Norris=, a family to whom Martin Chuzzlewit was introduced while he was
in America. They were friends of Mr. Bevan, rabid abolitionists, and yet
hankering after titles as the gilt of the gingerbread of life.--C.
Dickens, _Martin Chuzzlewit_ (1844).
_Norris_ (_Black_), a dark, surly man, and a wrecker. He wanted to marry
Marian, "the daughter" of Robert (also a wrecker); but Marian was
betrothed to Edward, a young sailor. Robert, being taken up for murder,
was condemned to death; but Norris told Marian he would save his life if
she would promise to marry him. Marian consented, but was saved by the
arrest of Black Norris for murder.--S. Knowles, _The Daughter_ (1836).
=North= (_Christopher_), pseudonym of John Wilson, professor of moral
philosophy, Edinburgh, editor of _Blackwood's Magazine_, in which
appeared the "Noctes Ambrosianae" (1805-1861).
_North_ (_Lord_), one of the judges in the State trial of Geoffrey
Peveril, Julian, and the dwarf, for being concerned in the popish
plot.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II).[TN-42]
=North Britain= (_The_), a radical periodical, conducted by John Wilkes.
The celebrated number of this serial was No. 45, in which the ministers
are charged "with putting a lie in the king's mouth."
=Northamptonshire Poet= (_The_), John Clare (1793-1864).
=Northern Harlot= (_The_), Elizabeth Petrowna, empress of Russia; also
called "The Infamous" (1709-1761).
=Northern Wagoner=, a group of seven stars called variously Charles's
Wain, or Wagon, _i.e._ churl's wain; Ursa Major, The Great Bear, and The
Dipper. Four make the wagon, or the dipper, three form the shaft, or the
handle. Two are called Pointers because they point to the Pole-star.
By this the northern wagoner has set
His sevenfold team behind the steadfast star
That was in ocean waves yet never wet,
But firm is fixed, and sendeth light from far
To all that on the wide deep wandering are.
Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_, I. ii. 1 (1590).
=Norval= (_Old_), a shepherd, who brings up Lady Randolph's son (Douglas)
as his own. He was hidden at birth in a basket, because Sir Malcolm (her
father) hated Douglas, whom she had privately married. The child being
found by old Norval, was brought up as his own, but the old man
discovered that the foundling was "Sir Malcolm's heir and Douglas's
son." When 18 years old, the foster-son saved the life of Lord Randolph.
Lady Randolph took great interest in the young man, and when old Norval
told her his tale, she instantly perceived that the young hero was in
fact her own son.
_Young Norval_, the infant exposed and brought up by the old shepherd as
his own son. He turned out to be Sir Malcolm's heir. His mother was Lady
Randolph, and his father Lord Douglas, her first husband. Young Norval,
having saved the life of Lord Randolph, was given by him a commission in
the army. Glenalvon, the heir-presumptive of Lord Randolph, hated the
new favorite, and persuaded his lordship that the young man was too
familiar with Lady Randolph. Being waylaid, Norval was attacked, slew
Glenalvon, but was in turn slain by Lord Randolph. After the death of
Norval, Lord Randolph discovered that he had killed the son of his wife
by a former marriage. The mother, in her distraction, threw herself
headlong from a lofty precipice, and Lord Randolph went to the war then
raging between Denmark and Scotland.--J[TN-43] Home, _Douglas_ (1757).
(This was a favorite character with John Kemble, 1757-1823.)
=Norway= (_The Fair Maid of_), Margaret, granddaughter of Alexander III.
of Scotland. She died (1290) of sea-sickness on her passage from Norway
to Scotland. Her father was Eric II., king of Norway, and her mother was
Margaret, only daughter of Alexander III.
=Nose= (_Golden_), Tycho Brah[^e], the Danish astronomer. Having lost his
nose in a duel with one Passberg, he adopted a golden one, and attached
it to his face by a cement which he carried about with him.
=Nosebag= (_Mrs._), wife of a lieutenant in the dragoons. She is the
inquisitive travelling companion of Waverley when he travels by stage to
London.--Sir W. Scott, _Waverley_ (time, George II.).
=Nosey= (_Play up!_) This exclamation was common in our theatres in the
days of Macklin, etc. M. Nozay was the leader of the orchestra in Covent
Garden Theatre.
[Asterism] Some persons affirm that "Old Nosey" was Cervetto, the
violoncello player at Drury Lane (1753), and say that he was so called
from his long nose.
Napoleon III., was nicknamed _Grosbec_ ("Nosey").
=Nosnot-Bocai= [_Bo'.ky_], prince of purgatory.
Sir, I last night received command
To see you out of Fairy-land.
Into the realm of Nosnot-Bocai.
King, _Orpheus and Eurydice_.
=Nostrada'mus= (_Michael_), an astrologer of the sixteenth century, who
published an annual _Almanac_ and a _Recueil of Prophecies_, in verse
(1503-1566).
=Nostrada'mus of Portugal=, Gon[c,]alo Ann[^e]s Bandarra, a
poet-cobbler, whose career was stopped, in 1556, by the Inquisition.
=Nottingham= (_The countess of_), a quondam sweetheart of the earl of
Essex, and his worst enemy, when she heard that he had married the
countess of Rutland. The queen sent her to the Tower to ask Essex if he
had no petition to make, and the earl requested her to take back a ring,
which the queen had given him as a pledge of mercy in time of need. As
the countess out of jealousy forbore to deliver it, the earl was
executed.--Henry Jones, _The Earl of Essex_ (1745).
=Nottingham Lambs=, (_The_), the Nottingham roughs.
=Nottingham Poet= (_The_), Philip James Bailey, the author of _Festus_,
etc. (1816- ).
=No'tus=, the south wind; _Afer_ is the south-west wind.
Notus and Afer, black with thundrous clouds.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, (1665).
=Noukhail=, the angel of day and night.
The day and night are trusted to my care. I hold the day in my
right hand and the night in my left; and I maintain the just
equilibrium between them, for if either were to overbalance the
other, the universe would either be consumed by the heat of the
sun, or would perish with the cold of darkness.--Comte de Caylus,
_Oriental Tales_ ("History of Abdal Motallab," 1743).
=Nouman= (_Sidi_), an Arab who married Am[=i]n[^e], a very beautiful
woman, who ate her rice with a bodkin. Sidi, wishing to know how his
wife could support life and health without more food than she partook of
in his presence, watched her narrowly, and discovered that she was a
ghoul, who went by stealth every night and feasted on the fresh-buried
dead. When Sidi made this discovery, Amin[^e] changed him into a dog.
After he was restored to his normal shape, he changed Amin[^e] into a
mare, which every day he rode almost to death.--_Arabian Nights_
("History of Sidi Nouman").
Your majesty knows that ghouls of either sex are demons which
wander about the fields. They commonly inhabit ruinous buildings,
whence they issue suddenly on unwary travellers, whom they kill and
devour. If they fail to meet with travellers, they go by night into
burying grounds, and dig up dead bodies, on which they
feed.--"History of Sidi Nouman."
=Nouredeen=, son of Khacan (vizier of Zinebi, king of Balsora). He got
possession of the "beautiful Persian" purchased for the king. At his
father's death he soon squandered away his patrimony in the wildest
extravagance, and fled with his beautiful slave to Bagdad. Here he
encountered Haroun-al-Raschid in disguise, and so pleased the caliph,
that he was placed in the number of those courtiers most intimate with
his majesty, who also bestowed on him so plentiful a fortune, that he
lived with the "beautiful Persian" in affluence all the rest of his
life.--_Arabian Nights_ ("Nouredeen and the Beautiful Persian").
=Nour'eddin' Ali=, younger son of the vizier of Egypt. "He was possessed
of as much merit as can fall to the lot of man." Having quarrelled with
his elder brother, he travelled to Baso'ra, where he married the
vizier's daughter, and succeeded his father-in-law in office. A son was
born to him in due time, and on the very same day the wife of his elder
brother had a daughter. Noureddin died when his son was barely twenty,
and unmarried.--_Arabian Nights_ ("Noureddin Ali," etc.).
=Nourgehan's Bracelet.= Nourgehan, emperor of the Moguls, had a bracelet
which had the property of discovering poison, even at a considerable
distance. When poison was anywhere near the wearer, the stones of the
bracelet seemed agitated, and the agitation increased as the poison
approached them.--Comte de Caylus, _Oriental Tales_ ("The Four
Talismans," 1743).
=Nour'jahad=, a sleeper, like Rip Van Winkle, Epimen'id[^e]s, etc. (See
SLEEPERS.)
=Nourjeham= ("_light of the world_"). So the Sultana Nourmahal was
subsequently called.--T. Moore, _Lalla Rookh_ ("The Light of the Haram,"
1817).
=Nourmahal'= (_The sultana_), _i.e._ "Light of the Haram," afterwards
called _Nourjeham_ ("light of the world"). She was for a season
estranged from the sultan, till he gave a grand banquet, at which she
appeared in disguise as a lute-player and singer. The sultan was so
enchanted with her performance, that he exclaimed, "If Nourmahal had so
played and sung, I could forgive her all;" whereupon the sultana threw
off her mask, and Selim "caught her to his heart."--T. Moore, _Lalla
Rookh_ ("The Light of the Haram," 1817).
=Nouron'ihar=, daughter of the Emir Fakreddin; a laughing, beautiful girl,
full of fun and pretty mischief, dotingly fond of Gulchenrouz, her
cousin, a boy of 13. She married the Caliph Vathek, with whom she
descended into the abyss of Eblis, whence she never after returned to
the light of day.
The trick she played Bababalouk was this: Vathek, the caliph, was on a
visit to Fakreddin, the emir', and Bababalouk, his chief eunuch,
intruded into the bathroom, where Nouronihar and her damsels were
bathing. Nouronihar induced the old eunuch to rest himself on the swing,
when the girls set it going with all their might. The cords broke, the
eunuch fell into the bath, and the girls made off with their lamps, and
left the meddlesome old fool to flounder about till morning, when
assistance came, but not before he was half dead.--W. Beckford, _Vathek_
(1784).
=Nouroun'nihar=, niece of a sultan of India, who had three sons, all in
love with her. The sultan said he would give her to him who, in twelve
months, gave him the most valuable present. The three princes met in a
certain inn at the expiration of the time, when one prince looked
through a tube, which showed Nourounnihar at the point of death; another
of the brothers transported all three instantaneously on a magic carpet
to the princess's chamber; and the third brother gave her an apple to
smell of which effected an instant cure. It was impossible to decide
which of these presents was the most valuable; so the sultan said he
should have her who shot an arrow to the greatest distance. The eldest
(Houssian) shot first; Ali overshot the arrow of his eldest brother; but
that of the youngest brother (Ahmed) could nowhere be found. So the
award was given to Ahmed.--_Arabian Nights_ ("Ahmed and Pari-Banou").
=Novel= (_Father of the English_). Henry Fielding is so called by Sir W.
Scott (1707-1754).
=Noven'siles= (4 _syl._), the nine Sabine gods, viz.: Hercul[^e]s,
Romulus, Esculapius, Bacchus, AEn[=e]as, Vesta, Santa, Fortuna and
Fid[^e]s or Faith. (See NINE GODS of the Etruscans.)
=Novit= (_Mr. Nichil_), the lawyer of the old laird of Dumbiedikes.--Sir
W. Scott, _Heart of Midlothian_ (time, George II.).
=Novius=, the usurer, famous for the loudness of his voice.
... at hic si plaustra ducenta
Concurrantque foro tria funera magna sonabit
Cornua quod vincatque tubas.
Horace, _Satires_, i. 6.
These people seem to be of the race of Novius, that Roman banker,
whose voice exceeded the noise of carmen.--Lesage, _Gil Blas_, vii.
13 (1735).
=Now-now= (_Old Anthony_), an itinerant fiddler. The character is a skit
on Anthony Munday, the dramatist.--Chettle, _Kindheart's Dream_ (1592).
=Nuath= (2 _syl._), father of Lathmon and Oith'ona (_q.v._).--Ossian,
_Oithona_.
=Nubbles= (_Mrs._), a poor widow woman, who was much given to going to
Little Bethel.
_Christopher_ or _Kit Nubbles_, her son, the servant in attendance on
little Nell, whom he adored. After the death of little Nell, Kit married
Barbara, a fellow-servant.--C. Dickens, _The Old Curiosity Shop_ (1840).
=Nugent Dubourg=, twin brother of Oscar Dubourg, somewhat conceited, who
patronizes his brother, and would like to marry his brother's betrothed,
Lucilla Finch, blind and an heiress. Her sight is restored by an
operation, and Nugent places himself where her eyes will first fall upon
him, instead of on his disfigured brother. Beginning with this, he
personates Oscar until Lucilla again loses her sight. He then yields her
to his brother, joins an Arctic exploring expedition, and perishes in
the Polar regions.--Wilkie Collins, _Poor Miss Finch_.
=Numa Roumestan=, French deputy from the South of France. Audacious, gay
and unprincipled, he possesses all the qualities that render him "the
joy of the street, the sorrow of the home."--Alphonse Daudet, _Numa
Roumestan_.
=Number Nip=, the name of the gnome king of the Giant Mountains.--Musaeus,
_Popular Tales_ (1782).
[Asterism] Musaeus was a German, uncle of Kotzebue (died 1788).
=Nuncanou= (_Aurore and Clotilde_). Beautiful Creoles, mother and
daughter, in George W. Cable's novel, _The Grandissimes_.
=Nun's Tale= (_The_), the tale of the cock and the fox. One day, dan
Russell, the fox, came into the poultry-yard, and told Master
Chanticlere, he could not resist the pleasure of hearing him sing, for
his voice was so divinely ravishing. The cock, pleased with this
flattery, shut his eyes, and began to crow most lustily; whereupon dan
Russell seized him by the throat, and ran off with him. When they got to
the wood, the cock said to the fox, "I would recommend you to eat me at
once, I think I can hear your pursuers." "I am going to do so," said the
fox; but when he opened his mouth to reply, off flew the cock into a
tree, and while the fox was deliberating how he might regain his prey,
up came the farmer and his men with scythes, flails, and pitchforks,
with which they despatched the fox without mercy.--Chaucer, _Canterbury
Tales_ (1388).
[Asterism] This fable is one of those by Marie, of France, called _Don
Coc and Don Werpil_.
_Nun's Tale_ (_The Second_). This is the tale about Maxime and the
martyrs, Valerian and Tiburc[^e]. The prefect ordered Maxime (2 _syl._)
to put Valerian and Tiburc[^e] to death, because they refused to worship
the image of Jupiter; but Maxime showed kindness to the two Christians,
took them home, became converted, and was baptized. When Valerian and
Tiburc[^e] were put to death, Maxime declared that he saw angels come
and carry them up to heaven, whereupon the prefect caused him to be
beaten to death with whips of lead.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ (1388).
[Asterism] This tale is very similar to that of St. Cecilia, in the
_Legenda Aurea_. See also _Acts_ xvi. 25-34.
=Nupkins=, mayor of Ipswich, a man who has a most excellent opinion of
himself, but who, in all magisterial matters, really depends almost
entirely on Jinks, his half-starved clerk.--C. Dickens, _The Pickwick
Papers_ (1836).
=Nurse= (_Rebecca_). Accused of witchcraft and acquitted by the court.
"And suddenly, after all the afflicted out of court made a hideous
outcry ... one of the judges expressed himself not satisfied, another,
as he was going off the bench, said they would have her indicted anew."
At the second trial she was condemned, and she was executed with the
rest.
"The testimonials of her Christian behavior, both in the course of
her life and at her death, and her extraordinary care in educating
her children, and setting them a good example, etc., under the
hands of so many, are so numerous that for brevity they are here
omitted."--Robert Calef, _More Wonders of the Invisible World_
(1700).
=Nut-Brown Maid= (_The_), the maid wooed by the "banished man." The
"banished man" describes to her the hardships she would have to undergo
if she married him; but finding that she accounted these hardships as
nothing compared with his love, he revealed himself to be an earl's son,
with large hereditary estates in Westmoreland, and married her.--Percy,
_Reliques_, II.
This ballad is based on the legendary history of Lord Henry Clifford,
called "The Shepherd Lord." It was modernized by Prior, who called his
version of the story _Henry and Emma_. The oldest form of the ballad
extant is contained in Arnolde's _Chronicle_ (1502).
=Nydia.= Greek flower-girl, blind and friendless. Glaucus is kind to, and
protects her, finally purchases her of her brutal master. She loves him
passionately and hopelessly, saves his life and that of his betrothed at
the destruction of Pompeii; embarks with them in a skiff bound for a
safer harbor, and while all are asleep, springs overboard and drowns
herself.--E. L. Bulwer, _Last Days of Pompeii_ (1834).
=Nym=, corporal in the army under Captain Sir John Falstaff, introduced in
_The Merry Wives of Windsor_ and in _Henry V._, but not in _Henry IV._
It seems that Lieutenant Peto had died, and given a step to the officers
under him. Thus, Ensign Pistol becomes lieutenant, Corporal Bardolph
becomes ensign, and Nym takes the place of Bardolph. He is an arrant
rogue, and both he and Bardolph are hanged_ (Henry V._). The word means
to "pilfer."
It would be difficult to give any other reply save that of Corporal
Nym--it was the author's humor or caprice.--Sir W. Scott.
=Nymphid'ia=, a mock-heroic by Drayton. The fairy Pigwiggen is so gallant
to Queen Mab as to arouse the jealousy of King Oberon. One day, coming
home and finding his queen absent, Oberon vows vengeance on the gallant,
and sends Puck to ascertain the whereabouts of Mab and Pigwiggen. In the
mean time, Nymphidia gives the queen warning, and the queen, with all
her maids of honor, creep into a hollow nut for concealment. Puck,
coming up, sets foot in the enchanted circle which Nymphidia had
charmed, and, after stumbling about for a time, tumbles into a ditch.
Pigwiggen, seconded by Tomalin, encounters Oberon, seconded by Tom Thum,
and the fight is "both fast and furious." Queen Mab, in alarm, craves
the interference of Proserpine, who first envelopes the combatants in a
thick smoke, which compels them to desist, and then gives them a draught
"to assuage their thirst." The draught was from the river Leth[^e]; and
immediately the combatants had tasted it, they forgot not only the cause
of the quarrel, but even that they had quarrelled at all.--M. Drayton,
_Nymphidia_ (1593).
=Nysa=, daughter of Sil[=e]no and Mys'is, and sister of Daphn[^e]. Justice
Mi'das is in love with her; but she loves Apollo, her father's
guest.--Kane O'Hara, _Midas_ (1764).
=Nys[^e], Doto, and Neri'n[^e]=, the three nereids who went before the
fleet of Vasco da Gama. When the treacherous pilot steered the ship of
Vasco towards a sunken rock, these three sea-nymphs lifted up the prow
and turned it round.--Camoens, _Lusiad_, ii. (1569).
=O= (_Our Lady of_). The Virgin Mary is so called in some old Roman
rituals, from the ejaculation at the beginning of the seven anthems
preceding the _Magnificat_, as: "O, when will the day arrive...?" "O,
when shall I see...?" "O, when...?" and so on.
=Oakly= (_Major_), brother to Mr. Oakly, and uncle to Charles. He assists
his brother in curing his "jealous wife."
_Mr. Oakly_, husband of the "jealous wife." A very amiable man, but
deficient in that strength of mind which is needed to cure the
idiosyncrasy of his wife; so he obtains the assistance of his brother,
the major.
_Mrs. Oakly_, "the jealous wife" of Mr. Oakly. A woman of such
suspicious temper, that every remark of her husband is distorted into a
proof of his infidelity. She watches him like a tiger, and makes both
her own and her husband's life utterly wretched.
_Charles Oakly_, nephew of the major. A fine, noble-spirited young
fellow, who would never stand by and see a woman insulted; but a
desperate debauchee and drunkard. He aspires to the love of Harriot
Russet, whose influence over him is sufficiently powerful to reclaim
him.--George Colman, _The Jealous Wife_ (1761).
=Oates= (_Dr. Titus_), the champion of the popish plot.
Forth came the notorious Dr. Oates, rustling in the full silken
canonicals of priesthood, for ... he affected no small dignity of
exterior decoration and deportment.... His exterior was portentous.
A fleece of white periwig showed a most uncouth visage, of great
length, having the mouth ... placed in the very centre of the
countenance, and exhibiting to the astonished spectator as much
chin below as there was nose and brow above it. His pronunciation
was after a conceited fashion of his own, in which he accented the
vowels in a manner altogether peculiar to himself.--Sir W. Scott,
_Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
=Oaths.=
JOHN PERROT, a natural son of Henry VIII., was the first to employ the
profane oath of _God's Wounds_, which Queen ELIZABETH adopted, but the
ladies of her court minced and softened it into _zounds_ and
_zouterkins_.
WILLIAM the CONQUEROR swore by _the Splendor of God_.
WILLIAM RUFUS, by _St. Luke's face_.
King JOHN, by _God's Tooth_.
HENRY VIII., by _God's Wounds_.
CHARLES II., by _Ods fish_ [God's Flesh].
LOUIS XI. of France, by _God's Easter_.
CHARLES VIII. of France, by _God's Light_.
LOUIS XII., by _The Devil take me (Diable m'emporte)_.
The Chevalier BAYARD by _God's Holyday_.
FRANCOIS I. used for asseveration, _On the word of a gentleman_.
HENRY III. of England, when he confirmed "Magna Charta," used the
expression, _On the word of a gentleman, a king and a knight_.
Earl of ANGUS (reign of Queen Mary), when incensed, used to say, _By the
might of God_, but at other times his oath was _By St. Bride of
Douglas_.--Godscroft, 275.
ST. WINFRED or BONI'FACE used to swear by _St. Peter's tomb_.
In the reign of Charles II. fancy oaths were the fashion. (For
specimens, see FOPPINGTON.)
The most common oath of the ancient Romans was _By Hercul[^e]s_! for men;
and _By Castor_! for women; _By Pollux_! for both.
Viri per _Herculem_, mulieres per _Castorem_, utrique per
_Pollucem_ jurare soliti.--Gellius, _Noctes Atticoe_,[TN-44] ii.
6.
=Obad'don=, the angel of death. This is not the same angel as Abbad'ona,
one of the fallen angels, and once the friend of Ab'diel (bk. vi.).
My name is Ephod Obaddon or Sevenfold Revenge. I am an angel of
destruction. It was I who destroyed the first-born of Egypt. It was
I who slew the army of Sennacherib.--Klopstock, _The Messiah_,
xiii. (1771).
=Obadi'ah=, "the foolish fat scullion" in Sterne's novel of _Tristram
Shandy_ (1759).
_Obadiah_, clerk to Justice Day. A nincompoop, fond of drinking, but
with just a shade more brains than Abel Day, who is "a thorough ass"
(act i. 1).--T. Knight, _The Honest Thieves_ (died 1820).
This farce is a mere _r['e]chauff['e]_ of _The Committee_ (1670), a
comedy by the Hon. Sir R. Howard, the names and much of the conversation
being identical. Colonel Blunt is called in the farce "Captain Manly."
=Obadiah Prim=, a canting, knavish hypocrite; one of the four guardians
of Anne Lovely, the heiress. Colonel Feignwell personates Simon Pure,
and obtains the Quaker's consent to his marriage with Anne Lovely.--Mrs.
Centlivre, _A Bold Stroke for a Wife_ (1717).
=Obermann=, the impersonation of high moral worth without talent, and the
tortures endured by the consciousness of this defect.--Etienne Pivert de
Sen'ancour, _Obermann_ (1804).
=Oberon=, king of the fairies, quarrelled with his wife, Titania, about a
"changeling" which Ob[)e]ron wanted for a page, but Titania refused to
give up. Oberon, in revenge, anointed her eyes in sleep with the extract
of "Love in Idleness," the effect of which was to make the sleeper in
love with the first object beheld on waking. Titania happened to see a
country bumpkin, whom Puck had dressed up with an ass's head. Oberon
came upon her while she was fondling the clown, sprinkled on her an
antidote, and she was so ashamed of her folly that she readily consented
to give up the boy to her spouse for his page.--Shakespeare, _Midsummer
Night's Dream_ (1592).
=Oberon, the Fay=, king of Mommur, a humpty dwarf, three feet high, of
angelic face. He told Sir Huon that the lady of the Hidden Isle
(_Cephalonia_) married Neptan[=e]bus, king of Egypt, by whom she had a
son named Alexander "the Great." Seven hundred years later she had
another son, Oberon, by Julius Caesar, who stopped in Cephalonia on his
way to Thessaly. At the birth of Oberon the fairies bestowed their gifts
on him. One was insight into men's thoughts, and another was the power
of transporting himself instantaneously to any place. At death he made
Huon his successor, and was borne to paradise.--_Huon de Bordeaux_ (a
romance).
=Oberthal= (_Count_), lord of Dordrecht, near the Meuse. When Bertha, one
of his vassals, asked permission to marry John of Leyden, the count
withheld his consent, as he designed to make Bertha his mistress. This
drove John into rebellion, and he joined the anabaptists. The count was
taken prisoner by Gio'na, a discarded servant, but was liberated by
John. When John was crowned prophet-king the count entered the
banquet-hall to arrest him, and perished with him in the flames of the
burning palace.--Meyerbeer, _Le Proph[`e]te_ (opera, 1849).
=Obi.= Among the negroes of the West Indies "Obi" is the name of a magical
power, supposed to affect men with all the curses of an "evil eye."
=Obi-Woman= (_An_), an African sorceress, a worshipper of Mumbo Jumbo.
=Obi'dah=, a young man who meets with various adventures and misfortunes
allegorical of human life.--Dr. Johnson, _The Rambler_ (1750-2).
=Obid'icut=, the fiend of lust, and one of the five which possessed "poor
Tom."--Shakespeare, _King Lear_, act iv. sc. 1 (1605).
=O'Brallaghan= (_Sir Callaghan_), "a wild Irish soldier in the Prussian
army. His military humor makes one fancy he was not only born in a
siege, but that Bell[=o]na had been his nurse, Mars his schoolmaster and
the Furies his playfellows." He is the successful suitor of Charlotte
Goodchild.--Macklin, _Love-[`a]-la-mode_ (1759).
=O'Brien=, the Irish lieutenant under Captain Savage.--Captain Marryat,
_Peter Simple_ (1833).
=Observant Friars=, those friars who observe the rule of St. Francis; to
abjure books, land, house and chapel, to live on alms, dress in rags,
feed on scraps and sleep anywhere.
=Obstinate=, an inhabitant of the City of Destruction, who advised
Christian to return to his family, and not run on a wild-goose
chase.--Bunyan, _Pilgrim's Progress_, i. (1678).
=Occasion=, the mother of Furor; an ugly, wrinkled old hag, lame of one
foot. Her head was bald behind, but in front she had a few hoary locks.
Sir Guyon seized her, gagged her and bound her.--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry
Queen_, ii. 4 (1590).
=Ochiltree= (_Old Edie_), a king's bedesman or blue-gown. Edie is a
garrulous, kind-hearted, wandering beggar, who assures Mr. Lovel that
the supposed ruin of a Roman camp is no such thing. The old bedesman
delighted "to daunder down the burnsides and green shaws." He is a
well-drawn character.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George
III.).
=Ocnus= (_The Rope of_), profitless labor. Ocnus is represented as
twisting with unwearied diligence a rope, which an ass eats as fast as
it is made. The allegory signifies that Ocnus worked hard to earn money,
which his wife spent by her extravagance.
=Octave= (2 _syl._), the son of Argante (2 _syl._). During the absence
of his father, Octave fell in love with Hyacinthe, daughter of
G['e]ronte, and married her, supposing her to be the daughter of Signor
Pandolphe, of Tarentum. His father wanted him to marry the daughter of
his friend G['e]ronte, but Octave would not listen to it. It turned out,
however, that the daughter of Pandolphe and the daughter of G['e]ronte
were one and the same person, for G['e]ronte had assumed the name of
Pandolphe while he lived in Tarentum, and his wife and daughter stayed
behind after the father went to live at Naples.--Moli[`e]re, _Les
Fourberies de Scapin_ (1671).
[Asterism] In the English version, called _The Cheats of Scapin_, by
Thomas Otway, Octave is called "Octavian," Argante is called "Thrifty,"
Hyacinthe is called "Clara," and G['e]ronte is "Gripe."
=Octavian=, the lover of Floranth[^e]. He goes mad because he imagines
Floranth[^e] loves another; but Roque, a blunt, kind-hearted old man,
assures him that Do[~n]a Floranth[^e] is true to him, and induces him to
return home.--Colman, the younger, _The Mountaineers_ (1793).
_Octavian_, the English form of "Octave" (2 _syl._), in Otway's _Cheats
of Scapin_. (See OCTAVE.)
=Octa'vio=, the supposed husband of Jacintha. This Jacintha was at one
time contracted to Don Henrique, but Violante (4 _syl._), passed for Don
Henrique's wife.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Spanish Curate_ (1622).
_Octavio_, the betrothed of Donna Clara.--Jephson, _Two Strings to your
Bow_ (1792).
=Octer=, a sea-captain in the reign of King Alfred, who traversed the
Norwegian mountains, and sailed to the Dwina in the north of Russia.
The Saxon swaying all, in Alfred's powerful reign,
Our English Octer put a fleet to sea again.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xix. (1622).
=O'Cutter= (_Captain_), a ridiculous Irish captain, befriended by Lady
Freelove and Lord Trinket. He speaks with a great brogue, and interlards
his speech with sea terms.--George Colman, _The Jealous Wife_ (1761).
=Oc'ypus=, son of Podalirius and Astasia, noted for his strength, agility
and beauty. Ocypus used to jeer at the gout, and the goddess of that
disease caused him to suffer from it for ever.--Lucian.
=Odalisque=, in Turkey, one of the female slaves in the sultan's harem
(_odalik_, Arabic, "a chamber companion," _oda_, "a chamber").
He went forth with the lovely odalisques.
Byron, _Don Juan_, vi. 29 (1824).
=Ode= (_Prince of the_), Pierre de Ronsard (1534-1585).
=Odoar=, the venerable abbot of St. Felix, who sheltered King Roderick
after his dethronement.--Southey, _Roderick, Last of the Goths_, iv.
(1814).
[Asterism] Southey sometimes makes the word Odoar' [_O'.dor_], and
sometimes O'doar (3 _syl._), _e.g._:
Odoar', the venerable abbot sat (2 _syl._)....
Odoar' and Urban eyed him while he spake....
The Lady Adosinda O'doar cried (3 _syl._)....
Tell him in O'doar's name the hour has come!
=O'Doh'erty= (_Sir Morgan_), a pseudonym of W. Maginn, LL.D., in
_Blackwood's Magazine_ (1819-1842).
=O'Donohue's White Horses.= The boatmen of Killarney, so call those waves
which, on a windy day, come crested with foam. The spirit of O'Donohue
is supposed to glide over the lake of Killarney every May-day on his
favorite white horse, to the sound of unearthly music.
=Odori'co=, a Biscayan, to whom Zerbi'no commits Isabella. He proves a
traitor, and tries to defile her, but is interrupted in his base
endeavor. Almonio defies him to single combat, and he is delivered bound
to Zerbino, who condemns him, in punishment, to attend on Gabrina for
twelve months, as her squire. He accepts the charge, but hangs Gabrina
on an elm, and is himself hung by Almonio to the same tree.--Ariosto,
_Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
=Odors for Food.= Plutarch, Pliny, and divers other ancients tell us of a
nation in India that lived only upon pleasing odors. Democ'ritos lived
for several days together on the mere effluvia of hot bread.--Dr. John
Wilkins (1614-1672).
=O'Dowd= (_Cornelius_), the pseudonym of Charles James Lever, in
_Blackwood's Magazine_ (1809-1872).
=Odyssey.= Homer's epic, recording the adventures of Odysseus (_Ulysses_)
in his voyage home from Troy.
Book I. The poem opens in the island of Calypso, with a complaint
against Neptune and Calypso for preventing the return of Odysseus (3
_syl._) to Ithaca.
II. Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, starts in search of his father,
accompanied by Pallas, in the guise of Mentor.
III. Goes to Pylos, to consult old Nestor, and
IV. Is sent by him to Sparta; where he is told by Menel[=a]us that
Odysseus is detained in the island of Calypso.
V. In the mean time, Odysseus leaves the island, and, being shipwrecked,
is cast on the shore of Phae[=a]cia.
VI. Where Nausic[=a]a, the king's daughter, finds him asleep, and
VII. Takes him to the court of her father, Alcin[:o]os, who
VIII. Entertains him hospitably.
IX. At a banquet, Odysseus relates his adventures since he started from
Troy. Tells about the Lotus-eaters and the Cyclops, with his adventures
in the cave of Polyph[=e]mos. He tells how
X. The wind-god gave him the winds in a bag. In the island of Circ[^e], he
says, his crew were changed to swine, but Mercury gave him a herb called
M[=o]ly, which disenchanted them.
XI. He tells the king how he descended into Had[^e]s;
XII. Gives an account of the syrens; of Scylla and Charybdis; and of his
being cast on the island of Calypso.
XIII. Alcinoos gives Odysseus a ship which conveys him to Ith[)a]ca,
where he assumes the disguise of a beggar,
XIV. And is lodged in the house of Eumoeos, a faithful old domestic.
XV. Telemachus, having returned to Ithaca, is lodged in the same house,
XVI. And becomes known to his father.
XVII. Odysseus goes to his palace, is recognized by his dog, Argos; but
XVIII. The beggar Iros insults him, and Odysseus breaks his jaw-bone.
XIX. While bathing, the returned monarch is recognized by a scar on his
leg;
XX. And when he enters his palace, becomes an eye-witness to the
disorders of the court, and to the way in which
XXI. Penelop[^e] is pestered by suitors. To excuse herself, Penelop[^e]
tells her suitors he only shall be her husband who can bend Odysseus's
bow. None can do so but the stranger, who bends it with ease.
Concealment is no longer possible or desirable;
XXII. He falls on the suitors hip and thigh;
XXIII. Is recognized by his wife.
XXIV. Visits his old father, Laert[^e]s; and the poem ends.
=Oea'grian Harpist= (_The_), Orpheus, son of Oea'gros and Cal'li[=o]p[^e].
... can no lesse
Tame the fierce walkers of the wilderness,
Than that Oeagrian harpist, for whose lay
Tigers with hunger pined and left their prey.
Wm. Browne, _Brittania's Pastorals_, v. (1613).
=Oe'dipos= (in Latin _Oedipus_), son of La[:i]us and Jocasta. The most
mournful tale of classic story.
[Asterism] This tale has furnished the subject matter of several
tragedies. In Greek we have _Oedipus Tyrannus_ and _Oedipus at
Col[=o]nus_, by Sopho'ocl[^e]s.[TN-45] In French, _Oedipe_, by Corneille
(1659); _Oedipe_, by Voltaire (1718); _Oedipe chez Adm[`e]te_, by J. F.
Ducis (1778); _Oedipe Roi_ and _Oedipe [`a] Colone_, by Ch['e]nier; etc.
In English, _Oedipus_, by Dryden and Lee.
=Oeno'ne= (3 _syl._), a nymph of Mount Ida, who had the gift of prophecy,
and told her husband, Paris, that his voyage to Greece would involve him
and his country (Troy) in ruin. When the dead body of old Priam's son was
laid at her feet, she stabbed herself.
Hither came at noon
Mournful Oen[=o]n[^e], wandering forlorn
Of Paris, once her playmate on the hills [_Ida_]
Tennyson, _Oenone_.
[Asterism] Kalkbrenner, in 1804, made this the subject of an opera.
=Oeno'pian=, father of Mer'op[^e], to whom the giant Or[=i]on made
advances. Oenopian, unwilling to give his daughter to him, put out the
giant's eyes in a drunken fit.
Orion ...
Reeled as of yore beside the sea,
When blinded by Oenopian.
Longfellow, _The Occultation of Orion_.
=Oete'an Knight= (_The_). Her'cul[^e]s is so called, because he burnt
himself to death on Mount Oeta or Oetaea, in Thessaly.
So also did that great Oetean knight
For his love's sake his lion's skin undight.
Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_, v. 8 (1596).
=Offa=, king of Mercia, was the son of Thingferth, and the eleventh in
descent from Woden. Thus: Woden (1) his son Wihtlaeg, (2) his son
Waermund, (3) Offa I., (4) Angeltheow, (5) Eomaer, (6) Icel, (7) Pybba,
(8) Osmod, (9) Enwulf, (10) Thingferth, (11) Offa, whose son was Egfert,
who died within a year of his father. His daughter, Eadburga, married
Bertric, king of the West Saxons; and after the death of her husband,
she went to the court of King Charlemagne. Offa reigned thirty-nine
years (755-794).
=O'Flaherty= (_Dennis_), called "Major O'Flaherty." A soldier, says he, is
"no livery for a knave," and Ireland is "not the country of dishonor."
The major pays court to old Lady Rusport, but when he detects her
dishonest purposes in bribing her lawyer to make away with Sir Oliver's
will, and cheating Charles Dudley of his fortune, he not only abandons
his suit, but exposes her dishonesty.--Cumberland, _The West Indian_
(1771).
=Og=, king of Basan. Thus saith the rabbis:
The height of his stature was 23,033 cubits [_nearly six miles_].
He used to drink water from the clouds, and toast fish by holding
them before the orb of the sun. He asked Noah to take him into the
ark, but Noah would not. When the flood was at its deepest, it did
not reach to the knees of this giant. Og lived 3000 years, and then
he was slain by the hand of Moses.
Moses was himself ten cubits in stature [_fifteen feet_], and he
took a spear ten cubits long, and threw it ten cubits high, and yet
it only reached the heel of Og.... When dead, his body reached as
far as the river Nile, in Egypt.
Og's mother was Enac, a daughter of Adam. Her fingers were two
cubits long [_one yard_], and on each finger she had two sharp
nails. She was devoured by wild beasts.--Maracci.
In the satire of _Absalom and Achitophel_, by Dryden and Tate, Thomas
Shadwell, who was a very large man, is called "Og."
=O'gier, the Dane=, one of the paladins of the Charlemagne epoch. When 100
years old, Morgue, the fay, took him to the island of Av'alon, "hard by
the terrestrial paradise;" gave him a ring which restored him to ripe
manhood, a crown which made him forget his past life, and introduced him
to King Arthur. Two hundred years afterwards, she sent him to defend
France from the paynims, who had invaded it; and having routed the
invaders, he returned to Avalon again.--_Ogier, le Danois_ (a romance).
In a pack of French cards, Ogier, the Dane, is knave of spades. His
exploits are related in the _Chansons de Geste_; he is introduced by
Ariosto in _Orlando Furioso_, and by Morris in his _Earthly Paradise_
("August").
_Ogier's Swords_, Curt[=a]na ("the cutter") and Sauvagine.
_Ogier's Horse_, Papillon.
=Ogle= (_Miss_), friend of Mrs. Racket; she is very jealous of young
girls, and even of Mrs. Racket, because she was some six years her
junior.--Mrs. Cowley, _The Belle's Stratagem_ (1780).
=O'gleby= (_Lord_), an old fop, vain to excess, but good-natured withal,
and quite the slave of the fair sex, were they but young and fair. At
the age of 70, his lordship fancied himself an Adonis, notwithstanding
his qualms and his rheumatism. He required a great deal of "brushing,
oiling, screwing, and winding up before he appeared in public," but
when fully made up, was game for the part of "lover, rake, or fine
gentleman." Lord Ogleby made his bow to Fanny Sterling, and promised to
make her a countess; but the young lady had been privately married to
Lovewell for four months.--Colman and Garrick, _The Clandestine
Marriage_ (1766).
=O'gri=, giants who fed on human flesh.
=O'Groat= (_John_), with his two brothers, Malcolm and Gavin, settled in
Caithness in the reign of James IV. The families lived together in
harmony for a time, and met once a year at John's house. On one occasion
a dispute arose about precedency--who was to take the head of the table,
and who was to go out first. The old man said he would settle the
question at the next annual muster; accordingly he made as many doors to
his house as there were families, and placed his guests at a round
table.
=Oig M'Combich= (_Robin_), or M'Gregor, a Highland drover, who quarrels
with Harry Wakefield, an English drover, about a pasture-field, and
stabs him. Being tried at Carlisle for murder, Robin is condemned to
death.--Sir W. Scott, _The Two Drovers_ (time, George III.).
=Oina-Morul=, daughter of Mal-Orchol, king of Fu[:a]rfed (a Scandinavian
Island). Ton-Thormod asked her in marriage, and being refused by the
father, made war upon him. Fingal sent his son Ossian to the aid of
Mal-Orchol, and he took Ton-Thormod prisoner. The king now offered
Ossian his daughter to wife, but the warrior-bard discovered that the
lady had given her heart to Ton-Thormod; whereupon he resigned his
claim, and brought about a happy reconciliation.--Ossian, _Oina-Morul_.
=Oith'ona=, daughter of Nu[:a]th, betrothed to Gaul, son of Morni, and the
day of their marriage was fixed; but before the time arrived, Fingal
sent for Gaul to aid him in an expedition against the Britons. Gaul
promised Oithona, if he survived, to return by a certain day. Lathmon,
the brother of Oithona, was called away from home at the same time, to
attend his father on an expedition; so the damsel was left alone in
Dunlathmon. It was now that Dunrommath, lord of Uthal (one of the
Orkneys) came and carried her off by force to Trom'athon, a desert
island, where he concealed her in a cave. Gaul returned on the day
appointed, heard of the rape, sailed for Trom'athon, and found the lady,
who told him her tale of woe; but scarcely had she ended when Dunrommath
entered the cave with his followers. Gaul instantly fell on him, and
slew him. While the battle was raging, Oithona, arrayed as a warrior,
rushed into the thickest of the fight, and was slain. When Gaul had cut
off the head of Dunrommath, he saw what he thought a youth dying of a
wound, and taking off the helmet, perceived it was Oithona. She died,
and Gaul returned disconsolate to Dunlathmon.--Ossian, _Oithona_.
=Okba=, one of the sorcerers in the caves of Dom-Daniel "under the roots
of the ocean." It was decreed by fate that one of the race of Hodei'rah
(3 _syl._), would be fatal to the sorcerers; so Okba was sent forth to
kill the whole race, both root and branch. He succeeded in cutting off
eight of them, but Thal'aba contrived to escape. Abdaldar was sent to
hunt down the survivor, but was himself killed by a simoom.
"Curse on thee, Okba!" Khawla cried....
"Okba, wert thou weak of heart?
Okba, wert thou blind of eye?
Thy fate and ours were on the lot ...
Thou hast let slip the reins of Destiny.
Curse thee, curse thee, Okba!"
Southey, _Thalaba, the Destroyer_, ii. 7 (1797).
=O'Kean= (_Lieutenant_), a quondam admirer of Mrs. Margaret Bertram, of
Singleside.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.).
=Olave=, brother of Norma, and grandfather of Minna and Brenda Troil.--Sir
W. Scott, _The Pirate_ (time, William III.).
=Old Bags.= John Scott, Lord Eldon; so called because he carried home with
him in sundry bags the cases pending his judgment (1751-1838).
=Old Bona Fide= (2 _syl._), Louis XIV. (1638, 1643-1715).
=Old Curiosity Shop= (_The_), a tale by C. Dickens (1840). An old man,
having run through his fortune, opened a curiosity shop in order to earn
a living, and brought up a granddaughter, named Nell [Trent], 14 years
of age. The child was the darling of the old man, but, deluding himself
with the hope of making a fortune by gaming, he lost everything, and
went forth, with the child, a beggar. Their wanderings and adventures
are recounted till they reach a quiet country village, where the old
clergyman gives them a cottage to live in. Here Nell soon dies, and the
grandfather is found dead upon her grave. The main character, next to
Nell, is that of a lad named Kit [Nubbles], employed in the curiosity
shop, who adored Nell as "an angel." This boy gets in the service of
Mr. Garland, a genial, benevolent, well-to-do man in the suburbs of
London; but Quilp hates the lad, and induces Brass, a solicitor of Bevis
Marks, to put a [pounds]5 bank-note in the boy's hat, and then accuse
him of theft. Kit is tried, and condemned to transportation, but the
villainy being exposed by a girl-of-all-work, nicknamed "The
Marchioness," Kit is liberated and restored to his place, and Quilp
drowns himself.
=Old Cutty Soames= (1 _syl._), the fairy of the mine.
=Old Fox= (_The_), Marshal Soult; so called from his strategic abilities
and never-failing resources (1769-1851).
=Old Glory=, Sir Francis Burdett; so called by the radicals, because at
one time he was their leader. In his later years Sir Francis joined the
tories (1770-1844).
=Old Grog=, Admiral Edward Vernon; so called from his wearing a grogram
coat in foul weather (1684-1757).
=Old Harry=, the devil. The Hebrew _seirim_ ("hairy ones") is translated
"devils" in _Lev._ xvii. 7, probably meaning "he-goats."
=Old Hickory.= General Andrew Jackson was so called in 1813. He was first
called "Tough," then "Tough as Hickory," then "Hickory," and lastly "Old
Hickory."
=Old Humphrey=, the pseudonym of George Mogridge, of London (died 1854).
=Old Maid= (_The_), a farce by Murphy (1761). Miss Harlow is the "old
maid," aged 45, living with her brother and his bride, a beautiful
young woman of 23. A young man of fortune, having seen them at Ranelagh,
falls in love with the younger lady; and, inquiring their names, is told
they are "Mrs. and Miss Harlow." He takes it for granted that the elder
lady is the mother, and the younger the daughter, so asks permission to
pay his addresses to "Miss Harlow." The request is granted, but it turns
out that the young man meant Mrs. Harlow; and the worst of the matter is
that the elder spinster was engaged to be married to Captain Cape, but
turned him off for the younger man; and, when the mistake was
discovered, was left like the last rose of summer to "pine on the stem,"
for neither felt inclined to pluck and wear the flower.
=Old Maids=, a comedy by S. Knowles (1841). The "old maids" are Lady
Blanche and Lady Anne, two young ladies who resolved to die old maids.
Their resolutions, however, are but ropes of sand, for Lady Blanche
falls in love with Colonel Blount, and Lady Anne with Sir Philip
Brilliant.
=Old Man= (_An_), Sir Francis Bond Head, Bart., who published his _Bubbles
from the Brunnen of Nassau_ under this signature.
=Old Man Eloquent= (_The_), Isoc'rat[^e]s, the orator. The defeat of the
Athenians at Cheronae'a had such an effect on his spirits that he
languished and died within four days, in the 99th year of his age.
... that dishonest victory
At Cheronaea, fatal to liberty,
Killed with report that Old Man Eloquent.
Milton, _Sonnet_, ix.
The same _sobriquet_ was freely applied to John Quincy Adams.
=Old Man of the Mountains=, Hussan-ben-Sabah, sheik al Jebal; also called
subah of Nishapour, the founder of the band (1090). Two letters are
inserted in Rymer's _Foedera_ by Dr. Adam Clarke, the editor, said to
be written by this sheik.
Aloaddin, "prince of the Assassins" (thirteenth century).
=Old Man of the Sea= (_The_), a monster which contrived to get on the back
of Sindbad the sailor, and refused to dismount. Sindbad at length made
him drunk, and then shook him off.--_Arabian Nights_ ("Sindbad the
Sailor," fifth voyage).
_Old Man of the Sea_ (_The_), Phorcus. He had three daughters, with only
one eye and one tooth between 'em.--_Greek Mythology._
=Old Manor-House= (_The_), a novel by Charlotte Smith. Mrs. Rayland is the
lady of the manor (1793).
=Old Moll=, the beautiful daughter of John Overie or Audery (contracted
into Overs) a miserly ferryman. "Old Moll" is a standing toast with the
parish officers of St. Mary Overs'.
=Old Mortality=, the best of Scott's historical novels (1716). Morton is
the best of his young heroes, and serves as an excellent foil to the
fanatical and gloomy Burley. The two classes of actors, viz., the brave
and dissolute cavaliers, and the resolute, oppressed covenanters, are
drawn in bold relief. The most striking incidents are the terrible
encounter with Burley in his rocky fastness; the dejection and anxiety
of Morton on his return from Holland; and the rural comfort of Cuddie
Headrigg's cottage on the banks of the Clyde, with its thin blue smoke
among the trees, "showing that the evening meal was being made ready."
_Old Mortality_ always appeared to me the "Marmion" of Scott's
novels.--Chambers, _English Literature_, ii. 587.
_Old Mortality_, an itinerant antiquary, whose craze is to clean the
moss from gravestones, and keep their letters and effigies in good
condition.--Sir W. Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
[Asterism] The prototype of "Old Mortality" was Robert Patterson.
=Old Noll=, Oliver Cromwell (1590-1658).
_Old Noll's Fiddler_, Sir Roger Lestrange, who played the base-viol at
the musical parties held at John Hingston's house, where Oliver Cromwell
was a constant guest.
=Old Rowley=, Charles II., so called from his favorite race-horse (1630,
1660-1685).
=Old Stone.= Henry Stone, statuary and painter (died 1653).
=Oldboy= (_Colonel_), a manly retired officer, fond of his glass, and not
averse to a little spice of the Lothario spirit.
_Lady Mary Oldboy_, daughter of Lord Jessamy, and wife of the colonel. A
sickly nonentity, "ever complaining, ever having something the matter
with her head, back, or legs." Afraid of the slightest breath of wind,
jarred by a loud voice, and incapable of the least exertion.
_Diana Oldboy_, daughter of the colonel. She marries Harman.
_Jessamy_, son of the colonel and Lady Mary. An insufferable
prig.--Bickerstaff, _Lionel and Clarissa_.
=Oldbuck= (_Jonathan_), the antiquary, devoted to the study and
accumulation of old coins and medals, etc. He is sarcastic, irritable,
and a woman-hater; but kind-hearted, faithful to his friends, and a
humorist.--Sir W. Scott, _The Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
An excellent temper, with a slight degree of subacid humor;
learning, wit, and drollery, the more poignant that they were a
little marked by the peculiarities of an old bachelor; a soundness
of thought, rendered more forcible by an occasional quaintness of
expression--these were the qualities in which the creature of my
imagintion[TN-46] resembled my benevolent and excellent friend.--Sir
W. Scott.
The merit of _The Antiquary_ as a novel rests on the inimitable
delineation of Oldbuck, that model of black-letter and Roman-camp
antiquaries, whose oddities and conversation are rich and racy as
any of the old crusted port that John of the Girnel might have held
in his monastic cellars.--Chambers, _English Literature_, ii. 586.
=Oldcastle= (_Sir John_), a drama by Anthony Munday (1600). This play
appeared with the name of Shakespeare on the title-page.
=Old Sledge.= Game of cards that, played at the "Settlemint"--(a group of
log huts) among the Tennessee mountains, has a fatal fascination for
Josiah Tait, who loses to a former suitor of the woman he has married
everything he owns. The property is restored through the unexpected
magnanimity of the winner, and the playing of Old Sledge becomes a lost
art at the "Settlemint."--Charles Egbert Craddock, _In the Tennessee
Mountains_ (1884).
=Oldworth=, of Oldworth Oaks, a wealthy squire, liberally educated, very
hospitable, benevolent, humorous, and whimsical. He brings up Maria,
"the maid of the Oaks" as his ward, but she is his daughter and
heiress.--J Burgoyne, _The Maid of the Oaks_ (1779).
=Ole 'Stracted=, a superannuated negro, formerly a slave, whose fancy is
to wait in a hut on the old plantation for his master's return. He was
"sold South" forty years before, and his young master promised to go
down next summer and buy him back. The poor fellow has saved in these
years twelve hundred dollars to pay for his freedom. Unknown to himself
or to them, his son and daughter-in-law minister to him in his last
moments. He has put on his clean shirt, sure that "young marster" will
come to-day. Rising to his feet he cries out:
"Heah de one you lookin' for, Marster! Mymy--heah's Little Ephrum!"
And with a smile on his face he sank back into his son's arms.--Thomas
Nelson Page, _In Ole Virginia_ (1887).
=Olifant=, the horn of Roland or Orlando. This horn and the sword
"Durinda'na" were buried with the hero. Turpin tells us in his
_Chronicle_ that Charlemagne heard the blare of this horn at a distance
of eight miles.
_Olifant_ (_Basil_), a kinsman of Lady Margaret Bellenden, of the Tower
of Tillietudlem.--Sir W. Scott, _Old Mortality_ (time, Charles II.).
=Olifaunt= (_Lord Nigel_), of Glenvarloch. On going to court to present a
petition to James I. he aroused the dislike of the duke of Buckingham.
Lord Dalgarno gave him the cut direct, and Nigel struck him, but was
obliged to seek refuge in Alsatia. After various adventures he married
Margaret Ramsay, the watch-maker's daughter, and obtained the
title-deeds of his estates.--Sir W. Scott, _The Fortunes of Nigel_
(time, James I.).
=Olim'pia=, the wife of Bireno, uncompromising in love, and relentless in
hate.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
_Olimpia_, a proud Roman lady of high rank. When Rome was sacked by
Bourbon, she flew for refuge to the high altar of St. Peter's, where she
clung to a golden cross. On the advance of certain soldiers in the army
of Bourbon to seize her, she cast the huge cross from its stand, and as
it fell it crushed to death the foremost soldier. Others then attempted
to seize her, when Arnold dispersed them and rescued the lady; but the
proud beauty would not allow the foe of her country to touch her, and
flung herself from the high altar on the pavement. Apparently lifeless,
she was borne off; but whether she recovered or not we are not informed,
as the drama was never finished.--Byron, _The Deformed Transformed_
(1821).
=Olindo=, the lover of Sophronia. Aladine, king of Jerusalem, at the
advice of his magicians, stole an image of the Virgin, and set it up as
a palladium in the chief mosque. During the night it was carried off,
and the king, unable to discover the thief, ordered all his Christian
subjects to be put to death. To prevent this massacre, Sophronia
delivered up herself as the perpetrator of the deed, and Olindo, hearing
thereof, went to the king and declared Sophronia innocent, as he himself
had stolen the image. The king commanded both to be put to death, but,
by the intercession of Clorinda, they were both set free.--Tasso,
_Jerusalem Delivered_, ii. (1575).
=Oliphant= or =Ollyphant=, the twin-brother of Argan't[^e], the giantess.
Their father was Typhaeus, and their mother Earth.--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry
Queen_, iii. 7, 11 (1590).
=Olive Litchfield=, young woman married to an elderly man, whose fatherly
kindness wins her grateful esteem. With her knowledge and sanction he
leaves the bulk of his property to charitable objects, thereby
disappointing her rapacious relatives. She is quite willing, as a widow,
to marry the man her mother dismissed in order to wed her to a
millionaire, but James Merion, the cured suitor, prefers a fresh
love.--Ellen Olney Kirk, _A Daughter of Eve_.
=Olive Tree= (_The_), emblem of Athens, in memory of the famous dispute
between Minerva (the patron goddess of Athens) and Neptune. Both deities
wished to found a city on the same spot; and, referring the matter to
Jove, the king of gods and men decreed that the privilege should be
granted to whichever would bestow the most useful gift on the future
inhabitants. Neptune struck the earth with his trident, and forth came a
war-horse; Minerva produced an olive tree, emblem of peace; and Jove
gave the verdict in favor of Minerva.
=Olive Carraze=, beautiful quadroon, virtuous and accomplished, whose
mother, _Madame Delphine_, swears Olive is not her child, that she may
secure the girl's legal marriage with a white man who loves her
honorably. On the afternoon of the marriage-day, when the wedded pair
have taken their departure, Madame Delphine seeks her confessor, owns
the perjury, receives absolution, and falls dead in the
confessional.--George W. Cable, _Madame Delphine_ (1879).
=Oliver=, the elder son of Sir Rowland de Bois [_Bwor_], left in charge of
his younger brother, Orlando, whom he hated and tried indirectly to
murder. Orlando, finding it impossible to live in his brother's house,
fled to the forest of Arden, where he joined the society of the banished
duke. One morning he saw a man sleeping, and a serpent and lioness bent
on making him their prey. He slew both the serpent and lioness, and then
found that the sleeper was his brother Oliver. Oliver's disposition from
this moment underwent a complete change, and he loved his brother as
much as he had before hated him. In the forest the two brothers met
Rosalind and Celia. The former, who was the daughter of the banished
duke, married Orlando; and the latter, who was the daughter of the
usurping duke, married Oliver.--Shakespeare, _As You Like It_ (1598).
=Oliver and Rowland=, the two chief paladins of Charlemagne. Shakespeare
makes the duke of Alen[c,]on say:
Froissart, a countryman of ours, records,
England all Olivers and Rowlands bred
During the time Edward the Third did reign.
1 _Henry VI._ act i. sc. 2 (1589).
_Oliver's Horse_, Ferrant d'Espagne.
_Oliver's Sword_, Haute-claire.
=Oliver le Dain= or _Oliver le Diable_, court barber, and favorite
minister of Louis XI. Introduced by Sir W. Scott in _Quentin Durward_
and _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Oliver Floyd=, a dashing lawyer, with iron-gray hair, and separated from
his wife. His guardianly attention to Carol Lester set village and town
gossip to talking.--Charlotte Dunning, _Upon a Cast_ (1885).
=Oliv'ia=, a rich countess, whose love was sought by Orsino, duke of
Illyria; but having lost her brother, Olivia lived for a time in entire
seclusion, and in no wise reciprocated the duke's love; in consequence
of which Viola nicknamed her "Fair Cruelty." Strange as it may seem,
Olivia fell desperately in love with Viola, who was dressed as the
duke's page, and sent her a ring. Mistaking Sebastian (Viola's brother)
for Viola, she married him out of hand.--Shakespeare, _Twelfth Night_
(1614).
Never were Shakespeare's words more finely given than by Miss M.
Tree [1802-1862] in the speech to "Olivia," beginning, "Make me a
willow cabin at thy gate."--Talfourd (1821).
_Olivia_, a female Tartuffe (2 _syl._), and consummate hypocrite of most
unblushing effrontery.--Wycherly, _The Plain Dealer_ (1677).
The duc de Montausier was the prototype of Wycherly's "Mr. Manly," the
"plain dealer," and of Moli[`e]re's "Misanthrope."
_Olivia_, daughter of Sir James Woodville, left in charge of a mercenary
wretch, who, to secure to himself her fortune, shut her up in a convent
in Paris. She was rescued by Leontine Croaker, brought to England, and
became his bride.--Goldsmith, _The Good-natured Man_ (1768).
_Olivia_, the tool of Ludov[)i]co. She loved Vicentio, but Vicentio was
plighted to Evadne, sister of Colonna. Ludovico induced Evadne to
substitute the king's miniature for that of Vicentio, which she was
accustomed to wear. When Vicentio returned, and found Evadne with the
king's miniature, he believed what Ludovico had told him that she was
the king's wanton, and he cast her off. Olivia repented of her
duplicity, and explained it all to Vicentio, whereby a reconciliation
took place, and Vicentio married his troth-plighted lady, "more sinned
against than sinning."--Shiel, _Evadne_ or _The Statue_ (1820).
_Olivia_, "the rose of Aragon," was the daughter of Ruphi'no, a peasant,
and bride of Prince Alonzo of Aragon. The king refused to recognize the
marriage, and, sending his son to the army, compelled the cortez to pass
an act of divorce. This brought to a head a general revolt. The king was
dethroned, and Almagro made regent. Almagro tried to make Olivia marry
him; ordered her father to the rack, and her brother to death. Meanwhile
the prince returned at the head of his army, made himself master of the
city, put down the revolt, and had his marriage duly recognized. Almagro
took poison and died.--S. Knowles, _The Rose of Aragon_ (1842).
_Olivia_ [PRIMROSE], the elder daughter of the vicar of Wakefield. She
was a sort of a Heb[^e] in beauty, open, sprightly, and commanding. Olivia
Primrose "wished for many lovers," and eloped with Squire Thornhill. Her
father went in search of her, and on his return homeward, stopped at a
roadside inn, called the Harrow, and there found her turned out of the
house by the landlady. It was ultimately discovered that she was legally
married to the squire.--Goldsmith, _Vicar of Wakefield_ (1765).
_Olivia_, young girl who hearkens to _The Talking Oak_ in Tennyson's
poem of that name (1842).
=Olivia de Zenuga=, daughter of Don Caesar. She fixed her heart on having
Julio de Melessina for her husband, and so behaved to all other suitors
as to drive them away. Thus to Don Garcia, she pretended to be a
termagant; to Don Vincentio, who was music-mad, she professed to love a
Jew's-harp above every other instrument. At last Julio appeared, and her
"bold stroke" obtained as its reward "the husband of her choice."--Mrs.
Cowley, _A Bold Stroke for a Husband_ (1782).
=Olla=, bard of Cairbar. These bards acted as heralds.--Ossian.
=Ol'lapod= (_Cornet_), at the Galen's Head. An eccentric country
apothecary, "a jumble of physic and shooting." Dr. Ollapod is very fond
of "wit," and when he has said what he thinks a smart thing he calls
attention to it, with "He! he! he!" and some such expression as "Do you
take, good sir! do you take?" But when another says a smart thing, he
titters, and cries, "That's well! that's very well! Thank you, good sir,
I owe you one!" He is a regular rattle; details all the scandal of the
village; boasts of his achievements or misadventures; is very mercenary,
and wholly without principle.--G. Colman, _The Poor Gentleman_ (1802).
[Asterism] This character is evidently a copy of Dibdin's "Doctor
Pother" in _The Farmer's Wife_ (1780).
=Ol'lomand=, an enchanter, who persuaded Ahu'bal, the rebellious brother
of Misnar, sultan of Delhi, to try by bribery to corrupt the troops of
the sultan. By an unlimited supply of gold, he soon made himself master
of the southern provinces and Misnar marched to give him battle.
Ollomand, with 5000 men, went in advance and concealed his company in a
forest; but Misnar, apprised thereof by spies, set fire to the forest,
and Ollomand was shot by the discharge of his own cannons, fired
spontaneously by the flames: "For enchantment has no power except over
those who are first deceived by the enchanter."--Sir C. Morell [J.
Ridley], _Tales of the Genii_ ("The Enchanter's Tale," vi., 1751).
=Oluf= (_Sir_), a bridegroom who rode late to collect guests to his
wedding. On his ride, the daughter of the erl king met him and invited
him to dance a measure, but Sir Oluf declined. She then offered him a
pair of gold spurs, a silk doublet, and a heap of gold, if he would
dance with her: and when he refused to do so, she struck him "with an
elf-stroke." On the morrow, when all the bridal party was assembled, Sir
Oluf was found dead in a wood.--_A Danish Legend_ (Herder).
=Olympia=, countess of Holland and wife of Bire'no. Being deserted by
Bireno, she was bound naked to a rock by pirates, but was delivered by
Orlando, who took her to Ireland, where she married King Oberto (bks.
iv., v.),[TN-47]--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
_Olympia_, sister to the grand-duke of Muscovia.--Beaumont and Fletcher,
_The Loyal Subject_ (1618).
=Omawhaws= [_Om'.a.waws_] or =Omahas=, an Indian tribe of Dakota.
O, chief of the mighty Omahaws!
Longfellow, _To the Driving Cloud_.
=Ombre'lia=, the rival of Smilinda, for the love of Sharper; "strong as
the footman, as the master sweet."--Pope, _Eclogues_ ("The Basset
Table," 1715).
=O'Neal= (_Shan_), leader of the Irish insurgents in 1567. Shan O'Neal was
notorious for profligacy.
=O'Malley= (_Charles_). Dashing Irishman in Charles James Lever's novel
_Charles O'Malley_.
=O'More= (_Rory_). Hero of a novel of same name and the lover of Katharine
O'Bawn, in the popular song, Rory O'More. Novel and song are by Samuel
Lover.
=Onei'za= (3 _syl._), daughter of Moath, a well-to-do Bedouin, in love
with Thal'aba, "the destroyer" of sorcerers. Thalaba, being raised to
the office of vizier, married Oneiza, but she died on the bridal
night.--Southey, _Thalaba, the Destroyer_, ii., vii. (1797).
=Oneida Warrior= (_The_), Outalissi (_q.v._).--Campbell, _Gertrude of
Wyoming_ (1809).
=Only= (_The_), Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, called by the Germans _Der
Einzige_, from the unique character of his writings.
[Asterism] The Italians call Bernardo Accolti, an Italian poet of the
sixteenth century, "Aretino the Only," or _L'Unico Aretino_.
=Open, Ses'ame!= (3 _syl._) the magic words which caused the cave door of
the "forty thieves" to open of itself. "Shut Sesam[^e]!" were the words
which caused it to shut. Sesame is a grain, and hence Cassim, when he
forgot the word, cried, "Open, Wheat!" "Open, Rye!" "Open, Barley!" but
the door obeyed no sound but "Open, Sesam[^e]!"--_Arabian Nights_ ("Ali
Baba or The Forty Thieves").
=Ophelia=, the young, beautiful, and pious daughter of Polo'nius, lord
chamberlain to the king of Denmark. Hamlet fell in love with her, but
her father forbade her holding word or speech with the Prince, and she
obeyed so strictly that her treatment of him, with his other wrongs,
drove him to upbraid and neglect her. Ophelia was so wrought upon by his
conduct that her mind gave way. In her madness, attempting to hang a
wreath of flowers on a willow by a brook, a branch broke, and she was
drowned.--_Hamlet_ (1596).
Tate Wilkinson, speaking of Mrs. Cibber (Dr. Arne's daughter,
1710-1766), says: "Her features, figure and singing, made her the best
'Ophelia' that ever appeared either before or since."
=Ophiuchus= [_Of'.i.[=u]'.kus_], the constellation _Serpentarius_.
Ophiuchus is a man who holds a serpent (Greek _Ophis_) in his hands. The
constellation is situated to the south of _Hercul[^e]s_; and the principal
star, called "Ras Alhague," is in the man's head. (_Ras Alhague_)[TN-48]
is from the Arabic, _r['a]s-al-haww['a]_, "the serpent-charmer's head.")
Satan stood
Unterrified, and like a comet burned,
That fires the length of Ophiuchus huge,
In the Arctic sky.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, ii. 709, etc. (1665).
=Opium-Eater= (_The English_), Thomas de Quincey, who published
_Confessions of an English Opium-Eater_ (1845).
=O. P. Q.=, Robert Merry (1755-1798); object of Gifford's satire in
_Baviad_ and _Maeviad_, and of Byron's in his _English Bards and Scotch
Reviewers_. He marries Miss Brunton, the actress.
And Merry's metaphors appear anew,
Chained to the signature of O. P. Q.
Byron, _English Bards and Scotch Reviewers_ (1809).
=Oracle of the Church= (_The_), St. Bernard (1091-1153).
=Oracle of the Holy Bottle= (_The_), an oracle sought for by Rabelais, to
solve the knotty point "whether Panurge (2 _syl._) should marry or not."
The question had been put to sibyl and poet, monk and fool, philosopher
and witch, but none could answer it. The oracle was ultimately found in
Lantern-land.
This, of course, is a satire on the celibacy of the clergy and the
withholding of the cup from the laity. Shall the clergy marry or
not?--that was the moot point; and the "Bottle of Tent Wine," or the
clergy, who kept the bottle to themselves, alone could solve it. The
oracle and priestess of the bottle were both called _Bacbuc_ (Hebrew for
"bottle").--Rabelais, _Pantag'ruel_, iv., v. (1545).
=Oracle= (_Sir_), name used in Merchant of Venice to express conceited,
pugnacious man.
... I am Sir Oracle,
And when I ope my lips, let no dog bark!"[TN-49]
=Orange= (_Prince of_), a title given to the heir-apparent of the king of
Holland. "Orange" is a petty principality in the territory of Avignon,
in the possession of the Nassau family.
=Orania=, the lady-love of Am'adis of Gaul.--Lobeira, _Amadis of Gaul_
(fourteenth century).
=Orator Henley=, the Rev. John Henley, who for about thirty years
delivered lectures on theological, political, and literary subjects
(1692-1756).
[Asterism] Hogarth has introduced him into several of his pictures; and
Pope says of him:
Imbround with native bronze, lo! Henley stands,
Tuning his voice, and balancing his hands,
How fluent nonsense trickles from his tongue!
How sweet the periods, neither said nor sung!...
Oh, great restorer of the good old stage,
Preacher at once and zany of thy age!
Oh, worthy thou of Egypt's wise abodes;
A decent priest where monkeys were the gods!
_The Dunciad_ (1742).
=Orator Hunt=, the great demagogue in the time of the Wellington and Peel
administration. Henry Hunt, M.P., used to wear a gray hat, and these
hats were for the time a badge of democratic principles, and called
"radical hats" (1773-1835).
=Orbaneja=, the painter of Ube'da, who painted so preposterously that he
inscribed under his objects what he meant them for.
Orbaneja would paint a cock so wretchedly designed that he was
obliged to inscribe under it, "This is a cock."--Cervantes, _Don
Quixote_, II. i. 3 (1615).
=Orbilius=, the schoolmaster who taught Horace. The poet calls him "the
flogger" (_plag[=o]sus_).--_Ep._ ii. 71.
[Asterism] _The Orbilian Stick_ is a birch rod or cane.
=Ordigale=, the otter in the beast-epic of _Reynard the Fox_, i. (1498).
=Ordovi'ces= (4 _syl._), people of Ordovicia, that is, Flintshire,
Denbighshire, Merionetshire, Montgomeryshire, Carnarvonshire and
Anglesey. (In Latin the _i_ is short: _Ordov[)i]c[^e]s_.)
The Ordov[=i]ces now which North Wales people be.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xvi. (1613).
=Or'dovies= (3 _syl._), the inhabitants of North Wales. (In Latin North
Wales is called _Ordovic'ia_.)
Beneath his [_Agricola's_] fatal sword the Ordovies to fall
(Inhabiting the west), those people last of all
... withstood.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, viii. (1612).
=Or'ead= (3 _syl._), a mountain-nymph. Tennyson calls "Maud" an _oread_,
because her hall and garden were on a hill.
I see my Ore[:a]d coming down.
_Maud_, I. xvi. 1 (1855).
_Ore[:a]d._ Echo is so called.
=Ore'ades= (4 _syl._) or =O'reads= (3 _syl._), mountain-nymphs.
Ye Cambrian [_Welsh_] shepherds then, whom these our mountains please,
And ye our fellow-nymphs, ye light Ore[:a]d[^e]s.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, ix. (1612).
=Orel'io=, the favorite horse of King Roderick, the last of the Goths.
'Twas Orelio
On which he rode, Roderick's own battle-horse,
Who from his master's hand had wont to feed,
And with a glad docility obey
His voice familiar.
Southey, _Roderick, etc._, xxv. (1814).
=Ores'tes= (3 _syl._), son of Agamemnon, betrothed to Hermi'on[^e] (4
_syl._), daughter of Menela'us (4 _syl._), king of Sparta. At the
downfall of Troy Menel[=a]us promised Hermion[^e] in marriage to
Pyrrhus, king of Ep[=i]rus, but Pyrrhus fell in love with
Androm'ach[^e], the widow of Hector, and his captive. An embassy, led by
Orest[^e]s, was sent to Epirus to demand that the son of Andromach[^e]
should be put to death, lest, as he grew up, he might seek to avenge his
father's death. Pyrrhus refused to comply. In this embassage Orest[^e]s
met Hermion[^e] again, and found her pride and jealousy aroused to fury
by the slight offered her. She goaded Orest[^e]s to avenge her insults,
and the ambassadors fell on Pyrrhus and murdered him. Hermion[^e], when
she saw the dead body of the king borne along, stabbed herself, and
Orest[^e]s went raving mad.--Ambrose Philips, _The Distressed Mother_
(1712).
=Orfeo and Heuro'dis=, the tale of Orpheus and Euryd[)i]c[^e], with the
Gothic machinery of elves and fairies.
[Asterism] Gl[:u]ck has an opera called _Orfeo_; the libretto, by
Calzabigi, based on a dramatic piece by Poliziano (1764).
=Orgari'ta=, "the orphan of the Frozen Sea," heroine of a drama. (See
MARTHA.)--Stirling, _The Orphan of the Frozen Sea_ (1856).
=Or'gilus=, the betrothed lover of Penthe'a, by the consent of her father;
but, at the death of her father, her brother, Ith'ocl[^e]s, compelled her
to marry Bass'an[^e]s, whom she hated. Ithocl[^e]s was about to marry the
princess of Sparta, but a little before the event was to take place
Penthea starved herself to death, and Orgilus was condemned to death for
murdering Ithocl[^e]s.--John Ford, _The Broken Heart_ (1633).
=Orgoglio= [_Or.gole'.yo_], a hideous giant, as tall as three men, son of
Earth and Wind. Finding the Red Cross Knight at the fountain of Idleness
he beats him with a club, and makes him his slave. Una informs Arthur of
it, and Arthur liberates the knight and slays the giant (_Rev._ xiii. 5,
7, with _Dan._ vii. 21, 22).--Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_, i. (1590).
[Asterism] Arthur first cut off Orgoglio's _left arm_, _i. e._ Bohemia
was cut off first from the Church of Rome; then he cut off the giant's
_right leg_, _i. e._ England.
=Orgon=, brother-in-law of Tartuffe (2 _syl._). His credulity and faith in
Tartuffe, like that of his mother, can scarcely be shaken even by the
evidence of his senses. He hopes against hope, and fights every inch of
ground in defence of the religious hypocrite.--Moli[`e]re, _Tartuffe_
(1664).
=Oria'na=, daughter of Lisuarte, king of England, and spouse of Am'adis of
Gaul (bk. ii. 6). The general plot of this series of romances bears on
this marriage, and tells of the thousand and one obstacles from rivals,
giants, sorcerers and so on, which had to be overcome before the
consummation could be effected. It is in this unity of plot that the
Amadis series differs from its predecessors--the Arthurian romances, and
those of the paladins of Charlemagne, which are detached adventures,
each complete in itself, and not bearing to any common focus.--_Amadis
de Gaul_ (fourteenth century).
[Asterism] Queen Elizabeth is called "the peerless Oriana," especially
in the madrigals entitled _The Triumphs of Oriana_ (1601). Ben Jonson
applies the name to the queen of James I. (_Oriens Anna_).
_Oriana_, the nursling of a lioness, with whom Esplandian fell in love,
and for whom he underwent all his perils and exploits. She was the
gentlest, fairest, and most faithful of her sex.--Lobeira, _Amadis de
Gaul_ (fourteenth century).
_Orian'a_, the fair, brilliant, and witty "chaser" of the "wild goose"
Mirabel, to whom she is betrothed, and whose wife she ultimately
becomes.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Wild-Goose Chase_ (1652).
_Oriana_, the ward of old Mirabel, and bound by contract to her
guardian's son whom she loves; but young Mirabel shilly-shallies, till
he gets into trouble with Lamorce (3 _syl._), and is in danger of being
murdered, when Oriana, dressed as a page, rescues him. He then declared
that his "inconstancy has had a lesson," and he marries the lady.--G.
Farquhar, _The Inconstant_ (1702).
_Oriana_, in Tennyson's ballad so called, "stood on the castle wall," to
see her spouse, a Norland chief, fight. A foeman went between "the
chief, and the wall," and discharged an arrow, which, glancing aside,
pierced the lady's heart and killed her. The ballad is the lamentation
of the spouse on the death of his bride (1830).
=O'riande= (3 _syl._), a fay who lived at Rosefleur, and was brought up
by Maugis d'Aygremont. When her _prot['e]g['e]_ grew up, she loved him,
"d'un si grand amour, qu'elle doute fort qu'il ne se departe d'avecques
elle."--_Romance de Maujis d'Aygremont et de Vivian son Fr[`e]re._
=O'riel=, a fairy, whose empire lay along the banks of the Thames, when
King Oberon held his court in Kensington Gardens.--Tickell, _Kensington
Gardens_ (1686-1740).
=Orient= (_The_). In _The New Priest of Conception Bay_, Fanny Dare sings
to little Mary Barr['e] how the good ship _Orient_ was wrecked.
"Woe for the brave ship Orient!
Woe for the old ship Orient!
For in the broad, broad light
With the land in sight,--
Where the waters bubbled white,--
One great, sharp shriek!--one shudder of affright!
And----
down went the brave old ship, the Orient!"
Robert Lowell, _The New Priest of Conception Bay_ (1858).
=Oriflamme=, the banner of St. Denis. When the counts of Vexin became
possessed of the abbey, the banner passed into their hands, and when, in
1082, Philippe I. united Vexin to the crown, the oriflamme or sacred
banner belonged to the king. In 1119 it was first used as a national
banner. It consists of a crimson silk flag, mounted on a gilt staff (_un
glaive tout dor['e] o[`u] est attach['e] une bani[`e]re vermeille_). The
loose end is cut into three wavy vandykes, to represent tongues of
flame, and a silk tassel is hung at each cleft. In war the display of
this standard indicates that no quarter will be given. The English
standard of no quarter was the "burning dragon."
Raoul de Presle says it was used in the time of Charlemagne, being the
gift of the patriarch of Jerusalem. We are told that all infidels were
blinded who looked upon it. Froissart says it was displayed at the
battle of Rosbecq, in the reign of Charles VI., and "no sooner was it
unfurled than the fog cleared away, and the sun shone on the French
alone."
I have not reared the Oriflamme of death.
... me it behooves
To spare the fallen foe.
Southey, _Joan of Arc_, viii. 621, etc. (1837).
=Origilla=, the lady-love of Gryphon, brother of Aquilant; but the
faithless fair one took up with Mart[=a]no, a most impudent boaster and
a coward. Being at Damascus during a tournament in which Gryphon was the
victor, Martano stole the armor of Gryphon, arrayed himself in it, took
the prizes, and then decamped with the lady. Aquilant happened to see
them, bound them, and took them back to Damascus, where Martano was
hanged, and the lady kept in bondage for the judgment of
Luc[=i]na.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
=Orillo=, a magician and robber, who lived at the mouth of the Nile. He
was the son of an imp and fairy. When any one of his limbs was lopped
off, he had the power of restoring it; and when his head was cut off, he
could take it up and replace it. When Astolpho encountered this
magician, he was informed that his life lay in one particular hair; so
instead of seeking to maim his adversary, Astolpho cut off the magic
hair, and the magician fell lifeless at his feet.--Ariosto, _Orlando
Furioso_ (1516).
=Orinda=, "the incomparable," Mrs. Katherine Philipps, who lived in the
reign of Charles II., and died of small-pox.
[Asterism] Her praises were sung by Cowley, Dryden, and others.
We allowed you beauty, and we did submit ...
Ah, cruel sex, will you depose us too in wit?
Orinda does in that too reign.
Cowley, _On Orinda's Poems_ (1647).
=Ori'on=, a giant of great beauty, and a famous hunter, who cleared the
island of Chios of wild beasts. While in the island, Orion fell in love
with Mer[)o]p[^e], daughter of king Oenop'ion; but one day, in a drunken
fit, having offered her violence, the king put out the giant's eyes, and
drove him from the island. Orion was told if he would travel eastward,
and expose his sockets to the rising sun, he would recover his sight.
Guided by the sound of a Cyclop's hammer, he reached Lemnos, where
Vulcan gave him a guide to the abode of the sun. In due time, his sight
returned to him, and at death he was made a constellation. The lion's
skin was an emblem of the wild beasts which he slew in Chios, and the
club was the instrument he employed for the purpose.
He [_Orion_]
Reeled as of yore beside the sea,
When, blinded by Oenopion,
He sought the blacksmith at his forge,
And, climbing up the mountain gorge,
Fixed his blank eyes upon the sun.
Longfellow, _The Occultation of Orion_.
_Orion and the Blacksmith._ The reference is to the blacksmith mentioned
in the preceding article, whom Orion took on his back to act as guide
to the place where the rising sun might be best seen.
_Orion's Dogs_ were Arctoph[)o]nus ("the bear-killer") and Ptooph[)a]gos
("the glutton of Ptoon," in Boe[=o]tia).
_Orion's Wife_, Sid[^e].
_Orion._ After Orion has set in the west, _Aur[=i]ga_ (the Charioteer)
and _Gem'ini_ (Castor and Pollux) are still visible. Hence Tennyson
says:
... the Charioteer
And starry Gemini hang like glorious crowns
Over Orion's grave low down in the west.
_Maud_, III. vi. 1 (1855).
_Orion_, a seraph, the guardian angel of Simon Peter.--Klopstock, _The
Messiah_, iii. (1748).
=Orith'yia= or =Orith'ya=, daughter of Erectheus, carried off by Boreas to
Thrace.
Such, dalliance as alone the North wind hath with her,
Orithya not enjoyed, from Thrace when he her took,
And in his saily plumes the trembling virgin shook.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, x. (1612).
Phineas Fletcher calls the word "Orithy'a."
None knew mild zephyr's from cold Eurus' mouth,
Nor Orithya's lover's violence [_North wind_].
_Purple Island_, i. (1633).
=Orlando=, the younger son of Sir Rowland de Bois [_Bwor_]. At the
death of his father, he was left under the care of his elder brother,
Oliver, who was charged to treat him well; but Oliver hated him,
wholly neglected his education, and even tried by many indirect means
to kill him. At length, Orlando fled to the forest of Arden', where he
met Rosalind and Celia in disguise. They had met before at a
wrestling match, when Orlando and Rosalind fell in love with each
other. The acquaintance was renewed in the forest, and ere many days
had passed the two ladies resumed their proper characters, and both
were married, Rosalind to Orlando, and Celia to Oliver, the elder
brother.--Shakespeare, _As You Like It_ (1598).
_Orlando_ (in French ROLAND, _q.v._), one of the paladins of
Charlemagne, whose nephew he was. Orlando was confiding and loyal, of
great stature, and possessed unusual strength. He accompanied his uncle
into Spain, but on his return was waylaid in the valley of Roncesvall[^e]s
(in the Pyrenees) by the traitor Ganelon, and perished with all his
army, A.D. 778. His adventures are related in Turpin's _Chronique;_ in
the _Chanson de Roland_, attributed to Th['e]roulde. He is the hero of
Bojardo's epic, _Orlando Innamorato_; and of Ariosto's continuation
called _Orlando Furioso_ ("Orlando mad"). Robert Greene, in 1594,
produced a drama which he called _The History of Orlando_. Rhode's farce
of _Bombast[^e]s Furioso_ (1790) is a burlesque of Ariosto's _Orlando
Furioso_.
_Orlando's Ivory Horn_, Olifant, once the property of Alexander the
Great. Its bray could be heard for twenty miles.
_Orlando's Horse_, Brigliadoro ("golden bridal").
_Orlando's Sword_, Durinda'na or Durandana, which once belonged to
Hector, is "preserved at Rocamadour, in France; and his spear is still
shown in the cathedral of Pa'via, in Italy."
Orlando was of middling stature, broad-shouldered, crooked-legged,
brown-visaged, red-bearded, and had much hair on his body. He
talked but little, and had a very surly aspect, although he was
perfectly good-humored.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II. i. 1 (1615).
_Orlando's Vulnerable Part._ Orlando was invulnerable except in the sole
of his foot, and even there nothing could wound him but the point of a
large pin; so that when Bernardo del Carpio assailed him at
Roncesvall[^e]s, he took him in his arms and squeezed him to death, in
imitation of Hercul[^e]s, who squeezed to death the giant Antae'us (3
_syl._).--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II. ii. 13 (1615).
=Orlando Furioso=, a continuation of Bojardo's story, with the same hero.
Bojardo leaves Orlando in love with Angelica, whom he fetched from
Cathay and brought to Paris. Here, says Ariosto, Rinaldo falls in love
with her, and, to prevent mischief, the king placed the coquette under
the charge of Namus; but she contrived to escape her keeper, and fled to
the island of Eb[=u]da, where Rog[=e]ro found her exposed to a
sea-monster, and liberated her. In the mean time, Orlando went in search
of his lady, was decoyed into the enchanted castle of Atlant[^e]s, but was
liberated by Angelica, who again succeeded in effecting her escape to
Paris. Here she arrived just after a great battle between the Christians
and pagans, and, finding Med[=o]ra, a Moor, wounded, took care of him,
fell in love with him, and eloped with him to Cathay. When Orlando found
himself jilted, he was driven mad with jealousy and rage, or rather his
wits were taken from him for three months by way of punishment, and
deposited in the moon. Astolpho went to the moon in Elijah's chariot,
and St. John gave him "the lost wits" in an urn. On reaching France
Astolpho bound the madman, then, holding the urn to his nose, the wits
returned to their nidus, and the hero was himself again. After this, the
siege was continued, and the Christians were wholly successful. (See
ORLANDO INNAMORATO.)--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
[Asterism] This romance in verse extends to forty-six cantos. Hoole, in
his translation, has compressed the forty-six cantos into twenty-four
books; but Rose has retained the original number. The adventures of
Orlando, under the French form "Roland," are related by Turpin in his
_Chronicle_, and by Th['e]roulde in his _Chanson de Roland_.
[Asterism] The true hero of Ariosto's romance is Rog[=e]ro, and not
Orlando. It is with Rogero's victory over Rodomont that the poem ends.
The concluding lines are:
Then at full stretch he [_Rogero_] raised his arm above
The furious Rodomont, and the weapon drove
Thrice in his gaping throat--so ends the strife,
And leaves secure Rogero's fame and life.
=Orlando Innamora'to=, or _Orlando in love_, in three books, by Count
Bojardo, of Scandiano, in Italy (1495). Bojardo supposes Charlemagne to
be warring against the Saracens in France, under the walls of Paris. He
represents the city to be besieged by two infidel hosts--one under
Agramant[^e], emperor of Africa, and the other under Gradasso, king of
Sirica'na. His hero is Orlando, whom he supposes (though married at the
time to Aldebella) to be in love with Angelica, a fascinating coquette
from Cathay, whom Orlando had brought to France. (See ORLANDO FURIOSO.)
[Asterism] Berni of Tuscany, in 1538, published a burlesque in verse on
the same subject.
=Orleans=, a most passionate innamorato, in love with Agripy'na.--Thomas
Dekker, _Old Fortunatus_ (1600).
Orleans talks "pure Biron and Romeo;" he is almost as poetical as
they, quite as philosophical, only a little madder.--C. Lamb.
("Biron," in Shakespeare's _Love's Labor's Lost_; "Romeo," in his _Romeo
and Juliet_.)
_Orleans_ (_Gaston, duke of_), brother of Louis XIII. He heads a
conspiracy to assassinate Richelieu and dethrone the king. If the plot
had been successful, Gaston was to have been made regent; but the
conspiracy was discovered, and the duke was thwarted in his ambitious
plans.--Lord Lytton, _Richelieu_ (1839).
_Orleans_ (_Louis, duc d'_), to whom the Princess Joan (daughter of
Louis XI.) is affianced.--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward
IV.).
=Orlick= (_Dolge_), usually called "Old Orlick," though not above five and
twenty, journeyman to Joe Gargery, blacksmith. Obstinate, morose,
broad-shouldered, loose-limbed, swarthy, of great strength, never in a
hurry, and always slouching. Being jealous of Pip, he allured him to a
hut in the marshes, bound him to a ladder, and was about to kill him,
when, being alarmed by approaching steps, he fled. Subsequently, he
broke into Mr. Pumblechook's house, was arrested, and confined in the
county jail. This surly, ill-conditioned brute was in love with Biddy,
but Biddy married Joe Gargery.--C. Dickens, _Great Expectations_ (1860).
=Orloff Diamond= (_The_), the third largest cut diamond in the world,
set in the top of the Russian sceptre. The weight of this magnificent
diamond is 194 carats, and its size is that of a pigeon's egg. It was
once one of the eyes of the idol Sheringham, in the temple of Brahma;
came into the hands of the Shah Nadir; was stolen by a French grenadier
and sold to an English sea-captain for [pounds]2000; the captain sold it
to a Jew for [pounds]12,000; it next passed into the hands of Shafras;
and in 1775, Catherine II. of Russia gave for it [pounds]90,000. (See
DIAMONDS.)
=Or'mandine= (3 _syl._), the necromancer who threw St. David into an
enchanted sleep for seven years, from which he was reclaimed by St.
George.--R. Johnson, _The Seven Champions of Christendom_, i. 9 (1617).
=Orme= (_Victor_), a poor gentleman in love with Elsie.--Wybert Reeve,
_Parted_.
=Ormond= (_The duke of_), a privy councillor of Charles II.--Sir W. Scott,
_Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
=Ormston= (_Jock_), a sheriff's officer at Fairport.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
=Ornithol'ogy= (_The Father of_), George Edwards (1693-1773).
=Oroma'zes= (4 _syl._), the principle of good in Persian mythology. Same
as Yezad (_q.v._).
=Oroonda'tes= (5 _syl._), only son of a Scythian king, whose love for
Stat[=i]ra (widow of Alexander the Great) led him into numerous dangers
and difficulties, which, however, he surmounted.--La Calpren[`e]de,
_Cassandra_ (a romance).
=Oroono'ko= (_Prince_), son and heir of the king of Angola, and general of
the forces. He was decoyed by Captain Driver aboard his ship; his suite
of twenty men were made drunk with rum; the ship weighed anchor; and the
prince, with all his men, were sold as slaves in one of the West Indian
Islands. Here Oroonoko met Imoin'da (3 _syl._), his wife, from whom he
had been separated, and whom he thought was dead. He headed a rising of
the slaves, and the lieutenant-governor tried to seduce Imoinda. The
result was that Imoinda killed herself, and Oroonoko (3 _syl._) slew
first the lieutenant-governor and then himself. Mrs. Aphra Behn became
acquainted with the prince at Surinam, and made the story of his life
the basis of a novel, which Thomas Southern dramatized (1696).
=Orozem'bo=, a brave and dauntless old Peruvian. When captured and brought
before the Spanish invaders, Orozembo openly defied them, and refused to
give any answer to their questions (act i. 1).--Sheridan, _Pizarro_
(altered from Kotzebue, 1799).
=Orpas=, once archbishop at Sev'ille. At the overthrow of the Gothic
kingdom in Spain, Orpas joined the Moors and turned Moslem. Of all the
renegades "the foulest and the falsest wretch was he that e'er renounced
his baptism." He wished to marry Florinda, daughter of Count Julian, in
order to secure "her wide domains;" but Florinda loathed him. In the
Moorish council Orpas advised Abulcacem to cut off Count Julian, "whose
power but served him for fresh treachery; false to Roderick first, and
to the caliph now." This advice was acted on; but, as the villain left
the tent, Abulcacem muttered to himself, "Look for a like reward
thyself; that restless head of wickedness in the grave will brood no
treason."--Southey, _Roderick, etc._, xx., xxii. (1814).
=Orphan of China=, a drama by Murphy. Zaphimri, the sole survivor of the
royal race of China, was committed in infancy to Zamti, the mandarin,
that he might escape from the hand of Ti'murkan', the Tartar conqueror.
Zamti brought up Zaphimri as his son, and sent Hamet, his real son, to
Corea, where he was placed under the charge of Morat. Twenty years
afterwards, Hamet led a band of insurgents against Timurkan, was seized,
and ordered to be put to death under the notion that he was "the orphan
of China." Zaphimri, hearing thereof, went to the Tartar and declared
that he, not Hamet, was the real prince; whereupon Timurkan ordered
Zamti and his wife, Mand[=a]n[^e], with Hamet and Zaphimri, to be seized.
Zamti and Mandan[^e] were ordered to the torture, to wring from them the
truth. In the interim, a party of insurgent Chinese rushed into the
palace, killed the king, and established "the orphan of China" on the
throne of his fathers (1759).
=Orphan of the Frozen Sea=, Martha, the daughter of Ralph de Lascours
(captain of the _Uran'ia_) and his wife, Louise. The crew having
rebelled, the three, with their servant, Bar'abas, were cast adrift in a
boat, which ran on an iceberg in the Frozen Sea. Ralph thought it was a
small island, but the iceberg broke up, both Ralph and his wife were
drowned, but Barabas and Martha escaped. Martha was taken by an Indian
tribe, which brought her up and named her Orgari'ta ("withered wheat"),
from her white complexion. In Mexico she met with her sister, Diana, and
her grandmother, Mde. de Theringe (2 _syl._), and probably married
Horace de Brienne.--E. Stirling, _Orphan of the Frozen Sea_ (1856).
=Orphan of the Temple=, Marie Th['e]r[`e]se Charlotte, duchess
d'Angoul[^e]me, daughter of Louis XVI.; so called from the Temple, where
she was imprisoned. She was called "The Modern Antig'on[^e]" by her
uncle, Louis XVIII.
=Orphant Annie.= A bound girl, who is credited by _l'enfant terrible_ of
the household with the goblin-lore he lavishes upon a visitor, this
being the moral:
"You better mind yer parents and yer teachers fond and dear,
An' churish 'em 'at loves you an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the poor an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!"
James Whitcomb Riley, _The Boss Girl and Other Sketches_ (1886).
=Orpheus.= (For a parallel fable, see WAINAMOINEN.)
=Orpheus and Eurydice= (4 _syl._), Gl[:u]ck's best opera (_Orfeo_).
Libretto by Calzabigi, who also wrote for Gl[:u]ck the libretto of
_Alceste_ (1767). King produced an English version of _Orpheus and
Eurydice_.
[Asterism] The tale is introduced by Pope in his _St. Cecilia's Ode_.
Of Orpheus now no more let poets tell,
To bright Cecilia greater power is given;
His numbers raised a shade from hell,
Hers lift the soul to heaven.
Pope, _St. Cecilia's Day_ (1709).
=Orpheus of Highwaymen=, John Gay, author of _The Beggar's Opera_
(1688-1732).
=Orpheus of the Green Isle= (_The_), Furlough[TN-50] O'Carolan, poet and
musician (1670-1738).
=Or'raca= (_Queen_), wife of Affonso II. The legend says that five friars
of Morocco, went to her, and said, "Three things we prophesy to you: (1)
we five shall all suffer martyrdom; (2) our bodies will be brought to
Coimbra; and (3) which ever see our relics the first, you or the king,
will die the same day." When their bodies were brought to Coimba,[TN-51]
the king told Queen Orraca she must join the procession with him. She
pleaded illness, but Affonso replied the relics would cure her; so they
started on their journey. As they were going, the queen told the king to
speed on before, as she could not travel so fast; so he speeded on with
his retinue, and started a boar on the road. "Follow him!" cried the
king, and they went after the boar and killed it. In the mean time, the
queen reached the procession, fully expecting her husband had joined it
long ago; but lo! she beheld him riding up with great speed. That night
the king was aroused at midnight with the intelligence that the queen
was dead.--Southey, _Queen Orraca_ (1838); Francisco Manoel da
Esperan[c,]a, _Historia Sarafica_ (eightteenth[TN-52] century).
=Orrock= (_Puggie_), a sheriff's officer at Fairport.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
=Orsin=, one of the leaders of the rabble rout that attacked Hudibras at
the bear-baiting.--S. Butler, _Hudibras_ (1663).
=Orsi'ni= (_Maffio_), a young Italian nobleman, whose life was saved by
Genna'ro at the battle of Rim'ini. Orsini became the fast friend of
Gennaro, but both were poisoned by the Princess Neg'roni at a
banquet.--Donizetti, _Lucrezia di Borgia_ (opera, 1834).
=Orsi'no=, duke of Illyria, who sought the love of Olivia, a rich
countess; but Olivia gave no encouragement to his suit, and the duke
moped and pined, leaving manly sports for music and other effeminate
employments. Viola entered the duke's service as a page, and soon
became a great favorite. When Olivia married Sebastian (Viola's
brother), and the sex of Viola became known, the duke married her, and
made her duchess of Illyria.--Shakespeare, _Twelfth Night_ (1614).
=Orson=, twin brother of Valentine, and son of Bellisant. The
twin-brothers were born in a wood near Orleans, and Orson was carried
off by a bear, which suckled him with its cubs. When he grew up he
became the terror of France, and was called "The Wild Man of the
Forest." Ultimately, he was reclaimed by his brother Valentine,
overthrew the Green Knight, and married Fezon, daughter of the duke of
Savary, in Aquitane.--_Valentine and Orson_ (fifteenth century).
=Orson and Ellen.= Young Orson was a comely young farmer from Taunton,
stout as an oak, and very fond of the lasses, but he hated matrimony,
and used to say, "the man who can buy milk is a fool to keep a cow."
While still a lad, Orson made love to Ellen, a rustic maiden; but, in
the fickleness of youth, forsook her for a richer lass, and Ellen left
the village, wandered far away, and became waiting maid to old Boniface,
the innkeeper. One day Orson happened to stop at this very inn, and
Ellen waited on him. Five years had passed since they had seen each
other, and at first neither knew the other. When, however, the facts
were known, Orson made Ellen his wife, and their marriage feast was
given by Boniface himself.--Peter Pindar [Dr. Wolcot], _Orson and Ellen_
(1809).
=Ortel'lius= (_Abraham_), a Dutch geographer, who published in 1570, his
_Theatrum Orbis Terrae_, or _Universal Geography_ (1527-1598).
I more could tell to prove the place our own,
Than by his spacious maps are by Ortellius shown.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, vi. (1612).
=Ortheris=, cockney companion of Mulvaney. He suffers violently from
homesickness in India.--Rudyard Kipling, _Soldiers Three_.
=Orthodoxy.= When Lord Sandwich said, "he did not know the difference
between orthodoxy and heterodoxy," Warburton, bishop of Gloucester,
replied, "Orthodoxy, my lord, is _my_ doxy, and heterodoxy is _another
man's_ doxy."
_Orthodoxy_ (_The Father of_), Athanasius (296-373).
=Orthrus=, the two-headed dog of Euryt'ion, the herdsman of Geryon'eo. It
was the progeny of Typha'on and Echidna.
With his two-headed dogge that Orthrus hight,
Orthrus begotten by great Typhaon
And foule Echidna in the house of Night.
Spenser, _Fa[:e]ry Queen_, v., 10 (1596).
=Ortwine= (2 _syl._), knight of Metz, sister's son of Sir Hagan of Trony,
a Burgundian.--_The Nibelungen Lied_ (eleventh century).
=Or'ville= (_Lord_), the amiable and devoted lover of Evelina, whom he
ultimately marries.--Miss Burney, _Evelina_ (1778).
=Osbaldistone= (_Mr._), a London merchant.
_Frank Osbaldistone_, his son, in love with Diana Vernon, whom he
marries.
_Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone_, of Osbaldistone Hall, uncle of Frank, his
heir.
_His Sons_ were: Percival, "the sot;" Thorncliffe, "the bully;" John,
"the gamekeeper;" Richard, "the horse-jockey:"[TN-53] Wilfred, "the
fool;" and Rashleigh, "the scholar," a perfidious villain killed by Rob
Roy.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).
_Rob Roy Macgregor_ was dramatized by Pocock.
=Osborne= (_Mr._), a hard, money-loving, purse-proud, wealthy London
merchant, whose only gospel was that "according to Mammon." He was a
widower, and his heart of hearts was to see his son, Captain George,
marry a rich mulatto. While his neighbor, Sedley, was prosperous, old
Sedley encouraged the love-making of George and Miss Sedley; but when
old Sedley failed, and George dared to marry the bankrupt's daughter, to
whom he was engaged, the old merchant disinherited him. Captain George
fell on the field of Waterloo, but the heart of old Osborne would not
relent, and he allowed the widow to starve in abject poverty. He
adopted, however, the widow's son George, and brought him up in absurd
luxury and indulgence. A more detestable cad than old Sedley cannot be
imagined.
_Maria_ and _Jane Osborne_, daughters of the merchant, and of the same
mould. Maria married Frederick Bullock, a banker's son.
_Captain George Osborne_, son of the merchant; selfish, vain,
extravagant, and self-indulgent. He was engaged to Amelia Sedley, while
her father was in prosperity, and Captain Dobbin induced him to marry
her after the father was made a bankrupt. Happily, George fell on the
field of Waterloo, or one would never vouch for his conjugal
fidelity.--Thackeray, _Vanity Fair_ (1848).
=Oscar=, son of Ossian and grandson of Fingal. He was engaged to Malvi'na,
daughter of Toscar, but before the day of marriage arrived, he was
slain in Ulster, fighting against Cairbar, who had treacherously invited
him to a banquet and then slew him, A.D. 296. Oscar is represented as
most brave, warm-hearted, and impetuous, most submissive to his father,
tender to Malvina, and a universal favorite.
_Oscar Roused from Sleep._ "Caolt took up a huge stone and hurled it on
the hero's head. The hill for three miles round shook with the
reverberation of the blow, and the stone, rebounding, rolled out of
sight. Whereupon Oscar awoke, and told Caolt to reserve his blows for
his enemies."
Gun thog Caoilte a chlach nach g[`a]n,
Agus a n' aighai' chiean gun bhuail;
Tri mil an tulloch gun chri.
_Gaelic Romances._
=Oscar Dubourg.= Amiable, affectionate young fellow, betrothed to blind
Lucilla Finch. To cure the epilepsy attendant upon an injury to his
head, he takes nitrate of silver, concealing the discoloration of his
complexion caused by the drug from the knowledge of his betrothed, who
has a nervous horror of ugliness and deformity. When she regains her
sight, he leaves her because he dares not |
