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Title: Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction, and the Drama, Vol 4 of 4

Author: E. Cobham Brewer

Release Date: February 28, 2019 [EBook #58988]

Language: English

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HARACTER 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 IV

PHOTOGRAVURES AND ETCHINGS.

1

Skeggs (Miss Carolina Wilhelmina Amelia), the companion of “Lady Blarney.” These were two flash women, introduced by Squire Tuthill to the Primrose family, with a view of beguiling the two eldest daughters, who were both very beautiful. Sir William Thornhill thwarted their infamous purpose.--Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield (1766).

Skeleton (Sam), a smuggler.--Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).

Sketchley (Arthur), George Rose, author of Mrs. Brown (her observations on men and objects, politics and manners, etc.).

Skettles (Sir Barnet), of Fulham. He expressed his importance by an antique gold snuff-box and a silk handkerchief. His hobby was to extend his acquaintances, and to introduce people to each other. Skettles, junior, was a pupil of Dr. Blimber.--C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).

Skevington’s Daughter, an instrument of torture invented by Skevington, lieutenant of the Tower, in the reign of Henry VIII. It consisted of a broad iron hoop, in two parts, jointed with a hinge. The victim was put into the hoop, which was then squeezed close and locked. Here he remained for about an hour and a half in the most inexpressible torture. (Generally corrupted into the “Scavenger’s Daughter.”)

Skewton (The Hon. Mrs.), mother of Edith (Mr. Dombey’s second wife). Having once been a beauty, she painted when old and shrivelled, became enthusiastic about the “charms of nature,” and reclined in her bath-chair in the attitude she assumed in her barouche when young and well off. A fashionable artist had painted her likeness in this attitude, and called his picture “Cleopatra.” The Hon. Mrs. Skewton was the sister of the late Lord Feenix, and aunt to the present lord.--C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).

Skiffins (Miss), an angular, middle-aged woman, who wears “green kid gloves 2when dressed for company.” She marries Wemmick.--C. Dickens, Great Expectations (1860).

Skimpole (Harold), an amateur artist, always sponging on his friends. Under a plausible, light-hearted manner he was intensely selfish, but Mr. Jarndyce looked on him as a mere child, and believed in him implicitly.--C. Dickens, Bleak House (1852).

(The original of this character was Leigh Hunt, who was greatly displeased at the skit.)

Skin (The Man without a), Richard Cumberland. So called by Garrick, on account of his painful sensitiveness of all criticism. The same irritability of temper made Sheridan caricature him in The Critic as “Sir Fretful Plagiary” (1732-1811).

Skinfaxi (“shining mane”), the horse which draws the chariot of day.--Scandinavian Mythology.

Skofnung, the sword of King Rolf, the Norway hero, preserved for centuries in Iceland.

Skogan. (See Scogan.)

Skreigh (Mr.), the precentor at the Gordon Arms inn, Kippletringan.--Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).

Skulls at Banquets. Plutarch tells us that towards the close of an Egyptian feast a servant brought in a skeleton, and cried to the guests, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow you die!”

Skurliewhitter (Andrew), the scrivener.--Sir W. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel (time, James I.).

Sky-Lark, a lark with the “skies,” or ’scīs. The Westminster boys used to style themselves Romans, and the “town,” Volsci; the latter word was curtailed to ’sci [sky]. A row between the Westminsterians and the town roughs was called a ’sci-lark, or a lark with the Volsci.

Skyresh Bol´golam, the high admiral or galbert of the realm of Lilliput.--Swift, Gulliver’sGulliver’s Travels (“Voyage to Lilliput,” iii., 1726).

Slackbridge, one of the “hands” in Bounderby’s mill at Coketown. Slackbridge is an ill-conditioned fellow, ill-made, with lowering eyebrows, and though inferior to many of the others, exercises over them a great influence. He is the orator, who stirs up his fellow-workmen to strike.--C. Dickens, Hard Times (1854).

Slammerkin (Mrs.). Captain Macheath says of her, “She is careless and genteel.” “All you fine ladies,” he adds, “who know your own beauty, affect an undress.”--Gay, The Beggar’s Opera, ii. 1 (1727).

Slander, an old hag, of “ragged, rude attyre, and filthy lockes,” who sucked venom out of her nails. It was her nature to abuse all goodness, to frame groundless charges, to “steale away the crowne of a good name,” and “never thing so well was doen, but she with blame would blot, and of due praise deprive.”

Slang, from Slangenberg, a Dutch general, noted for his abusive and exaggerated epithets when he reproved the men under his command. The etymon is suited to this dictionary, and the following are not without wit:--Italian, s-lingua, s negative and lingua = “bad language;” French, esclandre, “an event which gives rise to scandal,” hence, faire esclandre, “to expose one to scandal,” causer de l’escandre, “to give ground for scandal;” Greek, skandălon, “an offense, a scandal.” “Slangs,” fetters for malefactors.

Slango, a lad, servant of Gaylove, a young barrister. He dresses up as a woman, and when Squire Sapskull comes from Yorkshire for a wife, Slango passes himself off as Arbella. In the mean time, Gaylove assumes the airs and manners of a Yorkshire tike, and marries Arbella, with whom he is in love.--Carey, The Honest Yorkshireman (1736).

Slawken-Ber´gius Hafen, an imaginary author, distinguished for the great length of his nose. In the Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy (by Sterne), Slawken-Bergius is referred to as a great authority on all lore connected with noses, and a curious tale is introduced from his hypothetical works about a man with an enormously long nose.

No nose can be justly amputated by the public, not even the nose of Slawken-Bergius himself.--Carlyle.

Slaygood (Giant), master of a gang of thieves which infested the King’s highway. Mr. Greatheart slew him, and rescued Feeblemind from his grasp in a duel.--Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress, ii. (1684).

Sleary, proprietor of the circus at Coketown. A stout man with one eye fixed and one loose, a voice like the efforts of a broken pair of bellows, a flabby skin, and muddled head. He was never sober and never drunk, but always kind-hearted. Tom Gradgrind, after robbing the bank, lay concealed in this circus as a black servant till Sleary connived at his escape. This Sleary did in gratitude to Thomas Gradgrind, Esq., M.P., who adopted and educated Cecilia Jupe, daughter of his clown, Signor Jupe.

Josephine Sleary, daughter of the circus proprietor, a pretty girl of 18, who had been tied on a horse at two years old, and had made a will at 12. This will she carried about with her, and in it she signified her desire to be drawn to the grave by two piebald ponies. Josephine married E. W. B. Childers, of her father’s circus.--C. Dickens, Hard Times (1854).

Sleek (Aminadab), in The Serious Family, a comedy by Morris Barnett.

Sleeper (The). Almost all nations have a tradition about some sleeper who will wake after a long period of dormancy.

American (North). Rip van Winkle, a Dutch colonist, of New York, slept twenty years in the Catskill MountainsMountains.--Washington Irving.

American (South). Sebastian I., supposed to have fallen in the battle of Alcazarquebir, in 1578, is only asleep, and will in due time awake, return to life, and 4make Brazil the chief kingdom of the earth.

Arabian Legends. Mahommed Mohadi, the twelfth imân, is only sleeping, like Charlemagne, till Antichrist appears, when he will awake in his strength, and overthrow the great enemy of all true believers.

Nourjahad is only in a temporary sleep, waiting the fulness of time.

British Traditions. King Arthur is not dead in Avillon, but is merely metamorphosed into a raven. In due time he will awake, resume his proper person, claim the throne of Britain, and make it the head and front of all the kingdoms of the globe. “Because King Arthur bears for the nonce the semblance of a raven, the people of Britain never kill a raven” (Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. ii. 5).

Gyneth slept 500 years by the enchantment of Merlin. She was the natural daughter of King Arthur and Guendolen, and was thus punished because she would not put an end to a combat in which twenty knights were mortally wounded, including Merlin’s son.--Sir W. Scott, Bridal of Triermain (1813).

Merlin, the enchanter, is not dead, but “sleeps and sighs in an old tree, spell-bound by Vivien.”--British Legend.

St. David was thrown into an enchanted sleep by Ormandine, but after sleeping for seven years, was awoke by Merlin.

French Legend. The French slain in the Sicilian Vespers are not really dead, but they sleep for the time being, awaiting the day of retribution.

German Legends. Barbarossa, with six of his knights, sleeps in Kyffhaüsberg, in Thuringia, till the fulness of time, when they will awake and make Germany the foremost kingdom of the earth. The beard of the red king has already grown through the table slab at which he is sitting, but it must wind itself three times round the table before his second event. Barbarossa occasionally wakes and asks, “Is it time?” when a voice replies, “Not yet. Sleep on.”

Charlemagne is not dead, but only asleep in Untersberg, near Saltzburg, waiting for the advent of Antichrist, when he will rouse from his slumber, go forth conquering, and will deliver Christendom that it may be fit for the second advent and personal reign of Christ.

Charles V., kaiser of Germany, is only asleep, waiting his time, when he will awake, return to earth, “resume the monarchy over Germany, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark, putting all enemies under his feet.”

Knez Lazar, of Servia, supposed to have been slain by the Turks in 1389, is not really dead, but has put on sleep for a while, and at an allotted moment he will re-appear in his full strength.

Grecian Legends. Endym´ion, a beautiful youth, sleeps a perpetual sleep in Latmos. Selēnê (the moon) fell in love with him, kissed him, and still lies by his side. In the British Museum is an exquisite statue of Endymion asleep.--Greek Fable.

Epimen´ides (5 syl.), the Cretan poet, was sent in boyhood to search for a stray sheep; being heated and weary, he stepped into a cave, and fell asleep for fifty-seven years. Epimenidês, we are told, attained the age of 154, 157, 229, and some say 289 years.--Pliny, History, vii. 12.

Irish Traditions. Brian, surnamed “Boroimhe,” king of Ireland, who conquered the Danes in twenty pitched battles, and was supposed to have been slain in the battle of Clontarf, in 1014, was only stunned. He still sleeps in his castle of Kincora, and the day of Ireland’s necessity will be Brian’s opportunity.

5Desmond of Kilmallock, in Limerick, supposed to have perished in the reign of Elizabeth, is only sleeping under the waters of lough Gur. Every seventh year he re-appears in full armor, rides round the lake early in the morning, and will ultimately reappear and claim the family estates.--Sir W. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel.

Jewish Legend. Elijah, the prophet, is not dead, but sleeps in Abraham’s bosom till Antichrist appears, when he will return to Jerusalem and restore all things.

Russian Tradition. Elijah Mansur, warrior, prophet, and priest in Asiatic Russia, tried to teach a more tolerant form of Islâm, but was looked on as a heretic, and condemned to imprisonment in the bowels of a mountain. There he sleeps, waiting patiently the summons which will be given him, when he will awake, and wave his conquering sword to the terror of the Muscovite.--Milner, Gallery of Geography, 781.

Scandinavian Tradition. Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway, who was baptized in London, and introduced Christianity into Norway, Iceland and Greenland. Being overthrown by Swolde, king of Sweden (A.D. 1000), he threw himself into the sea and swam to the Holy Land, became an anchorite, and fell asleep at a greatly advanced age; but he is only waiting his opportunity, when he will sever Norway from Sweden, and raise it to a first-class power.

Scottish Tradition. Thomas of Erceldoune sleeps beneath the Eildon Hills, in Scotland. One day an elfin lady led him into a cavern in these hills, and he fell asleep for seven years, when he revisited the upper earth, under a bond that he would return immediately the elfin lady summoned him. One day, as he was making merry with his friends, he heard the summons, kept his word, and has never since been seen.--Sir W. Scott, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.

Spanish Tradition. Bobadil el Chico, last of the Moorish kings of Granada, lies spell-bound near the Alhambra, but in the day appointed he will return to earth and restore the Moorish government in Spain.

Swiss Legend. Three of the family of Tell sleep a semi-death at Rütli, waiting for the hour of their country’s need, when they will wake up and deliver it.

⁂ See Seven Sleepers.

Sleeper Awakened (The). Abou Hassan, the son of a rich merchant at Bagdad, inherited a good fortune; but, being a prudent man, made a vow to divide it into two parts: all that came to him from rents he determined to set apart, but all that was of the nature of cash he resolved to spend on pleasure. In the course of a year he ran through this fund, and then made a resolve in future to ask only one guest at a time to his board. This guest was to be a stranger, and never to be asked a second time. It so happened that the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, disguised as a merchant, was on one occasion his guest, and heard Abou Hassan say that he wished he were caliph for one day, and he would punish a certain imân for tittle-tattling. Haroun-al-Raschid thought that he could make capital of this wish for a little diversion; so, drugging the merchant’s wine, he fell into a profound sleep, was conveyed to the palace, and, on waking, was treated as the caliph. He ordered the imân to be punished, and sent his mother a handsome gift; but at night, another sleeping draught being given him, he was carried back to his own house. When he woke he could not decide if he had been in a dream or not, but his conduct was so strange that he was taken to a mad-house. He was confined for several 6days, and, being discharged, the caliph in disguise again visited him, and repeated the same game, so that next day he could not tell which had been the dream. At length the mystery was cleared up, and he was given a post about the caliph’s person, and the sultana gave him a beautiful slave for his wife. Abou Hassan now played a trick on the caliph. He pretended to be dead, and sent his young wife to the sultana to announce the sad news. Zobeida, the sultana, was very much grieved, and gave her favorite a sum of money for the funeral expenses. On her return she played the dead woman, and Abou Hassan went to the caliph to announce his loss. The caliph expressed his sympathy, and, having given him a sum of money for the funeral expenses, went to the sultana to speak of the sad news of the death of the young bride. “The bride?” cried Zobeida; “you mean the bridegroom, commander of the faithful.” “No, I mean the bride,” answered the caliph, “for Abou Hassan has but just left me.” “That cannot be, sire,” retorted Zobeida, “for it is not an hour ago that the bride was here to announce his death.” To settle this moot point, the chief of the eunuchs was sent to see which of the two was dead; and Abou, who saw him coming, got the bride to pretend to be dead, and set himself at her head bewailing, so the man returned with the report that it was the bride who was dead, and not the bridegroom. The sultana would not believe him, and sent her aged nurse to ascertain the fact. As she approached, Abou Hassan pretended to be dead, and the bride to be the wailing widow; accordingly, the nurse contradicted the report of the eunuch. The caliph and sultana, with the nurse and eunuch, then all went to see for themselves, and found both apparently dead. The caliph now said he would give 1000 pieces of gold to know which died first, when Abou Hassan cried, “Commander of the faithful, it was I who died first.” The trick was found out, the caliph nearly died with laughter, and the jest proved a little mine of wealth to the court favorite.--Arabian Nights.

Sleepers. (See Seven Sleepers.)

Sleeping Beauty (The), a lady who sleeps in a castle a hundred years, during which time an impenetrable wood springs up around the castle; but being at length disenchanted by a young prince, she marries him. The brothers Grimm have reproduced this tale in German. The old Norse tale of Brynhild and Sigurd seems to be the original of The Sleeping Beauty.--Perrault, Contes du Temps (“La Belle au Bois Dormant,” 1697).

(Tennyson has poetized this nursery story.)

Sleepner, the horse of Odin.

Slender, one of the suitors of “sweet Anne Page.” His servant’s name is Simple. Slender is a country lout, cousin of Justice Shallow.--Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor (1596).

Slick Mose, idiot boy, yet with animal instinct and dogged fidelity enough to make him signally useful to those to whom he is attached. “Della sets a heap by Slick Mose’s notions in things,” said the Colonel. “Well, there’s no tellin’ ’bout these half-witted creatures. And more people are half-witted than is suspected.”--Octave Thanet, Expiation (1890).

Slick (Sam), Judge Thomas Chandler Haliburton, of Nova Scotia, author of The Clockmaker (1837).

7Sam Slick, a Yankee clockmaker and pedlar, wonderfully ’cute, a great observer, full of quaint ideas, droll wit, odd fancies, surprising illustrations, and plenty of “soft sawder.” Judge Haliburton wrote the two series called Sam Slick, or the Clockmaker (1837).

Sliderskew (Peg), the hag-like housekeeper of Arthur Gride. She robs her master of some deeds, and thereby brings on his ruin.--C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).

Sligo (Dr.), of Ireland. He looks with contempt on his countryman, Dr. Osasafras, because he is but a parvenu.

Osasafras? That’s a name of no note. He is not a Milesian, I am sure. The family, I suppose, came over the other day with Strongbow, not above seven or eight hundred years ago.--Foote, The Devil Upon Two Sticks (1768).

Slingsby (Jonathan Freke), John Francis Waller, author of The Slingsby Papers (1852), etc.

Slingsby (Philip), pseudonym of N. P. Willis, in the series of essays and tales published as The Slingsby Papers. Chief among these is Love in the Library (184-).

Slip, the valet of young Harlowe (son of Sir Harry Harlowe, of Dorsetshire). He schemes with Martin, a fellow-servant, to contract a marriage between Martin and Miss Stockwell (daughter of a wealthy merchant), in order to get possession of £10,000, the wedding portion. The plan was this: Martin was to pass himself off as young Harlowe, and marry the lady or secure the dot; but Jenny (Miss Stockwell’s maid) informs Belford, the lover of Miss Stockwell, and he arrests the two knaves just in time to prevent mischief.--Garrick, Neck or Nothing (1766).

Slippers, which enabled the feet to walk, knives that cut of themselves, and sabres which dealt blows at a wish, were presents brought to Vathek by a hideous monster without a name.--W. Beckford, Vathek (1784).

Slippery Sam, a highwayman in Captain Macheath’s gang. Peachum says he should dismiss him, because “the villain hath the impudence to have views of following his trade as a tailor, which he calls an honest employment.”--Gay, The Beggar’s Opera, i. (1727).

Slipslop (Mrs.), a lady of frail morals.--Fielding, Joseph Andrews (1742).

Slocums (The), Rowland Slocum, the head of a large marble-yard, and a good citizen. He gives Richard Shackford employment, and lets him become an inmate of his family.

Margaret Slocum, a motherless, only child, her father’s housekeeper, Richard Shackford’s fast friend, and, in time, his wife.--T. B. Aldrich, The Stillwater Tragedy (1880).

Slop (Dr.), Sir John Stoddart, M.D., editor of the New Times, who entertained an insane hatred of Napoleon Bonaparte, called by him “The Corsican Fiend.” William Hone devised the name from Stoddart’s book entitled Slop’s Shave at a Broken Hone (1820), and Thomas Moore helped to popularize it (1773-1856).

Slop (Dr.), a choleric, enthusiastic, and bigoted physician. He breaks down Tristram’s nose, and crushes Uncle Toby’s fingers to a jelly, in attempting to demonstrate the use and virtues of a newly invented pair of obstetrical forceps.--Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759).

8(Under this name, Sterne ridiculed Dr. Burton, a man mid-wife of York.)

Slopard (Dame), wife of Grimbard, the brock or badger, in the beast-epic of Reynard the Fox (1498).

Sloppy, a love-child, brought up by Betty Higden, for whom he turned the mangle. When Betty died, Mr. Boffin apprenticed him to a cabinet-maker. Sloppy is described as “a very long boy, with a very little head, and an open mouth of disproportionate capacity that seemed to assist his eyes in staring.” It is hinted that he became “the prince” of Jenny Wren, the doll’s dressmaker.

Of an ungainly make was Sloppy. There was too much of him longwise, too little of him broadwise, and too many sharp angles of him angle-wise.... He had a considerable capital of knee, and elbow, and wrist, and ankle. Full-private Number One in the awkward squad was Sloppy.--C. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, I. i. 16 (1864).

Slote (Hon. Bardwell). Member of Congress, who condenses phrases into initials, expressing himself phonetically as “H. K.” for Hard Cash, and “G. F.” for Jug Full.--B. E. Woolf, The Mighty Dollar (1875).

Slough of Despond (The), a deep bog, which Christian had to pass on his way to the Wicket Gate. Neighbor Pliable would not attempt it, and turned back. While Christian was floundering in the slough, Help came to his aid, and assisted him over.

The name of the slough was Despond. Here they wallowed for a time, and Christian, because of the burden that was on his back, began to sink into the mire. This miry slough is such a place as cannot be mended. It is the descent whither the scum and filth that attends conviction of sin doth continually run, and therefore is it called the Slough of Despond; for still, as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition, there arise in his soul many fears and doubts and discouraging apprehensions, which all of them get together, and settle in this place, and this is the reason of the badness of this ground.--Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress, i. (1678).

Slowboy (Tilly), nurse and general help of Mr. and Mrs. Peerybingle. She “was of a spare and straight shape, insomuch that her garments appeared to be in constant danger of sliding off her shoulders. Her costume was remarkable for its very partial development, and always afforded glimpses at the back of a pair of dead-green stays.” Miss Tilly was very fond of baby, but had a surprising talent for getting it into difficulties, bringing its head into perpetual contact with doors, dressers, stair-rails, bedposts, and so on. Tilly, who had been a foundling, looked upon the house of Peerybingle, the carrier, as a royal residence, and loved both Mr. and Mrs. Peerybingle with all the intensity of an undivided affection.--C. Dickens, The Cricket on the Hearth (1845).

Sludge (Gammer), the landlady of Erasmus Holiday, the schoolmaster in White Horse Vale.

Dickie Sludge, or “Flibbertigibbet,” her dwarf grandson.--Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Slum (Mr.), a patter poet, who dressed en militaire. He called on Mrs. Jarley, exhibitor of wax-works, all by accident. “What, Mr. Slum?” cried the lady of the wax-works; “who’d have thought of seeing you here?” “’Pon my soul and honor,” said Mr. Slum, “that’s a good remark! ’Pon my soul and honor, that’s a wise remark.... Why I came here? ’Pon my soul and honor, I hardly know what I came here for.... What a splendid 9classical thing is this, Mrs. Jarley! ’Pon my soul and honor, it is quite Minervian!” “It’ll look well, I fancy,” observed Mrs. Jarley. “Well!” said Mr. Slum; “It would be the delight of my life, ’pon my soul and honor, to exercise my Muse on such a delightful theme. By the way--any orders, madam? Is there anything I can do for you?” (ch. xxviii.).

“Ask the perfumers,” said the military gentleman, “ask the blacking-makers, ask the hatters, ask the old lottery office keepers, ask any man among ’em what poetry has done for him, and mark my word, he blesses the name of Slum.”Slum.”--C. Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop (1840).

Slumkey (Samuel), “blue” candidate for the representation of the borough of Eatanswill in parliament. His opponent is Horatio Fizkin, who represents the “buff” interest.--C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).

Sly (Christopher), a keeper of bears, and a tinker. In the induction of Shakespeare’s comedy called Taming of the Shrew, Christopher is found dead drunk by a nobleman, who commands his servant to take him to his mansion and attend on him as a lord. The trick is played, and the “commonty” of Taming of the Shrew is performed for the delectation of the ephemeral lord.

A similar trick was played by Haroun-al-Raschid on a rich merchant, named Abou Hassan (see Arabian Nights, “The Sleeper Awakened”). Also by Philippe le Bon of Burgundy, on his marriage with Eleanora (see Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, ii. 2, 4; 1624).

Slyne (Chevy), one of old Martin Chuzzlewit’s numerous relations. He is a drunken, good-for-nothing vagabond, but his friend, Montague Tigg, considers him “an unappreciated genius.” His chief peculiarity consists in his always being “round the corner.”--C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).

Small (Gilbert), the pinmaker, a hard-working old man, who loves his son most dearly.

Thomas Small, the son of Gilbert, a would-be man of fashion and maccaroni. Very conceited of his fine person, he thinks himself the very glass of fashion. Thomas Small resolves to make a fortune by marriage, and allies himself to Kate, who turns out to be the daughter of Strap, the cobbler.--S. Knowles, The Beggar of Bethnal Green (1834).

Small Beer Poet (The). W. Thomas Fitzgerald. He is now known only for one line, quoted in the Rejected Addresses: “The tree of freedom is the British oak.”--Cobbett gave him the sobriquet (1759-1829).

Small-Endians, a “religious sect” in Lilliput, who made it an article of orthodoxy to break their eggs at the small end. By the Small-endians is meant the Protestant party; the Roman Catholics are called the Big-endians, from their making it a sine quâ non for all true Churchmen to break their eggs at the big end.--Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (“Voyage to Lilliput,” 1726).

Smallweed Family (The), a grasping, ill-conditioned lot, consisting of grandfather, grandmother, and the twins, Bartholomew and Judy. The grandfather indulges in vituperative exclamations against his aged wife, with or without provocation, and flings at her anything he can lay his hand on. He becomes, however, so dilapidated at last that he has to be shaken up by his amiable grand-daughter, 10Judy, in order to be aroused to consciousness.

Bart., i.e., Bartholomew Smallweed, a youth, who moulds himself on the model of Mr. Gruppy, the lawyer’s clerk, in the office of Kenge and Carboy. He prides himself on being “a limb of the law,” though under 15 years of age; indeed it is reported of him that his first long clothes were made out of a lawyer’s blue bag.--C. Dickens, Bleak House (1852).

Sma´trash (Eppie), the ale-woman at Wolf’s Hope village.--Sir W. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).

Smauker (John), footman of Angelo Cyrus Bantam. He invites Sam Weller to a “swarry” of “biled mutton.”--C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).

Smectym´nuus, the title of a celebrated pamphlet containing an attack upon episcopacy (1641). The title is composed of the initial letters of the five writers, SM (Stephen Marshall), EC (Edmund Calamy), TY (Thomas Young), MN (Matthew Newcomen), UUS (William Spurstow). Sometimes one U is omitted. Butler says the business of synods is:

Smelfungus. Smollett was so called by Sterne, because his volume of Travels through France and Italy is one perpetual snarl from beginning to end.

The lamented Smelfungus travelled from Boulogne to Paris, from Paris to Rome, and so on; but he set out with the spleen and jaundice, and every object he passed by was discolored or distorted. He wrote an account of them, but ’twas nothing but the account of his own miserable feelings.--Sterne, Sentimental Journey (1768).

Smell a Voice. When a young prince had clandestinely visited the young princess brought up in the palace of the Flower Mountain, the fairy mother, Violenta, said, “I smell the voice of a man,” and commanded the dragon on which she rode to make search for the intruder.--Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“The White Cat,” 1682).

Bottom says, in the part of “Pyramus:”

Smike (1 syl.), a poor, half-starved, half-witted boy, the son of Ralph Nickleby. As the marriage was clandestine, the child was put out to nurse, and neither its father or mother went to see it. When about seven years old, the child was stolen by one Brooker, out of revenge, and put to school at Dotheboys Hall, Yorkshire. Brooker paid the school fees for six years, and being then transported, the payment ceased, and the boy was made a sort of drudge. Nicholas Nickleby took pity on him, and when he left, Smike ran away to join his friend, who took care of the poor half-witted creature till he died.--C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).

Smiler, a sheriff’s officer, in A Regular Fix, by J. M. Morton.

Smilinda, a lovelorn maiden, to whom 11Sharper was untrue. Pope, in his eclogue called The Basset Table (1715), makes Cordelia and Smilinda contend on this knotty point, “Who suffers most, she who loses at basset, or she who loses her lover?” They refer the question to Betty Lovet. Cordelia stakes her “lady’s companion, made by Mathers, and worth fifty guineas,” on the point; and Smilinda stakes a snuff-box, won at Corticelli’s in a raffle, as her pledge. When Cordelia has stated the iron agony of loss at cards, and Smilinda the crushing grief of losing a sweetheart, “strong as a footman, and as his master sweet,” Lovet awards the lady’s companion to Smilinda, and the snuff-box to Cordelia, and bids both give over, “for she wants her tea.” Of course, this was suggested by Virgil’s Eclogue, iii.

Smiley (Jim), the champion better of Calaveras County, and owner of a trained frog.--Mark Twain, The Jumping Frog (1867).

Smith (Henry), alias “Henry Gow,” alias “Gow Chrom,” alias “Hal of the Wynd,” the armorer, and lover of Catharine Glover, whom at the end he marries.--Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.)

Smith (Mr.), a faithful, confidential clerk in the bank of Dornton and Sulky.--Holcroft, The Road to Ruin (1792).

Smith (Rainy Day), John Thomas Smith, Antiquary (1766-1833).

Smith (Wayland), an invisible farrier, who haunted the “Vale of White Horse,” in Berkshire, where three flat stones supporting a fourth, commemorate the place of his stithy. His fee was sixpence, and he was offended if more were offered him.

Sir W. Scott has introduced him in Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Smith’s Prizeman, one who has obtained the prize (£25) founded in the University of Cambridge, by Robert Smith, D.D., once Master of Trinity. Two prizes are awarded annually to two commencing bachelors of arts for proficiency in mathematics and natural philosophy.

Smolkin, a punic spirit.

Smollett of the Stage (The), George Farquhar (1678-1707).

Smotherwell (Stephen), the executioner.--Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).

Smyr´nean Poet (The), Mimnermos, born at Smyrna (fl. B.C. 630).

Snacks, the hard, grinding steward of Lord Lackwit, who, by grasping, got together £26,000. When Lord Lackwit died, and the property came to Robin Roughhead, he toadied him with the greatest servility, but Robin dismissed him, and gave the post to Frank.--Allingham, Fortune’s Frolic.

Snaffle (Erastus), a successful speculator in “wild cat” stocks, especially ingenious in “standing from under” when the crash comes.--Arlo Bates, The Philistines (1888).

Snaggs, a village portrait-taker and tooth-drawer. He says, “I draws off heads, and draws out teeth,” or “I takes off heads, and takes out teeth.” Major Touchwood, having dressed himself up to 12look like his uncle, the colonel, pretends to have the tooth-ache. Snaggs being sent for, prepares to operate on the colonel, and the colonel, in a towering rage, sends him to the right about.--T. Dibdin, What Next?

Snags´by (Mr.), the law-stationer in Cook’s Court, Cursitor Street. A very mild specimen of the “spear half,” in terrible awe of his termagant wife, whom he calls euphemistically “his little woman.” He preceded most of his remarks by the words, “not to put too fine a point upon it.”--C. Dickens, Bleak House (1852).

Snail, the collector of customs, near Ellangowan House.--Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).

Snailsfoot (Bryce), the jagger or pedlar.--Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).

Snake (Mr.), a traitorous ally of Lady Sneerwell, who has the effrontery to say to her, “you paid me extremely liberally for propagating the lie, but, unfortunately, I have been offered double to speak the truth.” He says:

Ah, sir, consider; I live by the baseness of my character; and if it were once known that I have been betrayed into an honest action, I shall lose every friend I have in the world.--Sheridan, School for Scandal, v. 3 (1777).

Snaw´ley, “in the oil and color line.” A “sleek, flat-nosed man, bearing in his countenance an expression of mortification and sanctity.”--C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, iii. (1838).

Sneak (Jerry), a hen-pecked pinmaker; a paltry, pitiful, prying sneak. If ever he summoned up a little manliness, his wife would begin to cry, and Jerry was instantly softened.

Master Sneak, ... the ancient corporation of Garratt, in consideration of your great parts and abilities, and out of respect to their landlord, Sir Jacob, have unanimously chosen you mayor.--Act ii.

Jerry Sneak has become the type of hen-pecked husbands.--Temple Bar, 456 (1875).

Mrs. Sneak, wife of Jerry, a domineering tartar of a woman, who keeps her lord and master well under her thumb. She is the daughter of Sir Jacob Jollup.--S. Foote, The Mayor of Garratt (1763).

Jerry Sneak Russell. So Samuel Russell, the actor, was called, because of his inimitable representation of “Jerry Sneak,” which was quite a hit (1766-1845).

Sneer, a double-faced critic, who carps at authors behind their backs, but fawns on them when they are present (see act i. 1).--Sheridan, The Critic (1779).

Sneerwell (Lady), the widow of a City knight. Mr. Snake says, “Every one allows that Lady Sneerwell can do more with a word or a look than many can with the most labored detail, even when they happen to have a little truth on their side to support it.”

Wounded myself, in the early part of my life, by the envenomed tongue of slander, I confess I have since known no pleasure equal to the reducing of others to the level of my own reputation.--Sheridan, School for Scandal, i. 1 (1777).

Snevellicci (Mr.), in Crummle’s company of actors. Mr. Snevellicci plays the military swell, and is great in the character of speechless noblemen.

Mrs. Snevellicci, wife of the above, a dancer in the same theatrical company.

Miss Snevellicci, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Snevellicci, also of the Portsmouth 13Theatre. “She could do anything from a medley dance to Lady Macbeth.” Miss Snevellicci laid her toils to catch Nicholas Nickleby, but “the bird escaped from the nets of the toiler.”--C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).

Snitchey and Craggs, lawyers. It was the opinion of Mr. Thomas Craggs that “everything is too easy,” especially law; that it is the duty of wise men to make everything as difficult as possible, and as hard to go as rusty locks and hinges which will not turn for want of greasing. He was a cold, hard, dry man, dressed in grey-and-white like a flint, with small twinkles in his eyes. Jonathan Snitchey was like a magpie or raven. He generally finished by saying, “I speak for Self and Craggs,” and, after the death of his partner, “for Self and Craggs, deceased.”

Mrs. Snitchey and Mrs. Craggs, wives of the two lawyers. Mrs. Snitchey was, on principle, suspicious of Mr. Craggs; and Mrs. Craggs was, on principle, suspicious of Mr. Snitchey. Mrs. Craggs would say to her lord and master:

Your Snitcheys, indeed! I don’t see what you want with your Snitcheys, for my part. You trust a great deal too much to your Snitcheys, I think, and I hope you may never find my words come true.

Mrs. Snitchey would observe to Mr. Snitchey:

Snitchey, if ever you were led away by man, take my word for it you are led away by Craggs; and if ever I can read a double purpose in mortal eye, I can read it in Craggs’s eye.--C. Dickens, The Battle of Life, ii. (1846).

Snodgrass (Augustus), M.P.C., a poetical young man, who travels about with Mr. Pickwick, “to inquire into the source of the Hampstead ponds.” He marries Emily Wardle.--C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).

Snoring (Great). “Rector of Great Snoring,” a dull, prosy preacher.

Snorro Sturleson, last of the great Icelandic scalds or court poets. He was author of the Younger Edda, in prose, and of the Heimskringla, a chronicle, in verse, of the history of Norway, from the earliest times to the year 1177. The Younger Edda is an abridgement of the Rhythmical Edda (see Sæmund Sigfusson). The Heimskringla appeared in 1230, and the Younger Edda is often called the Snorro Edda. Snorro Sturleson incurred the displeasure of Hakon, king of Norway, who employed assassins to murder him (1178-1241).

⁂ The Heimskringla was translated into English by Samuel Laing, in 1844.

Snout (Tom), the tinker who takes part in the “tragedy” of Pyrămus and Thisbe, played before the duke and duchess of Athens “on their wedding day at night.” Next to Peter Quince and Nick Bottom, the weaver, Snout was by far the most self-important man of the troupe. He was cast for Pyramus’s father, but has nothing to say, and does not even put in an appearance during the play.--Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream (1592).

Snow King (The), Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, king of Sweden, killed in the Thirty Years’ War, at the battle of Lutzen. The cabinet of Vienna said, in derision of him, “The Snow King is come, but he can live only in the north, and will melt away as soon as he feels the sun” (1594, 1611-1632).

At Vienna he was called, in derision, “The Snow King” who was kept together by the cold, but would melt and disappear as he approached a warmer soil.--Dr. Crichton, Scandinavia (“Gustavus Adolphus,” ii. 61).

14Snow King (The), Frederick, elector palatine, made king of Bohemia by the Protestants in the autumn of 1619, but defeated and set aside in the following autumn.

The winter king, king in times of frost, a snow king, altogether soluble in the spring, is the name which Frederick obtained in German histories.--Carlyle.

Snow Queen (The), Christiana, queen of Sweden (1626, 1633-1689).

The Princess Elizabeth of England, who married Frederick V., elector palatine, in 1613, and induced him to accept the crown of Bohemia in 1619. She was crowned with her husband, October 25, 1619, but fled, in November, 1620, and was put under the ban of the empire in 1621. Elizabeth was queen of Bohemia during the time of snow, but was melted by the heat of the ensuing summer.

Snubbin (Serjeant), retained by Mr. Perker for the defence in the famous case of “Bardell v. Pickwick.” His clerk was named Mallard, and his junior, Phunky, “an infant barrister,” very much looked down upon by his senior.--C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).

Snuffim (Sir Tumley), the doctor who attends Mrs. Wititterly.--C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).

Snuffle (Simon), the sexton of Garratt, and one of the corporation. He was called a “scollard, for he could read a written hand.”--S. Foote, Mayor of Garratt, ii. 1 (1763).

Snug, the joiner, who takes part in the “lamentable comedy” of Pyramus and Thisbe, played before the duke and duchess of Athens “on their wedding day at night.” His rôle was the “lion’s part.” He asked the manager (Peter Quince) if he had the “lion’s part written out, for,” said he, “I am slow of memory;” but being told he could do it extempore, “for it was nothing but roaring,” he consented to undertake it.--Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1592).

Sobri´no, one of the most valiant of the Saracen army, and called “The Sage.” He counselled Agrămant to entrust the fate of the war to a single combat, stipulating that the nation whose champion was worsted should be tributary to the other. Rogēro was chosen for the pagan champion, and Rinaldo for the Christian army; but when Rogero was overthrown, Agramant broke the compact. Sobrino was greatly displeased, and soon afterwards received the rite of Christian baptism.--Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

Who more prudent than Sobrino?--Cervantes, Don Quixote (1605).

Soc´ratês (The English), Dr. Johnson is so called by Boswell (1709-1784).

Mr. South’s amiable manners and attachment to our Socrătês at once united me to him.--Life of Johnson (1791).

Sofronia, a young Christian of Jerusalem, the heroine of an episode in Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered (1575). The tale is this: Aladine, king of Jerusalem, stole from a Christian church an image of the Virgin, being told by a magician that it was a palladium, and, if set up in a mosque, the Virgin would forsake the Christian army, and favor the Mohammedan. The image was accordingly set up in a mosque, but during the night was carried off by some one. Aladine, greatly enraged, ordered the instant execution of all his Christian subjects, but, to prevent this massacre, Sofronia accused herself of the offence. Her lover, Olindo, hearing that Sofronia was sentenced to death, presented himself before the king, and said that he and not Sofronia was the real offender; whereupon the king ordered both to instant execution; but Clorinda, the Amăzon, pleading for them, obtained their pardon, and Sofronia left the stake to join Olindo at the altar of matrimony.--Bk. ii.

This episode may have been suggested by a well-known incident in ecclesiastical history. At Merum, a city of Phrygia, Amachius, the governor of the province, ordered the temple to be opened, and the idols to be cleansed. Three Christians, inflamed with Christian zeal, went by night and broke all the images. The governor, unable to discover the culprits, commanded all the Christians of Merum to be put to death; but the three who had been guilty of the act confessed their offence, and were executed.--Socratês, Ecclesiastical History, iii. 15 (A.D. 439). (See Sophronia.)

Soham, a monster with the head of a horse, four eyes, and the body of a fiery dragon. (See Ouranabad.)

Soi-même. St. Soi-même, the “natural man,” in opposition to the “spiritual man.” In almost all religious acts and feelings, a thread of self may be detected, and many things are done ostensibly for God, but in reality for St. Soi-même.

They attended the church service not altogether without regard to St. Soi-même.--Asylum Christi, ii.

Soldan (The), Philip II. of Spain, whose wife was Adicia (or papal bigotry). Prince Arthur sent the soldan a challenge for wrongs done to Samient, a female ambassador (deputies of the states of Holland). 15On receiving this challenge, the soldan “swore and banned most blasphemously,” and mounting “his chariot high” (the high ships of the Armāda), drawn by horses fed on carrion (the Inquisitors), went forth to meet the prince, whom he expected to tear to pieces with his chariot scythes, or trample down beneath his horses’ hoofs. Not being able to get at the soldan from the great height of the chariot, the prince uncovered his shield, and held it up to view. Instantly the soldan’s horses were so terrified that they fled, regardless of the whip and reins, overthrew the chariot, and left the soldan on the ground, “torn to rags, amongst his own iron hooks and grapples keen.”--Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. 8 (1596).

⁂ The overthrow of the soldan by supernatural means, and not by combat, refers to the destruction of the Armada by tempest, according to the legend of the medals, Flavit Jehovah, et dissipati sunt (“He blew with His blast, and they were scattered”).

Soldier’s Daughter (The), a comedy by A. Cherry (1804). Mrs. Cheerly, the daughter of Colonel Woodley, after a marriage of three years, is left a widow, young, rich, gay, and engaging. She comes to London, and Frank Heartall, a generous-minded young merchant, sees her at the opera, falls in love with her, and follows her to her lodging. Here he meets with the Malfort family, reduced to abject poverty by speculation, and relieves them. Ferret, the villain of the piece, spreads a report that Frank gave the money as hush-money, because he had base designs on Mrs. Malfort; but his character is cleared, and he leads to the altar the blooming young widow, while the return of Malfort’s father places his son again in prosperous circumstances.

16Soldiers’ Friend (The), Frederick, duke of York, second son of George III., and commander of the British forces in the Low Countries during the French Revolution (1763-1827).

Solarion, a dog, selected from the finest and purest breeds, and endowed with intellect and soul by means of electricity. He is his master’s favorite companion and fellow-student until master and dog love the same woman. They quarrel, the man strikes the dog, and the dog, leaping upon his former friend, tears him horribly. The master shoots him dead, and bears for the rest of his life in frightful disfigurement of visage tokens of his folly and madness.--Edgar Fawcett, Solarion (1890).

Solemn Doctor (The). Henry Goethals was by the Sorbonne given the honorary title of Doctor Solemnis (1227-1293).

Solemn League and Covenant, a league to support the Church of Scotland, and exterminate popery and prelacy. Charles II. signed it in 1651, but declared it null and void at his restoration.

Soles, a shoemaker, and a witness at the examination of Dirk Hatteraick.--Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).

Solid Doctor (The), Richard Middleton (*-1304).

Soliman the Magnificent, Charles Jennens, who composed the libretto for Handel’s Messiah (*-1773).

Soli´nus, duke of Ephesus, who was obliged to pass the sentence of the law on Æge´on, a merchant, because, being a Syracusan, he had dared to set foot in Ephesus. When, however, he discovered that the man who had saved his life, and whom he best loved, was the son of Ægeon, the prisoner was released, and settled in Ephesus.--Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors (1593).

Solomon, an epic poem in three books, by Prior (1718). Bk. i. Solomon seeks happiness from wisdom, but comes to the conclusion that “All is vanity;” this book is entitled Knowledge. Bk. ii. Solomon seeks happiness in wealth, grandeur, luxury, and ungodliness, but comes to the conclusion that “All is vanity and vexation of spirit;” this book is entitled Pleasure. Bk. iii., entitled Power, consists of the reflections of Solomon upon human life, the power of God, life, death, and a future state. An angel reveals to him the future lot of the Jewish race, and Solomon concludes with this petition:

Solomon is called king of the ginn and fairies. This is probably a mere blunder. The monarch of these spirits was called “suleyman,” and this title of rank has been mistaken for a proper name.

Solomon died standing. Solomon employed the genii in building the Temple, but, perceiving that his end was at hand, prayed God that his death might be concealed from the genii till the work was completed. Accordingly, he died standing, leaning on his staff as if in prayer. The genii, supposing him to be alive, toiled on, and when the Temple was fully built, a worm knawed the staff, and the corpse fell prostrate to the earth. Mahomet refers to this as a fact:

When We [God] had decreed that Solomon should die, nothing discovered his death unto them [the genii] except the creeping thing of the earth, which gnawed his staff. And when his 17[dead] body fell down, the genii plainly perceived that if they had known that which is secret, they would not have continued in a vile punishment.--Al Korân, xxxiv.

Solomon’s Favorite Wife. Prior, in his epic poem called Solomon (bk. ii.), makes Abra the favorite.

Al Beidâwi, Jallâlo´ddin, and Abulfeda, give Amīna, daughter of Jerâda, king of Tyre, as his favorite concubine.

Solomon Kills His Horses. Solomon bought a thousand horses, and went to examine them. The examination took him the whole day, so that he omitted the prayers which he ought to have repeated. This neglect came into his mind at sunset, and, by way of atonement, he slew all the horses except a hundred of the best “as an offering to God;” and God, to make him amends for his loss, gave him the dominion of the winds. Mahomet refers to this in the following passage:--

When the horses, standing on three feet, and touching the ground with the edge of the fourth foot, swift in the course, were set in parade before him [Solomon] in the evening, he said, “Verily I have loved the love of earthly good above the remembrance of my Lord; and I have spent the time in viewing these horses till the sun is hidden by the veil of night. Bring the horses back unto me.” And when they were brought back, he began to cut off their legs and their necks.--Al Korân, xxxvii.

Solomon’s Mode of Travelling. Solomon had a carpet of green silk, on which his throne was placed. This carpet was large enough for all his army to stand on. When his soldiers had stationed themselves on his right hand, and the spirits on his left, Solomon commanded the winds to convey him whither he listed. Whereupon the winds buoyed up the carpet, and transported it to the place the king wished to go to, and while passing thus through the air, the birds of heaven hovered overhead forming a canopy with their wings to ward off the heat of the sun. Mahomet takes this legend as an historic fact, for he says in reference to it:

Unto Solomon We subjected the strong wind, and it ran at his command to the land whereon We had bestowed our blessing.--Al Korân, xxi.

And again:

We made the wind subject to him, and it ran gently at his command whithersoever he desired.--Al Korân, xxxviii.

Solomon’s Signet-Ring. The rabbins say that Solomon wore a ring in which was set a chased stone that told him everything he wished to know.

Solomon Loses His Signet-Ring. Solomon’s favorite concubine was Amīna, daughter of Jerâda, king of Tyre, and when he went to bathe, it was to Amina that he entrusted his signet-ring. One day the devil, Sakhar, assumed the likeness of Solomon, and so got possession of the ring, and for forty days reigned in Jerusalem, while Solomon himself was a wanderer living on alms. At the end of the forty days, Sakhar flung the ring into the sea; it was swallowed by a fish, which was given to Solomon. Having thus obtained his ring again, Solomon took Sakhar captive, and cast him into the sea of Galilee.--Al Korân (Sale’s notes, ch. xxxviii.). (See Jovian.)

⁂ Mahomet, in the Korân, takes this legend as an historic fact, for he says: “We [God], also tried Solomon, and placed on his throne a counterfeit body [i.e., Sakhar, the Devil].”--Ch. xxxviii.

Uffan, the sage, saw Solomon asleep, and wishing to take off his signet-ring, gave three arrows to Aboutaleb, saying, 18“When the serpent springs upon me, and strikes me dead, shoot one of these arrows at me, and I shall instantly come to life again.” Uffan tugged at the ring, was stung to death, but, being struck by one of the arrows, revived. This happened twice. After the third attempt, the heavens grew so black, and the thunder was so alarming, that Aboutaleb was afraid to shoot, and throwing down the bow and arrow, fled with precipitation from the dreadful place.--Comte de Caylus, Oriental Tales (“History of Aboutaleb,” 1743).

Solomon (The Second), James I. of England (1566, 1603-1625).

The French king (Henri IV.) said, in the presence of Lord Sanquhar, to one that called James a second Solomon. “I hope he is not the son of David the fiddler” [David Rizzio].--Osborne, Secret History, i. 231.

Sully called him “The Wisest Fool in Christendom.”

Solomon, a tedious, consequential, old butler, in the service of Count Wintersen. He has two idiosyncrasies: One is that he receives letters of confidential importance from all parts of the civilized world, but “has received no communication from abroad to tell him who Mrs. Haller is.” One letter “from Constantinople” turns out to be from his nephew, Tim Twist, the tailor, about a waistcoat, which had been turned three times. In regard to the other idiosyncrasy, he boasts of his cellar of wine, provided in a “most frugal and provident way,” and of his alterations in the park, “all done with the most economical economy.” He is very proud of his son, Peter, a half-witted lad, and thinks Mrs. Haller “casts eyes at him.”--Benj. Thompson, The Stranger (1797).

Solomon Daisy, parish clerk and bellringer, of Chigwell. He had little, round, black, shiny eyes like beads; wore rusty black breeches, a rusty black coat, and a long-flapped waistcoat, with little queer buttons like his eyes. As he sat in the firelight, he seemed all eyes, from head to foot.--C. Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (1841).

Solomon of China (The), Taetsong I., whose real name was Lee-chemen. He reformed the calendar, founded a very extensive library, established schools in his palace, built places of worship for the Nestorian Christians, and was noted for his wise maxims (*, 618-626).

Solomon of England (The), Henry VII. (1457, 1485-1509). (See Solomon the Second.)

Solomon of France (The), Charles V. le Sage (1337, 1364-1380).

⁂ Louis IX. (i.e., St. Louis) is also called “The Solomon of France” (1215, 1226-1270).

Solon of French Prose (The), Balzac (1596-1655).

Solon of Parnassus (The). Boileau is so called by Voltaire, in allusion to his Art of Poetry (1636-1711).

Solsgrace (Master Nehemiah), a Presbyterian pastor.--Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).

Solus, an old bachelor, who greatly wished to be a married man. When he saw the bright sides of domestic life, he resolved he would marry; but when he saw the reverse sides, he determined to remain single. Ultimately, he takes to the altar Miss Spinster.--Inchbald, Every One has His Fault (1794).

19Solymæan Rout (The), the London rabble and rebels. Solymæa was an ancient name of Jerusalem, subsequently called Hiero-solyma, that is “sacred Solyma.” As Charles II. is called “David,” and London “Jerusalem,” the London rebels are called “the Solymæan rout,” or the rabble of Jerusalem.

Sol´yman, king of the Saracens, whose capital was Nice. Being driven from his kingdom, he fled to Egypt, and was there appointed leader of the Arabs (bk. ix.). Solyman and Argantês were by far the most doughty of the pagan knights. The former was slain by Rinaldo (bk. xx.), and the latter by Tancred.--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).

Somnambulus. Sir W. Scott so signs The Visionary (political satires, 1819).--Olphar Hamst [Ralph Thomas], Handbook of Fictitious Names.

Somo Sala (Like the Father of), a dreamer of air-castles, like the milkmaid Perrette, in Lafontaine. (See Count not, etc.)

Son of Be´lial (A), a wicked person, a rebel, an infidel.

Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial: they knew not [i.e., acknowledged not] the Lord.--1 Sam. ii. 12.

Son of Consolation, St. Barnabas of Cyprus (first century).--Acts iv. 36.

Son of Perdition (The), Judas Iscariot.--John xvii. 12.

Son of Perdition, Antichrist.--2 Thess. ii. 3.

Son of a Star (The), Barcochebas, or Barchochab, who gave himself out to be the “star” predicted by Balaam (died A.D. 135).

There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.--Numb. xxiv. 17.

Son of the Last Man. Charles II. was so called by the parliamentarians. His father, Charles I., was called by them “The Last Man.”

Son of the Rock, echo.

She went. She called on Armar. Nought answered but the son of the rock.--Ossian, The Songs of Selma.

Sons of Phidias, sculptors.

Sons of Thunder, or Boanerges, James and John, sons of Zebedee.--Mark iii. 17.

Sonderby (John), a school-teacher who, after dallying with an evil temptation all through one summer, shakes himself free of it, and resolves “to make a man of himself, to go where human life is thick and the push keen and strong, to earn a place there by using the talent given him, and to work with hope, courage and belief, with a heart open to his humankind.”--Bliss Perry, The Broughton House (1890).

Song. The Father of Modern French Songs, C. F. Panard (1691-1765).

Song. What! all this for a song? So said William Cecil, Lord Burghley, when Queen Elizabeth ordered him to give Edmund Spenser £100 as an expression of 20her pleasure at some verses he had presented to her. When a pension of £50 a year was settled on the poet, Lord Burghley did all in his power to oppose the grant. To this Spenser alludes in the lines following:--

Sonnam´bula (La), Ami´na, the miller’s daughter. She was betrothed to Elvi´no, a rich young farmer, but the night before the wedding was discovered in the bed of Conte Rodolpho. This very ugly circumstance made the farmer break off the match and promise marriage to Lisa, the innkeeper’s daughter. The count now interfered, and assured Elvino that the miller’s daughter was a sleep-walker, and while they were still talking she was seen walking on the edge of the mill-roof, while the huge mill-wheel was turning rapidly. She then crossed a crazy old bridge, and came into the midst of the assembly, when she woke and ran to the arms of her lover. Elvino, convinced of her innocence, married her, and Lisa was resigned to Alessio, whose paramour she was.--Bellini’s opera, La Sonnambula (1831).

(Taken from a melodrama by Romani, and adapted as a libretto by Scribe.)

Sophi, in Arabic, means “pure,” and therefore one of the pure or true faith. As a royal title it is tantamount to “Catholic,” or “most Christian.”--Selden, Titles of Honor, vi, 76-7 (1614).

Sophi´a, mother of Rollo and Otto, dukes of Normandy. Rollo is the “bloody brother.”--Beaumont and Fletcher, The Bloody Brother (1639).

Sophia, wife of Mathīas, a Bohemian knight. When Mathias went to take service with King Ladislaus of Bohemia, the queen, Honoria, fell in love with him, and sent Ubaldo and Ricardo to tempt Sophia to infidelity. But immediately Sophia perceived their purpose she had them confined in separate chambers, and compelled them to earn their living by spinning.

Sophia’s Picture. When Mathias left, Sophia gave him a magic picture, which turned yellow if she were tempted, and black if she yielded to the temptation.--Massinger, The Picture (1629).

Sophia (St.) or Agia [Aya] Sofi´a, the most celebrated mosque of Constantinople, once a Christian church, but now a Mohammedan jamih. It is 260 feet long and 230 feet broad. Its dome is supported on pillars of marble, granite, and green jasper, said to have belonged to the temple of Diana at Ephesus.

Sophia (The princess), only child of the old king of Lombardy, in love with Paladore, a Briton, who saved her life by killing a boar which had gored her horse to death. She was unjustly accused of wantonness by Duke Birēno, whom the king wished her to marry, but whom she rejected. By the law of Lombardy, this offence was punishable by death, but the accuser was bound to support his charge by single combat, if any champion chose to fight in her defence. Paladore challengedchallenged the duke, and slew him. The whole villainy of the charge was then exposed, the character of the princess was cleared, and her marriage with Paladore 21concludes the play.--Robert Jephson, The Law of Lombardy (1779).

Sophia [Freelove], daughter of the Widow Warren by her first husband. She is a lovely, innocent girl, passionately attached to Harry Dornton, the baker’s son, to whom ultimately she is married.--T. Holcroft, The Road to Ruin (1792).

Sophia [Primrose], the younger daughter of the vicar of Wakefield; soft, modest, and alluring. Being thrown from her horse into a deep stream, she was rescued by Sir William Thornhill alias Mr. Burchell. Being abducted, she was again rescued by him, and finally married him.--Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield (1766).

Sophia [Sprightly], a young lady of high spirits and up to fun. Tukely loves her sincerely, and knowing her partiality for the Hon. Mr. Daffodil, exposes him as a “male coquette,” of mean spirit and without manly courage; after which she rejects him with scorn, and gives her hand and heart to Tukely.--Garrick, The Male Coquette (1758).

Sophonis´ba, daughter of Asdrubal, and reared to detest Rome. She was affianced to Masinissa, king of the Numidians, but married Syphax. In B.C. 203 she fell into the hands of Lelius and Masinissa, and, to prevent being made a captive, married the Numidian prince. This subject and that of Cleopatra have furnished more dramas than any other whatsoever.

French: J. Mairet, Sophonisbe (1630); Pierre Corneille; Lagrange-Chancel; rewritten by Voltaire. Italian: Trissino (1514); Alfieri (1749-1863). English: John Marston, The Wonder of Women, or the Tragedy of Sophonisba (1605); James Thomson, Sophonisba (1729).

(In Thomson’s tragedy occurs the line, “Oh, Sophonisba! Sophonisba, oh!” and a wit set all the town laughing with “Oh, Jemmy Thomson! Jemmy Thomson, oh!”)

Sophronia, a young lady who was taught Greek, and to hate men who were not scholars. Her wisdom taught her to gauge the wisdom of her suitors, and to discover their shortcomings. She never found one up to the mark, and now she is wrinkled with age, and talks about the “beauties of the mind.”--Goldsmith, A Citizen of the World, xxviii. (1759).

Sophronia. (See Sofronia.)

Sophros´yne (4 syl.), one of Logistilla’s handmaids, noted for her purity. Sophrosynê was sent with Andronīca to conduct Astolpho safely from India to Arabia.--Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

Sophy, the eldest of a large family. She is engaged to Traddles, and is always spoken of by him as “the dearest girl in the world.”--C. Dickens, David Copperfield (1849).

Sora´no, a Neapolitan noble, brother of Evanthe (3 syl.) “the wife for a month,” and the infamous instrument of Frederick, the licentious brother of Alphonso, king of Naples.--Beaumont and Fletcher, A Wife for a Month (1624).

Sordello, a Provençal poet, whom Dantê meets in purgatory, sitting apart. On seeing Virgil, Sordello springs forward to embrace him.

⁂ R. Browning has a poem called Sordello, and makes Sordello typical of liberty and human perfectibility.

Sorel (Agnes), surnamed La dame de Beauté, not from her personal beauty, but 22from the “château de Beauté,” on the banks of the Marne, given to her by Charles VII. (1409-1450).

Sorento (in Naples), the birthplace of Torquato Tasso, the Italian poet.

Sorrows of Werther, a mawkish, sentimental novel by Goethe (1774), once extremely popular. Werther, the hero of the story, loves a married woman, and becomes disgusted with life because Charlotte [Lotte] is the wife of his friend, Kestner.

Werther, infusing itself into the core and whole spirit of literature, gave birth to a race of sentimentalists, who raged and wailed in every part of the world till better light dawned on them, or, at any rate, till exhausted nature laid itself to sleep, and it was discovered that lamenting was an unproductive labor.--Carlyle.

Sosia (in Molière, Sosie), the slave of Amphitryon. When Mercury assumes the form of Sosia, and Jupiter that of Amphitryon, the mistakes and confusion which arise resemble those of the brothers Antiph´olus and their servants, the brothers Dromio, in Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors.--Plautus, Molière (1668), and Dryden (1690), Amphitryon.

His first name ... looks out upon him like another Sosia, or as if a man should suddenly encounter his own duplicate.--C. Lamb.

Sosii, brothers, the name of two booksellers at Rome, referred to by Horace.

So´tenville (Mon. le baron de), father of Angélique, and father-in-law of George Dandin. His wife was of the house of Prudoterie, and both boasted that in 300 years no one of their distinguished lines ever swerved from virtue. “La bravoure n’y est pas plus hérdéitaire aux mâles que la chasteté aux femelles.” They lived with their son-in-law, who was allowed the honor of paying their debts, and receiving a snubbing every time he opened his mouth, that he might be taught the mysteries of the haut monde.--Molière, George Dandin (1668).

Soulis (Lord William), a man of prodigious strength, cruelty, avarice and treachery. Old Redcap gave him a charmed life, which nothing could affect “till threefold ropes of sand were twisted round his body.” Lord Soulis waylaid May, the lady-love of the heir of Branxholm, and kept her in durance till she promised to become his bride. Walter, the brother of the young heir, raised his father’s liegemen, and invested the castle. Lord Soulis having fallen into the hands of the liegemen, “they wrapped him in lead, and flung him into a caldron, till lead, bones, and all were melted.”--John Leyden (1802).

(The caldron is still shown in the Skelfhill, at Ninestane Rig, part of the range of hills which separates Liddesdale and Teviotdale.)

South (Squire), the Archduke Charles of Austria.--Arbuthnot, History of John Bull (1712).

Southampton (The earl of), the friend of the earl of Essex, and involved with him in the charge of treason, but pardoned.--Henry Jones, The Earl of Essex (1745).

Sovereigns of England (Mortual Days of the).

Sunday: six, viz., Henry I., Edward III., James I., William III., Anne, George I.

Monday: six, viz., Stephen, Henry IV., Henry V., Richard III., Elizabeth, Mary II. (Richard II. deposed).

23Tuesday: four, viz., Richard I., Charles I., Charles II., William IV. (Edward II. resigned, and James II. abdicated).

Wednesday: four, viz., John, Henry III., Edward IV., Edward V. (Henry VI. deposed).

Thursday: five, viz., William I., William II., Henry II., Edward VI., Mary I.

Friday: three, viz., Edward I., Henry VIII., Cromwell.

Saturday: four, viz., Henry VII., George II., George III., George IV.

That is, 6 Sunday and Monday; 5 Thursday; 4 Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday; and 3 Friday.

Anne, August 1 (Old Style), August 12 (New Style), 1714.

Charles I., January 30, 1648-9; Charles II. February 6, 1684-5; Cromwell died September 3, 1658; burnt at Tyburn, January 30, 1661.

Edward I., July 7, 1307; Edward III., June 21, 1377; Edward IV., April 9, 1483; Edward V., June 25, 1483; Edward VI., July 6, 1553; Elizabeth, March 24, 1602-3.

George I., June 11, 1727; George II., October 25, 1760; George III., January 29, 1820; George IV., June 26, 1830.

Henry I., December 1, 1135; Henry II., July 6, 1189; Henry III., November 16, 1272; Henry IV., March 20, 1412-3; Henry V., August 31, 1422; Henry VI., deposed March 4, 1460-1; Henry VII., April 21, 1509; Henry VIII., January 28, 1546-7.

James I., March 27, 1625; James II., abdicated December 11, 1688; John, October 19, 1216.

Mary I., November 17, 1558; Mary II., December 27, 1694.

Richard I., April 6, 1199; Richard II. deposed September 29, 1399; Richard III., August 22, 1485.

Stephen, October 25, 1154.

William I., September 9, 1087; William II., August 2, 1100; William III., March 8, 1701-2; William IV., June 20, 1837.

⁂ Edward II. resigned Tuesday, January 20, 1327, and was murdered Monday, September 21, 1327. Henry VI. deposed Wednesday, March 4, 1461, again Sunday, April 14, 1471, and died Wednesday, May 22, 1471. James II. abdicated Tuesday, December 11, 1688, and died at St. Germain’s, 1701. Richard II. deposed Monday, September 29, 1399, died the last week in February, 1400; but his death was not announced till Friday, March 12, 1400, when a dead body was exhibited said to be that of the deceased king.

Of the sovereigns, eight have died between the ages of 60 and 70, two between 70 and 80, and one has exceeded 80 years of age.

William I. 60, Henry I. 67, Henry III. 65, Edward I. 68, Edward III. 65, Elizabeth 69, George I. 69, George IV. 68.

George II. 77. William IV. 72. George III. 82.

Length of reign. Five have reigned between 20 and 30 years, seven between 30 and 40 years, one between 40 and 50 years, and three above 50 years.

William I., 20 years 8 months 16 days; Richard II., 22 years 3 months 8 days; Henry VII., 23 years 8 months; James I., 22 years 4 days; Charles I., 23 years 10 months 4 days.

Henry I., 35 years 3 months 27 days; Henry II., 34 years 6 months 17 days; Edward I., 34 years 7 months 18 days; Henry VI., 38 years 6 months and 4 days; Henry VIII., 37 years 9 months 7 days; Charles II. + Cromwell, 36 years 8 days; George II., 33 years 4 months 15 days.

Elizabeth, 44 years 4 months 8 days.

Henry III., 56 years 20 days; Edward III., 50 years 4 months 28 days; George III., 59 years 3 months 4 days.

Sow (A), a machine of war. It was a wooden shed which went on wheels, the roof being ridged like a hog’s back. Being thrust close to the wall of a place besieged, it served to protect the besieging party from the arrows hurled against them from the walls. When the countess of March (called “Black Agnes”), in 1335, saw one of those engines advancing towards her castle, she called out to the earl of Salisbury, who commanded the engineers:

and then had such a huge fragment of rock rolled on the engine that it dashed it to pieces. When she saw the English soldiers running away, the countess 24called out, “Lo! lo! the litter of English pigs!”

Sow of Dallweir, named “Henwen,” went burrowing through Wales, and leaving in one place a grain of barley, in another a little pig, a few bees, a grain or two of wheat, and so on, and these made the places celebrated for the particular produce ever after.

It is supposed that the sow was really a ship, and that the keeper of the sow, named Coll ab Collfrewi, was the captain of the vessel.--Welsh Triads, lvi.

Sowerberry, the parochial undertaker, to whom Oliver Twist is bound when he quits the workhouse. Sowerberry was not a badly disposed man, and he treated Oliver with a certain measure of kindness and consideration; but Oliver was ill-treated by Mrs. Sowerberry, and bullied by a big boy called Noah Claypole. Being one day greatly exasperated by the bully, Oliver gave him a thorough “drubbing,” whereupon Charlotte, the maidservant, set upon him like a fury, scratched his face, and held him fast till Noah Claypole had pummelled him within an inch of his life. Three against one was too much for the lad, so he ran away.--C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).

Sowerberry, a misanthrope.--W. Brough, A Phenomenon in a Smock Frock.

Sowerbrowst (Mr.), the maltster.--Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well (time, George III.).

Soyer (Alexis), a celebrated cook, appointed, in 1837, chef de cuisine to the Reform Club, London, was the author of several useful works, as The Gastronomic Regenerator, The Poor Man’s Regenerator, The Modern Housewife, etc. (died 1858).

Spado, an impudent rascal, in the band of Don Cæsar (called “Captain Ramirez”), who tricks every one, and delights in mischief.--O’Keefe, Castle of Andalusia (1798).

Quick’s great parts were “Isaac,” “Tony Lumpkin,” “Spado,” and “Sir Christopher Curry.”--Records of a Stage Veteran.

(“Isaac,” in the Duenna, by Sheridan; “Tony Lumpkin,” in She Stoops to Conquer, by Goldsmith; “Sir Christopher Curry,” in Inkle and Yarico, by G. Colman.)

Spahis, native Algerian cavalry, officered by Frenchmen. The infantry are called Turcos.

Spanish Brutus (The), Alfonso Perez de Guzman, governor of Tarifa, in 1293. Here he was besieged by the infant, Don Juan, who had Guzman’s son in his power, and threatened to kill him unless Tarifa was given up. Alfonso replied, “Sooner than be guilty of such treason, I will lend Juan a dagger to carry out his threat;” and so saying, he tossed his dagger over the wall. Juan, unable to appreciate this patriotism, slew the young man without remorse.

⁂ Lopê de Vega has dramatized this incident.

Spanish Curate (The), Lopez.--Beaumont and Fletcher, The Spanish Curate (1622).

Spanish Fryar (The), a drama by Dryden (1680). It contains two plots, wholly independent of each other. The serious 25element is this: Leonora, the usurping queen of Aragon, is promised in marriage to Duke Bertran, a prince of the blood; but is in love with Torrismond, general of the army, who turns out to be the son and heir of King Sancho, supposed to be dead. Sancho is restored to his throne, and Leonora marries Torrismond. The comic element is the illicit love of Colonel Lorenzo for Elvīra, the wife of Gomez, a rich old banker. Dominick (the Spanish fryar) helps on this scandalous amour, but it turns out that Lorenzo and Elvira are brother and sister.

Spanish Lady (The), a ballad contained in Percy’s Reliques, ii. 23. A Spanish lady fell in love with Captain Popham, whose prisoner she was. A command being sent to set all the prisoners free, the lady prayed the gallant captain to make her his wife. The Englishman replied that he could not do so, as he was married already. On hearing this the Spanish lady gave him a chain of gold and a pearl bracelet to take to his wife, and told him that she should retire to a nunnery and spend the rest of her life praying for their happiness.

It will be stuck up with the ballad of Margaret’s Ghost [q.v.] and the Spanish Lady, against the walls of every cottage in the country.--Isaac Bickerstaff, Love in a Village (1763).

Spanish Tragedy (The), by T. Kyd (1597). Horatio (son of Hieronimo) is murdered while he is sitting in an arbor with Belimperia. Balthazar, the rival of Horatio, commits the murder, assisted by Belimperia’s brother, Lorenzo. The murderers hang the dead body on a tree in the garden, where Hieronimo, roused by the cries of Belimperia, discovers it, and goes raving mad.

Spanker (Lady Gay), in London Assurance, by D. Boucicault (1841).

26Dazzle and Lady Gay Spanker “act themselves,” and will never be dropped out of the list of acting plays.--Percy Fitzgerald.

Sparabel´la, a shepherdess, in love with D’Urfey, but D’Urfey loves Clum´silis, “the fairest shepherd wooed the foulest lass.” Sparabella resolves to kill herself; but how? Shall she cut her windpipe with a penknife? “No,” she says, “squeaking pigs die so.” Shall she suspend herself to a tree? “No,” she says, “dogs die in that fashion.” Shall she drown herself in a pool? “No,” she says, “scolding queans die so.” And while in doubt how to kill herself, the sun goes down, and

Sparkish, “the prince of coxcombs,” a fashionable fool, and “a cuckold before marriage.” Sparkish is engaged to Alithēa Moody, but introduces to her his friend, Harcourt, allows him to make love to her before his face, and, of course, is jilted.--The Country Girl (Garrick, altered from Wycherly’s Country Wife, 1675).

Sparkler (Edmund), son of Mrs. Merdle by her first husband. He married Fanny, sister of Little Dorrit. Edmund Sparkler was a very large man, called in his own regiment “Quinbus Flestrin, junior, or the Young Man-Mountain.”

Mrs. Sparkler, Edmund’s wife. She was very pretty, very self-willed, and snubbed her husband in most approved fashion.--C. Dickens, Little Dorrit (1857).

Sparrowgrass, pen-name of Frederic S. Cozzens, under which he depicted the blunders and mishaps of a pair of city-bred people, who set up their Lares and Penates in Yonkers, N.Y.--Frederic Swartwout 27Cozzens, The Sparrowgrass Papers (1856).

Sparsit (Mrs.), housekeeper to Josiah Bounderby, banker and mill-owner at Coketown. Mrs. Sparsit is a “highly connected lady,” being the great-niece of Lady Scadgers. She had a “Coriolanian nose and dense black eyebrows,” was much believed in by her master, who, when he married, made her “keeper of the bank.” Mrs. Sparsit, in collusion with the light porter, Bitzer, then acted the spy on Mr. Bounderby and his young wife.--C. Dickens, Hard Times (1854).

Spasmodic School (The), certain authors of the nineteenth century, whose writings abound in spasmodic phrases, startling expressions, and words used out of their common acceptation. Carlyle, noted for his Germanic English, is the chief of this school. Others are Bailey, author of Festus, Sydney Dobell, Gilfillan, and Alexander Smith.

⁂ Professor Aytoun has gibbeted this class of writers in his Firmilian, a Spasmodic Tragedy (1854).

Spear of Achillês. Telĕphos, son-in-law of Priam, opposed the Greeks in their voyage to Troy. A severe contest ensued, and Achillês, with his spear, wounded the Mysian king severely. He was told by an oracle that the wound could be cured only by the instrument which gave it; so he sent to Achillês to effect his cure. The surly Greek replied he was no physician, and would have dismissed the messengers with scant courtesy, but Ulysses whispered in his ear that the aid of Telephos was required to direct them on their way to Troy. Achillês now scraped some rust from his spear, which, being applied to the wound, healed it. This so conciliated Telephos that he conducted the fleet to Troy, and even took part in the war against his father-in-law.

⁂ The plant milfoil or yarrow, called by the old herbalists, Achilles, is still used in medicine as a tonic. The leaves were at one time much used for healing wounds, and are still employed for this purpose in Scotland, Germany, France, and other countries.

Spearman (Rosanna). Housemaid in the employ of Lady Verinder, and a reformed thief. She is infatuated with Franklin Blake, who is quite ignorant of her passion. Learning, accidentally, that he has, as a sleep-walker, stolen the diamond, she tries to use the knowledge to establish a hold upon him. Failing in this, she drowns herself in a quicksand, leaving behind her a confession of her hopeless love and the means she had used to avert suspicion from him.--Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone.

Spears of Spyinghow (The Three), in the troop of Fitzurse.--Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).

Speech ascribed to Dumb Animals. Al Borak, the animal which conveyed Mahomet to the seventh heaven; Arīon, the wonderful horse which Herculês gave 28to Adrastos; Balaam’s ass (Numb. xxii. 28-30); the black pigeons of Dodōna; Comrade, Fortunio’s horse; Katmîr, the dog of the Seven Sleepers; Sâleh’s camel; Temliha, king of the serpents; Xanthos, the horse of Achillês. Frithjof’s ship, Ellīda, could not speak, but it understood what was said to it.

Speech given to Conceal Thought. La parole a été donnée a l’homme pour déguiser la pensée or pour l’aider à cacher sa pensée. Talleyrand is usually credited with this sentence, but Captain Gronow, in his Recollections and Anecdotes, asserts that the words were those of Count Montrond, a wit and poet, called “the most agreeable scoundrel and most pleasant reprobate in the court of Marie Antoinette.”

Voltaire, in Le Chapon et la Poularde, says: “Ils n’employent les paroles que pour déguiser leurs pensées.”pensées.”

Goldsmith, in The Bee, iii. (October 20, 1759), has borrowed the same thought: “the true use of speech is not so much to express our wants as to conceal them.”

Speech-Makers (Bad).

Addison could not make a speech. He attempted one in the House of Commons, and said, “Mr. Speaker, I conceive--I conceive, sir--sir, I conceive----” Whereupon a member exclaimed, “The right honorable secretary of state has conceived thrice, and brought forth nothing.”

Campbell (Thomas), once tried to make a speech, but so stuttered and stammered, that the whole table was convulsed with laughter.

Cicero, the great orator, never got over his nervous terror till he warmed to his subject.

Irving (Washington), even with a speech written out, and laid before him, could not deliver it without a breakdown. In fact, he could hardly utter a word in public without trembling.

Moore (Thomas) could never make a speech.

(Dickens and Prince Albert always spoke well and fluently.)

Speed, an inveterate punster, and the clownish servant of Valentine, one of the two “gentlemen of Verona.”--Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).

Speed the Plough, a comedy by Thomas Morton (1798). Farmer Ashfield brings up a boy named Henry, greatly beloved by every one. This Henry is in reality the son of “Morrington,” younger brother of Sir Philip Blandford. The two brothers fixed their love on the same lady, but the younger married her, whereupon Sir Philip stabbed him to the heart, and fully thought him to be dead, but after twenty years, the wounded man reappeared, and claimed his son. Henry marries his cousin, Emma Blandford; and the farmer’s daughter, Susan, marries Robert, only son of Sir Abel Handy.

Spenlow (Mr.), father of Dora (q.v.). He was a proctor, to whom David Copperfield was articled. Mr. Spenlow was killed in a carriage accident.

Misses Lavinia and Clarissa Spenlow, two spinster aunts of Dora Spenlow, with whom she lived at the death of her father.

They were not unlike birds altogether, having a sharp, brisk, sudden manner, and a little, short, spruce way of adjusting themselves, like canaries.--C. Dickens, David Copperfield, xli. (1849).

Spens (Sir Patrick), a Scotch hero, sent, in the winter-time, on a mission to Norway. 29His ship, in its home passage, was wrecked off the coast of Aberdeen, and every one on board was lost. The incident has furnished the subject of a spirited Scotch ballad by Lady Lindsay.

Spenser. The Spenser of English Prose Writers, Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667).

Spenser. From Spenser to Flecknoe, that is, from the top to the bottom of all poetry; from the sublime to the ridiculous.--Dryden, Comment on Spenser, etc.

Spenser’s Monument, in Westminster Abbey, was erected by Anne Clifford, countess of Dorset.

Spider’s Net (A). When Mahomet fled from Mecca, he hid in a cave, and a spider wove its net over the entrance. When the Koreishites came thither, they passed on, being fully persuaded that no one had entered the cave, because the cobweb was not broken.

In the Talmud, we are told that David, in his flight, hid himself in the cave of Adullam, and a spider spun its net over the opening. When Saul came up and saw the cobweb, he passed on, under the same persuasion.

Spindle (Jack), the son of a man of fortune. Having wasted his money in riotous living, he went to a friend to borrow £100. “Let me see, you want £100, Mr. Spindle; let me see, would not £50 do for the present?” “Well,” said Jack, “if you have not £100, I must be contented with £50.” “Dear me, Mr. Spindle!” said the friend, “I find I have but £20 about me.” “Never mind,” said Jack, “I must borrow the other £30 of some other friend.” “Just so, Mr. Spindle, just so. By-the-by would it not be far better to borrow the whole of that friend, and then one note of hand will serve for the whole sum? Good morning, Mr. Spindle; delighted to see you! Tom, see the gentleman down.”--Goldsmith, The Bee, iii. (1759).

Spirit of the Cape (The), Adamastor, a hideous phantom, of unearthly pallor, “erect his hair uprose of withered red,” his lips were black, his teeth blue and disjointed, his beard haggard, his face scarred by lightning, his eyes “shot livid fire,” his voice roared. The sailors trembled at the sight of him, and the fiend demanded how they dared to trespass “where never hero braved his rage before?” He then told them “that every year the shipwrecked should be made to deplore their foolhardiness.” According to Barreto the “Spirit of the Cape” was one of the giants who stormed heaven.--Camoens, The Lusiad (1572).

Spiri´to, the Holy Ghost as the friend of man, personified in canto ix. of The Purple Island, by Phineas Fletcher (1633). He was married to Urania, and their offspring are: Knowledge, Contemplation, Care, Humility, Obedience, Faith or Fido, Penitence, Elpi´nus or Hope, and Love, the foster-son of Gratitude. (Latin, spirĭtus, “spirit.”)

Spitfire (Will), or Will Spittal, serving-boy of Roger Wildrake, the dissipated royalist.--Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).

Spontaneous Combustion. There are above thirty cases on record of death 30by spontaneous combustion, the most famous being that of the Countess Cornelia di Baudi Cesenatê, which was most minutely investigated, in 1731, by Guiseppê Bianchini, a prebendary of Verona.

The next most noted instance occurred at Rheims, in 1725, and is authenticated by no less an authority than Mon. Le Cat, the celebrated physician.

Messrs. Foderé and Mere investigated the subject of spontaneous combustion, and gave it as their fixed opinion that instances of death from such a cause cannot be doubted.

In vol. vi. of the Philosophical Transactions, and in the English Medical Jurisprudence, the subject is carefully investigated, and several examples are cited in confirmation of the fact.

Joseph Battaglia, a surgeon of Ponte Bosio, gives in detail the case of Don G. Maria Bertholi, a priest of Mount Valerius. While reading his breviary the body of this priest burst into flames in several parts, as the arms, back and head. The sleeves of his shirt, a handkerchief and his skull-cap were all more or less consumed. He survived the injury four days. (This seems to me more like an electrical attack than an instance of spontaneous combustion.)

Spontoon, the old confidential servant of Colonel Talbot.--Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).

Spoons (Gossip). It was customary at one time for sponsors at christenings to give gilt spoons as an offering to their godchild. These spoons had on the handle the figure of one of the apostles or evangelists, and hence were called “Apostle spoons.” The wealthy would give the twelve apostles, those of less opulence the four evangelists, and others again a single spoon. When Henry VIII. asks Cranmer to be godfather to “a fair young maid,” Cranmer replies, “How may I deserve such honor, that am a poor and humble subject?” The king rejoins, “Come, come, my lord, you’d spare your spoons.”--Shakespeare, Henry VIII. act v. sc. 2 (1601).

Sporus. Under this name Pope satirized Lord John Hervey, generally called “Lord Fanny” from his effeminate habits and appearance. He was “half wit, half fool, half man, half beau.” Lord John Hervey was vice-chamberlain in 1736, and lord privy seal in 1740.

⁂ This Lord John Hervey married the beautiful Molly Lapel; hence Pope says:

S.P.Q.R., the Romans. The letters are the initials of Senatus Populus-Que Romanus.

New blood must be pumped into the veins and arteries of the S.P.Q.R.--G.A. Sala (Belgravia, April, 1871).

Spotswood (Lady). A singular letter to this lady (widow of Governor Spotswood of Virginia) is preserved in the family. It was written by Rev. John Thompson, rector of St. Mark’s Church, Culpepper County, Virginia, and contains an elaborate and apparently dispassionate argument for marrying a clergyman. The only outbreak of loverly feeling is in the expressed hope that if he should convince her reason, she will “keep him no longer in suspense and misery, but consummate his happiness” (1742).

31Sprackling (Joseph), a money-lender and a self-made man.

Thomas Sprackling, his brother and equal in roguery.--Wybert Reeve, Parted.

Spregner (Louis), Annette Veilchen’s bachelor.--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Sprightly (Miss Kitty), the ward of Sir Gilbert Pumpkin of Strawberry Hall. Miss Kitty is a great heiress, but stage-struck, and when Captain Charles Stanley is introduced she falls in love with him, first as a “play-actor,” and then in reality.--I. Jackman, All the World’s a Stage.

Spring (A Sacred). The ancient Sabines, in times of great national danger, vowed to the gods “a sacred spring” (ver sacrum), if they would remove the danger. That is, all the children born during the next spring were “held sacred,” and at the age of twenty were compelled to leave their country and seek for themselves a new home.

Spring-Heel Jack. The marquis of Waterford, in the early part of the nineteenth century, used to amuse himself by springing on travellers unawares, to terrify them; and from time to time others have followed his silly example. Even so late as 1877-8, an officer in her majesty’s service caused much excitement in the garrisons stationed at Aldershot, Colchester, and elsewhere by his “spring-heel” pranks. In Colchester and its neighborhood the tales told of this adventurer caused quite a little panic, and many nervous people were afraid to venture out after sunset, for fear of being “sprung” upon. I myself investigated some of the cases reported to me, but found them for the most part Fakenham ghost tales.

Springer (The). Ludwig Margrave, of Thuringia, was so called, because he escapedescaped from Giebichenstein, in the eleventh century, by leaping over the river Saale.

Sprowles (The). New England village parvenus.

Hezekiah Sprowle, esquire and colonel is “a retired India merchant,” i.e., he used to deal in West India rum, molasses, etc. His wife was an heiress, and helps him push their way up the social ladder.

Miss Matilda Sprowle, just out of school. “There’s one piece o’goods,” said the colonelcolonel to his wife, “that we han’t disposed of, nor got a customer for yet. That’s Matildy. I don’t mean to set her up at vaandoo, I guess she can have her pick of a dozen.”--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Elsie Venner (1861).

Spruce, M.C. (Captain), in Lend Me Five Shillings, by J. M. Morton (1764-1838).

Spruch-Sprecher (The) or “sayer of sayings” to the archduke of Austria.--Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).

Spuma´dor, Prince Arthur’s horse. So called from the foam of its mouth, which indicated its fiery temper.--Spenser, Faëry Queen, ii. (1590).

⁂ In the Mabinogion, his favorite mare is called Llamrei (“the curveter”).

Spurs (The Battle of), the battle of Guinnegate, in 1513, between Henry VIII. and the duc de Longueville. So called because the French used their spurs in flight more than their swords in fight. (See Spurs of Gold, etc.)

32Squab (The Poet). Dryden was so called by Lord Rochester.

Square (Mr.), a “philosopher,” in Fielding’s novel called The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749).

Squeers (Mr. Wackford), of Dotheboy’s Hall, Yorkshire, a vulgar, conceited, ignorant schoolmaster, overbearing, grasping, and mean. He steals the boys’ pocket money, clothes his son in their best suits, half starves them, and teaches them next to nothing. Ultimately, he is transported for purloining a deed.

Mrs. Squeers, wife of Mr. Wackford, a raw-boned, harsh, heartless virago, without one spark of womanly feeling for the boys put under her charge.

Miss Fanny Squeers, daughter of the schoolmaster, “not tall like her mother, but short like her father. From the former she inherited a voice of hoarse quality, and from the latter a remarkable expression of the right eye.” Miss Fanny falls in love with Nicholas Nickleby, but hates him and spites him because he is insensible of the soft impeachment.

Master Wackford Squeers, son of the schoolmaster, a spoilt boy, who was dressed in the best clothes of the scholars. He was over-bearing, self-willed, and passionate.--C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).

The person who suggested the character of Squeers was a Mr. Shaw, of Bowes. He married a Miss Laidman. The satire ruined the school, and was the death both of Mr. and Mrs. Shaw.--Notes and Queries, October 25, 1873.

Squeeze (Miss), a pawnbroker’s daughter. Her father had early taught her that money is the “one thing needful,” and at death left her a moderate competence. She was so fully convinced of the value of money that she would never part with a farthing without an equivalent, and refused several offers, because she felt persuaded her suitors sought her money and not herself. Now she is old and ill-natured, marked with the small-pox, and neglected by every one.--Goldsmith, A Citizen of the World, xxviii. (1759).

Squint (Lawyer), the great politician of society. He makes speeches for members of parliament, writes addresses, gives the history of every new play, and finds “seasonable thought” upon every possible subject.--Goldsmith, A Citizen of the World, xxix. (1759).

Squint-Eyed. [Guercīno] Gian-Francesco Barbieri, the painter (1590-1666).

Squintum (Dr.), George Whitefield is so called by Foote in his farce entitled The Minor (1614-1770).

Squintum (Dr.). The Rev. Edward Irving, who had an obliquity of the eyes, was so called by Theodore Hook (1792-1834).

Squire of Dames (The), a young knight, in love with Col´umbell, who appointed him a year’s service before she would consent to become his bride. The “squire” was to travel for twelve months, to rescue distressed ladies, and bring pledges of his exploits to Columbell. At the end of the year he placed 300 pledges in her hands, but instead of rewarding him by becoming his bride, she set him another task, viz., to travel about the world on foot, and not present himself again till he could bring her pledges from 300 damsels that they would live in chastitychastity all their life. The squire told Columbell that in three years he had found only three persons who 33would take the pledge, and only one of these, he said (a rustic cottager) took it from a “principle of virtue;” the other two (a nun and a courtezan) promised to do so, but did not voluntarily join the “virgin martyrs.” This “Squire of Dames” turned out to be Britomart.--Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. 7 (1590).

⁂ This story is imitated from “The Host’s Tale,” in Orlando Furioso, xxviii.

Squires (Milton), servant in the Fairchild family, boorish, vindictive hind who murders one brother and tries to fasten the deed upon another.--Harold Frederic, Seth’s Brother’s Wife (1886).

Squirt, the apothecary’s boy in Garth’s Dispensary; hence any apprentice lad or errand boy.

(Pope wrote The Rape of the Lock, 1712.)

Squod (Phil), a grotesque little fellow, faithfully attached to Mr. George, the son of Mrs. Rouncewell (housekeeper at Chesney Wold). George had rescued the little street arab from the gutter, and the boy lived at George’s “Shooting Gallery” in Leicester Square (London). Phil was remarkable for limping along sideways, as if “tacking.”--C. Dickens, Bleak House (1852).

Stael (Madame de), called by Heine [Hi.ne] “a whirlwind in petticoats,” and a “sultana of mind.”

Stagg (Benjamin), the proprietor of the cellar in the Barbican where the secret society of “Prentice Knights” used to convene. He was a blind man, who fawned on Mr. Sim Tappertit, “the ’prentices glory” and captain of the “’Prentice Knights.” But there was a disparity between his words and sentiments, if we may judge from this specimen: “Good-night, most noble captain! farewell, brave general! bye-bye illustrious commander! a conceited, bragging, empty-headed, duck-legged idiot!” Benjamin Stagg was shot by the soldiery in the Gordon riots.--C. Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (1841).

Staggchase (Mrs. Frederick), descendant of an old Boston family, and one of the cleverest women in her set.--Arlo Bates, The Philistines (1888).

Stagirite (3 syl.). Aristotle is called the Stagirite, because he was born at Stagīra, in Macedon. Almost all our English poets call the word Stagĭrite: as Pope, Thomson, Swift, Byron, Wordsworth, B. Browning, etc. The Greek would be Stag´īrite.

Stammerer (The). Louis II. of France, le Bégué (846, 877-879).(846, 877-879).

Michael II., Emperor of the East (*, 820-829).

Notker or Notger, of St. Gall (830-912).

34Stanchells, head jailer at the Glasgow tolbooth.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).

Standard. A substantial building for water supplies, as the Water Standard of Cornhill, the Standard in Cheap, opposite Honey Lane, “which John Wells, grocer, caused to be made [? rebuilt] in his mayoralty, 1430.”--Stow, Survey (“Cheapside”).

The Cheapside Standard. This Standard was in existence in the reign of Edward I. In the reign of Edward III. two fishmongers were beheaded at the Cheapside Standard, for aiding in a riot. Henry IV. caused “the blank charter of Richard II.” to be burnt at this place.

The Standard, Cornhill. This was a conduit with four spouts, made by Peter Morris, a German, in 1582, and supplied with Thames water, conveyed by leaden pipes over the steeple of St. Magnus’s Church. It stood at the east end of Cornhill, at its junction with Gracechurch Street, Bishopsgate Street, and Leadenhall Street. The water ceased to run between 1598 and 1603, but the Standard itself remained long after. Distances from London were measured from this spot.

In the year 1775, there stood upon the borders of Epping Forest, at a distance of about twelve miles from London, measuring from the Standard in Cornhill, or rather from the spot on which the Standard used to be, a house of public entertainment, called the Maypole.--Dickens, Barnaby Rudge, i. (1841).

Standard (The Battle of the), the battle of Luton Moor, near Northallerton, between the English and the Scotch, in 1138. So called from the “standard,” which was raised on a wagon, and placed in the centre of the English army. The pole displayed the standards of St. Cuthbert of Durham, St. Peter of York, St. John of Beverley, and St. Wilfred of Ripon, surmounted by a little silver casket, containing a consecrated wafer.--Hailes, Annals of Scotland, i. 85 (1779).

The Battle of the Standard, was so called from the banner of St. Cuthbert, which was thought always to secure success. It came forth at the battle of Nevil’s Cross, and was again victorious. It was preserved with great reverence till the Reformation, when, in 1549, Catharine Whittingham (a French lady), wife of the dean of Durham, burnt it out of zeal against popery.--Miss Yonge, Cameos of English History, 126-8 (1868).

Standing (To die). Vespasian said, “An emperor of Rome ought to die standing.” Louis XVIII. of France, said, “A king of France ought to die standing.” This notion is not confined to crowned heads.

Standish (Miles), the puritan captain, was short of stature, strongly built, broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, and with sinews like iron. His wife, Rose, was the first to die “of all who came in the Mayflower.” Being desirous to marry Priscilla, “the beautiful puritan,” he sent young Alden to plead his cause; but the maiden answered archly, “Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?” Soon after this, Standish was supposed to have been killed, and John Alden did speak for himself, and prevailed.--Longfellow, Courtship of Miles Standish (1858).

Standish (Mrs. Justice), a brother magistrate with Bailie Trumbull.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).

Stanley, in the earl of Sussex’s train.--Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Stanley (Captain Charles), introduced by his friend, Captain Stukely, to the family at Strawberry Hall. Here he meets Miss 35Kitty Sprightly, an heiress, who has a theatrical twist. The captain makes love to her under the mask of acting, induces her to run off with him and get married, then, returning to the hall, introduces her as his wife. All the family fancy he is only “acting,” but discover too late that their “play” is a life-long reality.--I. Jackman, All the World’s a Stage.

Stanley Crest (The). On a chapeau gu. an eagle feeding on an infant in its nest. The legend is that Sir Thomas de Lathom, having no male issue, was walking with his wife one day, and heard the cries of an infant in an eagle’s nest. They looked on the child as a gift from God, and adopted it, and it became the founder of the Stanley race (time, Edward III.).

Stannard (Major). Sturdy, blunt, unaffected soldier, a terror to evil-doers, and the strong-tower of persecuted innocence. His wife is a lovely woman, worthy of the gallant warrior.--Charles King, Marion’s Faith, and The Colonel’s Daughter (1886), (1888).

Stantons (The), John Stanton, intelligent young carpenter, engaged to Melissa Blake, once a teacher, now a copyist of legal papers.

Orin Stanton, half-brother to John. A sculptor; “one of the artists who would never be able to separate his idea of the nurse from that of the serving-maid. He viewed art from the strictly utilitarian standpoint which considers it a means toward the payment of butcher and baker and candlestick-maker.”--Arlo Bates, The Philistines (1888).

Staples (Lawrence), head jailer at Kenilworth Castle.--Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Starch (Dr.), the tutor of Blushington.--W. T. Moncrieff, The Bashful Man.

Starchat´erus, of Sweden, a giant in stature and strength, whose life was protracted to thrice the ordinary term. When he felt himself growing old, he hung a bag of gold round his neck, and told Olo he might take the bag of gold if he would cut off his head, and he did so. He hated luxury in every form, and said a man was a fool who went and dined out for the sake of better fare. One day, Helgo, king of Norway, asked him to be his champion in a contest which was to be decided by himself alone against nine adversaries. Starchaterus selected for the site of combat the top of a mountain covered with snow, and, throwing off his clothes, waited for the nine adversaries. When asked if he would fight with them one by one or all together, he replied, “When dogs bark at me, I drive them all off at once.”--Joannes Magnus, Gothorum Suevorumque Historia (1554).

Stareleigh (Justice), a stout, pudgy little judge, very deaf, and very irascible, who, in the absence of the chief justice, sat in judgment on the trial of “Bardell v. Pickwick.”--C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).

Starno, king of Lochlin. Having been conquered by Fingal and generously set at liberty, he promised Fingal his daughter, Agandecca, in marriage, but meant to deal treacherously by him and kill him. Fingal accepted the invitation of Starno, and spent three days in boar-hunts. He was then warned by Agandecca to beware of her father, who had set an ambuscade to waylay him. Fingal, being forewarned, fell on the ambush and slew every man. When Starno heard thereof, he slew his 36daughter, whereupon Fingal and his followers took to arms, and Starno either “fled or died.” Swaran succeeded his father, Starno.---Ossian, Fingal, iii.; see also Cath-Loda.

Starvation Dundas, Henry Dundas, the first Lord Melville. So called because he introduced the word starvation into the language (1775).

Starveling (Robin), the tailor. He was cast for the part of “Thisbe’s mother,” in the drama played before Duke Theseus (2 syl.) on “his wedding day at night.” Starveling has nothing to say in the drama.--Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream (1592).

Stati´ra, the heroine of La Calprenède’s romance of Cassandra. Statīra is the daughter of Darīus, and is represented as the “most perfect of the works of creation.” Oroondatês is in love with her, and ultimately marries her.

Statira, daughter of Dari´us, and wife of Alexander. Young, beautiful, womanly, of strong affection, noble bearing, mild yet haughty, yielding yet brave. Her love for Alexander was unbounded. When her royal husband took Roxāna into favor, the proud spirit of the princess was indignant, but Alexander, by his love, won her back again. Statira was murdered by Roxana, the Bactrian, called the “Rival Queen.”--N. Lee, Alexander The Great (1678).

Staunton (The Rev. Mr.), rector of Willingham, and father of George Staunton.

George Staunton, son of the Rev. Mr. Staunton. He appears first as “Geordie Robertson,” a felon; and in the Porteous mob he assumes the guise of “Madge Wildfire.” George Staunton is the seducer of Effie Deans. Ultimately he comes to the title of baronet, marries Effie, and is shot by a gypsy boy called “The Whistler,” who proves to be his own natural son.

Lady Staunton, Effie Deans, after her marriage with Sir George. On the death of her husband, she retires to a convent on the Continent.--Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).

Steadfast, a friend of the Duberly family.--Colman, The Heir-at-Law (1797).

Steel Castle, a strong ward, belonging to the Yellow Dwarf. Here he confined All-Fair when she refused to marry him according to her promise.--Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“The Yellow Dwarf,” 1682).

Steenson (Willie), or “Wandering Willie,” the blind fiddler.

Steenie Steenson, the piper, in Wandering Willie’s tale.

Maggie Steenson, or “Epps Anslie,” the wife of Wandering Willie.--Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).

Steerforth, the young man who led little Em’ly astray. When tired of his toy, he proposed to her to marry his valet. Steerforth, being shipwrecked off the coast of Yarmouth, Ham Peggotty tried to rescue him, but both were drowned.--C. Dickens, David Copperfield (1849).

Steinbach (Erwin von), designed Strasbourg Cathedral; begun 1015, and finished 1439.

Steinernherz von Blutsacker (Francis), 37the scharf-gerichter, or executioner.--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Steinfeldt (The old baroness of), introduced in Donnerhugel’s narrative.--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Steinfort (The baron), brother of the Countess Wintersen. He falls in love with Mrs. Haller, but, being informed of the relationship between Mrs. Haller and “the stranger,” exerts himself to bring about a reconciliation.--Benj. Thompson, The Stranger (1797).

Stella. The Lady Penelopê Devereux, the object of Sir Philip Sidney’s affection. She married Lord Rich, and was a widow in Sidney’s life-time. Spenser says, in his Astrophel, when Astrophel (Sir Philip) died, Stella died of grief, and the “two lovers” were converted into one flower, called “Starlight,” which is first red, and, as it fades, turns blue. Some call it penthea, but henceforth (he says) it shall be called “Astrophel.” It is a pure fiction that Stella died from grief at the death of Sidney, for she afterwards married Charles Blount, created by James I. earl of Devonshire. The poet himself must have forgotten his own lines:

Stella. Miss Hester Johnson was so called by Swift, to whom she was privately married in 1706. Hester is first changed into the Greek aster, and “aster” in Latin, like stella, means “a star.” Stella lived with Mrs. Dingley, on Ormond Quay, Dublin.

Steno (Michel), one of the chiefs of the tribunal of Forty. Steno insults some of the ladies assembled at a civic banquet given by Marino Faliero, the doge of Venice, and is turned out of the house. In revenge, he fastens on the doge’s chair some scurrilous lines against the young dogaressa, whose extreme modesty and innocence ought to have protected her from such insolence. The doge refers the matter to “the Forty,” who sentence Steno to two month’s imprisonment. This punishment, in the opinion of the doge, is wholly inadequate to the offence, and Marino Faliero joins a conspiracy to abolish the council altogether.--Byron, Marino Faliero, the Doge of Venice (1819).

Stentor, a Grecian herald in the Trojan war. Homer says he was “great-hearted, brazen-voiced, and could shout as loud as fifty men.”

He began to roar for help with the lungs of a Stentor.--Smollett.

Steph´ano, earl of Carnūti, the leader of 400 men in the allied Christian army. He was noted for his military prowess and wise counsel.--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, i. (1575).

Stephano, a drunken butler.--Shakespeare, The Tempest (1609).

Stephano, servant to Portia.--Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice (1598).

38Stephen, one of the attendants of Sir Reginald Front de Bœuf (a follower of Prince John).--Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).

Stephen (Count), nephew of the count of Crèvecœur.--Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward (time, Edward IV.).

Stephen (Master), a conceited puppy, who thinks all inferiors are to be snubbed and bullied, and all those weaker and more cowardly than himself are to be kicked and beaten. He is especially struck with Captain Bobadil, and tries to imitate his “dainty oaths.” Master Stephen has no notion of honesty and high-mindedness; thus he steals Downright’s cloak, which had been accidently dropped, declares he bought it, and then that he found it. Being convicted of falsehood, he resigns all claim to it, saying, in a huff, “There, take your cloak; I’ll none on’t.” This small-minded youth is young Kno’well’s cousin.--Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humor (1598).

Stephen Steelheart, the nickname of Stephen Wetheral.--Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).

Stephen of Amboise, leader of 5000 foot soldiers from Blois and Tours in the allied Christian army of Godfrey of Bouillon. Impetuous in attack, but deficient in steady resistance. He was shot by Clorinda with an arrow (bk. xi.).--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).

Sterling (Mr.), a vulgar, rich City merchant, who wishes to see his two daughters married to titles. Lord Ogleby calls him “a very abstract of ’Change;” and he himself says, “What signifies birth, education, titles, and so forth? Money, I say--money’s the stuff that makes a man great in this country.”

Miss Sterling, whose Christian name is Elizabeth or Betty; a spiteful, jealous, purse-proud damsel, engaged to Sir John Melvil. Sir John, seeing small prospect of happiness with such a tartar, proposed marriage to the younger sister; and Miss Sterling being left out in the cold, exclaimed, “Oh, that some other person, an earl or duke for instance, would propose to me, that I might be revenged on the monsters!”

Miss Fanny Sterling, an amiable, sweet-smiling, soft-speaking beauty, clandestinely married to Lovewell.--Colman and Garrick, The Clandestine Marriage (1766).

Sterry, a fanatical preacher, admired by Hugh Peters.--S. Butler, Hudibras (1663-78).

Stevens, a messenger of the earl of Sussex at Say’s Court.--Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Stewart (Colonel), governor of the castle of Doune.--Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).

Stewart (Prince Charles Edward), surnamed “The Chevalier” by his friends, and “The Pretender” by his foes. Sir W. Scott introduces him in Waverley, and again in Redgauntlet, where he appears disguised as “Father Buonaventura.” (Now generally spelt Stuart.)

Stewart (Walking), John Stewart, the English traveller, who travelled on foot through Hindûstan, Persia, Nubia, Abyssinia, the Arabian Desert, Europe and the United States (died 1822).

A most interesting man,... eloquent in conversation, contemplative ... and crazy beyond 39all reach of helebore, ... yet sublime and divinely benignant in his visionariness. This man, as a pedestrian traveller, had seen more of the earth’s surface ... than any man before or since.--De Quincey.

⁂ Walking Stewart must not be confounded with John M’Douall Stuart, the Australian explorer (1818-1866).

Steyne (Marquis of), earl of Gaunt and of Gaunt Castle, a viscount, baron, knight of the Garter and of numerous other orders, colonel, trustee of the British Museum, elder brother of the Trinity House, governor of White Friars, etc., had honors and titles enough to make him a great man, but his life was not a highly moral one, and his conduct with Becky Sharp, when she was the wife of Colonel Rawdon Crawley, gave rise to a great scandal. His lordship floated through the ill report, but Mrs. Rawdon was obliged to live abroad.--W. M. Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848).

Stick to it, says Baigent. Baigent was the principal witness of the Claimant in the great Tichborne trial, and his advice to his protégé was, “Stick to it” (1872).

Stiggins, a hypocritical, drunken Methodist “shepherd” (minister), thought by Mrs. Weller to be a saint. His time was spent for the most part in drinking pineapple rum at the Marquis of Granby tavern.--C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).

Still (Cornelius, the), Cornelius Tacitus. (Latin, tacĭtus, “still.”)

Cornelius, the Stylle, in his firste book of his yerely exploictes, called in Latine, Annales.--Fardle of Facions, iii. 3 (1555).

Stimulants used by Public Characters.

Bonaparte, snuff.

Braham, bottled porter.

Bull (Rev. William), the nonconformist, was an inveterate smoker.

Byron, gin-and-water.

Catley (Miss), linseed tea and madeira.

Cooke (G. F.), everything drinkable.

Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), champagne jelly.

Emery, cold brandy-and-water.

Erskine (Lord), opium in large doses.

Gladstone (W. E.), an egg beaten up in sherry.

Henderson, gum arabic and sherry.

Hobbes, only cold water.

Incledon, madeira.

Jordan (Mrs.), calves’-foot jelly dissolved in warm sherry.

Kean (Edmund), beef-tea, cold brandy.

Kemble (John), opium.

Lewis, mulled wine and oysters.

Newton smoked incessantly.

Oxberry, strong tea.

Pope, strong coffee.

Schiller required to sit over a table deeply impregnated with the smell of apples. He stimulated his brain with coffee and champagne.

Siddons (Mrs.), porter, not “stout.”

Smith (William), drank strong coffee.

Wedderburne (the first Lord Ashburton) used to place a blister on his chest when he had to make a great speech.--Dr. Paris, Pharmacologia (1819).

Wood (Mrs.), drank draught porter.

Stinkomalee. So Theodore Hook called the London University. The word was suggested by “Trincomalee” (in Ceylon), a name before the public at the time. Hook hated the “University,” because it admitted students of all denominations.

Only look at Stinkomalee and King’s College. Activity, union, craft, indomitable perseverance on the one side; indolence, indecision, internal 40distrust, and jealousies, calf-like simplicity, and cowardice intolerable on the other.--Wilson, Noctes Ambrosianæ (1822-36).

Stitch (Tom), a young tailor, a great favorite with the ladies.--The Merry History of Tom Stitch (seventeenth century).

Stockwell (Mr.), a City merchant, who promised to give his daughter, Nancy, in marriage, to the son of Sir Harry Harlowe of Dorsetshire.

Mrs. Stockwell, the merchant’s wife, who always veers round to the last speaker, and can be persuaded to anything for the time being.

Nancy Stockwell, daughter of the merchant, in love with Belford, but promised in marriage to Sir Harry Harlowe’s son. It so happens that Sir Harry’s son has privately married another lady, and Nancy falls to the man of her choice.--Garrick, Neck or Nothing (1766).

Stolen Kisses, a drama by Paul Meritt, in three acts (1877). Felix Freemantle, under the pseudonym of Mr. Joy, falls in love with Cherry, daughter of Tom Spirit, once valet to Mr. Freemantle (who had come to the title of Viscount Trangmar). When Tom Spirit ascertained that “Felix Joy” was the son of the viscount, he forbade all further intercourse, unless Felix produced his father’s consent to the marriage. The next part of the plot pertains to the brother of Tom Spirit, who had assumed the name of Walter Temple, and, as a stock-broker, had become very wealthy. In his prosperity, Walter scornfully ignored his brother, Tom, and his ambition was to marry his daughter, Jenny, to the son of Viscount Trangmar, who owed him money. Thus, the two cousins, Cherry and Jenny, came into collision; but at the end Jenny married Fred Gay, a medical student, Cherry married Felix, the two brothers were reconciled, and Tom released his old master, Viscount Trangmar, by destroying the bond which Walter held and gave him.

Stonehenge. Aurelius Ambrosius asked Merlin what memento he could raise to commemorate his victory over Vortigern; and Merlin advised him to remove “The Giant’s Dance” from Mount Killaraus, in Ireland, to Salisbury Plain. So Aurelius placed a fleet and 15,000 men under the charge of Uther, the pendragon, and Merlin, for the purpose. Gilloman, king of Ireland, who opposed the invaders, was routed, and then Merlin, “by his art,” shipped the stones, and set them up on the plain “in the same manner as they stood on Killaraus.”--Geoffrey, British History, viii. 11-12 (1142).

Stonehenge a Trophy. It is said, in the Welsh triads, that this circle of stones was erected by the Britons to commemorate the “treachery of the Long Knives,” i.e., a conference to which the chief of the British warriors were invited by Hengist, at Ambresbury. Beside each chief a Saxon was seated, armed with a long knife, and at a given signal each Saxon slew his Briton. As many as 460 British nobles thus fell, but Eidiol, earl of Gloucester, after slaying seventy Saxons (some say 660), made his escape.--Welsh Triads.

Stonehenge was erected by Merlin, at the command of Ambrosius, in memory of the plot of the “Long-Knives,” when 300 British chiefs 41were treacherously massacred by Vortigern. He built it on the site of a former circle. It deviates from older bardic circles, as may be seen by comparing it with Avebury, Stanton-Drew, Keswick, etc. It is called “The Work of Ambrosius.”Ambrosius.”--Cambrian Biography, art. “Merddin.”

⁂ Mont Dieu, a solitary mound close to Dumfermline, owes its origin, according to story, to some unfortunate monks, who, by way of penance, carried the sand in baskets, from the sea-shore at Inverness.

At Linton is a fine conical hill, attributed to two sisters (nuns), who were compelled to pass the whole of the sand through a sieve, by way of penance, to obtain pardon for some crime committed by their brother.

The Gog Magog Hills, near Cambridge, are ascribed to his Satanic majesty.

Stonewall Jackson, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, general in the Southern army, in the great civil war of the United States. General Bee suggested the name in the battle of Bull Run (1861). “There is Jackson,” said he to his men, “standing like a stone wall” (1824-1863).

Storm-and-Stress Period. The last quarter of the eighteenth century was called in Germany the Sturm-und-Drang Zeit, because every one seemed in a fever to shake off the shackles of government, custom, prestige, and religion. The poets raved in volcanic rant or moonshine sentimentality; marriage was disregarded; law, both civil and divine, was pooh-poohed. Goethe’s Man with the Iron Hand and Sorrows of Werther, Schiller’s Robbers, Klinger’s tragedies, Lessing’s criticisms, the mania for Shakespeare and Ossian, revolutionized the literature; and the cry went forth for untrammelled freedom, which was nicknamed “Nature.” As well go unclad, and call it nature.

Storms (Cape of). The Cape of Good Hope was called by Bartholomew Diaz Cabo Tormentoso in 1486; but King John II. of Portugal gave it its present more auspicious name.

S.T.P., the initials of Sanctæ Theologiæ Professor: Professor of Sacred Theology. The same as D.D., Divinitatis Doctor: Doctor of Divinity.

Stradiva´rius (Antonius), born at Cremo´na, in Italy (1670-1728). He was a pupil of Andreas Amāti. The Amati family, with Stradivarius and his pupil, Guarnerius (all of Cremona), were the most noted violin-makers that ever lived, insomuch that the word “Cremona” is synonymous for a first-rate violin.

Strafford, an historical tragedy by R. Browning (1836). This drama contains portraits of Charles I., the earl of Strafford, Hampden, John Pym, Sir Harry Vane, etc., both truthful and graphic. The subject of the drama is the attainder and execution of Thomas Wentworth, earl of Strafford.

Straitlace (Dame Philippa), the maiden aunt of Blushington. She is very much surprised to find her nephew entertaining dinner company, and still more so that he is about to take a young wife to keep house for him instead of herself.--W. T. Moncrieff, The Bashful Man.

Stral´enheim (Count of), a kinsman 42of Werner, who hunted him from place to place, with a view of cutting him off, because he stood between him and the inheritance of Siegendorf. This mean, plausible, overreaching nobleman was by accident lodged under the same roof with Werner, while on his was to Siegendorf. Here Werner robbed him of a rouleau of gold, and next night Ulric (Werner’s son) murdered him.

Ida Stralenheim, one of the characters in Byron’s drama, Werner (1822). She was the daughter of Count Stralenheim, and was betrothed to Ulric, for whom she had a deep affection, but when she learned from the lips of Ulric himself that he was the murderer of her father she fell senseless at his feet, and revived only to learn that he had fled the country, and that she had lost him forever.

Stranger (The), the Count Waldbourg. He married Adelaide at the age of 16; she had two children by him, and then eloped. The count, deserted by his young wife, lived a roving life, known only as “The Stranger;” and his wife, repenting of her folly, under the assumed name of Mrs. Haller, entered the service of the Countess Wintersen, whose affection she secured. In three years’ time, “the stranger” came by accident into the same neighborhood, and a reconciliation took place.

Kotzebue’s Menschenhasz und Rene (1787). English adaptation: The Stranger (1808).

Strangford (Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, viscount), in 1803, published a translation of the poems of Camoens, the great Portuguese poet.

Strap (Hugh), a simple, generous, and disinterested adherent of Roderick Random. His generosity and fidelity, however, meet with but a base return from the heartless libertine.--T. Smollett, Roderick Random (1748).

We believe there are few readers who are not disgusted with the miserable reward assigned to Strap in the closing chapter of the novel. Five hundred pounds (scarce the value of the goods he had presented to his master) and the hand of a reclaimed street-walker, even when added to a Highland farm, seem but a poor recompense for his faithful and disinterested attachment.--Sir W. Scott.

Strasbourg Cathedral, designed by Erwin von Steinbach (1015-1439).

Strauchan (Old), the squire of Sir Kenneth.--Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).

Straw. A little straw shows which way the wind blows.

Streets of London (The), a drama by Dion Boucicault (1862), adapted from the French play Les Pauvres des Paris.

Stre´mon, a soldier, famous for his singing.--Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (1617).

Strephon, the shepherd in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, who makes love to the beautiful Uranĭa (1580). It is a stock name for a lover, Chloê being usually the corresponding lady.

43Captain O’Flarty was one of my dying Strephons at Scarborough. I have a very grate regard for him, and must make him a little miserable with my happiness.--Garrick, The Irish Widow, i. 3 (1757).

The servant of your Strephon ... is my lord and master.--Garrick, Miss in Her Teens (1753).

Stretton (Hesba), the pseudonym of Miss Smith, daughter of a bookseller and printer in Wellington, Salop, authoress of several well-known religious novels.

Strickalthrow (Merciful), in Cromwell’s troop.--Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).

Strictland (Mr.), the “suspicious husband,” who suspects Clarinda, a young lady visitor, of corrupting his wife; suspects Jacintha, his ward, of lightness; and suspects his wife of infidelity; but all his suspicions being proved groundless, he promises reform.

Mrs. Strictland, wife of Mr. Strictland, a model of discretion and good nature. She not only gives no cause of jealousy to her husband, but never even resents his suspicions or returns ill temper in the same coin.--Dr. Hoadly, The Suspicious Husband (1747).

Strike, Dakyns! the Devil’s in the Hempe, the motto of the Dakynses. The reference is to an enemy of the king, who had taken refuge in a pile of hemp. Dakyns, having nosed the traitor, was exhorted to strike him with his battle-axe, and kill him, which he did. Hence the crest of the family--a dexter arm ... holding a battle-axe.

Strong (Dr.), a benevolent old schoolmaster, to whom David Copperfield was sent whilst living with Mr. Wickfield. The old doctor doted on his young wife, Annie, and supported her scapegrace cousin, Jack Maldon.--C. Dickens, David Copperfield (1849).

Strong Men and Women.

Antæos, Atlas, Dorsănês, the Indian Herculês, Guy, earl of Warwick, Herculês, Macĕris, son of Amon, Rustam, the Persian Herculês, Samson, Starchatĕrus, the Swede (first Christian century).

Brown (Miss Phœbe), about five feet, six inches in height, well proportioned, round-faced and ruddy. She could carry fourteen score, and could lift a hundredweight with each hand at the same time. She was fond of poetry and music, and her chief food was milk.--W. Hutton.

Milo, of Crotōna, could carry on his shoulders a four-year-old bullock, and kill it with a single blow of his fist. On one occasion, the pillar which supported the roof of a house gave way, and Milo held up the whole weight of the building with his hands.

Polyd´amas, the athlete. He killed a lion with a blow of his fist, and could stop a chariot in full career with one hand.

Topham (Thomas) of London (1710-1749). He could lift three hogsheads, or 1836 lbs.; could heave a horse over a turnpike gate; and could lift two hundredweight with his little finger.

Strongback, one of the seven attendants of Fortunio. He could never be overweighted, and could fell a forest in a few hours without fatigue.--Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“Fortunio,” 1682).

The brothers Grimm have introduced the tale of “Fortunio” in their Goblins.

Strongbow, Gilbert de Clare, who succeeded to the title of his brother, the 44earl of Hertford, in 1138, and was created earl of Pembroke (died 1149).

Henry II. called him a “false” or “pseudo-earl.”

Strongbow (Richard of Strigal) was Richard de Clare, earl of Pembroke, son of Gilbert de Clare. He succeeded Dermot, king of Leinster, hiss father-in-law, in 1170, and died 1176.

Struldbrugs, the inhabitants of Luggnagg, who never die.

He had reached that period of life ... which ... entitles a man to admission into the ancient order of Struldbrugs.--Swift, Gulliver’s Travels “Laputa,” (1726)(1726).

Strutt (Lord), the king of Spain; originally Charles II. (who died without issue), but also applied to his successor, Philippe, duc d’Anson, called “Philip, Lord Strutt.”

I need not tell you of the great quarrels that happened in our neighborhood since the death of the late Lord Strutt; how the parson [Cardinal Portocarero] ... got him to settle his estate upon his cousin, Philip Baboon [Bourbon], to the great disappointment of his cousin, Squire South [Charles of Austria].--Dr. Arbuthnot, History of John Bull, i (1712).

Stryver (Bully), of the King’s Bench Bar, counsel for the defence in Darnay’s trial.

He was stout, loud, red, bluff, and free from any drawback of delicacy; had a pushing way of shouldering himself (morally and physically) into companies and conversations, that argued well for his shouldering his way on in life.--C. Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, ii. 24 (1859).

Stuart Ill-Fated (The House of), as that of Œdĭpos.

James I. of Scotland, poet, murdered by conspirators at Perth, in the forty-fourth year of his age (1393, 1424-1437).

James II., his son, killed at the siege of Roxburgh, aged 30 (1430, 1437-1460).

James III., his son, was stabbed in his flight from Bannockburn by a pretended priest, aged 36 (1452, 1460-1488).

(His brother, the earl of Mar, was imprisoned in 1477, and died in durance, 1480.)

James IV., his son, the “Chivalrous Madman,” was defeated and slain at Flodden, aged 41 (1472, 1488-1513).

James V., his son, was defeated at Solway Moss, November 25, and died of grief, December 14, aged 30 (1512, 1513-1542).

Mary Queen of Scots, daughter of James V., was beheaded, aged 44 years, 63 days (1542, 1542-1587, Old Style).

(Her husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was murdered (1541-1566). Her niece, Arabella Stuart, died insane in the Tower, 1575-1615.)

Charles I., her grandson, was beheaded, aged 48 years, 69 days (1600, 1625-1649).

Charles II., his son, was in exile from 1645 to 1661, and in 1665 occurred the Great Fire of London, in 1666 the Great Plague; died aged 54 years, 253 days (1630, 1661-1685).

(His natural son, the Duke of Monmouth, defeated at Sedgemoor, July 5, 1685, was executed as a traitor, July 15, aged 36.)36.)

James II., brother of Charles, and son of Charles I., was obliged to abdicate to save his life, and died in exile (1633, reigned 1685-1688, died a pensioner of Louis XIV., 1701).

James Francis Edward “the Luckless,” his son, called the “Old Pretender,” was a mere cipher. His son, Charles, came to England to proclaim him king, but was defeated at Culloden, leaving 3000 dead on the field (1688-1765).

45Charles Edward, the “Young Pretender,” was son of the “Old Pretender.” After the defeat of his adherents at Culloden he fled to France, was banished from that kingdom, and died at Rome (1720-1788).

Henry Benedict, Cardinal York, the last of the race, was a pensioner of George III.

Stuart of Italy (The Mary), Jane I. of Naples (1327, 1343-1382).

Jane married her cousin, Andrè of Hungary, who was assassinated two years after his marriage, when the widow married the assassin. So Mary Stuart married her cousin, Lord Darnley, 1565, who was murdered, 1567, and the widow married Bothwell, the assassin.

Jane fled to Provence, 1347, and was strangled in 1382. So Mary Stuart fled to England in 1568, and was put to death, 1587 (Old Style).

Jane, like Mary, was remarkable for her great beauty, her brilliant court, her voluptuousness, and the men of genius she drew around her; and, like Mary, she was also noted for her deplorable administration.

⁂ La Harpe wrote a tragedy called Jeanne de Naples (1765). Schiller made an adaptation of it (1821).

Stuarts’ Fatal Number (The). This number is 88.

James III. was killed in flight near Bannockburn, 1488.

Mary Stuart was beheaded, 1588 (New Style).

James II. of England was dethroned, 1688.

Charles Edward died, 1788.

⁂ James Stuart, the “Old Pretender,” was born, 1688, the very year that his father abdicated.

James Stuart, the famous architect, died, 1788.

(Some affirm that Robert II., the first Stuart king, died 1388, the year of the great battle of Otterbum; but the death of this king is more usually fixed in the spring of 1390.)

Stuart (Jack), frank, brave, unintellectual lover of Constance Varley, and one of the travelling-party in the Holy Land. Through a fatal combination of misunderstandings, the man she has loved for years leaves her without uttering the words that burned upon his tongue, and the lonely-hearted girl turns for comfort to the assured, patient affection of the honest fellow who makes no secret of his devotion. Constance Varley marries Jack Stuart.--Julia Constance Fletcher, Mirage (1878).

Stubble (Reuben), bailiff to Farmer Cornflower, rough in manner, severe in discipline, a stickler for duty, “a plain, upright, and downright man,” true to his master and to himself.--C. Dibdin, The Farmer’s Wife (1780).

Stubbs, the beadle at Willingham. The Rev. Mr. Staunton was the rector.--Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).

Stubbs (Miss Sissly or Cecilia), daughter of Squire Stubbs, one of Waverley’s neighbors.--Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).

Stuffy (Matthew), an applicant to Velinspeck, a country manager, for a situation as prompter, for which he says he is peculiarly qualified by that affection of the eyes vulgarly called a squint, which enables him to keep one eye on the performance and the other on the book at the 46same time.--Charles Mathews, At Home (1818).

Stuffy is one of the richest bits of humor we ever witnessed. His endless eulogies upon the state of things in the immortal Garrick’s time are highly ludicrous.--Contemporary Paper.

Stuke´ly (2 syl.), a detestable man. “’Twould be as easy to make him honest as brave” (act i. 2). He pretends to be the friend of Beverley, but cheats him. He aspires to the hand of Miss Beverley, who is in love with Lewson.--Edward Moore, The Gamester (1753).

Stukeley (Will), the companion of Little John. In the morris-dance on May-day, Little John used to occupy the right hand side of Robin Hood, and Will Stukely the left. (See Stutly.)

Stukely (Captain Harry), nephew of Sir Gilbert Pumpkin of Strawberry Hall.--I. Jackman, All the World’s a Stage.

Stupid Boy (The), St. Thomas Aquinas; also called at school “The Dumb Ox” (1224-1274).

Sturgeon (Major), J.P., “the fishmonger from Brentford,” who turned volunteer. This bragging major makes love to Mrs. Jerry Sneak.--S. Foote, The Mayor of Garratt (1763).

We had some desperate duty, Sir Jacob ... such marchings and counter-marchings, from Brentford to Ealing, from Ealing to Acton, from Acton to Uxbridge. Why, there was our last expedition to Hounslow; that day’s work carried off Major Molossas.... But to proceed. On we marched, the men all in high spirits, to attack the gibbet where Gardel is hanging; but, turning down a narrow lane to the left, as it might be about there, in order to possess a pigstye, that we might take the gallows in flank and secure a retreat, who should come by but a drove of fat oxen for Smithfield. The drums beat in front, the dogs barked in the rear, the oxen set up a gallop; on they came, thundering upon us, broke through our ranks in an instant, and threw the whole corps into confusion.--Act i. 1.

Sturmthal (Melchoir), the banneret of Berne, one of the Swiss deputies.--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Stutly (Will), sometimes called Will Stukely, a companion of Little John. In the morris-dance on May-day, Little John occupied the right hand side of Robin Hood, and Will Stutly the left. His rescue from the sheriff of [Notts.] by Robin Hood forms the subject of one of the Robin Hood Ballads.

Stuyvesant (Peter).

“If, from all I have said, thou dost not gather, worthy reader, that Peter Stuyvesant was a tough, sturdy, valiant, weather-beaten, mettlesome, obstinate, leather-sided, lion-hearted, generous-spirited old governor, either I have written to but little purpose, or thou art very dull at drawing conclusions.”--Diedrich Knickerbocker (Washington Irving), A History of New York (1809).

Styles (Tom or John), or Tom o’ Styles, a phrase name at one time used by lawyers in actions of ejectment. Jack Noakes and Tom Styles used to act in law the part that N or M acts in the church. The legal fiction has been abolished.

I have no connection with the company further than giving them, for a certain fee and reward, 47my poor opinion as a medical man, precisely as I may give it to Jack Noakes or Tom Styles.--Dickens.

⁂ Tom Styles, Jack Noakes, John Doe, and Richard Roe, are all Mrs. Harrises of the legal profession, nomina et præterea nihil.

Subtle, the “alchemist,” an artful quack, who pretends to be on the eve of discovering the philosopher’s stone. Sir Epicure Mammon, a rich knight, is his principal dupe, but by no means his only one.--Ben Jonson, The Alchemist (1610).

Subtle, an Englishman settled in Paris. He earns a living by the follies of his countrymen who visit the gay capital.

Mrs. Subtle, wife of Mr. Subtle, and a help-meet for him.--Foote, The Englishman in Paris (1753).

Subtle Doctor (The), Duns Scotus, famous for his metaphysical speculations in theology (1265-1308).

Subvolvans, inhabitants of the moon, in everlasting strife with the Privolvans. The former live under ground in cavities, “eight miles deep and eighty round;” the latter on “the upper ground.” Every summer the under-ground lunatics come to the surface to attack the “grounders,” but at the approach of winter slink back again into their holes.--S. Butler, The Elephant in the Moon (1754).

Such Things Are, a comedy by Mrs. Inchbald (1786). The scene lies in India, and the object of the play is to represent the tyranny of the old régime, and the good influence of the British element, represented by Haswell, the royal physician. The main feature is an introduction to the dungeons, and the infamous neglect of the prisoners, amongst whom is Arabella, the sultan’s beloved English wife, whom he has been searching for unsuccessfully for fifteen years. Haswell receives the royal signet, and is entrusted with unlimited power by the sultan.

Suckfist (Lord), defendant in the great Pantagruelian lawsuit, known as “Lord Busqueue v. Lord Suckfist,” in which the plaintiff and defendant pleaded in person. After hearing the case, the bench declared, “We have not understood one single circumstance of the matter on either side.” But Pantagruel gave judgment, and as both plaintiff and defendant left the court fully persuaded that the verdict was in his own favor, they were both highly satisfied, “a thing without parallel in the annals of the law.”--Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. 11-13 (1533).

Suddlechop (Benjamin), “the most renowned barber in all Fleet Street.” A thin, half-starved creature.

Dame Ursula Suddlechop, the barber’s wife. “She could contrive interviews for lovers, and relieve frail fair ones of the burden of a guilty passion.” She had been a pupil of Mrs. Turner, and learnt of her the secret of making yellow starch, and two or three other prescriptions more lucrative still. The dame was scarcely 40 years of age, of full form and comely features, with a joyous, good-humored expression.

Dame Ursula had acquaintances ... among the quality, and maintained her intercourse ... partly by driving a trade in perfumes, essences, pomades, head-gears from France, not to mention drugs of various descriptions, chiefly for the use of ladies, and partly by other services, more or less connected with the esoteric branches of her profession.--Sir W. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, viii. (time, James I.).

48Suds (Mrs.), any washerwoman or laundress.

Suicides from Books.

Cleom´brotos, the Academic philosopher, killed himself after reading Plato’s Phædon, that he might enjoy the happiness of the future life, so enchantingly described.

Fräulein von Lassberg drowned herself in spleen, after reading Goethe’s Sorrows of Werther.

Sulin-Sifad´da, one of the two steeds of Cuthullin, general of the Irish tribes. The name of the other was Dusronnal.

Before the right side of the car is seen the snorting horse; the high-maned, broad-breasted, proud, wide-leaping, strong steed of the hill. Loud and resounding is his hoof; the spreading of his mane above is like a stream of smoke on a ridge of rocks. Bright are the sides of his steed. His name is Sulin-Sifadda.--Ossian, Fingal, i.

Sulky (Mr.), executor of Mr. Warren, and partner in Dornton’s bank. With a sulky, grumpy exterior, he has a kind heart, and is strictly honest. When Dornton is brought to the brink of ruin by his son’s extravagance, Sulky comes nobly forward to the rescue. (See Silky.)--T. Holcroft, The Road to Ruin (1792).

Sullen (Squire), son of Lady Bountiful by her first husband. He married the sister of Sir Charles Freeman, but after fourteen months, their tempers and dispositions were found so incompatible that they mutually agreed to a divorce.

He says little, thinks less, and does nothing at all. Faith! but he’s a man of great estate, and values nobody.--Act i. 1.

Parson Trulliber, Sir Wilful Witwould, Sir Francis Wronghead, Squire Western, Squire Sullen--such were the people who composed the main strength of the tory party for sixty years after the Revolution.--Lord Macaulay.

⁂ “Parson Trulliber,” in Joseph Andrews (by Fielding); “Sir Wilful Witwould,” in The Way of the World (Congreve); “Sir Francis Wronghead,” in The Provoked Husband (by Cibber); “Squire Western,” in Tom Jones (by Fielding).

Mrs. Sullen, sister of Sir Charles Freeman, and wife of Squire Sullen. They had been married fourteen months, when they agreed mutually to a separation, for in no one single point was there any compatibility between them. The squire was sullen, the lady sprightly; he could not drink tea with her, and she could not drink ale with him; he hated ombre and picquet, she hated cock-fighting and racing; he would not dance, and she would not hunt. Mrs. Sullen liked Archer, friend of Thomas Viscount Aimwell, both fortune-hunters; and Squire Sullen, when he separated from his wife, was obliged to resign the £20,000, which he received with her as a dowry.--George Farquhar, The Beaux’ Stratagem (1707).

Sul-Malla, daughter of Conmor, king of Inis-Huna and his wife, Clun-galo. Disguised as a warrior, Sul-Malla follows Cathmor to the war; but Cathmor, walking his round, discovers Sul-Malla asleep, falls in love with her, but exclaims, “This is no time for love.” He strikes his shield to rouse the host to battle, and is slain by 49Fingal. The sequel of Sul-Malla is not given.

Clun-galo came. She missed the maid. “Where art thou, beam of light? Hunters from the mossy rock, saw you the blue-eyed fair? Are her steps on grassy Lumon, near the bed of roses? Ah, me! I beheld her bow in the hall. Where art thou, beam of light?”--Ossian, Temora, vi. (Set to music by Sir H. Bishop.)

Summerson (Esther). (See Esther Hawdon.)

Summons to Death.

Jacques Molay, grand-master of the Knights Templars, 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 murder. They both died within the stated time.

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 him to follow within the month. Rienzi was within the month killed by the fickle mob.

Peter and John de Carvajal, being condemned to death on circumstantial evidence alone, appealed, but without success, to Ferdinand IV. of Spain. On their way to execution, they declared their innocence, and summoned the king to appear before God within thirty days. Ferdinand was quite well on the thirtieth day, but was found dead in his bed next morning.

George Wishart, a Scotch reformer, was condemned to the stake by Cardinal Beaton. While the fire was blazing about him, the martyr exclaimed in a loud voice, “He who from yon high place beholdeth me with such pride, shall be brought low, even to the ground, before the trees which have supplied these faggots have shed their leaves.” It was March when these words were uttered, and the cardinal died in June.

Sun (The). The device of Edward III., was the sun bursting through a cloud. Hence Edward III. is called “our half-faced sun.”--Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI. act iv. sc. 1 (1592).

Sun-Steeds. Brontê (“thunder”) and Amethēa (“no loiterer”), Æthon (“fiery red”) and Pyroïs (“fire”); Lampos (“shining like a lamp”), used only at noon; Philogēa (“effulgence”), used only in the westering course.

⁂ Phaĕton (“the shining one”) and Abraxas (the Greek numeral for 365) were the horses of Aurora, or the morning sun.

Sun´ith, one of the six Wise Men of the East led by the guiding star to Jesus. He had three holy daughters.--Klopstock, The Messiah, v. (1771).

Sunshine of St. Eulalie´ (3 syl.), Evangeline.

Super Grammat´icam, Sigismund, emperor of Germany (1366, 1411-1437).

At the council of Constance, held 1414, Sigismund used the word schisma as a noun of the feminine gender (illa nefanda schisma). A prig of a cardinal corrected him, saying “‘Schisma,’ your highness, is neuter gender;” when the kaiser turned on him with ineffable scorn, and said, “I am king of the Romans, and what is grammar to me?” [Ego sum rex Romanus et super grammaticam.]--Carlyle, Frederick the Great (1858).

50Superstitions about Animals.

Ant. When ants are unusually busy, foul weather is at hand.

Ants never sleep.--Emerson, Nature, iv.

Ants lay up food for winter use.--Prov. vi. 6-8; xxx. 25.

Ants’ eggs are an antidote to love.

Ass. The mark running down the back of an ass, and cut at right angles over the shoulders, is the cross of Christ impressed on the animal because Christ rode on an ass in His triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

Three hairs taken from the “cross” of an ass will cure the whooping-cough, but the ass from which the hairs are plucked will die.

The ass is deaf to music, and hence Apollo gave Midas the ears of an ass, because he preferred the piping of Pan to the music of Apollo’s lute.

Barnacle. A barnacle broken off a ship turns into a Solan goose.

Basilisk. The basilisk can kill at a distance by the “poison” of its glance.

Bear. The cub of a bear is licked into shape and life by its dam.

Beaver. When a beaver is hunted, it bites off the part which the hunters seek, and then, standing upright, shows the hunters it is useless to continue the pursuit. [Æsop tells a similar story of a civet-cat.]--Eugenius Philalethes, Brief Natural History, 89.

Bee. If bees swarm on a rotten tree, a death in the family will occur within the twelvemonth.

Bees will never thrive if you quarrel with them or about them.

If a member of the family dies and the bees are not put into mourning, they will forsake their hive.

It is unlucky for a stray swarm of bees to alight on your premises.

Beetles. Beetles are both deaf and blind.

Cat. When cats wash their ears more than usual, rain is at hand.

When the cat washes her face over her ears, wee shall have great shore of raine.--Melton, Astrologastor, 45.

The sneezing of a cat indicates good luck to a bride.

If a cat sneezes thrice, a cold will run through the family.

Satan’s favorite form is that of a black cat, and hence is it the familiar of witches.

A cat has nine lives.

Tybalt. What wouldst thou have with me?

Mer. Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives.--Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, act iii. sc. 1 (1595).

Chameleons live on air only.

Cow. If a milkmaid neglects to wash her hands after milking, her cows will go dry.

Curst cows have curt horns. Curst means “angry, fierce.”

God sends a curst cow short horns.--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, act ii. sc. 1 (1600).

51Cricket. Crickets bring good luck to a house. To kill crickets is unlucky. If crickets forsake a house, a death in the family will soon follow.

It is a signe of death to some in a house, if the crickets on a sudden forsake the chimney.--Melton, Astrologastor, 45.

Crocodiles moan and sigh, like persons in distress, to allure travellers and make them their prey.

Crocodiles weep over the prey which they devour.

The crocodile will weep over a man’s head when he [it] hath devoured the body, and then he will eat up the head too.--Bullokar, English Expositor (1616).

Paul Lucas tells us that the hummingbird and lapwing enter fearlessly the crocodile’s mouth, and the creature never injures them, because they pick its teeth.--Voyage fait en 1714.

Crow. If a crow croaks an odd number of times, look out for foul weather; if an even number, it will be fine.

[The superstitious] listen in the morning whether the crow crieth even or odd, and by that token presage the weather.--Dr. Hall, Characters of Vertues and Vices, 87.

If a crow flies over a house and croaks thrice, it is a bad omen.--Ramesey, Elminthologia, 271 (1668).

If a crow flutters about a window and caws, it forbodes a death.

Several crows fluttered about the head of Cicero on the day that he was murdered by Popilius Lænas ... one of them even made its way into his chamber, and pulled away the bedclothes.--Macaulay, History of St. Kilda, 176.

If crows flock together early in the morning, and gape at the sun, the weather will be hot and dry; but if they stalk at nightfall into water, and croak, rain is at hand.--Willsford, Nature’s Secrets, 133.

When crows forsake a wood in a flock, it forebodes a famine.--Supplement to the Athenian Oracle, 476.

Death-watch. The clicking or tapping of the beetle called a death-watch is an omen of death to some one in the house.

Dog. If dogs howl by night near a house, it presages the death of a sick inmate.

If doggs howle in the night neer an house where somebody is sick, ’tis a signe of death.--Dr. N. Home, Dæmonologie, 60.

When dogs wallow in the dust, expect foul weather: “Canis in pulvere volutans....”

Echinus. An echīnus, fastening itself on a ship’s keel, will arrest its motion like an anchor.--Pliny, Natural History, xxxii. 1.

Egg. The tenth egg is always the largest.

Decumana ova dicuntur, quia ovum decimum majus nascitur.--Festus.

Elephant. Elephants celebrate religious rites.--Pliny, Natural History, viii. 1.

Elephants have no knees.--Eugenius Philalethes, Brief Natural History, 89.

The elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy; his legs are for necessity, not for flexure.--Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, act iii. sc. 3 (1602).

52Fish. If you count the number of fish you have caught, you will catch no more that day.

Frog. To meet a frog is lucky, indicating that the person is about to receive money.

Some man hadde levyr to mete a frogge on the way than a knight ... for than they say and ’leve that they shal have golde.--Dives and Pauper (first precepte, xlvi. 1493).

When frogs croak more than usual, it is a sign of bad weather.

Guinea-pig. A guinea-pig has no ears.

Haddock. The black spot on each side of a haddock, near the gills, is the impression of St. Peter’s finger and thumb, when he took the tribute money from the fish’s mouth.

The haddock has spots on either side, which are the marks of St. Peter’s fingers when he catched that fish for the tribute.--Metellus, Dialogues, etc., 57 (1693).

Hair. If a dog bites you, any evil consequences may be prevented by applying three of the dog’s hairs to the wound.

Hare. It is unlucky if a hare runs across a road in front of a traveller. The Roman augurs considered this an ill omen.

If an hare cross their way, they suspect they shall be rob’d, or come to some mischance.--Ramesay, Elminthologia, 271 (1668).

It was believed at one time that hares changed their sex every year.

Hedgehog. Hedgehogs foresee a coming storm.--Bodenham, Garden of the Muses, 153 (1600).

Hedgehogs fasten on the dugs of cows, and drain off the milk.

Horse. If a person suffering from whooping-cough asks advice of a man riding on a piebald horse, the malady will be cured by doing what the man tells him to do.

Jackal. The jackal is the lion’s provider. It hunts with the lion, and provides it with food by starting prey, as dogs start game.

Lady-bug. It is unlucky to kill a lady-bug.

Lion. The lion will not injure a royal prince.

The lion will not touch the true prince.--Shakespeare, 1 Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4 (1598).

The lion hates the game-cock, and is jealous of it. Some say because the cock wears a crown (its crest), and others because it comes into the royal presence “booted and spurred.”

The fiercest lion trembles at the crowing of a cock.--Pliny, Natural History, viii. 19.

According to legend, the lion’s whelp is born dead, and remains so for three days, when the father breathes on it, and it receives life.

Lizard. The lizard is man’s special enemy, but warns him of the approach of a serpent.

Magpie. To see one magpie is unlucky; to see two denotes merriment, or a marriage; to see three, a successful journey; four, good news; five, company.--Grose.

Another superstition is: “One for sorrow; two for mirth; three, a wedding; four, a death.”

In Lancashire, two magpies flying together is thought unlucky.

53I have heard my gronny say, hoode os leef o seen two owd harries as two pynots [magpies].--Tim Bobbin, Lancashire Dialect, 31 (1775).

When the magpie chatters, it denotes that you will see strangers.

Man. A person weighs more fasting than after a good meal.

The Jews maintained that man has three natures--body, soul, and spirit. Diogĕnês Laertius calls the three natures body, phrên, and thumos; and the Romans called them manês, anĭma, and umbra.

There is a nation of pygmies.

The Patagonians are of gigantic stature.

There are men with tails, as the Ghilanes, a race of men “beyond the Sennaar;” the Niam-niams, of Africa, the Narea tribes, certain others south of Herrar, in Abyssinia, and the natives in the south of Formosa.

Martin. It is unlucky to kill a martin.

Mole. Moles are blind. Hence the common expression, “Blind as a mole.”

Moon-calf, the offspring of a woman, engendered solely by the power of the moon.--Pliny, Natural History, x. 64.

Mouse. To eat food which a mouse has nibbled, will give a sore throat.

It is a bad omen if a mouse gnaws the clothes which a person is wearing.--Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, 214 (1621).

A fried mouse is a specific for small-pox.

Ostrich. An ostrich can digest iron.

Stephen. I could eat the very hilts for anger.

Kno´well. A sign of your good digestion; you have an ostrich stomach.--B. Jonson, Every Man in His Humor, iii. 1 (1598).

I’ll make thee eat iron like an ostrich, and swallow my sword.--Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI. act iv. sc. 10 (1591).

Owl. If owls screech with a hoarse and dismal voice, it bodes impending calamity. (See Owl.)

Pelican. A pelican feeds its young brood with its blood.

The pelican turneth her beak against her brest, and therewith pierceth it till the blood gush, wherewith she nourisheth her young.--Eugenius Philalethes, Brief Natural History, 93.

Phœnix. There is but one phœnix in the world, which, after many hundred years, burns itself, and from its ashes another phœnix rises up.

The phœnix is said to have fifty orifices in its bill, continued to its tail. After living its 1000 or 500 years, it builds itself a funeral pile, sings a melodious elegy, flaps its wings to fan the fire, and is burnt to ashes.

The phœnix has appeared five times in Egypt: (1) in the reign of Sesostris; (2) in the reign of Amăsis; (3) in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphos; (4) a little prior to the death of Tiberius; and (5) during 54the reign of Constantine. Tacitus mentions the first three (Annales, vi. 28).

Pig. In the fore feet of pigs is a very small hole, which may be seen when the pig is dead and the hair carefully removed. The legend is that the devils made their exit from the swine through the fore feet, and left these holes. There are also six very minute rings round each hole, and these are said to have been made by the devil’s claws.

When pigs carry straws in their mouth, rain is at hand.

When swine carry bottles of hay or straw to hide them, rain is at hand.--The Husbandman’s Practice, 137 (1664).

When young pigs are taken from the sow, they must be drawn away backwards, or the sow will be fallow.

The bacon of swine killed in a waning moon will waste much in the cooking.

When hogs run grunting home, a storm is impending.--The Cabinet of Nature, 262 (1637).

It is unlucky for a traveller if a sow crosses his path.

If, going on a journey on business, a sow cross the road, you will meet with a disappointment, if not an accident, before you return home.--Grose.

To meet a sow with a litter of pigs is very lucky.

If a sow is with her litter of pigs, it is lucky, and denotes a successful journey.--Grose.

Langley tells us this marvellous bit of etymology: “The bryde anoynteth the poostes of the doores with swynes grease, ... to dryve awaye misfortune, wherefore she had her name in Latin uxor, ´ab ungendo’ [to anoint].”--Translation of Polydore Vergil, 9.

Pigeon. If a white pigeon settles on a chimney, it bodes death to some one in the house.

No person can die on a bed or pillow containing pigeon’s feathers.

If anybody be sick and lye a-dying, if they [sic] lie upon pigeon’s feathers they will be languishing and never die, but be in pain and torment.--British Apollo, ii. No. 93 (1710).

The blue pigeon is held sacred in Mecca.--Pitt.

Porcupine. When porcupines are hunted or annoyed, they shoot out their quills in anger.

Rat. Rats forsake a ship before a wreck, or a house about to fall.

If rats gnaw the furniture of a room, there will be a death in the family ere long.--Grose.

⁂ The bucklers at Lanuvium being gnawed by rats, presaged ill fortune, and the battle of Marses, fought soon after, confirmed the superstition.

The Romans said that to see a white rat was a certain presage of good luck.--Pliny, Natural History, viii. 57.

Raven. Ravens are ill-omened birds.

Ravens seen on the left hand side of a person bode impending evil.

Ravens call up rain.

When ravens forsake a wood, it prognosticates famine.

This is because ravens bear the character of Saturn, the author of such calamities.--Athenian Oracle (supplement, 476).

Ravens forebode pestilence and death.

Ravens foster forsaken children.

It is said that King Arthur is not dead, but is only changed into a raven, and will in due time resume his proper form and rule over his people gloriously.

The raven was white till it turned tell-tale, and informed Apollo of the faithlessness of Corōnis. Apollo shot the nymph for her infidelity, but changed the plumage of the raven into inky blackness for his officious prating.--Ovid, Metamorphoses, ii.

If ravens gape against the sun, heat will follow; but if they busy themselves in preening or washing, there will be rain.

Rem´ora. A fish called the remora can arrest a ship in full sail.

Robin. The red of a robin’s breast is produced by the blood of Jesus. While the “Man of Sorrows” was on His way to Calvary, a robin plucked a thorn from His temples, and a drop of blood, falling on the bird, turned its bosom red.

Another legend is that the robin used to carry dew to refresh sinners parched in hell, and the scorching heat of the flames turned its feathers red.

If a robin finds a dead body unburied, it will cover the face at least, if not the whole body.--Grey, On Shakespeare, ii. 226.

It is unlucky either to keep or to kill a robin. J. H. Pott says, if any one attempts to detain a robin which has sought hospitality, let him “fear some new calamity.”--Poems (1780).

Salamander. The salamander lives in the fire.

Should a glass-house fire be kept up without extinction for more than seven years, there is no doubt but that a salamander will be generated in the cinders.--J. P. Andrews, Anecdotes, etc., 359.

The salamander seeks the hottest fire to breed in, but soon quenches it by the extreme coldness of its body.--Pliny, Natural History, x. 67; xxix. 4.

Food touched by a salamander is poisonous.--Ditto, xxix. 23.

Saliva. The human saliva is a cure for blindness.--Ditto, xxviii. 7.

If a man spits on a serpent, it will die. Ditto, vii. 2.

The human saliva is a charm against fascination and witchcraft.

To unbewitch the bewitched, you must spit into the shoe of your right foot.--Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584).

Spitting for luck is a most common superstition.

Fishwomen generally spit upon their hansel.--Grose.

A blacksmith who has to shoe a stubborn horse, spits in his hand to drive off the “evil spirit.”

If a pugilist spits in his hand, his blows will be more telling.--Pliny, Natural History, xxviii. 7.

Scorpion. Scorpions sting themselves.

Scorpions have an oil which is a remedy for their stings.

Spider. It is unlucky to kill a moneyspinner.

Small spiders, called “money-spinners,” prognosticate good luck, if they are not destroyed or removed from the person on whom they attach themselves.--Park.

The bite of a spider is venomous.

No spider will spin its web on an Irish oak.

Spiders will never set their webs on a cedar roof.--Caughey, Letters (1845).

Spiders indicate where gold is to be found. (See Spiders Indicators of Gold.)

There are no spiders in Ireland, because St. Patrick cleared the island of all vermin.

Spiders envenom whatever they touch.

A spider enclosed in a quilt and hung round the neck will cure the ague.--Mrs. Delany, A Letter dated March 1, 1743.

I ... hung three spiders about my neck, and they drove my ague away.--Elias Ashmole, Diary (April 11, 1681).

A spider worn in a nutshell round the neck is a cure for fever.

Spiders spin only on dark days.

Spiders have a natural antipathy to toads.

Stag. Stags draw, by their breath, serpents from their holes, and then trample them to death. (Hence the stag has been used to symbolize Christ.)--Pliny, Natural History, viii. 50.

Stork. It is unlucky to kill a stork.

According to Swedish legend, a stork fluttered round the cross of the crucified Redeemer, crying, Styrkê! styrkê! (“Strengthen ye! strengthen ye!”), and was hence called the styrk or stork, but ever after lost its voice.

Swallow. According to Scandinavian legend, the bird hovered over the cross of Christ, crying, Svalê! svalê! (“Cheer up! cheer up!”), and hence it received the name of svalê or swallow, “the bird of consolation.”

If a swallow builds on a house, it brings good luck.

The swallow is said to bring home from the seashore a stone which gives sight to her fledglings.

To kill a swallow is unlucky.

When swallows fly high, the weather will be fine.

Swan. The swan retires from observation when about to die, and sings most melodiously.

Swans a little before their death sing most sweetly.--Pliny, Natural History, x. 23.

The swanne cannot hatch without a cracke of 57thunder.--Lord Northampton, Defensive, etc. (1583).

Tarantula. The tarantula is poisonous.

The music of a tarantula will cure its venomous bite.

Toad. Toads spit poison, but they carry in their head an antidote thereto.

In the dog days, toads never open their mouths.

Toads are never found in Ireland, because St. Patrick cleared the island of all vermin.

Unicorn. Unicorns can be caught only by placing a virgin in their haunts.

The horn of a unicorn dipped into a liquor will show if it contains poison.

Viper. Young vipers destroy their mothers when they come to birth.

Weasel. To meet a weasel is unlucky.--Congreve, Love for Love.

You never catch a weasel asleep.

Wolf. If a wolf sees a man before the man sees the wolf, he will be struck dumb.

Men are sometimes changed into wolves.--Pliny, Natural History.

Wren. If any one kills a wren, he will break a bone before the year is out.

Miscellaneous. No animal dies near the sea, except at the ebbing of the tide.--Aristotle.

’A parted even just between twelve and one, e’en at the turning o’ the tide.--Shakespeare, Henry V. act. ii. sc. 3 (Falstaff’s death, 1599).

Superstitions about Precious Stones.

R. B. means Rabbi Benoni (fourteenth century); S. means Streeter, Precious Stones (1877).

Agate quenches thirst, and if held in the mouth, allays fever.--R. B.

It is supposed, at least, in fable, to render the wearer invisible, and also to turn the sword of foes against themselves.

The agate is an emblem of health and long life, and is dedicated to June. In the Zodiac it stands for Scorpio.

Amber is a cure for sore throats and all glandular swellings.--R. B.

It is said to be a concretion of birds’ tears.--Chambers.

The birds which wept amber were the sisters of Meleager, called Meleagrĭdês, who never ceased weeping for their brother’s death.--Pliny, Natural History, xxxvii. 2, 11.

Amethyst banishes the desire for drink, and promotes chastity.--R. B.

The Greeks thought that it counteracted the effects of wine.

The amethyst is an emblem of humility and sobriety. It is dedicated to February and Venus. In the Zodiac it stands for Sagittarius, in metallurgy for copper, in Christian art it is given to St. Matthew, and in the Roman Catholic Church it is set in the pastoral ring of bishops, whence it is called the “prelate’s gem,” or pierre d’évêque.

Cat’s-eye, considered by the Cingalese as a charm against witchcraft, and to be the abode of some genii.--S., 168.

Coral, a talisman against enchantments, witchcrafts, thunder, and other perils of flood and field. It was consecrated to Jupiter and Phœbus.--S., 233.

Red coral worn about the person is a certain cure for indigestion.--R. B.

Crystal induces visions, promotes sleep, and ensures good dreams.--R. B.

It is dedicated to the moon, and in metallurgy stands for silver.

58Diamond produces somnambulism, and promotes spiritual ecstasy.--R. B.

The diamond is an emblem of innocence, and is dedicated to April and the sun. In the Zodiac it stands for Virgo, in metallurgy for gold, in Christian art invulnerable faith.

Emerald promotes friendship and constancy of mind.--R. B.

If a serpent fixes its eyes on an emerald, it becomes blind.--Ahmed ben Abdalaziz, Treatise on Jewels.

The emerald is an emblem of success in love, and is dedicated to May. In the Zodiac, it signifies Cancer. It is dedicated to Mars, in metallurgy it means iron, and in Christian art, is given to St. John.

Garnet preserves health and joy.--R. B.

The garnet is an emblem of constancy, and, like the jacinth, is dedicated to January.

This was the carbuncle of the ancients, which they said gave out light in the dark.

Loadstone produces somnambulism.--R. B.

It is dedicated to Mercury, and in metallurgy means quicksilver.

Moonstone has the virtue of making trees fruitful, and of curing epilepsy.--Dioscorĭdês.

It contains in it an image of the moon, representing its increase and decrease every month.--Andreas Baccius.

Onyx contains in it an imprisoned devil, which wakes at sunset, and causes terror to the wearer, disturbing sleep with ugly dreams.--R. B.

Cupid, with the sharp point of his arrows, cut the nails of Venus during sleep, and the parings, falling into the Indus, sank to the bottom, and turned into onyxes.--S., 212.

In the Zodiac it stands for Aquarius; some say it is the emblem of August and conjugal love; in Christian art it symbolizes sincerity.

Opal is fatal to love, and sows discord between the giver and receiver.--R. B.

Given as an engagement token, it is sure to bring ill luck.

The opal is an emblem of hope, and is dedicated to October.

Ruby. The Burmese believe that rubies ripen like fruit. They say a ruby in its crude state is colorless, and, as it matures, changes first to yellow, then to green, then to blue, and lastly to a brilliant red, its highest state of perfection and ripeness.--S., 142.

The ruby signifies Aries in the Zodiacal signs; but some give it to December, and make it the emblem of brilliant success.

Sapphire produces somnambulism, and impels the wearer to all good works.--R. B.

In the Zodiac it signifies Leo, and in Christian art is dedicated to St. Andrew, emblematic of his heavenly faith and good hope. Some give this gem to April.

Topaz is favorable to hemorrhages, imparts strength, and promotes digestion.--R. B.

Les anciens regardaient la topaze comme utile contre l’épilepsie et la mélancolie.--Bouillet, Dict. Univ. des Sciences, etc. (1855).

The topaz is an emblem of fidelity, and is dedicated to November. In the Zodiac it signifies Taurus, and in Christian art is given to St. James the Less.

Turquoise, given by loving hands, carries with it happiness and good fortune. Its color always pales when the well-being of the giver is in peril.--S., 170.

The turquoise is an emblem of prosperity, and is dedicated to December. It is dedicated to Saturn, and stands for lead in metallurgy.

A bouquet composed of diamonds, loadstones and sapphires combined, renders a 59person almost invincible, and wholly irresistible.--R. B.

All precious stones are purified by honey.

All kinds of precious stones dipped into honey become more brilliant thereby, each according to its color, and all persons become more acceptable when they join devotion to their graces. Household cares are sweetened thereby, love is more loving, and business becomes more pleasant.--S. Francis de Salis, The Devout Life, iii. 13 (1708).

Supporters in Heraldry represent the pages who supported the banner. These pages, before the Tudor period, were dressed in imitation of the beasts, etc., which typified the bearings or cognizances of their masters.

Surface (Sir Oliver), the rich uncle of Joseph and Charles Surface. He appears under the assumed name of Premium Stanley.

Charles Surface, a reformed scapegrace, and the accepted lover of Maria, the rich ward of Sir Peter Teazle. In Charles, the evil of his character was all on the surface.

Joseph Surface, elder brother of Charles, an artful, malicious, but sentimental knave; so plausible in speech and manner as to pass for a “youthful miracle of prudence, good sense, and benevolence.” Unlike Charles, his good was all on the surface.--Sheridan, School for Scandal (1777).

Surgeon’s Daughter (The), a novel by Sir Walter Scott, laid in the time of George II. and III., and published in 1827. The heroine is Menie Gray, daughter of Dr. Gideon Gray, of Middlemas. Adam Hartley, the doctor’s apprentice, loves her, but Menie herself has given her heart to Richard Middlemas. It so falls out that Richard Middlemas goes to India. Adam Hartley also goes to India, and, as Dr. Hartley, rises high in his profession. One day, being sent for to visit a sick fakir´, he sees Menie Gray under the wing of Mde. Montreville. Her father had died, and she had come to India, under madame’s escort, to marry Richard; but Richard had entrapped the girl for a concubine in the harem of Tippoo Saib. When Dr. Hartley heard of this scandalous treachery, he told it to Hyder Ali, and the father of Tippoo Saib, who were so disgusted at the villainy that they condemned Richard Middlemas to be trampled to death by a trained elephant, and liberated Menie, who returned to her native country under the escort of Dr. Hartley.

Surgery (Father of French), Ambrose Paré (1517-1590).

Surly, a gamester and friend of Sir Epicure Mammon, but a disbeliever in alchemy in general, and in “doctor” Subtle in particular.--Ben Jonson, The Alchemist (1610).

Surplus (Mr.), a lawyer, Mrs. Surplus, and Charles Surplus, the nephew.--J. M. Morton, A Regular Fix.

Surrey (White), name of the horse used by Richard III. in the battle of Bosworth Field.

Surtur, a formidable giant, who is to set fire to the universe at Ragnarök, with flames collected from Muspelheim.--Scandinavian Mythology.

Sur´ya (2 syl.), the sun-god, whose car 60is drawn by seven green horses, the charioteer being Dawn.--Sir W. Jones, From the Veda.

Susanna, the wife of Joacim. She was accused of adultery by the Jewish elders, and condemned to death; but Daniel proved her innocence, and turned the criminal charge on the elders themselves.--History of Susanna.

Susannah, in Sterne’s novel entitled The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759).

Suspicions Husband (The), a comedy by Dr. Hoadly (1747). Mr. Strictland is suspicious of his wife, his ward, Jacintha, and Clarinda, a young lady visitor. With two attractive young ladies in the house, there is no lack of intrigue, and Strictland fancies that his wife is the object thereof; but when he discovers his mistake, he promises reform.

Sussex (The earl of), a rival of the earl of Leicester, in the court of Queen Elizabeth; introduced by Sir W. Scott in Kenilworth.

Sut´leme´me (4 syl.), a young lady attached to the suite of Nouron´ihar, the emir’s daughter. She greatly excelled in dressing a salad.

Sutor. Ne sutor supra Crepĭdam. A cobbler, having detected an error in the shoe-latchet of a statue made by Apellês, became so puffed up with conceit that he proceeded to criticize the legs also; but Apellês said to him, “Stick to the last, friend.” The cobbler is qualified to pass an opinion on shoes, but anatomy is quite another thing.

Boswell, one night sitting in the pit of Covent Garden Theatre, with his friend, Dr. Blair, gave an imitation of a cow lowing, which the house greatly applauded. He then ventured another imitation, but failed; whereupon the doctor turned to him and whispered in his ear, “Stick to the cow.”

A wigmaker sent a copy of verses to Voltaire, asking for his candid opinion on some poetry he had perpetrated. The witty patriarch of Ferney wrote on the MS., “Make wigs,” and returned it to the barber-poet.

Sutton (Sir William), uncle of Hero Sutton, the City maiden.--S. Knowles, Woman’s Wit, etc. (1838).

Suwarrow (Alexander), a Russian general, noted for his slaughter of the Poles in the suburbs of Warsaw, in 1794, and the still more shameful butchery of them on the bridge of Prague. After having massacred 30,000 in cold blood, Suwarrow went to return thanks to God “for giving him the victory.” Campbell, in his Pleasures of Hope, i., refers to this butchery; and Lord Byron, in Don Juan, vii., 8, 55, to the Turkish expedition (1786-1792).

Suzanne, the wife of Chalomel, the chemist and druggist.--J. R. Ware, Piperman’s Predicament.

Swallow’s Nest, the highest of the four castles of the German family called Landschaden, built on a pointed rock almost inaccessible. The founder was a noted robber-knight. (See “Swallow.”)

Swan. Fionnuāla, daughter of Lir, was transformed into a swan, and condemned 61to wander for many hundred years over the lakes and rivers of Ireland, till the introduction of Christianity into that island.

T. Moore has a poem on this subject in his Irish Melodies, entitled “The Song of Fionnuala” (1814).

Swan (The), called the bird of Apollo or of Orpheus (2 syl.). (See “Swan.”)

Swan (The knight of the), Helias, king of Lyleforte, son of King Oriant and Beatrice. This Beatrice had eight children at a birth, one of which was a daughter. The mother-in-law (Matabrune) stole these children, and changed all of them, except Helias, into swans. Helias spent all his life in quest of his sister and brothers, that he might disenchant them and restore them to their human forms.--Thoms, Early English Prose Romances, iii. (1858).

Eustachius vanit ad Buillon ad domum ducissæ quæ uxor erat militis qui vocabatur “Miles Cygni.”--Reiffenberg, Le Chevalier au Cygne.

Swan (The Mantuan), Virgil, born at Mantua (B.C. 70-19).

Swan (The Order of the). This order was instituted by Frederick II. of Brandenburg, in commemoration of the mythical “Knight of the Swan” (1443).

Swan-Tower, of Cleves. So called because the house of Cleves professed to be descended from the “Knight of the Swan” (q.v.)

Swan of Avon (The Sweet). Shakespeare was so called by Ben Jonson (1564-1616).

Swan of Cambray, Fénelon, archbishop of Cambray (1651-1715).

Swan of Lichfield, Miss Anna Seward, poetess (1747-1809).

Swan of Padua, Count Francesco Algarotti (1712-1764).

Swan of the Meander, Homer, a native of Asia Minor, where the Meander flows (fl. B.C. 950).

Swan of the Thames, John Taylor, “water-poet” (1580-1654).

Swane (1 syl.) or Swegen, surnamed “Fork-Beard,” king of the Danes, joined Alaff or Olaf [Tryggvesson] in an invasion: of England, was acknowledged king, and kept his court at Gainsbury. He commanded the monks of St. Edmund’s Bury, to furnish him a large sum of money, and as it was not forthcoming, went on horseback at the head of his host to destroy the minster, when he was stabbed to death by an unknown hand. The legend is that the murdered St. Edmund rose from his grave and smote him.

Swanston, a smuggler.--Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).

Swaran, king of Lochlin (Denmark), son and successor of Starno. He invaded Ireland in the reign of Cormac II. (a minor), and defeated Cuthullin, general of the Irish forces. When Fingal arrived 62the tide of battle was reversed, and Swaran surrendered. Fingal, out of love to Agandecca (Swaran’s sister), who once saved his life, dismissed the vanquished king with honor, after having invited him to a feast. Swaran is represented as fierce, proud and high-spirited; but Fingal as calm, moderate and generous.--Ossian, Fingal.

Swash-Buckler (A), a riotous, quarrelsome person. Nash says to Gabriel Harvey: “Turpe senex miles, ’tis time for such an olde fool to leave playing the swash-buckler” (1598).

Swedenborgians (called by themselves “The New Jerusalem Church”). They are believers in the doctrines taught by Dr. Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). Their views respecting salvation, the inspiration of the Bible, future life and the Trinity, differ widely from those of other Christians. In regard to the Trinity, they believe it to be centered in the person of Jesus Christ.

Swedish Nightingale (The), Jenny Lind, the public singer. She married Mr. Goldschmidt, and retired (1821-1887).

Swee´dlepipe (Paul), known as “Poll,” barber and bird-fancier; Mrs. Gamp’s landlord. He is a little man, with a shrill voice but a kind heart, in appearance “not unlike the birds he was so fond of.” Mr. Sweedlepipe entertains a profound admiration of Bailey, senior, whom he considers to be a cyclopædia “of all the stable-knowledge of the time.”--C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).

Sweepclean (Saunders), a king’s messenger at Knockwinnock Castle.--Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary (time, George III.).

Sweet Singer of Israel (The), King David.

Sweet Singer of the Temple, George Herbert, author of a poem called The Temple (1593-1633).

Sweno, son of the king of Denmark. While bringing succors to Godfrey, he was attacked in the night by Solyman, at the head of an army of Arabs, and himself and all his followers were left dead on the field. Sweno was buried in a marble sepulchre, which appeared miraculously on the field of battle, expressly for his interment (bk. viii.).--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).

This is a very parallel case to that of Rhesus. This Thracian prince was on his march to Troy, bringing succors to Priam, but Ulysses and Diomed attacked him at night, slew Rhesus and his army, and carried off all the horses.--Homer, Iliad, x.

Swertha, housekeeper of the elder Mertoun (formerly a pirate).--Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).

Swidger (William), custodian of a college. His wife was Milly, and his father, Philip. Mr. Swidger was a great talker, and generally began with, “That’s what I say,” à propos of nothing.--C. Dickens, The Haunted Man (1848).

Swimmers. Leander used to swim across the Hellespont every night to visit Hero.--Musæus, De Amore Herois et Leandri.

Lord Byron and Lieutenant Ekenhead accomplished the same feat in 1 hr., 10 min., the distance (allowing for drifting) being four miles.

A young native of St. Croix, in 1817, swam over the Sound “from Cronenburgh 63[? Cronberg] to Graves” in 2 hrs., 40 min., the distance being six English miles.

Captain Boynton, in May, 1875, swam or floated across the channel from Grisnez to Fan Bay (Kent) in 23 hrs.

Captain Webb, August 24, 1875, swam from Dover to Calais, a distance of about thirty miles including drift, in 22 hrs., 40 min.

H. Gurr was one of the best swimmers ever known. J. B. Johnson, in 1871, won the championship for swimming.

Swing (Captain), a name assumed by certain persons, who, between 1830 and 1833, used to send threatening letters to those who used threshing-machines. The letters ran thus:

Sir, if you do not lay by your threshing-machine, you will hear from Swing.

Swiss Family Robinson. This tale is an abridgment of a German tale, by Joachim Heinrich Kampe.

Switzers, guards attendant on a king, irrespective of their nationality. So called because at one time the Swiss were always ready to fight for hire.

The king, in Hamlet, says, “Where are my Switzers?” i.e., my attendants; and in Paris, to the present day, we may see written up, Parlez au Suisse (“speak to the porter”), be he Frenchman, German, or any other nation.

Law, logicke, and the Switzers may be hired to fight for anybody.--Nashe, Christ’s Tears over Jerusalem (1594).

Swiveller (Mr. Dick), a dirty, smart, young man, living in apartments near Drury Lane. His language was extremely flowery, and interlarded with quotations: “What’s the odds,” said Mr. Swiveller, à propos of nothing, “so long as the fire of the soul is kindled at the taper of conwiviality, and the wing of friendship never moults a feather?” His dress was a brown body-coat, with a great many brass buttons up the front, and only one behind, a bright check neckcloth, a plaid waistcoat, soiled white trousers, and a very limp hat, worn the wrong side foremost, to hide a hole in the brim. The breast of his coat was ornamented with the cleanest end of a very large pocket-handkerchief; his dirty wristbands were pulled down and folded over his cuffs; he had no gloves, and carried a yellow cane, having a bone handle, and a little ring. He was forever humming some dismal air. He said min for “man,” forgit, jine; called wine or spirits “the rosy,” sleep “the balmy,” and generally shouted in conversation, as if making a speech from the chair of the “Glorious Apollers” of which he was perpetual “grand.” Mr. Swiveller looked amiably towards Miss Sophy Wackles, of Chelsea. Quilp introduced him as clerk, to Mr. Samson Brass, solicitor, Bevis Marks. By Quilp’s request, he was afterwards turned away, fell sick of a fever, through which he was nursed by “the marchioness” (a poor house-drab), whom he married, and was left by his Aunt Rebecca an annuity of £125.

“Is that a reminder to go and pay?” said Trent, with a sneer. “Not exactly, Fred,” replied Richard. “I enter in this little book the names of the streets that I can’t go down while the shops are open. This dinner to-day closes Long Acre. I bought a pair of boots in Great Queen Street, last week, and made that ‘no thoroughfare’ too. There’s only one avenue to the Strand left open now, and I shall have to stop up that to-night with a pair of gloves. The roads are closing so fast in every direction, that in about a month’s time, unless my aunt sends me a remittance, I shall have to go three or four miles out of town to get over the way.”--C. Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, viii (1840).

64Sword. (For the names of the most famous swords in history and fiction, see Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 869.) Add the following:--

Ali’s sword, Zulfagar.

Koll, the Thrall’s sword, named Greysteel.

Ogier, the Dane, had two swords, made by Munifican, viz., Sauvagine and Courtain or Curtāna.

Strong-o’-the-Arm had three swords, viz., Baptism, Florence, and Graban made by Ansias.

Sword (The Marvel of the). When King Arthur first appears on the scene, he is brought into notice by the “Marvel of the Sword;” and Sir Galahad, who was to achieve the Holy Graal, was introduced to knighthood by a similar adventure. That of Arthur is thus described:

In the greatest church of London ... there was seen in the churchyard, against the high altar, a great stone, foursquare, like to a marble stone, and in the midst thereof, was an anvil of steel a foot in height, and therein stuck a fair sword, naked by the point, and letters of gold were written about the sword that said thus: Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born of England. [Arthur was the only person who could draw it out, so he was acknowledged to be the rightful king.]--Pt. i. 3, 4.

The sword adventure of Sir Galahad, at the age of 15, is thus given:

The king and his knights came to the river and they found there a stone floating, as it had been of red marble, and therein stuck a fair and rich sword, and in the pomell thereof were precious stones, wrought with subtil letters of gold. Then the barons read the letters, which said in this wise: Never shall man take me hence, but only he by whom I ought to hang, and he shall be the best knight of the world. [Sir Galahad drew the sword easily, but no other knight was able to pull it forth.]--Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, iii. 30, 31 (1470).

A somewhat similar adventure occurs in the Amădis de Gaul. Whoever succeeded in drawing from a rock an enchanted sword, was to gain access to a subterranean treasure (ch. cxxx.; see also lxxii. xcix.).

Sword (The Irresistible). The king of Araby and Ind sent Cambuscan´, king of Tartary, a sword that would pierce any armor, and if the smiter chose he could heal the wound again by striking it with the flat of the blade.--Chaucer, The Squire’s Tale (1388).

Sword and the Maiden (The). Soon after King Arthur succeeded to the throne, a damsel came to Camelot girded with a sword which no man defiled by “shame, treachery, or guile” could draw from its scabbard. She had been to the court of King Ryence, but no knight there could draw it. King Arthur tried to draw it, but with no better success; all his knights tried also, but none could draw it. At last a poor ragged knight named Balin, who had been held in prison for six months, made the attempt, and drew the sword with the utmost ease, but the knights insisted it had been done by witchcraft. The maiden asked Sir Balin to give her the sword, but he refused to do so, and she then told him it would bring death to himself and his dearest friend; and so it did; for when he and his brother, Balan, jousted together, unknown to each other, both were slain, and were buried in one tomb.--Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 27-44 (1470).

Sword in the City Arms (London). Stow asserts that the sword or dagger in the City arms was not added in commemoration 65of Walworth’s attack on Wat Tyler, but that it represents the sword of St. Paul, the patron saint of London. This is not correct. Without doubt the cognizance of the City, previous to 1381, was St. Paul’s sword, but after the death of Tyler, it was changed into Walworth’s dagger.

Sword of God (The). Khaled, the conqueror of Syria (632-8), was so called by Mohammedans.

Sword of Rome (The), Marcellus. Fabius was called “The Shield of Rome” (time of Hannibal’s invasion).

Swordsman (The Handsome). Joachim Murat was called Le Beau Sabreur (1767-1815).

Syb´arite (3 syl.), an effeminate man, a man of pampered self-indulgence. Seneca tells us of a sybarite who could not endure the nubble of a folded rose leaf in his bed.

Sybrandt, cousin and lover of Catalina, in The Dutchman’s Fireside, by James Kirke Paulding. The girl, half-spoiled by city life, is now ashamed of her rustic lover in his snuff-colored suit; anon, believes all the slanderous tales she hears of him, and, when she witnesses his terrible struggle with the Indian who sought her life, knows that she loves him truly and entirely (1831).

Syc´orax, a foul witch, the mistress of Ariel, the fairy spirit, by whom for some offence he was imprisoned in the rift of a cloven pine tree. After he had been kept there for twelve years, he was liberated by Prospero, the rightful duke of Milan, and father of Miranda. Sycorax was the mother of Caliban.--Shakespeare, The Tempest (1609).

If you had told Sycorax that her son, Caliban, was as handsome as Apollo, she would have been pleased, witch as she was.--Thackeray.

Those foul and impure mists which their pens, like the raven wings of Sycorax, had brushed from fern and bog.--Sir W. Scott, The Drama.

Syddall (Anthony), house-steward at Osbaldistone Hall.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).

Sydenham (Charles), the frank, open-hearted, trusty friend of the Woodvilles.--Cumberland, The Wheel of Fortune (1779).

Syl, a monster like a basilisk, with human face, but so terrible that no one could look on it and live.

Sylla (Cornelius), the rival of Ma´rius. Being consul, he had, ex-officio, a right to lead in the Mithridatic war (B.C. 88), but Marius got the appointment of Sylla set aside in favor of himself. Sylla, in dudgeon, hastened back to Rome, and insisted that the “recall” should be reversed. Marius fled. Sylla pursued the war with success, returned to Rome in triumph, and made a wholesale slaughter of the Romans who had opposed him. As many as 7000 soldiers and 5000 private 66citizens fell in this massacre, and all their goods were distributed among his own partisans. Sylla was now called “Perpetual Dictator,” but in two years retired into private life, and died the year following (B.C. 78).

Jouy has a good tragedy in French called Sylla (1822), and the character of “Sylla” was a favorite one with Talma, the French actor. In 1594, Thomas Lodge produced his historical play called Wounds of Civil War, lively set forth in the True Tragedies of Marius and Sylla.

Sylli (Signor), an Italian exquisite, who walks fantastically, talks affectedly, and thinks himself irresistible. He makes love to Cami´ola, “the maid of honor,” and fancies, by posturing, grimaces, and affectation, to “make her dote on him.” He says to her, “In singing, I am a Siren,” in dancing, a Terpsichŏrê. “He could tune a ditty lovely well,” and prided himself “on his pretty spider fingers, and the twinkling of his two eyes.” Of course, Camiŏla sees no charms in these effeminacies; but the conceited puppy says he “is not so sorry for himself as he is for her” that she rejects him. Signor Sylli is the silliest of all the Syllis.--Massinger, The Maid of Honor (1637). (See Tappertit.)

Sylvia, daughter of Justice Balance, and an heiress. She is in love with Captain Plume, but promised her father not to “dispose of herself to any man without his consent.” As her father feared Plume was too much a libertine to make a steady husband, he sent Sylvia into the country to withdraw her from his society; but she dressed in her brother’s military suit, assumed the name of Jack Wilful, alias Pinch, and enlisted. When the names were called over by the justices, and that of “Pinch” was brought forward, Justice Balance “gave his consent for the recruit to dispose of [himself] to Captain Plume,” and the permission was kept to the letter, though not in its intent. However, the matter had gone too far to be revoked, and the father made up his mind to bear with grace what without disgrace he could not prevent.--G. Farquhar, The Recruiting Officer (1705).

I am troubled neither with spleen, colic, nor vapors, I need no salts for my stomach, no harts-horn for my head, nor any wash for my complexion. I can gallop all the morning after the hunting-horn, and all the evening after a fiddle.--Act i. 2.

Sylvio de Rosalva (Don), the hero and title of a novel by C. M. Wieland (1733-1813). Don Sylvio, a quixotic believer in fairyism, is gradually converted to common sense by the extravagant demands which are made on his belief, assisted by the charms of a mortal beauty. The object of this romance is a crusade against the sentimentalism and religious foolery of the period.

Symkyn (Symond), nicknamed “Disdainful,” a miller, living at Trompington, near Cambridge. His face was round, his nose flat, and his skull “pilled as an ape’s.” He was a thief of corn and meal, but stole craftily. His wife was the village parson’s daughter, very proud and arrogant. He tried to outwit Aleyn and John, two Cambridge scholars, but was himself outwitted, and most roughly handled also.--Chaucer, Canterbury Tales “The Reeve’s Tale,” (1388)(1388).

Symmes’s Hole. Captain John Cleve Symmes maintained that there was, at 82° N. lat., an enormous opening through the crust of the earth into the globe. The place to which it led he asserted to be well 67stocked with animals and plants, and to be lighted by two under-ground planets named Pluto and Proserpine. Captain Symmes asked Sir Humphrey Davy to accompany him in the exploration of this enormous “hole” (*-1829).

Halley, the astronomer (1656-1742), and Holberg, of Norway (1684-1754), believed in the existence of this hole.

Symon´ides the Good, king of Pentap´olis.--Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1608).

Symphony (The Father of) Francis Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)(1732-1809).

Synia, the portress of Valhalla.--Scandinavian Mythology.

Syntax (Dr.), a simple-minded, pious, hen-pecked clergyman, green as grass, but of excellent taste and scholarship, who left home in search of the picturesque. His adventures are told by William Coombe in eight-syllable verse, called The Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque (1812.)

Dr. Syntax’s Horse was called Grizzle, all skin and bone.

Synter´esis, Conscience personified.

Syphax, chief of the Arabs who joined the Egyptian armament against the crusaders. “The voices of these allies were feminine, and their stature small.”--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xvii. (1575).

Syphax, an old Numidian soldier in the suite of Prince Juba, in Utĭca. He tried to win the prince from Cato to the side of Cæsar; but Juba was too much in love with Marcia (Cato’s daughter) to listen to him. Syphax, with his “Numidian horse,” deserted in the battle to Cæsar, but the “hoary traitor” was slain by Marcus, the son of Cato.--Addison, Cato (1713).

Syrinx, a nymph beloved by Pan, and changed at her own request into a reed, of which Pan made his pipe.--Greek Fable.

Syrinx, in Spenser’s Eclogue, iv., is Anne Boleyn, and “Pan” is Henry VIII. (1579).

Tusser has a poem on Thriftiness, twelve lines in length, and in rhyme, every word of which begins with t (died 1580). Leon Placentius, a Dominican, wrote a poem in Latin hexameters, called Pugna Porcorum, 253 lines long, every word of which begins with p (died 1548).

Taau, the god of thunder. The natives of the Hervey Islands believe that thunder is produced by the shaking of Taau’s wings.--John Williams, Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands, 109 (1837).

Tabakiera, a magic snuff-box which, upon being opened, said, Que quieres? (“What do you want?”); and, upon being told the wish, it was there and then accomplished. The snuff-box is the counterpart of Aladdin’s lamp, but appears in numerous legends slightly varied (see for example Campbell’s Tales of the West Highlands, ii. 293-303, “The Widow’s Son”).--Rev. W. Webster, Basque Legends, 94 (1876).

Tabarin, a famous vender of quack medicines, born at Milan, who went to Paris in the seventeenth century. By his antics and rude wit he collected great crowds together, and in ten years (1620-30) became rich enough to buy a handsome château in Dauphine. The French aristocracy, unable to bear the satire of a charlatan in a château, murdered him.

The jests and witty sayings of this farceur were collected together in 1622, and published under the title of L’inventaire Universel des Œuvres de Tabarin, contenant ses Fantaisies, Dialogues, Paradoxes, Farces, etc.

In 1858 an edition of his works was published by G. Aventin.

Tachebrune (2 syl.), the horse of Ogier le Dane. The word means “brown spot.”

Taciturnian, an inhabitant of L’Isle Taciturne, or Taciturna, meaning London and the Londoners.

A thick and perpetual vapor covers this island, and fills the souls of the inhabitants with a certain sadness, misanthropy, and irksomeness 69of their own existence. Alaciel [the genius] was hardly at the first barriers of the metropolis when he fell in with a peasant bending under the weight of a bag of gold ... but his heart was sad and gloomy ... and he said to the genius, “Joy! I know it not; I never heard of it in this island.”--De la Dixmie, L’Isle Taciturne et l’Isle Enjouée (1759).

Tacket (Tibb), the wife of old Martin, the shepherd of Julian Avenel, of Avenel Castle.--Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).

Tackleton, a toy merchant, called Gruff and Tackleton, because at one time Gruff had been his partner; he had, however, been bought out long ago. Tackleton was a stern, sordid, grinding man; ugly in looks, and uglier in his nature; cold and callous, selfish and unfeeling; his look was sarcastic and malicious; one eye was always wide open, and one nearly shut. He ought to have been a money-lender, a sheriff’s officer, or a broker, for he hated children and hated playthings. It was his greatest delight to make toys which scared children, and you could not please him better than to say that a toy from his warehouse had made a child miserable the whole Christmas holidays, and had been a nightmare to it for half its child-life. This amiable creature was about to marry May Fielding, when her old sweetheart, Edward Plummer, thought to be dead, returned from South America, and married her. Tackleton was reformed by Peerybingle, the carrier, bore his disappointment manfully, sent the bride and bridegroom his own wedding-cake, and joined the festivities of the marriage banquet.--C. Dickens, The Cricket on the Hearth (1845).

Taffril (Lieutenant), of H. M. gunbrig Search. He is in love with Jenny Caxton, the milliner.--Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary (time, George III.).

Taffy, a Welshman. The word is simply Davy (David) pronounced with aspiration. David is the most common Welsh name; Sawney (Alexander), the most common Scotch; Pat (Patrick), the most common Irish; and John (John Bull), the most common English. So we have Cousin Michael for a German, Micaire for a Frenchman, Colin Tampon for a Swiss, and Brother Jonathan in the United States.

Tag, wife of Puff, and lady’s maid to Miss Biddy Bellair.--D. Garrick, Miss in Her Teens (1753).

Tahmuras, a king of Persia, whose exploits in Fairy-land among the peris and deevs are fully set forth by Richardson, in his Dissertation.

Tails (Men with). The Niam-niams, an African race between the gulf of Benin and Abyssinia, are said to have tails. Mons. de Castlenau (1851) tells us that the Niam-niams “have tails forty centimetres long, and between two and three centimetres in diameter.” Dr. Hubsch, physician to the hospitals of Constantinople, says, in 1853, that he carefully examined a Niam-niam negress, and that her tail was two inches long. Mons. d’Abbadie, in his Abyssynian Travels (1852), tells us that south of the Herrar is a place where all the men have tails, but not the females. “I have examined,” he says, “fifteen of them, and am positive that the tail is a natural appendage.” Dr. Wolf, in his Travels and Adventures, ii. (1861), says: “There are both men and women in Abyssinia with tails like dogs and horses.” He heard that, near Narea, in Abyssinia, there 70were men and women with tails so muscular that they could “knock down a horse with a blow.”

John Struys, a Dutch traveller, says, in his Voyages (1650), that “all the natives on the south of Formosa have tails.” He adds that he himself personally saw one of these islanders with a tail “more than a foot long.”

It is said that the Ghilane race, which numbers between 30,000 and 40,000 souls, and dwell “far beyond the Senaar,” have tails three or four inches long. Colonel du Corret assures us that he himself most carefully examined one of the race named Bellal, a slave belonging to an emir in Mecca, whose house he frequented.--World of Wonders, 206.

The Poonangs, of Borneo, are said to be a tail-bearing race.

Individual Examples. Dr. Hubsch says that he examined at Constantinople the son of a physician whom he knew intimately, who had a decided tail, and so had his grandfather.

In the middle of the present (the nineteenth) century, all the newspapers made mention of the birth of a boy at Newcastle-on-Tyne with a tail, which “wagged when he was pleased.”

In the College of Surgeons at Dublin may be seen a human skeleton with a tail seven inches long.

Tails given by way of Punishment. Polydore Vergil asserts that when Thomas á Becket came to Stroud, the mob cut off the tail of his horse, and in eternal reproach, “both they and their offspring bore tails.” Lambarde repeats the same story in his Perambulation of Kent (1576).

For Becket’s sake Kent always shall have tails.--Andrew Marvel.

John Bale, bishop of Ossory, in the reign of Edward VI., tells us that John Capgrave and Alexander of Esseby have stated it as a fact that certain Dorsetshire men cast fishes’ tails at St. Augustine, in consequence of which “the men of this county have borne tails ever since.”

We all know the tradition that Cornish men are born with tails.

Taillefer, a valiant warrior and minstrel in the army of William the Conqueror. At the battle of Hastings (or Senlac) he stimulated the ardor of the Normans by songs in praise of Charlemagne and Roland. The soldier-minstrel was at last borne down by numbers, and fell fighting.

He was a juggler or minstrel, who could sing songs and play tricks.... So he rode forth singing as he went, and as some say, throwing his sword up in the air and catching it again.--E. A. Freeman, Old English History, 332.

Tailors of Tooley Street (The Three). Canning tells us of three tailors of Tooley Street, Southwark, who addressed a petition of grievances to the House of Commons, beginning with these words, “We, the people of England.”

The “deputies of Vaugirard” presented themselves before Charles VIII. of France. When the king asked how many there were, the usher replied, “Only one, an please your majesty.”

Taj, in Agra (East India), the mausoleum built by Shah Jehan to his favorite sultana, Moomtaz-i-Mahul, who died in childbirth of her eighth child. It is of white marble, and is so beautiful that it is called “A Poem in Marble,” and “The Marble Queen of Sorrow.”

Talbert [Tŏl´.but], John Talbert or rather Talbot. “The English Achillês,” first earl of Shrewsbury (1373-1453).

Tallbot (John), a name of terror in France. Same as above.

They in France, to feare their young children, crye, “The Talbot commeth!”--Hall, Chronicles (1545).

Talbot (Colonel), an English officer, and one of Waverley’s friends.--Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).

Talbot (Lord Arthur), a cavalier who won the love of Elvira, daughter of Lord Walton; but his lordship had promised his daughter in marriage to Sir Richard Ford, a puritan officer. The betrothal being set aside, Lord Talbot became the accepted lover, and the marriage ceremony was fixed to take place at Plymouth. In the mean time, Lord Arthur assisted the Dowager Queen Henrietta to escape, and on his return to England was arrested by the soldiers of Cromwell, and condemned to death; but Cromwell, feeling secure of his position, commanded all political prisoners to be released, so Lord Arthur was set at liberty, and married Elvira.--Bellini, I Puritani (1834).

Talbot (Lying Dick), the nickname given to Tyrconnel, the Irish Jacobite, who held the highest offices in Ireland in the reign of James II., and in the early part of William III.’s reign (died 1691).

Tale of a Tub, a comedy by Ben Jonson (1618). This was the last comedy brought out by him on the stage; the first was Every Man in His Humor (1598).

In the Tale of a Tub, he [Ben Jonson] follows the path of Aristoph´anês, and lets his wit run into low buffoonery, that he might bring upon the stage Inigo Jones, his personal enemy.--Sir Walter Scott, The Drama.

Tale of a Tub, a religious satire by Dean Swift (1704). Its object is to ridicule the Roman Catholics under the name of Peter, and the Presbyterians under the name of Jack [Calvin]. The Church of England is represented by Martin [Luther].

Gulliver’s Travels and the Tale of a Tub must ever be the chief corner-stones of Swift’s fame.--Chambers, English Literature, ii. 547.

Tales (Chinese), being the transmigrations of the mandarin, Fum-Hoam, told to Gulchenraz, daughter of the king of Georgia. (See Fum-Hoam.)--T. S. Gueulette (originally in French, 1723).

Tales (Fairy), a series of tales, originally in French, by the Comtesse D’Aunoy, D’Aulnoy, or D’Anois (1698). Some are very near copies of the Arabian Nights. The best-known are “Cherry and Fairstar,” “The Yellow Dwarf,” and “The White Cat.”

About the same time (1697), Claude Perrault published, in French, his famous Fairy Tales, chiefly taken from the Sagas of Scandinavia.

Tales (Moral), twenty-three tales by Marmontel, originally in French (1761). They were intended for draughts of dramas. The design of the first tale, called “Alcibiădês,” is to expose the folly of expecting to be loved “merely for one’s self.” The design of the second tale, called “Soliman II.,” is to expose the folly of attempting to gain woman’s love by any other 72means than reciprocal love; and so on. The second tale has been dramatized.

Tales (Oriental), by the Comte de Caylus, originally in French (1743). A series of tales supposed to be told by Moradbak, a girl of 14, to Hudjadge, shah of Persia, who could not sleep. It contains the tale of “The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.” (See Moradbak.)

Tales of a Grandfather, in three series, by Sir W. Scott; told to Hugh Littlejohn, who was between five and six years of age (1828). These tales are supposed to be taken from Scotch chronicles, and embrace the most prominent and graphic incidents of Scotch history. Series i., to the amalgamation of the two crowns in James I.; series ii., to the union of the two parliaments in the reign of Queen Anne; series iii., to the death of Charles Edward, the Young Pretender.

Tales of My Landlord, tales supposed to be told by the landlord of the Wallace inn, in the parish of Gandercleuch, “edited and arranged by Jedediah Cleishbotham, schoolmaster and parish clerk” of the same parish, but in reality corrected and arranged by his usher, Peter or Patrick Pattison, who lived to complete five of the novels, but died before the last two were issued. These novels are arranged thus: First Series, “The Black Dwarf” and “Old Mortality;” Second Series, “Heart of Midlothian;” Third Series, “Bride of Lammermoor” and “Legend of Montrose;” Posthumous, “Count Robert of Paris” and “Castle Dangerous.”--Sir W. Scott. (See Black Dwarf, introduction.)

Tales of the Crusaders, by Sir W. Scott, include The Betrothed and The Talisman.

Tales of the Genii, that is, tales told by the genii to Iracagem, their chief, respecting their tutelary charges, or how they had discharged their functions as the guardian genii of man. Patna and Coulor, children of Giualar (imân of Terki), were permitted to hear these accounts rendered, and hence they have reached our earth. The genius, Barhaddan, related the history of his tutelary charge of Abu´dah, a merchant of Bagdad. The genius, Mamlouk, told how he had been employed in watching over the Dervise Alfouran. Next, Omphram recounted his labors as the tutelar genius of Hassan Assar, caliph of Bagdad. The genius, Hassarack, tells his experience in the tale of Kelaun and Guzzarat. The fifth was a female genius, by name, Houadir, who told the tale of Urad, the fair wanderer, her ward on earth. Then rose the sage genius, Macoma, and told the tale of the Sultan Misnar, with the episodes of Mahoud and the princess of Cassimir. The affable Adiram, the tutelar genius of Sadak and Kalas´rade, told of their battle of life. Last of all rose the venerable genius, Nadan, and recounted the history of his earthly charge, named Mirglip, the dervise. These tales are from the Persian, and are ascribed to Horam, son of Asmar.

Talgol, a butcher in Newgate market, who obtained a captain’s commission in Cromwell’s army for his bravery at Naseby.

Taliesin or Taliessin, son of St. Henwig, 73chief of the bards of the West, in the time of King Arthur (sixth century). In the Mabinogion, are given the legends connected with him, several specimens of his songs, and all that is historically known about him. The bursting in of the sea through the neglect of Seithenin, who had charge of the embankment, and the ruin which it brought on Gwyddno Garanhir, is allegorized by the bursting of a pot called the “caldron of inspiration,” through the neglect of Gwion Bach, who was set to watch it.

Talisman (The), a novel by Sir W. Scott, and one of the best of the thirty-two which he wrote (1825). It relates how Richard Cœur de Lion was cured of a fever in the Holy Land, by Saladin, the soldan, his noble enemy. Saladin, hearing of his illness, assumed the disguise of Adonbec el Hakim, the physician, and visited the king. He filled a cup with spring water, into which he dipped the talisman, a little red purse that he took from his bosom, and when it had been steeped long enough, he gave the draught to the king to drink (ch. ix.). During the king’s sickness, the archduke of Austria planted his own banner beside that of England; but as soon as Richard recovered from his fever he tore down the Austrian banner, and gave it in custody to Sir Kenneth. While Kenneth was absent he left his dog in charge of it, but on his return, found the dog wounded, and the banner stolen. King Richard, in his rage, ordered Sir Kenneth to execution, but pardoned him on the intercession of “the physician” (Saladin). Sir Kenneth’s dog showed such a strange aversion to the Marquis de Montserrat, that suspicion was aroused, the marquis was challenged to single combat, and, being overthrown by Sir Kenneth, confessed that he had stolen the banner. The love story interwoven is that between Sir Kenneth, the prince royal of Scotland, and Lady Edith Plantagenet, the king’s kinswoman, with whose marriage the tale concludes.

Talismans (The Four). Houna, surnamed Seidel-Beckir, a talismanist, made three of great value: viz., a little golden fish, which would fetch out of the sea whatever it was bidden; a poniard, which rendered invisible not only the person bearing it, but all those he wished to be so; and a ring of steel, which enabled the wearer to read the secretssecrets of men’s hearts. The fourth talisman was a bracelet, which preserved the wearer from poison.--Comte de Caylus, Oriental Tales (“The Four Talismans,” 1743).

Talking-Bird (The), called Bulbulhe´zar. It had the power of human speech, and when it sang all the song-birds in the vicinity came and joined in concert. It was also oracular, and told the sultan the tale of his three children, and how they had been exposed by the sultana’s two jealous sisters.--Arabian Nights (“The Two Sisters,” the last tale).

The talking bird is called “the little green bird” in “The Princess Fairstar,” one of the Fairy Tales of the Comtesse D’Aunoy (1682).

Tallboy (Old), forester of St. Mary’s Convent.--Sir W. Scott, Monastery (time, Elizabeth).

Talleyrand. This name, anciently written “Taileran,” was originally a sobriquet 74derived from the words tailler les rangs (“cut through the ranks”).

Talleyrand is generally credited with the mot: “La parole a été donnée à l’homme pour l’aider à cacher sa pensée [or déguiser la pensée];” but they were spoken by Comte de Montrond, “the most agreeable scoundrel in the court of Marie Antoinette.”--Captain Gronow, Recollections and Anecdotes.

Voltaire, sixty years previously, had said: “Ils n’employent les paroles que pour déguiser leurs pensées.”--Le Chapon et la Poularde.

And Goldsmith, in 1759, when Talleyrand was about four years old, had published the sentence: “The true use of speech is not so much to express our wants as to conceal them.”--The Bee, iii.

Talos, a son of Perdix, sister of Dædălos, inventor of the saw, compasses, and other mechanical instruments. His uncle, jealous of him, threw him from the citadel of Athens, and he was changed into a partridge.

Talos, a man of brass, made by Hephæstos (Vulcan). This wonderful automaton was given to Minos to patrol the island of Crete. It traversed the island thrice every day, and if a stranger came near, made itself red hot, and squeezed him to death.

Talus, an iron man, representing power or the executive of a state. He was Astræa’s groom, whom the goddess gave to Sir Artĕgal. This man of iron, “unmovable and resistless without end,” “swift as a swallow, and as a lion strong,” carried in his hand an iron flail, “with which he threshed out falsehood, and did truth unfold.” When Sir Artegal fell into the power of Radigund, queen of the Amăzons, Talus brought Britomart to the rescue.--Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. 1 (1596).

Talut. So the Mohammedans call Saul.

Verily God hath sent Talût king over you .... Samuel said, Verily God hath chosen him, and hath caused him to increase in knowledge and stature.--Al Korân, ii.

Talvi, a pseudonym of Mrs. Robinson. It is simply the initials of her maiden name, Therese Albertine Louise von Iakob.

Tam o’ Todshaw, a huntsman, near Charlie’s Hope Farm.--Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).

Tam o’ the Cowgate, the sobriquet of Sir Thomas Hamilton, a Scotch lawyer, who lived in the Cowgate, at Edinburgh (*-1563).

Tam O’ Shanter, drunken peasant who looks into the lighted windows of Alloway Kirk one night, on his way home from the tavern, and watches the witches dance. He is discovered and chased by the hags. In crossing the bridge, a witch who has sprung upon his crupper, seizes his horse’s tail, and he leaves it with her, since she cannot cross running water.--Robert Burns, Tam O’ Shanter.

Tamburlaine the Great (or Timour Lengh), the Tartar conqueror. In history called Tamerlane. He had only one hand and was lame (1336-1405). The hero and title of a tragedy by C. Marlowe (1587). Shakespeare (2 Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4) makes Pistol quote a part of this turgid play.

75(In the stage direction in Marlowe’s play:

Enter Tamburlaine, drawn in his chariot by Treb´izon and Soria, with bits in their mouths, reins in his left hand, in his right a whip with which he scourgeth them.)

N. Rowe has a tragedy entitled Tamerlane (q. v.).

Tamer Tamed (The), a kind of sequel to Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew. In the Tamer Tamed, Petruchio is supposed to marry a second wife, by whom he is hen-pecked.--Beaumont and Fletcher (1647).

Tamerlane, emperor of Tartary, in Rowe’s tragedy so called, is a noble, generous, high-minded prince, the very glass of fashion for all conquerors, in his forgiveness of wrongs, and from whose example Christians might be taught their moral code. Tamerlane treats Bajazet, his captive, with truly godlike clemency, till the fierce sultan plots his assassination. Then, longer forbearance would have been folly, and the Tartar has his untamed captive chained in a cage, like a wild beast.--N. Rowe, Tamerlane (1702).

It is said that Louis XIV. was Rowe’s “Bajazet,” and William III. his “Tamerlane.”

⁂ Tamerlane is a corruption of Timour Lengh (“Timour, the lame”). He was one-handed and lame also. His name was used by the Persians in terrorem. (See Tamburlaine the Great.)

Taming of the Shrew (The), a comedy by Shakespeare (1594). The “shrew” is Kathari´na, elder daughter of Baptista, of Padua, and she is tamed by the stronger mind of Petruchio into a most obedient and submissive wife.

This drama is founded on A pleasaunt conceited Historie, called The Taming of a Shrew. As it hath beene sundry times acted by the right honourable the earle of Pembrooke his servants, 1607. The induction is borrowed from Heuterus, Rerum Burgundearum, iv., a translation of which into English, by E. Grimstone, appeared in 1607. The same trick was played by Haroun-al-Raschid, on the merchant Abou Hassan (Arabian Nights, “The Sleeper Awakened”); and by Philippe the Good of Burgundy. (See Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, II. ii. 4; see also The Frolicksome Duke, or the Tinker’s Good Fortune (a ballad), Percy.)

Beaumont and Fletcher wrote a kind of sequel to this comedy, called The Tamer Tamed, in which Petruchio is supposed to marry a second wife, by whom he is hen-pecked (1647).

The Honeymoon, a comedy by Tobin (1804), has a similar plot, but the shrew is tamed with far less display of obstreperous self-will.

Tami´no and Pami´na, the two lovers who were guided by the magic flute through all worldly dangers to the knowledge of divine truth (or the mysteries of Isis).--Mozart, Die Zauberflöte (1791).

Tamismud, aged chief of the Delawares, regarded as an oracle by Indians of all tribes. When Magua brings his captives, whites and Indians, before the sage for sentence, Tamismud is a hundred years old, and speaks with clear eyes, and for the most part dreamily, as communing with unseen powers. His style of speech is highly figurative and the superstitious creatures by whom he is surrounded hang breathlessly upon every sentence uttered by his lips.--James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans (1826).

Tam´ora, queen of the Goths, in love 76with Aaron, the Moor.--(?) Shakespeare, Titus Andron´icus (1593).

⁂ The classic name is Andronīcus, but Titus Andronĭcus is a purely fictitious character.

Tamper (Colonel), betrothed to Emily. On his return from Havana, he wanted to ascertain if Emily loved him “for himself alone;” so he pretended to have lost one leg and one eye. Emily was so shocked that the family doctor was sent for, who, amidst other gossip, told the young lady he had recently seen Colonel Tamper, who was looking remarkably well, and had lost neither leg nor eye. Emily now perceived that a trick was being played, so she persuaded Mdlle. Florival to assume the part of a rival lover, under the assumed name of Captain Johnson. After the colonel had been thoroughly roasted, Major Belford entered, recognized “Captain Johnson” as his own affiancée, the colonel saw how the tables had been turned upon him, apologized, and all ended happily.--G. Colman, Sr., The Deuce is in Him (1762).

Tamson (Peg), an old woman at Middlemas village.--Sir W. Scott, The Surgeon’s Daughter (time, George II.).

Tanaquill, wife of Tarquinius, priscus of Rome. She was greatly venerated by the Romans, but Juvenal uses the name as the personification of an imperious woman with a strong independent will. In the Faëry Queen, Spenser calls Gloriana (Queen Elizabeth), “Tanaquill” (bk. i. introduction, 1590).

Tancred, son of Eudes and Emma. He was the greatest of all the Christian warriors except Rinaldo. His one fault was the love of woman, and that woman Clorinda, a pagan (bk. i.). Tancred brought 800 horse to the allied crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon. In a night combat Tancred unwittingly slew Clorinda, and lamented her death with great and bitter lamentation (bk. xii.). Being wounded, he was tenderly nursed by Erminia, who was in love with him (bk. xix).--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered (1575).

⁂ Rossini has an opera entitled Tancredi (1813).

Tancred, prince of Otranto, one of the crusaders, probably the same as the one above.--Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).

Tancred (Count), the orphan son of Manfred, eldest grandson of Roger I. of Sicily, and rightful heir to the throne. His father was murdered by William the Bad, and he himself, was brought up by Siffre´di, lord high chancellor of Sicily. While only a count, he fell in love with Sigismunda, the chancellor’s daughter, but when King Roger died, he left the throne to Tancred, provided he married Constantia, daughter of William the Bad, and thus united the rival lines. Tancred gave a tacit consent to this arrangement, intending all the time to obtain a dispensation from the pope, and marry the chancellor’s daughter; but Sigismunda could not know his secret intentions, and, in a fit of irritation, married the Earl Osmond. Now follows the catastrophe: Tancred sought an interview with Sigismunda, to justify his conduct, but Osmond challenged him to fight. Osmond fell, and stabbed Sigismunda when she ran to his succor.--Thomson, Tancred and Sigismunda (1745).

⁂ Thomson’s tragedy is founded on the episode called “The Baneful Marriage,” Gil Blas, iv. 4 (Lesage, 1724). In 77the prose tale, Tancred is called “Henriquez,” and Sigismunda “Blanch.”

Tancredi, the Italian form of Tancred (q.v.). The best of the early operas of Rossini (1813).

Tanner of Tamworth (The), the man who mistook Edward IV. for a highwayman. After some little altercation, they changed horses, the king giving his hunter for the tanner’s cob, worth about four shillings; but as soon as the tanner mounted the king’s horse, it threw him, and the tanner gladly paid down a sum of money to get his old cob back again.

King Edward now blew his hunting-horn, and the courtiers gathered round him. “I hope [i.e., expect] I shall be hanged for this,” cried the tanner; but the king, in merry pin, gave him the manor of Plumpton Park, with 300 marks a year.--Percy, Reliques, etc.

Tannhäuser (Sir), called in German the Ritter Tannhäuser, a Teutonic knight, who wins the love of Lisaura, a Mantuan lady. Hilario, the philosopher, often converses with the Ritter on supernatural subjects, and promises that Venus herself shall be his mistress, if he will summon up his courage to enter Venusberg. Tannhäuser starts on the mysterious journey, and Lisaura, hearing thereof, kills herself. At Venusberg, the Ritter gives full swing to his pleasures, but in time returns to Mantua, and makes his confession to Pope Urban. His holiness says to him, “Man, you can no more hope for absolution, than this staff which I hold in my hand, can be expected to bud.” So Tannhäuser flees in despair from Rome, and returns to Venusberg. Meanwhile, the pope’s staff actually does sprout, and Urban sends in all directions for the Ritter, but he is nowhere to be found.

Tieck, in his Phantasus (1812), introduces the story. Wagner (in 1845) brought out his great opera, called Tannhäuser. The companion of Tannhäuser was Eckhardt.

⁂ The tale of Tannhäuser is substantially the same as that of Thomas of Erceldoun, also called “Thomas the Rhymer,” who was so intimate with Faëry folk, that he could foretell what events would come to pass. He was also a bard, and wrote the famous lay of Sir Tristrem. The general belief is, that the seer is not dead, but has been simply removed from the land of the living to Faëry-land, whence occasionally he emerges, to busy himself with human affairs. Sir W. Scott has introduced the legend in Castle Dangerous, v. (See Erceldoun.)

Tantalus, for crimes the nature of which is uncertain, he was punished in the Inferno with insatiable hunger and thirst, placed up to his chin in water, which receded whenever he tried to drink, while tempting fruits grew near by, that drew back if he attempted to touch them. Hence, tantalize.--Greek Mythology.

Taouism, the system of Taou, that invisible principle which pervades everything. Pope refers to this universal divine permeation in the well-known lines: it

Tapestered Chamber (The), a tale by Sir W. Scott, laid in the reign of George 78III. There are but two characters introduced. General Browne goes on a visitvisit to Lord Woodville, and sleeps in the “tapestered chamber,” which is haunted. He sees the “lady in the sacque,” describes her to Lord Woodville next morning, and recognizes her picture in the portrait gallery.

The back of this form was turned to me, and I could observe, from the shoulders and neck, it was that of an old woman, whose dress was an old-fashioned gown, which, I think, ladies call a sacque--that is, a sort of robe completely loose in the body, but gathered into broad plaits upon the neck and shoulders, which fall down to the ground, and terminate in a species of train.

Tap´ley (Mark), an honest, light-hearted young man, whose ambition was “to come out jolly” under the most unfavorable circumstances. Greatly attached to Martin Chuzzlewit, he leaves his comfortable situation at the Blue Dragon to accompany him to America, and in “Eden” has ample opportunities of “being jolly,” so far as wretchedness could make him so. On his return to England he marries Mrs. Lupin, and thus becomes landlord of the Blue Dragon.--C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, xiii., xxi., etc. (1843).

Charles [VII. of France] was the Mark Tapley of kings, and bore himself with his usual “jollity” under this afflicting news. It was remarked of him that “no one could lose a kingdom with greater gaiety.”--Rev. J. White.

Tappertit (Sim, i.e., Simon), the apprentice of Gabriel Varden, locksmith. He was just 20 in years, but 200 in conceit. An old-fashioned, thin-faced, sleek-haired, sharp-nosed, small-eyed little fellow was Mr. Sim Tappertit, about five feet high, but thoroughly convinced in his own mind that he was both good looking and above the middle size, in fact, rather tall than otherwise. His figure, which was slender, he was proud of; and with his legs, which in knee-breeches were perfect curiosities of littleness, he was enraptured. He had also a secret notion that the power of his eye was irresistible, and he believed that he could subdue the haughtiest beauty “by eyeing her.” Of course Mr. Tappertit had an ambitious soul, and admired his master’s daughter, Dolly. He was captain of the secret society of “’Prentice Knights,” whose object was “vengeance against their tyrant masters.” After the Gordon riots, in which Tappertit took a leading part, he was found “burnt and bruised, with a gun-shot wound in his body and both his legs crushed into shapeless ugliness.” The cripple, by the locksmith’s aid, turned shoe-black under an archway near the Horse Guards, thrived in his vocation, and married the widow of a rag-and-bone collector. While an apprentice, Miss Miggs, the “protestant” shrewish servant of Mrs. Varden, cast an eye of hope on “Simmun;” but the conceited puppy pronounced her “decidedly scraggy,” and disregarded the soft impeachment.--C. Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (1841). (See Sylli.)

Tapwell (Timothy), husband of Froth, put into business by Wellborn’s father, whose butler he was. When Wellborn was reduced to beggary, Timothy behaved most insolently to him; but as soon as he supposed he was about to marry the rich dowager, Lady Allworth, the rascal fawned on him like a whipped spaniel.--Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old Debts (1625).

Tara (The Hill of), in Meath, Ireland. Here the kings, the clergy, the princes and the bards used to assemble in a large hall, to consult on matters of public importance.

Tara (The Fes of), the triennial convention established by Ollam Fodlah or Ollav Fola in B.C. 900, or 950. When business was over the princes banqueted together, each under his shield suspended by the chief herald on the wall, according to precedency. In the reign of Cormac, the palace of Tara was 900 feet square, and contained 150 apartments, and 150 dormitories, each for sixty sleepers. As many as 1000 guests were daily entertained in the hall.

Tarpa (Spurius Metius), a famous critic of the Augustan age. He sat in the temple of Apollo, with four colleagues, to judge the merit of theatrical pieces before they were produced in public.

He gives himself out for another Tarpa; decides boldly, and supports his opinions with loudness and obstinacy.--Lesage, Gil Blas, xi. 10 (1735).

Tarpe´ian Rock. So called from Tarpeia, daughter of Spurius Tarpeius, governor of the citadel on the Saturnian (i.e., Capitoline) Hill of Rome. The story is that the Sabines bargained with the Roman maid to open the gates to them, for the “ornaments on their arms.” As they passed through the gates they threw on her their shields, saying, “These are the ornaments we bear on our arms.” She was crushed to death, and buried on the Tarpeian Hill. Ever after, traitors were put to death by being hurled headlong from the hill-top.

⁂ G. Gilfillan, in his introduction to Longfellow’s poems, makes an erroneous allusion to the Roman traitress. He says Longfellow’s “ornaments, unlike those of the Sabine [sic] maid, have not crushed him.”

Louise Imogen Guiney has a poem entitled Tarpeia, beginning:

Tarquin, a name of terror in Roman nurseries.

Tarquin (The Fall of). The well-known Roman story of Sextus Tarquinius and Lucretia has been dramatized by various persons, as: N. Lee (1679); John Howard Payne, Brutus, or The Fall of Tarquin (1820)--this is the tragedy in which Edmund Kean appeared with his son, Charles, at Glasgow, the father taking “Brutus” and the son “Titus.” Arnault produced a tragedy in French, entitled Lucrèce, in 1792; and Ponsard, in 1843. Alfieri has a tragedy called Brutus, on the same subject. It also forms indirectly the subject of one of the lays of Lord Macaulay, called The Battle of the Lake Regillus (1842), a battle undertaken by the Sabines for the restoration of Tarquin, but in which the king and his two sons were left dead upon the field.

Tarquinia, wife of Titus, son of Brutus. Titus is one of the conspirators whose object is to bring back the Tarquins to Rome, and the sin against the state is palliated by his connection with the proscribed family. The unhappy son is condemned to death by his own father, 80and beheaded in his presence.--John Howard Payne, Brutus, a tragedy (1818).

Tarquinius (Sextus), having violated Lucretia, wife of Tarquinius Collatīnus, caused an insurrection in Rome, whereby the magistracy of kings was changed for that of consuls.

⁂ A parallel case is given in Spanish history: Roderick, the Goth, king of Spain, having violated Florinda, daughter of Count Julian, was the cause of Julian’s inviting over the Moors, who invaded Spain, drove Roderick from the throne, and the Gothic dynasty was set aside for ever.

Tartaro, the Basque Cyclops; of giant stature and cannibal habits, but not without a rough bonhommie. Intellectually very low in the scale, and invariably beaten in all contests with men. Galled in spirit by his ill success, the giant commits suicide. Tartaro, the son of a king, was made a monster out of punishment, and was never to lose his deformity till he married. One day he asked a girl to be his bride, and on being refused, sent her “a talking ring,” which talked without ceasing immediately she put it on; so she cut off her finger and threw it into a large pond, and there the Tartaro drowned himself.--Rev. W. Webster, Basque Legends, 1-4 (1876).

In one of the Basque legends, Tartaro is represented as a Polyphēmos, whose one eye is bored out with spits made red hot by some seamen who had wandered inadvertently into his dwelling. Like Ulysses, the leader of these seamen made his escape by the aid of a ram, but with this difference--he did not, like Ulysses, cling to the ram’s belly, but fastened the ram’s bell round his neck and threw a sheep-skin over his shoulders. When Tartaro laid hold of the fugitive, the man escaped, leaving the sheep-skin in the giant’s hand.

Tartar, handsome, “eminently well-dressed” and vivacious cousin of the Crittendens, into whose family Phœbe has married. The country-bred bride conceives the fancy that the dashing belle is beloved of her (Phœbe’s) husband, and leaves him in consequence. Tartar, meanwhile, has long loved--as she believes--hopelessly, Peyton Edwards, a quietly-reserved young lawyer, whom she finally marries.--Mariam Coles Harris, Phœbe (1884).

Tartarin, a Quixotic Frenchman whose life at home and whose adventures while travelling are related by Alphonse Daudet in Tartarin of Tarascon, Tartarin on the Alps, and Port Tarascon.

Tartlet (Tim), servant of Mrs. Pattypan, to whom also he is engaged to be married. He says, “I loves to see life, because vy, ’tis so agreeable.”--James Cobb, The First Floor, i. 2 (1756-1818).

Tartuffe (2 syl.), the chief character and title of a comedy by Molière (1664). Tartuffe is a religious hypocrite and impostor who uses “religion” as the means of gaining money, covering deceit, and promoting self-indulgence. He is taken up by one Orgon, a man of property, who promises him his daughter in marriage, but his true character being exposed, he is not only turned out of the house, but is lodged in jail for felony.

Isaac Bickerstaff has adapted Molière’s comedy to the English stage, under the title of The Hypocrite (1768). Tartuffe he 81calls “Dr. Cantwell,” and Orgon “Sir John Lambert.” It is thought that “Tartuffe” is a caricature of Père la Chaise, the confessor of Louis XIV., who was very fond of truffles (French, tartuffes), and that this suggested the name to the dramatist.

Tartuffe of the Revolution. N. J. Pache is so called by Carlyle (1740-1823).

Swiss Pache sits sleek-headed, frugal, the wonder of his own ally for humility of mind.... Sit there Tartuffe, till wanted.--Carlyle.

TasnarTasnar, an enchanter, who aided the rebel army arrayed against Misnar, sultan of Delhi. A female slave undertook to kill the enchanter, and went with the sultan’s sanction to carry out her promise. She presented herself to Tasnar and Ahu´bal, and presented papers which she said she had stolen. Tasnar, suspecting a trick, ordered her to be bow-strung, and then detected a dagger concealed about her person. Tasnar now put on the slave’s dress, and, transformed into her likeness, went to the sultan’s tent. The vizier commanded the supposed slave to prostrate “herself” before she approached the throne, and while prostrate he cut off “her” head. The sultan was angry, but the vizier replied, “This is not the slave, but the enchanter. Fearing this might occur, I gave the slave a pass-word, which this deceiver did not give, and was thus betrayed. So perish all the enemies of Mahomet and Misnar, his vicegerent upon earth!”--Sir C. Morell [J. Ridley], Tales of the Genii, vi. (1751).

Tasso and Leonora. When Tasso, the poet, lived in the court of Alfonso II., the reigning duke of Ferrara, he fell in love with Leonora d’Este (2 syl.), the duke’s sister, but “she saw it not or viewed with disdain” his passion, and the poet, moneyless, fled half mad to Naples. After an absence of two years, in which the poet was almost starved to death by extreme poverty, his friends, together with Leonora, induced the duke to receive him back, but no sooner did he reach Ferrara than Alfonso sent him to an asylum, and there he was kept for seven years, when he was liberated by the instigation of the pope, but died soon afterwards (1544-1595).

Taste, a farce by Foote (1753), to expose the imposition of picture-dealers and sellers of virtu generally.

Tati´nus, a Greek who joined the crusaders with a force of 200 men armed with “crooked sabres” and bows. These Greeks, like the Parthians, were famous in retreat, but when a drought came they all sneaked off home.--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xiii. (1575).

Tatius (Achilles), the acolyte, an officer in the Varangian guard.--Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).

Tatlanthe (3 syl.) the favorite of Fadladinida (queen of Queerummania and wife of Chrononhotonthologos). She extols the warlike deeds of the king, supposing the queen will feel flattered by her praises; and Fadladinida exclaims, “Art mad, Tatlonthe? Your talk’s distasteful.... You are too pertly lavish in his praise?” She then guesses that the queen loves another, and says to herself, “I see that I must tack about,” and happening to mention “the captive king,” Fadladinida exclaims, “That’s he! that’s he! that’s he! I’d die ten thousand deaths to set him free.” Ultimately, the queen promises marriage to both the captive king and Rigdum-Funnidos 82“to make matters easy.” Then, turning to her favorite, she says:

Tattle, a man who ruins characters by innuendo, and so denies a scandal as to confirm it. He is a mixture of “lying, foppery, vanity, cowardice, bragging, licentiousness, and ugliness, but a professed beau” (act i.). Tattle is entrapped into marriage with Mrs. Frail.--Congreve, Love for Love (1695).

⁂ “Mrs. Candour,” in Sheridan’s School for Scandal (1777), is a Tattle in petticoats.

Tattycoram, a handsome girl, with lustrous dark hair and eyes, who dressed very neatly. She was taken from the Foundling Asylum (London) by Mr. Meagles to wait upon his daughter. She was called in the hospital Harriet Beadle. Harriet was first changed to Hatty, then to Tatty, and Coram was added because the Foundling stands in Coram street. She was most impulsively passionate, and when excited had no control over herself. Miss Wade enticed her away for a time, but afterwards she returned to her first friends.--C. Dickens, Little Dorrit (1857)

Tawny (The). Alexandre Bonvici´no, the historian, was called Il Moretto (1514-1564).

Taylor, “the water-poet.” He wrote four score books, but never learnt “so much as the accidences” (1580-1654).

Taylor (Dr. Chevalier John). He called himself “Opthalminator, Pontificial, Imperial and Royal.” He died, 1767. Hogarth has introduced him in his famous picture, “The Undertaker’s Arms.” He is one of the three figures atop, to the left hand of the spectator; the other two are Mrs. Mapp and Dr. Ward.

Teacher of Germany (The), Philip Melancthon, the reformer (1497-1560).

Teachwell (Mrs.), a pseudonym of Lady Ellinor Fenn, wife of Sir John Fenn, of East Dereham, Norfolk.

Teague (1 syl.), an Irish lad, taken into the service of Colonel Careless, a royalist, whom he serves with exemplary fidelity. He is always blundering, and always brewing mischief, with the most innocent intentions. His bulls and blunders are amusing and characteristic.--Sir Robert Howard, The Committee (1670), altered by T. Knight into The Honest Thieves.

Who...has not a recollection of the incomparable Johnstone [Irish Johnstone] in “Teague,” picturesquely draped in his blanket, and pouring forth his exquisite humor and mellifluous brogue in equal measure.--Mrs. C. Mathews, Tea Table Talk.

Tearless Battle (The), a battle fought B. C. 367, between the Lacedæmonians and the combined armies of the Arcadians and Argives (2 syl.). Not one of the Spartans fell, so that, as Plutarch says, they called it “The Tearless Battle.”

⁂ Not one was killed in the Abyssinian expedition under Sir R. Napier (1867-8).

Tears--Amber. The tears shed by the sisters of Pha´ëton were converted into amber.--Greek Fable.

According to Pliny (Natural History, xxxvii. 2, 11), amber is a concretion of 83birds’ tears, but the birds were the sisters of Meleāger, who never ceased weeping for his untimely death.

Tearsheet (Doll), a common courtezan.--Shakespeare, 2 Henry IV. (1598).

Teazle (Sir Peter), a man who, in old age, married a country girl who proved extravagant, fond of pleasure, selfish and vain. Sir Peter was for ever nagging at her for her inferior birth and rustic ways, but secretly loving her and admiring her naïveté. He says to Rowley, “I am the sweetest-tempered man alive, and hate a teasing temper, and so I tell her ladyship a hundred times a day.”

Lady Teazle, a lively, innocent, country maiden, who married Sir Peter, old enough to be her grandfather. Planted in London in the whirl of the season, she formed a liaison with Joseph Surface, but, being saved from disgrace, repented and reformed.--R. B. Sheridan, School for Scandal (1777).

Teeth. Rigord, an historian of the thirteenth century, tells that when Chosroës, the Persian, carried away the true cross discovered by St. Helĕna, the number of teeth in the human race was reduced. Before that time, Christians were furnished with thirty, and in some cases with thirty-two teeth, but since then no human being has had more than twenty-three teeth.--See Historiens de France, xviii.

⁂ The normal number of teeth is thirty-two still. This “historic fact” is of a piece with that which ascribes to woman one more rib than to man.

Teetotal. The origin of this word is ascribed to Richard (Dicky) Turner, who, in addressing a temperance meeting in September, 1833, reduplicated the word total to give it emphasis: “We not only want total abstinence, we want more, we want t-total abstinence.” The novelty and force of the expression took the meeting by storm.

It is not correct to ascribe the word to Mr. Swindlehurst, of Preston, who is erroneously said to have stuttered.

Te´ian Muse, Anacreon, born at Teïos, in Ionia, and called by Ovid (Tristia, ii. 364) Teïa Musa (B.C. 563-478).

⁂ Probably Byron meant Simonidês of Ceos. Horace (Carmĭna, ii. 1, 38) speaks of “Ceæ munera neniæ,” meaning Simonidês; but Scios, or Scio, properly means Chios, one of the seven places which laid claim to Homer. Both Ceos and Chios, are isles of Greece.

Tei´lo (St.), a Welsh saint, who took an active part against the Pelagian heresy. When he died, three cities contended for his body, but happily the strife was ended by the multiplication of the dead body into three St. Teilos. Capgrave insists that the ipsissime body was possessed by Llandaff.--English Martyrology.

Teirtu’s Harp, which played of itself, merely by being asked to do so, and when desired to cease playing, did so.--The Mabinogion (“Kilhwch and Olwen,” twelfth century).

St. Dunstan’s harp discoursed most enchanting music without being struck by any player.

The harp of the giant, in the tale of Jack and the Bean-Stalk, played of itself. 84In one of the old Welsh tales, the dwarf named Dewryn Fychan, stole from a giant a similar harp.

Telamachus, the only son of Ulysses and Penelŏpê. When Ulysses had been absent from home nearly twenty years, Telemachus went to Pylos and Sparta, to gain information about him. Nestor received him hospitably at Pylos, and sent him to Sparta, where Menelāus told him the prophecy of Proteus (2 syl.), concerning Ulysses. He then returned home, where he found his father, and assisted him in slaying the suitors. Telemachus was accompanied in his voyage by the goddess of wisdom, under the form of Mentor, one of his father’s friends. (See Telemaque.)--Greek Fable.

Télémaque (Les Aventures de) a French prose epic, in twenty-four books, by Fénelon (1699). The first six books contain the story of the hero’s adventures, told to Calypso, as Ænēas told the story of the burning of Troy and his travels from Troy to Carthage to Queen Dido. Télémaque says to the goddess that he started with Mentor from Ithăca, in search of his father, who had been absent from home for nearly twenty years. He first went to inquire of old Nestor if he could give him any information on the subject, and Nestor told him to go to Sparta, and have an interview with Menelāus. On leaving Lacedæmonia, he was shipwrecked off the coast of Sicily, but was kindly treated by King Acestês, who furnished him with a ship to take him home (bk. i.). This ship fell into the hands of some Egyptians; he was parted from Mentor, and sent to feed sheep in Egypt. King Sesostris, conceiving a high opinion of the young man, would have sent him home, but died, and Télémaque was incarcerated by his successor in a dungeon overlooking the sea (bk. ii.). After a time he was released and sent to Tyre. Here he would have been put to death by Pygmalīon, had he not been rescued by Astarbê, the king’s mistress (bk. iii.). Again he embarked, reached Cyprus, and sailed thence to Crete. In this passage he saw Amphitrītê, the wife of the sea-god, in her magnificent chariot, drawn by sea-horses (bk. iv.). On landing in Crete, he was told the tale of King Idomĕneus (4 syl.), who made a vow if he reached home in safety, after the siege of Troy, that he would offer in sacrifice the first living being that came to meet him. This happened to be his own son; but when Idomeneus proceeded to do according to his vow, the Cretans were so indignant that they drove him from the island. Being without a ruler, the islanders asked Télémaque to be their king (bk. v.). This he declined, but Mentor advised the Cretans to place the reigns of government in the hands of Aristodēmus. On leaving Crete, the vessel was again wrecked, and Télémaque, with Mentor, was cast on the island of Calypso (bk vi.). Here the narrative closes, and the rest of the story gives the several adventures of Télémaque from this point till he reaches Ithaca. Calypso, having fallen in love with the young prince, tried to detain him in her island, and even burnt the ship which Mentor had built to carry them home; but Mentor determined to quit the island, threw Télémaque from a crag into the sea, and then leaped in after him. They had now to swim for their lives, and they kept themselves afloat till they were picked up by some Tyrians (bk. vii.). The captain of the ship was very friendly to Télémaque, and promised to take him with his friend to Ithaca, but the pilot by mistake landed them on Salentum (bk. ix.). 85Here Télémaque, being told that his father was dead, determined to go down to the infernal regions to see him (bk. xviii.). In Hadês he was informed that Ulysses was still alive (bk. xix.). So he returned to the upper earth (bk. xxii.), embarked again, and this time reached Ithaca, where he found his father, and Mentor left him.

Tell (William), a famous chief of the confederates of the forest cantons of Switzerland, and son-in-law of Walter Furst. Having refused to salute the Austrian cap which Gessler, the Austrian governor, had set up in the market-place of Altorf, he was condemned to shoot an apple from the head of his own son. He succeeded in this perilous task, but letting fall a concealed arrow, was asked by Gessler with what object he had secreted it. “To kill thee, tyrant,” he replied, “if I had failed.” The governor now ordered him to be carried in chains across the Lake Lucerne to Küssnacht Castle, “there to be devoured alive by reptiles;” but, a violent storm having arisen on the lake, he was unchained, that he might take the helm. Gessler was on board, and when the vessel neared the castle, Tell leapt ashore, gave the boat a push into the lake, and shot the governor. After this he liberated his country from the Austrian yoke (1307).

This story of William Tell is told of a host of persons. For example: Egil, the brother of Wayland Smith, was commanded by King Nidung to shoot an apple from the head of his son. Egil, like Tell, took two arrows, and being asked why, replied, as Tell did to Gessler, “To shoot thee, tyrant, if I fail in my task.”

A similar story is told of Olaf and Eindridi, in Norway. King Olaf dared Eindridi to a trial of skill. An apple was placed on the head of Eindridi’s son, and the king shooting at it grazed the boy’s head, but the father carried off the apple clean. Eindridi had concealed an arrow to aim at the king, if the boy had been injured.

Another Norse tale is told of Hemingr and Harald, son of Sigurd (1066). After various trials of skill, Harald told Hemingr to shoot a nut from the head of Bjorn, his younger brother. In this he succeeded, not with an arrow, but with a spear.

A similar tale is related of Geyti, son of Aslak, and the same Harald. The place of trial was the Faroe Isles. In this case also it was a nut placed on the head of Bjorn.

Saxo Grammatĭcus tells nearly the same story of Toki, the Danish hero, and Harald; but in this trial of skill Toki killed Harald.--Danorum Regum Heroumque Historia (1514).

Reginald Scot says that Puncher shot a penny placed on his son’s head, but made ready another arrow to slay the Duke Remgrave who had set him the task (1584).

⁂ It is said of Domitian, the Roman emperor, that if a boy held up his hands with the fingers spread, he could shoot eight arrows in succession through the spaces without touching one of the fingers.

William of Cloudesley, to show the king his skill in shooting, bound his eldest son to a stake, put an apple on his head, and, at the distance of 300 feet, cleft the apple in two without touching the boy.

Similar feats of skill are told of Adam Bell and Clym of the Clough.

86In Altorf market-place, the spot is still pointed out where Tell shot the apple from his son’s head, and a plaster statue stands where the patriot stood when he took his aim.

⁂ The legend of William Tell has furnished Florian with the subject of a novel in French (1788); A. M. Lemierre with his tragedy of Guillaume Tell (1766); Schiller with a tragedy in German, Wilhelm Tell (1804); Knowles with a tragedy in English, William Tell (1840); and Rossini with the opera of Guglielmo Tell, in Italian (1829).

Tellus’s Son, Antæos, son of Posei´don and Gê, a giant wrestler of Lib´ya, whose strength was irresistible so long as he touched his mother (earth). Herculês, knowing this, lifted him into the air, and crushed him to death. Near the town of Tingis, in Mauritania, is a hill in the shape of a man, called “The Hill of Antæos,” and said to be his tomb.

⁂ Similarly, Bernardo del Carpio lifted Orlando in his arms, and squeezed him to death, because his body was proof against any instrument of war.

Temliha, king of the serpents, in the island of serpents. King Temliha was “a small yellow serpent, of a glowing color,” with the gift of human speech, like the serpent which tempted Eve.--Comte de Caylus, Oriental Tales (“History of Aboutaleb,” 1743).

Tem´ora, the longest of the Ossianic prose-poems, in eight books. The subject is the dethronement of the kings of Connaught, and consolidation of the two Irish kingdoms in that of Ulster. It must be borne in mind that there were two colonies in Ireland--one the Fir-bolg, or British Belgæ, settled in the south, whose king was called the “lord of Atha,” from Atha, in Connaught, the seat of government; and the other the Cael, from Caledonia, in Scotland, whose seat of government was Temŏra, in Ulster. When Crothar was “lord of Atha,” he wished to unite the two kingdoms, and, with this view, carried off Conlāma, only child of the rival king, and married her. The Caledonians of Scotland interfered, and Conar, the brother of Fingal, was sent with an army against the usurper, conquered him, reduced the south to a tributary state, and restored, in his own person, the kingdom of Ulster. After a few years, Cormac II. (a minor) became king of Ulster and over-lord of Connaught. The Fir-bolg, seizing this opportunity of revolt, Cairbar, “lord of Atha,” threw off his subjection, and murdered the young king in his palace of Temora. Fingal interfered in behalf of the Caels; but no sooner had he landed in Ireland than Cairbar invited Oscar (Fingal’s grandson) to a banquet, picked a quarrel with him in the banquet hall, and both fell dead, each by the other’s hand. On the death of Cairbar, Faldath became leader of the Fir-bolg, but was slain by Fillan, son of Fingal. Fillan, in turn, was slain by Clathmor, brother of Cairbar. Fingal now took the lead of his army in person, slew Clathmor, reduced the Fir-bolg to submission, and placed on the 87throne Ferad-Artho, the only surviving descendant of Conar (first of the kings of Ulster of Caledonian race).

Tempest (The), a drama by Shakespeare (1609). Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, lived on a desert island, enchanted by Sycŏrax, who was dead. The only other inhabitants were Caliban, the son of Sycorax, a strange, misshapen thing, like a gorilla, and Ariel, a sprite, who had been imprisoned by Sycorax for twelve years in the rift of a pine tree, from which Prospero set him free. One day Prospero saw a ship off the island, and raised a tempest to wreck it. By this means his brother, Anthonio, Prince Ferdinand, and the king of Naples, were brought to the island. Now it must be known that Prospero was once duke of Milan; but his brother, Anthonio, aided by the king of Naples, had usurped the throne, and set Prospero and Miranda adrift in a small boat, which was wind-driven to this desert island. Ferdinand (son of the king of Naples) and Miranda fell in love with each other, and the rest of the shipwrecked party being brought together by Ariel, Anthonio asked forgiveness of his brother, Prospero was restored to his dukedom, and the whole party was conducted by Ariel with prosperous breezes back to Italy.

⁂ Dryden has a drama called The Tempest (1668).

Tempest (The), a sobriquet of Marshal Junot, one of Napoleon’s generals, noted for his martial impetuosity (1771-1813).

Tempest (The Hon. Mr.), late governor of Senegambia. He was the son of Lord Hurricane; impatient, irascible, headstrong, and poor. He says he never was in smooth water since he was born, for being only a younger son, his father gave him no education, taught him nothing, and then buffeted him for being a dunce.

First I was turned into the army; there I got broken bones and empty pockets. Then I was banished to the coast of Africa, to govern the savages of Senegambia.--Act ii. 1.

Miss Emily [Tempest], daughter of Mr. Tempest; a great wit of very lively parts. Her father wanted her to marry Sir David Daw, a great lout with plenty of money, but she had fixed her heart on Captain Henry Woodville, the son of a man ruined by gambling. The prospect was not cheering, but Penruddock came forward, and by making them rich, made them happy.--Cumberland, The Wheel of Fortune (1779).

Tempest (Lady Betty), a lady with beauty, fortune and family, whose head was turned by plays and romances. She fancied a plain man no better than a fool, and resolved to marry only a gay, fashionable, dashing young spark. Having rejected many offers because the suitor did not come up to her ideal, she was gradually left in the cold. Now she is company only for aunts and cousins, in the ballroom is a wallflower, and in society generally esteemed a piece of fashionable lumber.--Goldsmith, A Citizen of the World, xxviii. (1759).

Templars (Knight), an order of knighthood founded in 1118, for the defence of the Temple in Jerusalem. Dissolved in 1312, and their lands, etc., transferred to the Hospitallers. They wore a white robe with a red cross; but the Hospitallers a black robe with a white cross.

Temple (The). When Solomon was dying, he prayed that he might remain 88standing till the Temple was completely finished. The prayer was granted, and he remained leaning on his staff till the Temple was finished, when the staff was gnawed through by a worm, and the dead body fell to the ground.--Talmud Legend.

Temple (Launcelot), the nom de plume of John Armstrong, the poet (1709-1779).

Temple (Elizabeth), daughter of Judge Temple and the heroine of two stirring adventures, the first being an escape, by the intervention of Leather-Stocking, from a panther, the second from a forest-fire, the hunter again coming to her aid. She marries Oliver Effingham, whom she has known as Oliver Edwards.--J. F. Cooper, The Pioneers (1822).

Templeton (Laurence), the pseudonym under which Sir W. Scott published Ivanhoe. The preface is initialed L. T., and the dedication is to the Rev. Dr. Dryasdust (1820).

Tempy (Miss), New England spinster, who kept her young, loving heart and through it, her young face, after all contemporaries were old. She had but one old quince-tree, but she tended it carefully every spring, “and would look at it so pleasant, and kind of expect the thorny old thing into blooming.”

“She was just the same with folks!”--Sarah Orne Jewett, Miss Tempy’s Watchers (1888).

Tenantius, the father of Cymbeline, and nephew of Cassibelan. He was the younger son of Lud, king of the southern part of Britain. On the death of Lud, his younger brother, Cassibelan, succeeded, and on the death of Cassibelan, the crown came to Tenantius, who refused to pay the tribute to Rome exacted from Cassibelan, on his defeat by Julius Cæsar.

Tendo Achillis, a strong sinew running along the heel to the calf of the leg. So called because it was the only vulnerable part of Achillês. The tale is that Thetis held him by the heel when she dipped him in the Styx, in consequence of which the water did not wet the child’s heel. The story is post-Homeric.

Teniers (The English), George Morland (1763-1804).

Teniers (The Scottish), Sir David Wilkie (1785-1841).

Teniers of Comedy (The), Florent Carton Dancourt (1661-1726).

Tennessee’s Partner, camp-name for associate and co-worker with a dare-devil who runs away with the Partner’s wife, returns to camp without her, and is taken back amicably by the Partner. When Tennessee is tried for highway robbery the Partner offers “$1700 in coarse gold and a watch”--his whole fortune--to buy him off. The offer is refused; Tennessee is hanged. The Partner waits composedly, a little way from the gallows, with a mule and a cart. “When the gentlemen are done with the ‘diseased,’ he will take him.” “Ef thar is any present”--in his simple, serious way--“as would like to jine in the fun’l, they ken come.”--Bret Harte, Tennessee’s Partner (1871).

Tennis-Ball of Fortune (The), Pertinax, the Roman emperor. He was first a charcoal-seller, then a schoolmaster, then a soldier, then an emperor; but within three months he was dethroned and murdered 89(126-193; reigned from January 1 to March 28, A.D. 193).

Tent (Prince Ahmed’s), a tent given to him by the fairy, Pari-Banou. It would cover a whole army, yet would fold up into so small a compass that it might be carried in one’s pocket.--Arabian Nights.

Solomon’s carpet of green silk was large enough to afford standing room for a whole army, but might be carried about like a pocket-handkerchief.

The ship, Skidbladnir, would hold all the deities of Valhalla, but might be folded up like a roll of parchment.

Bayard, the horse of the four sons of Aymon, grew larger or smaller, as one or more of the four sons mounted on its back.--Villeneuve, Les Quatre Filz Aymon.

Tents (The father of such as dwell in), Jabal.--Gen. iv. 20.

Terebin´thus, Ephes-dammim, or Pasdammim.--1 Sam. xvii. 1.

Terence of England (The), Richard Cumberland (1732-1811).

Tere´sa, the female associate of Ferdinand, Count Fathom.--Smollett, Count Fathom (1754).

Teresa d´Acunha, lady’s-maid of Joceline, countess of Glenallan.--Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary (time, George III.).

Teresa Panza, wife of Sancho Panza. In pt. I. i. 7 she is called Dame Juana [Gutierez]. In pt. II. iv. 7 she is called Maria [Gutierez]. In pt. I. iv. she is called Joan.--Cervantes, Don Quixote (1605-15).

Tereus [Te´.ruse], king of Daulis, and the husband of Procnê. Wishing afterwards to marry Philomēla, her sister, he told her that Procnê was dead. He lived with his new wife for a time, and then cut out her tongue, lest she should expose his falsehood to Procnê; but it was of no use, for Philomela made known her story in the embroidery of a peplus. Tereus rushed after Procnê with an axe, but the whole party were metamorphosed into birds. Tereus was changed into a hoopoo (some say a lapwing, and others an owl), Procnê into a swallow, and Philomela into a nightingale.

In Titus Andronĭcus the sons of Tamŏra, after defiling Lavinia, cut off her tongue and hands, but she wrote her tale in the sand with a staff held in her mouth and guided by her arms.

Ter´il (Sir Walter). The king exacts an oath from Sir Walter to send his bride, Cælestina, to court on her wedding night. Her father, to save her honor, gives her a mixture supposed to be poison, but in reality only a sleeping draught, from which she awakes in due time, to the amusement of the king and delight of her husband.--Thomas Dekker, Satiromastix (1602).

Termagant, an imaginary being, supposed by the crusaders to be a Mohammedan deity. In the Old Moralities the degree of rant was the measure of the wickedness of the character portrayed; so Pontius Pilate, Herod, Judas Iscariot, Termagant, the tyrant, Sin, and so on, were all ranting parts.

I would have such a fellow whipped for o’er-doing Termagant; it out-Herods Herod, pray you, avoid it.--Shakespeare, Hamlet, act iii. sc. 2 (1596).

Termagant, the maid of Harriet Quidnunc. She uses most wonderful words, as paradropsical for “rhapsodical,” perjured for “assured,” phisology for “philology,” curacy for “accuracy,” fignification for “signification,” importation for “import,” anecdote for “antidote,” infirmaries for “infirmities,” intimidate for “intimate.”--Murphy, The Upholsterer (1758).

Ter´meros, a robber of Peloponnesos, who killed his victims by cracking their skulls against his own.

Termosi´ris, a priest of Apollo, in Egypt; wise, prudent, cheerful, and courteous.--Fénelon, Télémaque, ii. (1700).

Ternotte, one of the domestics of Lady 90Eveline Berenger, “the betrothed.”--Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).

Terpin (Sir), a king who fell into the power of Radigund, queen of the Amăzons. Refusing to dress in female attire, as she commanded, and to sew, card wool, spin, and do house work, he was doomed to be gibbeted by her women. Sir Artegal undertook his cause, and a fight ensued, which lasted all day. When daylight closed, Radigund proposed to defer the contest till the following day, to which Sir Artegal acceeded. Next day the knight was victorious; but when he saw the brave queen bleeding to death, he took pity on her, and, throwing his sword aside, ran to succor her. Up started Radigund as he approached, attacked him like a fury, and, as he had no sword, he was, of course, obliged to yield. So the contest was decided against him, and Sir Terpin was hung by women, as Radigund had commanded.--Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. 5 (1596).

Terpischore [Terp.sic´o.re.], the Muse of dancing.--Greek Fable.

Terrible (The), Ivan IV. or II. of Russia (1529, 1533-1584).

Terror of France (The), John Talbot, first earl of Shrewsbury (1373-1453).

Terror of the World (The), Attĭla, king of the Huns (*-453).

Terry Alts, a lawless body of rebels, who sprang up in Clare (Ireland) after the union.

The “Thrashers” of Connaught, the “Carders,” the followers of “Captain Right,” in the eighteenth century, those of “Captain 91Rock,” who appeared in 1822, and the “Fenians,” in 1865, were similar disturbers of the peace.

Tesoretto (“The Little Treasure,”) an Italian poem by Brunetto Latini, preceptor of Dantê (1285). The poem is one of the landmarks in the development of the Italian language. The poet says he was returning from an embassy to the king of Spain, and met a scholar who told him of the overthrow of the Guelfi. Struck with grief, he lost his road, and wandered into a wood, where Dame Nature accosted him, and disclosed to him the secrets of her works. On he wandered till he came to a vast plain, inhabited by Virtue and her four daughters, together with Courtesy, Bounty, Loyalty, and Prowess. Leaving this, he came to a fertile valley, which was for ever shifting its appearance, from round to square, from light to darkness. This was the valley of Queen Pleasure, who was attended by Love, Hope, Fear, and Desire. Ovid comes to the poet at length and tells him how to effect his escape. Dantê meets Brunetto Latini in Hell, and praises his poem.

Tes´sira, one of the leaders of the Moorish host.--Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

Tests of Chastity. Alasnam’s mirror; the brawn or boar’s head; drinking-horns (see Arthur’s Drinking-Horn; Sir Cradock and the Drinking-Horn); Florimel’s girdle; grotto of Ephesus; the test mantle; oath on St. Antony’s arm was held in supreme reverence because it was believed that whoever took the oath falsely would be consumed by “St. Antony’s fire” within the current year; the trial of the sieve.

Tests of Fidelity. Canacê’s mirror; Gondibert’s emerald ring. The corsned or “cursed mouthful,” a piece of bread consecrated by exorcism, and given to the “suspect” to swallow as a test. “May this morsel choke me if I am guilty,” said the defendant, “but turn to wholesome nourishment if I am innocent.” Ordeals, combats between plaintiff and defendant, or their representatives.

Tête Bottée, Philippe de Commines [Cum.min], politician and historian (1445-1509).

Te´thys, daughter of Heaven and Earth, the wife of Ocean and mother of the river-gods. In poetry it means the sea generally.

Tetrachor´don, the title of one of Milton’s books about marriage and divorce. The word means “the four strings;” and refers to the four chief places in Scripture which bear on the subject of marriage.

Teucer, son of Telămon of Salămis, and brother of Telamon Ajax. He was 92the best archer of all the Greeks at the siege of Troy.

I may, like a second Teucer, discharge my shafts from behind the shield of my ally.--Sir W. Scott.

Teufelsdroeckh (Herr), pronounce Toi.felz.drurk; an eccentric German professor and philosopher. The object of this satire is to expose all sorts of shams, social as well as intellectual.--Carlyle, Sartor Resartus (1849).

Teutonic Knights (The), an order organized by Frederick, duke of Suabia, in Palestine (1190). St. Louis gave them permission to quarter on their arms the fleur de lis (1250). The order was abolished, in 1809, by Napoleon I.

Tewksburys (The), “Society” couple, always bickering, and always making up, inveighing against the boredom of society duties, yet bent upon complying with every by-law, and sacrificing time and happiness to their idol.--Philip Henry Welch, The Tailor-Made Girl (1888).

Texartis, a Scythian soldier, killed by the Countess Brenhilda.--Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).

Tezoz´omoc, chief of the priests of the Az´tecas. He fasted ten months to know how to appease the national gods, and then declared that the only way was to offer “the White Strangers” on their altars. Tezozomoc was killed by burning lava from a volcanic mountain.

Thaddeus of Warsaw, the hero and title of a novel by Jane Porter (1803.)

Thaddu, the father of Morna, who became the wife of Comhal and the mother of Fingal.--Ossian.

Tha´is (2 syl.), an Athenian courtezan, who induced Alexander, in his cups, to set fire to the palace of the Persian kings at Persepŏlis.

Thaïs´a, daughter of Simon´idês, king of Pentap´olis. She married Periclês, prince of Tyre. In her voyage to Tyre Thaïsa gave birth to a daughter, and dying, as it was supposed, in childbirth, was cast into the sea. The chest in which she was placed drifted to Ephesus, and fell into the hands of Cer´imon, a physician, who soon discovered that she was not dead. Under proper care, she entirely recovered, and became a priestess in the temple of Diana. Periclês, with his daughter and her betrothed husband, visiting the shrine of Diana, became known to each other, and the whole mystery was cleared up.--Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1608).

Thal´aba ebn Hateb, a poor man, who came to Mahomet, requesting him to beg God to bestow on him wealth, and promising to employ it in works of godliness. The “prophet” made the petition, and Thalaba rapidly grew rich. One day Mahomet sent to the rich man for alms, but Thalaba told the messengers their demand savored more of tribute than of charity, and refused to give anything; but afterwards repenting, he took to the “prophet” 93a good round sum. Mahomet now refused to accept it, and, throwing dust on the ungrateful churl, exclaimed, “Thus shall thy wealth be scattered!” and the man became poor again as fast as he had grown rich.--Al Korân, ix. (Sale’s notes).

Thal´aba, the Destroyer--that is, the destroyer of the evil spirits of Dom-Daniel. He was the only surviving child of Hodei´rah (3 syl.), and his wife, Zeinab (2 syl.); their other eight children had been cut off by the Dom-Danielists, because it had been decreed by fate that “one of the race would be their destruction.” When a mere stripling, Thalăba was left motherless and fatherless (bk. i.); he then found a home in the tent of a Bedouin named Mo´ath, who had a daughter, Onei´za (3 syl.). Here he was found by Abdaldar, an evil spirit, sent from Dom-Daniel to kill him; but the spirit was killed by a simoom, just as he was about to stab the boy, and Thalaba was saved (bk. ii.). He now drew from the finger of Abdaldar, the magic ring, which gave him power over all spirits; and, thus armed, he set out to avenge the death of his fatherfather (bk. iii.). On his way to Babylon he was encountered by a merchant, who was in reality the sorcerer, Loba´ba, in disguise. This sorcerer led Thalaba astray into the wilderness, and then raised up a whirlwind to destroy him; but the whirlwind was the death of Lobaba himself, and again Thalaba escaped (bk. iv.). He reached Babylon at length, and met there Mohāreb, another evil spirit, disguised as a warrior, who conducted him to the “mouth of hell.” Thalaba detected the villainy, and hurled the false one into the abyss (bk. v.). The young “Destroyer” was next conveyed to “the paradise of pleasure,” but he resisted every temptation, and took to flight just in time to save Oneiza, who had been brought there by violence (bk. vi.). He then killed Aloa´din, the presiding spirit of the garden, with a club, was made vizier, and married Oneiza, but she died on the bridal night (bk. vii.). Distracted at this calamity, he wandered towards Kâf, and entered the house of an old woman, who was spinning thread. Thalaba expressed surprise at its extreme fineness, but Maimu´na (the old woman) told him, fine as it was, he could not break it. Thalaba felt incredulous, and wound it round his wrists, when, lo! he became utterly powerless; and Maimuna, calling up her sister, Khwala, conveyed him helpless to the island of Moha´reb (bk. viii.). Here he remained for a time, and was at length liberated by Maimuna, who repented of her sins, and turned to Allah (bk. ix.). Being liberated from the island of Mohāreb, our hero wandered, cold and hungry, into a dwelling, where he saw Laila, the daughter of Okba, the sorcerer. Okba rushed forward with intent to kill him, but Laila interposed, and fell dead by the hand of her own father (bk. x.). Her spirit, in the form of a green bird, now became the guardian angel of “The Destroyer,” and conducted him to the simorg, who directed him the road to Dom-Daniel (bk. xi.), which he reached in time, slew the surviving sorcerers, and was received into heaven (bk. xii.).--Southey, Thalaba, the Destroyer (1797).

Thales´tris, queen of the Amazons. Any bold, heroic woman.

Tha´lia, the Muse of pastoral song. 94She is often represented with a crook in her hand.

Thaliard, a lord of Antioch.--Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1608).

Tham´muz, God of the Syrians, and fifth in order of the hierarchy of hell: (1) Satan, (2) Beëlzebub, (3) Moloch, (4) Chemos, (5) Thammuz (the same as Ado´nis). Thammuz was slain by a wild boar in Mount Lebanon, from whence the river Adonis descends, the water of which, at a certain season of the year, becomes reddened. Addison saw it, and ascribes the redness to a minium washed into the river by the violence of the rain.

Thamu´dites (3 syl.), people of the tribe of Thamûd. They refused to believe in Mahomet without seeing a miracle. On a grand festival, Jonda, prince of the Thamûdites, told Sâleh, the prophet, that the god which answered by miracle should be acknowledged God by both. Jonda and the Thamûdites first called upon their idols, but received no answer. “Now,” said the prince to Sâleh, “if God will bring a camel big with young from that rock, we will believe.” Scarcely had he spoken, when the rock groaned and shook and opened; and forthwith there came a camel, which there and then cast its young one. Jonda became at once a convert, but the Thamûdites held back. To add to the miracle, the camel went up and down among the people crying, “Ho! every one that thirsteth, let him come, and I will give him milk!” (compare Isaiah lv. 1.).

Unto the tribe of Thamûd we sent their brother, Sâleh. He said, “O, my people, worship God; ye have no god besides him. Now hath a manifest proof come unto you from the Lord. This she-camel of God is a sign unto you; therefore dismiss her freely ... and do her no hurt, lest a painful punishment seize upon you.”--Al Korân, vii.

⁂ There is a slight resemblance between this story and that of the contest between Elijah and the priests of Baal, so graphically described in 1 Kings xviii.

Tham´yris (Blind), a Thracian poet, who challenged the Muses to a contest of song, and was deprived of sight, voice, and musical skill for his presumption (Pliny, Natural History, iii. 33, and vii. 57). Plutarch says he had the finest voice of any one, and that he wrote a poem on the War of the Titans with the Gods. Suidas tells us that he composed a poem on creation. And Plato, in his Republic (last book), feigns that the spirit of the blind old bard passed into a nightingale at death. Milton speaks of:

Thanatopsis. “View of, or meditation upon death.”

W. C. Bryant’s poem bearing this name was written when he was but nineteen years old (1818). It is the best of his poems.

Thancmar, châtelain of Bourbourg, the great enemy of Bertulphe, the provost of Bruges. Charles “the Good,” earl of Flanders, made a law in 1127, that a serf was always a serf till manumitted, and whoever married a serf became a serf. 95By these absurd laws, the provost of Bruges became a serf, because his father was Thancmar’s serf. By the same laws, Bouchard, though a knight of long descent became Thancmar’s serf, because he married Constance, the provost’s daughter. The result of these laws was that Bertulphe slew the earl and then himself, Constance went mad and died, Bouchard and Thancmar slew each other in fight, and all Bruges was thrown into confusion.--S. Knowles, The Provost of Bruges (1836).

Thaumast, an English pundit, who went to Paris, attracted by the rumor of the great wisdom of Pantag´ruel. He arranged a disputation with that prince, to be carried on solely by pantomime, without the utterance of a single word. Panurge undertook the disputation for the prince, and Pantagruel was appointed arbiter. Many a knotty point in magic, alchemy, the cabala, geomancy, astrology, and philosophy were argued out by signs alone, and the Englishman freely confessed himself fully satisfied, for “Panurge had told him even more than he had asked.”--Rabelais, Pantagruel, ii. 19, 20 (1533).

Thaumaturga. Filumēna is called La Thaumaturge du Dixneuvième Siecle. In 1802, a grave was discovered with this inscription: Lumena Paxte Cvmfi, which has no meaning, but being re-arranged makes Pax Te-cum, Fi-lumena. So Filumena was at once accepted as a proper name and canonized. And because as many miracles were performed at her tomb as at that of the famous Abbé de Paris, mentioned in Paley’s Evidences, she was called “The Nineteenth-Century Miracle-Worker.” But who Filumena was, or if indeed she ever existed, is one of those secrets which no one, perhaps, will ever know. (See St. Filomena.)

Thaumatur´gus. Gregory, bishop of Neo-Cæsarēa, in Cappadocia, was so called on account of his numerous miracles (212-270).

Alexander of Hohenlohe, was a worker of miracles.

Apollonius of Tya´na, “raised the dead, healed the sick, cast out devils, freed a young man from a lamia or vampire of which he was enamored, uttered prophecies, saw at Ephesus the assassination of Domitian at Rome, and filled the world with the fame of his sanctity” (A.D. 3-98).--Philostrătos, Life of Apollonius of Tyana, in eight books.

Francis d’Assisi (St.), founder of the Franciscan order (1182-1226).

J. J. Gassner, of Bratz, in the Tyrol, exorcised the sick and cured their diseases “miraculously” (1727-1779).

Isidore (St.) of Alexandria (370-440).--Damascius, Life of St. Isidore (sixth century).

Jamblichus, when he prayed, was raised ten cubits from the ground, and his body and dress assumed the appearance of gold. At Gadăra he drew from two fountains the guardian spirits, and showed them to his disciples.--Eunapius, Jamblichus (fourth century).

Mahomet, “the prophet.” (1) When he ascended to heaven on Al Borak, the stone on which he stepped to mount rose in the air as the prophet rose, but Mahomet forbade it to follow any further, and it remained suspended in mid-air. (2) He took a scroll of the Korân out of a bull’s horn. (3) He brought the moon from heaven, made it pass through one sleeve and out of the other, and then allowed it to return to its place in heaven.

Pascal (Blaise) was a miracle-worker (1623-1662).

Ploti´nus, the Neo-platonic philosopher 96(205-270).--Porphyrius, Vita Plotini (A.D. 301).

PROCLUS, a Neo-platonic philosopher (410-485).--Marinus, Vita Procli (fifth century).

SOSPITRA possessed the power of seeing all that was done in every part of the whole world.--Eunapius, Œdeseus (fourth century).

VESPASIAN, the Roman emperor, cured a blind man and a cripple by his touch during his stay at Alexandria.

VINCENT DE PAUL, founder of the “Sisters of Charity” (1576-1660).

Thaumaturgus Physicus, a treatise on natural magic, by Gaspar Schott (1657-9).

Thaumaturgus of the West, St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153).

Theag´enes and Chariclei´a (The Loves of), a love story, in Greek, by Heliodorus, bishop of Trikka (fourth century). A charming fiction, largely borrowed from by subsequent novelists, and especially by Mdlle. de Scudéri, Tasso, Guarini and D’Urfé. The tale is this: Some Egyptian brigands met one morning on a hill near the mouth of the Nile, and saw a vessel, laden with stores, lying at anchor. They also observed that the banks of the Nile were strewn with dead bodies and the fragments of food. On further examination they beheld Charicleia sitting on a rock, tending Theagĕnês, who lay beside her severely wounded. Some pirates had done it, and to them the vessel belonged. We are then carried to the house of Nausĭclês, and there Calasīris tells the early history of Charicleia, her love for Theagenês, and their capture by the pirates.

Thea´na (3 syl.) is Anne, countess of Warwick.

Thebaid (The), a Latin epic poem in twelve books, by Statius (about a century after Virgil). Laïos, king of Thebes, was told by an oracle that he would have a son, but that his son would be his murderer. To prevent this, when the son was born he was hung on a tree by his feet, to be devoured by wild beasts. The child, however, was rescued by some of the royal servants, who brought him up, and called his name Œdĭpos or Club-foot, because his feet and ankles were swollen by the thongs. One day, going to Thebes, the chariot of Laïos nearly drove over the young Œdipos; a quarrel ensued, and Laïos was killed. Œdipos, not knowing whom he had slain, went on to Thebes, and ere long married the widowed queen, Jocasta, not knowing that she was his mother, and by her he had two sons and two daughters. The names of the sons were Et´eoclês and Polynīcês. These sons in time dethroned their father, and agreed to reign alternate years. Etĕŏclês reigned first, but at the close of the year refused to resign the crown to his brother, and Polynicês made war upon him. This war, which occurred some forty-two years before the siege of Troy, and about the time that Debŏrah was fighting with Sisĕra (Judges iv.), is the subject of the Thebaid.

The first book recapitulates the history given above, and then goes on to say that Polynicês went straight to Argos, and laid his grievance before King Adrastos (bk. i.). While at Argos he married one of the king’s daughters, and Tydeus the other. The festivities being over, Tydeus was sent to Thebes to claim the throne for his 97brother-in-law, and, being insolently dismissed, denounced war against Eteoclês. The villainous usurper sent fifty ruffians to fall on the ambassador on his way to Argos, but they were all slain, except one, who was left to carry back the news (bk. ii). When Tydeus reached Argos he wanted his father-in-law to march at once against Thebes, but Adrastos, less impetuous, made answer that a great war required time for its organization. How ever, Kapăneus (3 syl.), siding with Tydeus [Ti´.duce], roused the mob (bk. iii.), and Adrastos at once set about preparations for war. He placed his army under six chieftains, viz., Polynicês, Tydeus, Amphiarāos, Kapaneus, Parthenopæos and Hippomĕdon, he himself acting as commander-in-chief (bk. iv.). Bks. v., vi. describe the march from Argos to Thebes. On the arrival of the allied army before Thebes, Jocasta tried to reconcile her two sons, but, not succeeding in this, hostilities commenced, and one of the chiefs, named Amphiaraos, was swallowed up by an earthquake (bk. vii.). Next day Tydeus greatly distinguished himself, but fell (bk. viii.). Hippomedon and Parthenopæos were both slain the day following (bk. ix.). Then came the turn of Kapaneus, bold as a tiger, strong as a giant, and a regular dare-devil in war. He actually scaled the wall, he thought himself sure of victory, he defied even Jove to stop him, and was instantly killed by a flash of lightning (bk. x.). Polynicês was now the only one of the six remaining, and he sent to Eteoclês to meet him in single combat. The two brothers met, they fought like lions, they gave no quarter, they took no rest. At length Eteoclês fell, and Polynicês, running up to strip him of his arms, was thrust through the bowels, and fell dead on the dead body of his brother. Adrastos now decamped, and returned to Argos (bk. xi.). Creon, having usurped the Theban crown, forbade any one, on pain of death, to bury the dead; but when Theseus, king of Athens, heard of this profanity, he marched at once to Thebes, Creon died, and the crown was given to Theseus (bk. xii.).

Theban Bard (The), Theban Eagle or Theban Lyre, Pindar, born at Thebes (B.C. 522-442).

Thecla (St.) said to be of noble family, in Ico´nium, and to have been converted by the Apostle Paul. She is styled in Greek martyrologies the protomartyress, but the book called The Acts of Paul and Thecla is considered to be apocryphal.

Thekla, daughter of Wallenstein.--Schiller, Wallenstein (1799).

Thélème (Abbey of) the abbey given by Grangousier to Friar John for the aid he rendered in the battle against Picrochole, king of Lerné. The abbey was stored with everything that could contribute to sensual indulgence and enjoyment. It was the very reverse of a convent or monastery. No religious hypocrites, no pettifogging attorneys, no usurers were admitted within it, but it was filled with gallant ladies and gentlemen, faithful expounders of the Scriptures, and every one who could contribute to its elegant recreations and general festivity. The motto over the door was: “Fay ce que Vouldras.”--Rabelais, Gargantua, i. 52-7 (1533).

98Thélème, the Will personified. Voltaire, Thélème and Macare.

The´lu, the female or woman.

Thenot, an old shepherd bent with age, who tells Cuddy, the herdsman’s boy, the fable of the oak and the briar. An aged oak, once a most royal tree, was wasted by age of its foliage, and stood with bare head and sear branches. A pert bramble grew hard by, and snubbed the oak, calling it a cumberer of the ground. It even complained to the lord of the field, and prayed him to cut it down. The request was obeyed, and the oak was felled; but now the bramble suffered from the storm and cold, for it had no shelter, and the snow bent it to the ground, where it was draggled and defiled. The application is very personal. Cuddy is the pert, flippant bramble, and Thenot the hoary oak; but Cuddy told the old man his tale was long and trashy, and bad him hie home, for the sun was set.--Spenser, Shepheardes Calendar, ii. (1579).

(Thenot is introduced also in ecl. iv., and again in ecl. xi., where he begs Colin to sing something, but Colin declines because his mind is sorrowing for the death of the shepherdess Dido.)

Thenot, a shepherd who loved Clorin chiefly for her “fidelity” to her deceased lover. When the “faithful shepherdess” knew this, in order to cure him of his passion, she pretended to return his love. Thenot was so shocked to see his charm broken that he lost even his respect for Clorin, and forsook her.--John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess (1610).

Theocritus, of Syracuse, in Sicily (fl. B.C. 280), celebrated for his idylls in Doric Greek. Meli is the person referred to below.

Theocritus (The Scotch), Allan Ramsay, author of The Gentle Shepherd (1685-1758).

Theocritus (The Sicilian), Giovanni Meli, of Palermo, immortalized by his eclogues and idylls (1740-1815).

Theod´ofred, heir to the Spanish throne, but incapacitated from reigning, because he had been blinded by Witiza. Theodofred was the son of Chindasuintho, and father of King Roderick. As Witiza, the usurper, had blinded Theodofred, so Roderick dethroned and blinded Witiza.--Southey, Roderick, etc. (1814).

⁂ In mediæval times no one with any personal defect was allowed to reign and one of the most ordinary means of disqualifying a prince for succeeding to a throne was to put out his eyes. Of course, the reader will call to mind the case of Prince Arthur, the nephew of King John; and scores of other instances in Italian, French, Spanish, German, Russian, and Scandinavian history.

Theod´omas, a famous trumpeter at the siege of Thebes.

99Theodo´ra, sister of Constantine, the Greek emperor. She entertained most bitter hatred against Rogēro for slaying her son, and vowed vengeance. Rogero, being entrapped in sleep, was confined by her in a dungeon, and fed on the bread and water of affliction, but was ultimately released by Prince Leon.--Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

The´odore (3 syl.), son of General Archas, “the loyal subject” of the great-duke of Muscovia. A colonel, valorous, but impatient.--Beaumont and Fletcher, The Loyal Subject (1618).

Theodore (3 syl.), of Ravenna, brave, rich, honored, and chivalrous. He loved Honōria “to madness,” but “found small favor in the lady’s eyes.” At length, however, the lady relented and married him. (See Honoria.)--Dryden, Theodore and Honoria (from Boccaccio).

Theodore, son of the lord of Clarinsal, and grandson of Alphonso. His father thought him dead, renounced the world, and became a monk of St. Nicholas, assuming the name of Austin. By chance Theodore was sent home in a Spanish bark, and found his way into some secret passage of the count’s castle, where he was seized and taken before the count. Here he met the monk, Austin, and was made known to him. He informed his father of his love for Adelaide, the count’s daughter, and was then told that if he married her, he must renounce his estates and title. The case stood thus: If he claimed his estates, he must challenge the count to mortal combat, and renounce the daughter; but if he married Adelaide, he must forego his rights, for he could not marry the daughter and slay his father-in-law. The perplexity is solved by the death of Adelaide, killed by her father by mistake, and the death of the count by his own hand.--Robert Jephson, Count of Narbonne (1782).

Theod´orick, king of the Goths, called by the German minnesingers, Diderick of Bern (Verōna).

Theodorick, or “Alberick of Mortemar,” an exiled nobleman, hermit of Engaddi, and an enthusiast.--Sir W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).

Theodorus (Master), a learned physician, employed by Ponocratês to cure Gargantua of his vicious habits. The doctor accordingly “purged him canonically with Anticyrian hellebore, cleansed from his brain all perverse habits, and made him forget everything he had learned of his other preceptors.”--Rabelais, Gargantua, i. 23.

Hellebore was made use of to purge the brain, in order to fit it the better for serious study.--Pliny, Natural History, xxv. 25; Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights, xvii. 15.

Theodo´sius, the hermit of Cappadocia. He wrote the four gospels in letters of gold (423-529).

Theophilus (St.), of Adana, in Cilicia (sixth century). He was driven by slander to sell his soul to the devil, on condition that his character was cleared. The slander was removed, and no tongue wagged against the thin-skinned saint. Theophilus now repented of his bargain, and after a fast of forty days and forty nights, was visited by the Virgin, who bade him confess to the bishop. This he 100did, received absolution, and died within three days of brain fever.--Jacques de Voragine, The Golden Legends (thirteenth century).

This is a very stale trick, told of many a saint. Southey has poetized one of them in his ballad of St. Basil, or The Sinner Saved (1829). Elĕēmon sold his soul to the devil on condition of his procuring him Cyra for wife. The devil performed his part of the bargain, but Eleemon called off, and St. Basil gave him absolution. (See Sinner Saved.)

Theophras´tus of France (The), Jean de la Bruyère, author of Caractères (1646-1696).

Theresa, the miller’s wife, who adopted and brought up Amīna, the orphan, called “the somnambulist.”--Bellini, La Sonnambula (libretto by Scribe, 1831).

Therēsa, wife of the count palatine of Padōlia, beloved by Mazeppa. Her father, indignant that a mere page should presume to his daughter’s hand, had Mazeppa bound to a wild horse, and set adrift. The future history of Theresa is not related.--Byron, Mazeppa (1819).

Medora [wife of the Corsair], Neuha [in The Island], Leila [in The Giaour], Francesca [in The Siege of Corinth], and Theresa, it has been alleged, are but children of one family, with differences resulting only from climate and circumstances.--Finden, Byron Beauties.

Theresa (Sister), with Flora M’Ivor at Carlisle.--Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).

Theringe (Mde. de), the mother of Louise de Lascours, and grandmother of Diana de Lascours and Martha, alias Orgari´ta, “the orphan of the Frozen Sea.”--E. Stirling, The Orphan of the Frozen Sea (1856).

Thermopylæ. When Xerxes invaded Greece, Leonĭdas was sent with 300 Spartans, as a forlorn hope, to defend the pass leading from Thessaly into Locris, by which it was thought the Persian host would penetrate into Southern Greece. The Persians, however, having discovered a path over the mountains, fell on Leonidas in the rear, and the “brave defenders of the hot-gates” were cut to pieces.

Theron, the favorite dog of Roderick, the last Gothic king of Spain. When the discrowned king, dressed as a monk, assumed the name of “Father Maccabee,” although his tutor, mother, and even Florinda failed to recognize him, Theron knew him at once, fawned on him with fondest love, and would never again leave him till the faithful creature died. When Roderick saw his favorite,

Thersi´tes (3 syl.), a scurrilous Grecian chief, “loquacious, loud, and coarse.” His chief delight was to inveigh against the kings of Greece. He squinted, halted, was gibbous behind and pinched before, and on his tapering head grew a few white patches of starveling down (Iliad, ii.).

The´seus (2 syl.), the Attic hero. He induced the several towns of Attica to give up their separate governments and submit to a common jurisdiction, whereby 101the several petty chiefdoms were consolidated into one state, of which Athens was the capital.

⁂ Similarly, the several kingdoms of the Saxon heptarchy were consolidated into one kingdom by Egbert; but in this latter case, the might of arms, and not the power of conviction, was the instrument employed.

Theseus (Duke) of Athens. On his return home, after marrying Hypolĭta, a crowd of female suppliants complained to him of Creon, king of Thebes. The duke therefore set out for Thebes, slew Creon, and took the city by assault. Among the captives taken in this siege were two knights, named Palămon and Arcite, who saw the duke’s sister from their dungeon window, and fell in love with her. When set at liberty, they told their loves to the duke, and Theseus (2 syl.) promised to give the lady to the best man in a single combat. Arcite overthrew Palamon, but as he was about to claim the lady his horse threw him, and he died; so Palamon lost the contest, but won the bride.--Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (“The Knight’s Tale,” 1388).

⁂ In classic story, Theseus is called “king;” but Chaucer styles him “duke,” that is, dux, “leader or emperor” (imperātor).

Thespian Maids (The), the nine Muses. So called from Thespia, in Bœotia, near Mount Helĭcon, often called Thespia Rupes.

Thespi´o, a Muse. The Muses were called Thespi´adês, from Thespīa, in Bœo´tia, at the foot of mount Helĭcon.

Thespis, the father of the Greek drama.

Thes´tylis, a female slave; any rustic maiden.--Theocritos, Idylls.

Thet´is, mother of Achillês. She was a sea-nymph, daughter of Nereus, the sea-god.--Grecian Story.

Theuerdank, a sobriquet of Kaiser Maximilian I. of Germany (1459, 1493-1519).

Thiebalt, a Provençal, one of Arthur’s escorts to Aix.--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Thieves (The Two). The penitent thief crucified with Jesus, has been called by sundry names, as Demas, Dismas, Titus, Matha, and Vicimus.

The impenitent thief, has been called Gestas, Dumachas, Joca, and Justīnus.

In the Aprocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, the former is called Dysmas and the latter Gestas. In the Story of Joseph of Arimathea, the former is called Demas and the latter Gestas. Longfellow’s Golden Legend, calls them Titus and Dumachus. A legend says that they attacked Joseph in his flight into Egypt. Titus said, “Let the good people go;” but Dumachus refused to do so till he “paid a ransom for himself and family.” Upon this, Titus gave his fellow forty groats; and the infant Jesus said, “In thirty years I shall die, and you two with Me. We shall be 102crucified together; but in that day, Titus, this deed shall be remembered.”

Thieves (His ancestors proved). It is Sir Walter Scott who wrote and proved his “ancestors were thieves,” in the Lay of the Last Minstrel, iv. 9.

Thieves Screened. It is said of Edward the Confessor, that one day, while lying on his bed for his afternoon’s nap, a courtier stole into his chamber and seeing the king’s casket, helped himself freely from it. He returned a second time, and on his third entrance, Edward said, “Be quick, or Hugoline (the chamberlain) will see you.” The courtier was scarcely gone, when the chamberlain entered and instantly detected the theft. The king said, “Never mind, Hugoline; the fellow who has taken it no doubt has greater need of it than either you or I.” (Reigned 1042-1066).

Several similar anecdotes are told of Robert the Pious, of France. One time he saw a man steal a silver candle-stick off the altar, and said, “Friend Ogger, run for your life, or you will be found out.” At another time, one of the twelve poor men in his train cut off a rich gold pendant from the royal robe, and Robert, turning to the man, said to him, “Hide it quickly, friend, before any one sees it.” (Reigned 996-1031.)

The following is told of two or three kings, amongst others of Ludwig the Pious, who had a very overbearing wife. A beggar under the table, picking up the crumbs which the king let down, cut off the gold fringe of the royal robe, and the king whispered to him, “Take care the queen doesn’t see you.”

Thieves of Historic Note.

Autol´ycos, son of Hermês; a very prince of thieves. He had the power of changing the color and shape of stolen goods so as to prevent their being recognized.--Greek Fable.

Barlow (Jimmy), immortalized by the ballad-song:

Cartouche, the Dick Turpin of France (eighteenth century).

Cottington (John), in the time of the Commonwealth, who emptied the pockets of Oliver Cromwell, when lord protector, stripped Charles II. of £1500, and stole a watch and chain from Lady Fairfax.

Duval (Claude), a French highwayman, noted for his gallantry and daring (*-1670). (See “James Whitney,” who was a very similar character.)

⁂ Alexander Dumas has a novel entitled Claude Duval, and Miss Robinson introduces him in White Friars.

Frith (Mary), usually called “Moll Cutpurse.” She had the honor of robbing General Fairfax, on Hounslow Heath. Mary Frith lived in the reign of Charles I., and died at the age of 75 years.

⁂ Nathaniel Field has introduced Mary Frith, and made merry with some of her pranks, in his comedy, Amends for Ladies (1618).

Galloping Dick, executed in Aylesbury, in 1800.

Grant (Captain), the Irish highwayman, executed at Maryborough in 1816.

Greenwood (Samuel), executed at Old Bailey in 1822.

Hassan, the “Old Man of the Mountain,” once the terror of Europe. He was chief of the Assassins (1056-1124).

Hood (Robin) and his “merry men all,” 103of Sherwood Forest. Famed in song, drama and romance. Probably he lived in the reign of Richard Cœur de Lion.

⁂ Sir W. Scott has introduced him both in The Talisman and in Ivanhoe. Stow has recorded the chief incidents of his life (see under the year 1213). Ritson has compiled a volume of ballads respecting him. Drayton has given a sketch of him in the Polyolbion, xxvi. The following are dramas on the same outlaw, viz.:--The Playe of Robyn Hode, very proper to be played in Maye games (fifteenth century); Skelton, at the command of Henry VIII., wrote a drama called The Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntington (about 1520); The Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntington, by Munday (1597); The Death of Robert, Earle of Huntington, otherwise called Robin Hood of Merrie Sherwodde, by H. Chettle (1598). Chettle’s drama is in reality a continuation of Munday’s, like the two parts of Shakespeare’s plays, Henry IV. and Henry V. Robin Hood’s Penn´orths, a play by William Haughton (1600); Robin Hood and His Pastoral May Games (1624), Robin Hood and His Crew of Soldiers (1627), both anonymous; The Sad Shepherd, or a Tale of Robin Hood (unfinished), B. Jonson (1637); Robin Hood, an opera (1730); Robin Hood, an opera by Dr. Arne and Burney (1741); Robin Hood, a musical farce (1751); Robin Hood, a comic opera (1784); Robin Hood, an opera by O’Keefe, music by Shield (1787); Robin Hood, by Macnally (before 1820). Sheridan began a drama on the same subject, which he called The Foresters; The Foresters, Tennyson (1892).

Periphe´tes (4 syl.) of Argŏlis, surnamed “The Club-Bearer,” because he used to kill his victims with an iron club.--Grecian Story.

Procrustes (3 syl.), a famous robber of Attica. His real name was Polypēmon or Damastês, but he received the sobriquet of Procrustês, or “The Stretcher,” from his practice of placing all victims that fell into his hands on a certain bedstead. If the victim was too short to fit it he stretched the limbs to the right length; if too long he lopped off the redundant part.--Grecian Story.

Rea (William), executed at Old Bailey in 1828.

Sheppard (Jack), an ardent, reckless, generous youth, wholly unrivalled as a thief and burglar. His father was a carpenter in Spitalfields. Sentence of death was passed on him in August, 1724; but when the warders came to take him to execution, they found he had escaped. He was apprehended in the following October, and again made his escape. A third time he was caught, and in November suffered death. Certainly the most popular burglar that ever lived (1701-1724).

⁂ Daniel Defoe made Jack Sheppard the hero of a romance in 1724, and H. Ainsworth in 1839.

Sinis, a Corinthian highwayman, surnamed “The Pine-Bender,” from his custom of attaching the limbs of his victims to two opposite pines forcibly bent down. Immediately the trees were released they bounded back, tearing the victim limb from limb.--Grecian Story.

Ter´meros, a robber of Peloponnesos, who killed his victims by cracking their skulls against his own.

Turpin (Dick), a noted highwayman (1711-1739). His ride to York is described by H. Ainsworth in his Rookwood (1834).

Whitney (James), the last of the “gentlemanly” highwaymen. He prided himself on being “the glass of fashion and the mould of form.” Executed at Porter’s Block, near Smithfield (1660-1694).

Wild (Jonathan), a cool, calculating, heartless villain, with the voice of a Stentor. 104He was born at Wolverhampton, in Staffordshire, and, like Sheppard, was the son of a carpenter. Unlike Sheppard, this cold-blooded villain was universally execrated. He was hanged at Tyburn (1682-1725).

⁂ Defoe made Jonathan Wild the hero of a romance in 1725; Fielding in 1744.

Thirlmore (Rev. and Col.), ambitious, able man, first a popular, sensational preacher, then, as the bubble breaks, a farmer and stock-raiser, lastly an officer in the U. S. Army, during the Civil War. In the varied experiences of the latter career, the selfishness which has marred his character sloughs off, and the man appears.--William M. Baker, His Majesty, Myself (1879) and The Making of a Man (1881).

Third Founder of Rome (The), Caius Marius. He was so called, because he overthrew the multitudinous hordes of Cambrians and Teutons, who came to lick up the Romans as the oxen of the field lick up grass (B.C. 102).

⁂ The first founder was Romulus, and the second Camillus.

Thirsil and Thelgon, two gentle swains who were kinsmen. Thelgon exhorts Thirsil to wake his “too long sleeping Muse;” and Thirsil, having collected the nymphs and shepherds around him, sang to them the song of The Purple Island.--Phineas Fletcher, The Purple Island, i., ii. (1633).

Thirsty (The), Colman Itadach, surnamed “The Thirsty,” was a monk of the rule of St. Patrick. Itadach, in strict observance of the Patrician rule, refused to quench his thirst even in the harvest-field, and died in consequence.

Thirteen Precious Things of Britain.

1. Dyrnwyn (the sword of Rhydderch Hael). If any man except Hael drew this blade, it burst into a flame from point to hilt.

2. The Basket of Gwyddno Garanhir. If food for one man were put therein, it multiplied till it sufficed for a hundred.

3. The Horn of Bran Galed, in which was always found the very beverage that each drinker most desired.

4. The Platter of Rhegynydd Ysgolhaig, which always contained the very food that the eater most liked.

5. The Chariot of Morgan Mwynvawr. Whoever sat therein was transported instantaneously to the place he wished to go to.

9. The Halter of Clydno Eiddyn. Whatever horse he wished for was always found therein. It hung on a staple at the foot of his bed.

7. The Knife of Llawfrodded Farchawg, which would serve twenty-four men simultaneously at any meal.

8. The Caldron of Tyrnog. If meat were put in for a brave man, it was cooked instantaneously, but meat for a coward would never get boiled therein.

9. The Whetstone of Tudwal Tudclud. If the sword of a brave man were sharpened thereon, its cut was certain death; but if of a coward, the cut was harmless.

10. The Robe of Padarn Beisrudd, which fitted every one of gentle birth, but no churl could wear it.

11. The Mantle of Tegau Eurvron, which only fitted ladies whose conduct was irreproachable.

12. The Mantle of King Arthur, which could be worn or used as a carpet, and whoever wore it or stood on it was invisible. This mantle or carpet was called Gwenn.

105⁂ The ring of Luned rendered the wearer invisible so long as the stone of it was concealed.

13. The Chessboard of Gwenddolen. When the men were placed upon it, they played of themselves. The board was of gold, and the men silver.--Welsh Romance.

Thirteen Unlucky. It is said that it is unlucky for thirteen persons to sit down to dinner at the same table, because one of the number will die before the year is out. This silly superstition is based on the “Last Supper,” when Christ and His twelve disciples sat at meat together. Jesus was crucified; and Judas Iscariot hanged himself.

Thirty (The). So the Spartan senate established by Lycurgos was called.

Similarly, the Venetian senate was called “The Forty.”

Thirty Tyrants (The). So the governors, appointed by Lysander, the Spartan, over Athens, were called (B.C. 404). They continued in power only eight months, when Thrasybūlos deposed them and restored the republic.

“The Thirty” put more people to death in eight months of peace, than the enemy had done in a war of thirty years.--Xenophon.

Thirty Tyrants of Rome (The), a fanciful name, applied by Trebellius Pollio, to a set of adventurers who tried to make themselves masters of Rome at sundry times between A.D. 260 and 267.

The number was not thirty, and the analogy between them and “The Thirty Tyrants of Athens” is scarcely perceptible.

Thirty Years’ War (The), a series of wars between the Protestants and Catholics of Germany, terminated by the “Peace of Westphalia.” The war arose thus: The emperor of Austria interfered in the struggle between the Protestants and Catholics, by depriving the Protestants of Bohemia of their religious privileges; in consequence of which the Protestants flew to arms. After the contest had been going on for some years, Richelieu joined the Protestants (1635), not from any love of their cause, but solely to humiliate Austria and Spain (1618-1648).

The Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta is called “The Thirty Years’ War”.War”.

Thisbe (2 syl.), a beautiful Babylonian maid, beloved by Pyrămus, her next-door neighbor. As their parents forbade their marriage, they contrived to hold intercourse with each other through a chink in the garden wall. Once they agreed to meet at the tomb of Ninus. Thisbê was first at the trysting-place, but, being scared by a lion, took to flight, and accidentally dropped her robe, which the lion tore and stained with blood. Pyramus, seeing the blood-stained robe, thought that the lion had eaten Thisbê, and so killed himself. When Thisbê returned and saw her lover dead, she killed herself also. Shakespeare has burlesqued this pretty tale in his Midsummer Night’s Dream (1592).

Thom´alin, a shepherd who laughed to scorn the notion of love, but was ultimately entangled in its wiles. He tells Willy that one day, hearing a rustling in a bush, he discharged an arrow, when up flew Cupid into a tree. A battle ensued between them, and when the shepherd, having spent all his arrows, ran away, Cupid shot him in the heel. Thomalin did not much heed the wound at first, but 106soon it festered inwardly and rankled daily more and more.--Spenser, Shepheardes Calendar, iii. (1579).

Thomalin is again introduced in Ecl. vii., when he inveighs against the Catholic priests in general, and the shepherd Palinode (3 syl.) in particular. This eclogue could not have been written before 1578, as it refers to the sequestration of Grindal, archbishop of Canterbury in that year.

Thomas (Monsieur), the fellow-traveller of Val´entine. Valentine’s niece, Mary, is in love with him.--Beaumont and Fletcher, Mons. Thomas (1619).

Thomas (Sir), a dogmatical, prating, self-sufficient squire, whose judgments are but “justices’ justice.”--Crabbe, Borough, x. (1810).

Thomas à Kempis, the pseudonym of Jean Charlier de Gerson (1363-1429). Some say, of Thomas Hämmerlein Maleŏlus (1380-1471).

Thomas the Rhymer or “Thomas of Erceldoun,” an ancient Scottish bard. His name was Thomas Learmont, and he lived in the days of Wallace (thirteenth century).

⁂ Thomas the Rhymer, and Thomas Rymer were totally different persons. The latter was an historiographer, who compiled The Fœdera (1638-1713).

Thomas (Winifred), beautiful coquette, who wins Henry Vane’s heart only to trifle with it, in Frederic Jesup Stimson’s novel, The Crime of Henry Vane (1884).

Thopas (Sir), a native of Poperyng, in Flanders; a capital sportsman, archer, wrestler, and runner. Sir Thopas resolved to marry no one but an “elf queen,” and accordingly started for Faëryland. On his way he met the three-headed giant, Olifaunt, who challenged him to single combat. Sir Thopas asked permission to go for his armor, and promised to meet the giant next day. Here mine host broke in with the exclamation, “Intolerable stuff!” and the story was left unfinished.--Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (“The Rime of Sir Thopas,” 1388).

Thor, eldest son of Odin and Frigga; strongest and bravest of the gods. He launched the thunder, presided over the air and the seasons, and protected man from lightning and evil spirits.

His wife was Sif (“love”).

His chariot was drawn by two he-goats.

His mace or hammer was called Mjolner.

His belt was Megingjard. Whenever he put it on his strength was doubled.

His palace was Thrudvangr. It contained 540 halls.

Thursday is Thor’s day.--Scandinavian Mythology.

The word means “Refuge from terror.”

Thoresby (Broad), one of the troopers under Fitzurse.--Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).

Thorn´berry (Job), a brazier in Penzance. He was a blunt but kind man, strictly honest, most charitable, and doting on his daughter, Mary. Job Thornberry is called “John Bull,” and is meant to be a type of a genuine English tradesman, unsophisticated by cant and foreign manners. He failed in business “through the treachery of a friend;” but Peregrine, to whom he had lent ten guineas, returning from Calcutta after the absence of 107thirty years, gave him £10,000, which he said his loan had grown to by honest trade.

Mary Thornberry, his daughter, in love with Frank Rochdale, son and heir of Sir Simon Rochdale, whom ultimately she married.--G. Colman, Jr., John Bull (1805).

Thorne (Esmerald), physician who is killed instantly by a runaway horse, and, without suspecting that his spirit has left his body, seeks first one friend, then another, remaining viewless to all. Condemned to work his way from a lower to a higher plane, he rebels against the natural law of sowing and reaping, until led by the spirit of his own little child to repentance and sanctification.

Thorne (Helen), patient wife and sorrowing widow of Esmerald.--Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward, The Gates Between (1887).

Thornhaugh (Colonel), an officer in Cromwell’s army.--Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).

Thornhill (Sir William), alias Mr. Burchell, about 30 years of age. Most generous and most whimsical, most benevolent and most sensitive. Sir William was the landlord of Dr. Primrose, the vicar of Wakefield. After travelling through Europe on foot, he had returned and lived incognito. In the garb and aspect of a pauper, Mr. Burchell is introduced to the vicar of Wakefield. Twice he rescued his daughter, Sophia--once when she was thrown from her horse into a deep stream, and once when she was abducted by Squire Thornhill. Ultimately he married her.--Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield (1766).

Thornhill (Squire), nephew of Sir William Thornhill. He enjoyed a large fortune, but was entirely dependent on his uncle. He was a sad libertine, who abducted both the daughters of Dr. Primrose, and cast the old vicar into jail for rent after the entire loss of his house, money, furniture, and books by fire. Squire Thornhill tried to impose upon Olivia Primrose by a false marriage, but was caught in his own trap, for the marriage proved to be legal in every respect.--Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield (1766).

This worthy citizen abused the aristocracy much on the same principle as the fair Olivia depreciated Squire Thornhill:--he had a sneaking affection for what he abused.--Lord Lytton.

Thornton (Captain), an English officer.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time George I.).

Thornton (Cyril), the hero and title of a novel of military adventure, by Captain Thomas Hamilton (1827).

Thorough Doctor (The). William Varro was called Doctor Fundātus (thirteenth century).

Thoughtful (Father), Nicholas Cat´inet, a marshal of France. So called by his soldiers for his cautious and thoughtful policy (1637-1712).

Thoughtless (Miss Betty), a virtuous, sensible, and amiable young lady, utterly regardless of the conventionalities of society, and wholly ignorant of etiquette. She is consequently forever involved in petty scrapes most mortifying to her sensitive mind. Even her lover is alarmed at her gaucherie, and deliberates whether such a partner for life is desirable.--Mrs. Heywood, Miss Betty Thoughtless (1687-1758).

108(Mrs. Heywood’s novel evidently suggested the Evelina of Miss Burney, 1778.)

Thoulouse (Raymond, count of), one of the crusading princes.--Sir W. Scott Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).

Thrame (Janet), fiend-possessed serving maid, who, when she went abroad led by her possessor and master, left her body hung upon a nail in her room.--R. L. Stevenson, Thrame Janet.

Thraso, a bragging, swaggering captain, the Roman Bobadil (q.v.).--Terence, The Eunuch.

Thraso, duke of Mar, one of the allies of Charlemagne.--Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

Three a Divine Number. Pythagoras calls three the perfect number, expressive of “beginning, middle, and end,” and he makes it a symbol of deity.

American Indians: Otkon (creator), Messou (providence) Atahuata (the Logos).

(Called Otkon by the Iroquois, and Otkee by the Virginians).

Armorica. The korrigans or fays of Armorica are three times three.

Brahmins: Brahma, Vishnu, Siva.

Buddhists: Buddha, Annan Sonsja, Rosia Sonsja.

(These are the three idols seen in Buddhist temples; Buddha stands in the middle.)

Christians: The Father, the Son (the Logos), the Holy Ghost.

When, in creation, the earth was without form and void, “the Spirit moved over the face,” and put it into order.

Egyptians (Ancient). Almost every district had its own triad, but the most general were Osiris, Isis, Horus; Eicton, Cneph (creator), Phtha.

Etruscans. Their college consisted of three times three gods.

Kamtschadales: Koutkhou (creator of heaven), Kouhttigith, his sister (creator of earth), Outleigin (creator of ocean).

Parsees: Ahura (the creator), Vohu Mano (“entity”), Akem Mano (“nonentity”).

Persians: Oromasdês or Oromāzês (the good principle), Arimanês (the evil principle), Mithras (fecundity).

Others give Zervanê (god the father), and omit Mithras from the trinity.

Peruvians (Ancient): Pachama (goddess mother), Virakotcha (= Jupiter), Mamakotcha (=Neptune). They called their Trinity “Tangatanga” (i.e., “three in one”).

Phœnicians: Kolpia (the Logos), Baaut (“darkness”), Mot (“matter”).

Romans (Ancient): Jupiter (god of heaven), Neptune (god of earth and sea), Pluto (god of Hades, the under-world).

(Their whole college of gods consisted of four times three deities.)

Scandinavians: Odin (“life”), Hænir (“motion”), Loda (“matter”).

Tahitians: Taroataihetoomoo (chief deity), Tepapa (the fecund principle), Tettoomatataya (their offspring).

Lao-Tseu, the Chinese philosopher, says the divine trinity is: Ki, Hi, Ouei.

Orpheus says it is: Phanês (light), Urănos (heaven), Kronos (time).

Plato says it is: Tô Agăthon (goodness), Nous (intelligence), Psuchê (the mundane soul).

Pythagoras says it is: Monad (the unit or oneness), Nous, Psuchê.

Vossius says it is: Jupiter (divine 109power), Minerva (the Logos), Juno (divine progenitiveness).

Subordinate. The orders of Angels are three times three, viz.: (1) Seraphim, (2) Cherubim, (3) Thrones, (4) Dominions, (5) Virtues, (6) Powers, (7) Principalities, (8) Archangels, (9) Angels.--Dionysius, the Areopăgite.

The Cities of Refuge were three on each side the Jordan.

The Fates are three: Clotho (with her distaff, presides at birth), Lachĕsis (spins the thread of life), Atrŏpos (cuts the thread).

The Furies are three: Tisiponê, Alecto, Megæra.

The Graces are three: Euphros´ynê (cheerfulness of mind), Aglaia (mirth), Thalīa (good-tempered jest).

The Judges of Hades are three: Minos (the chief baron), Æacus (the judge of Europeans), Rhadamanthus (the judge of Asiatics and Africans).

The Muses are three times three.

Jupiter’s thunder is three-forked (trifĭdun); Neptune’s trident has three prongs; Pluto’s dog, Cerbĕrus, has three heads. The rivers of hell are three times three, and Styx flows round it thrice three times.

In Scandinavian mythology there are three times three earths; three times three worlds in Niflheim; three times three regions under the dominion of Hel.

According to a mediæval tradition, the heavens are three times three., viz., the Moon, Venus, Mercury, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the fixed stars and the primum mobĭlê.

Symbolic. (1) In the tabernacle and Jewish Temple.

The Temple consisted of three parts: the porch, the Temple proper and the holy of holies. It had three courts: the court of the priests, the court of the people and the court of foreigners. The innermost court had three rows, and three windows in each row (1 Kings vi. 36; vii. 4).

Similarly, Ezekiel’s city had three gates on each side (Ezek. xlviii. 31). Cyrus left direction for the rebuilding of the Temple; it was to be three score cubits in height, and three score cubits wide, and three rows of great stones were to be set up (Ezra vi. 3, 4). In like manner, the “New Jerusalem” is to have four times three foundations: (1) jasper, (2) sapphire, (3) chalcedony, (4) emerald, (5) sardonyx, (6) sardius, (7) chrysolyte, (8) beryl, (9) topaz, (10) chrysoprase, (11) jacinth, (12) amethyst. It is to have three gates fronting each cardinal quarter (Rev. xxi. 13-20).

(2) In the Temple Furniture: The golden candlestick had three branches on each side (Exod. xxv. 32); there were three bowls (ver. 33); the height of the altar was three cubits (Exod. xxvii. 1); there were three pillars for the hangings (ver. 14); Solomon’s molten sea was supported on oxen, three facing each cardinal point (1 Kings vii. 25).

(3) Sacrifices and Offerings: A meat offering consisted of three-tenth deals of fine flour (Lev. xiv. 10); Hannah offered up three bullocks when Samuel was devoted to the temple (1 Sam. i. 24); three sorts of beasts--bullocks, rams, and lambs--were appointed for offerings (Numb. xxix.); the Jews were commanded to keep three national feasts yearly (Exod.. xxiii. 14-17); in all criminal charges three witnesses were required (Deut. xvii. 6).

Miscellaneous Threes. Joshua sent three men from each tribe to survey the land of Canaan (Josh. xvii. 4). Moses had done the same at the express command of God (Numb. xiii.). Job had three friends (Job ii. 11). Abraham was accosted by 110three men (angels), with whom he pleaded to spare the cities of the plain (Gen. xviii. 2). Nebuchadnezzar cast three men into the fiery furnace (Dan. iii. 24). David had three mighty men of valor, and one of them slew 300 of the Philistines with his spear (2 Sam. xxiii. 9, 18). Nebuchadnezzar’s image was three score cubits high (Dan. iii. 1). Moses was hidden three months from the Egyptian police (Exod. ii. 2). The ark of the covenant was three months in the house of Obededom (2 Sam. vi. 11). Balaam smote his ass three times before the beast upbraided him (Numb. xxii. 28). Samson mocked Delilah three times (Judges xvi. 15). Elijah stretched himself three times on the child which he restored to life (1 Kings xvii. 21). The little horn plucked up three horns by the roots (Dan. vii. 8). The bear seen by Daniel in his vision, had three ribs in its mouth (ver. 5). Joab slew Absalom with three darts (2 Sam. xviii. 14). God gave David the choice of three chastisements (2 Sam. xxiv. 12). The great famine in David’s reign lasted three years (2 Sam. xxi. 1); so did the great drought in Ahab’s reign (Luke iv. 25). There were three men transfigured on the mount, and three spectators (Matt. xvii. 1-4). The sheet was let down to Peter three times (Acts x. 16). There are three Christian graces: Faith, hope, and charity (1 Cor. xiii. 13). There are three that bear record in heaven, and three that bear witness on earth (1 John v. 7, 8). There were three unclean spirits that came out of the mouth of the dragon (Rev. xvi. 13).

So again. Every ninth wave is said to be the largest.

A wonder is said to last three times three days. The scourge used for criminals is a “cat o’ nine tails.” Possession is nine points of the law, being equal to (1) money to make good a claim, (2) patience to carry a suit through, (3) a good cause, (4) a good lawyer, (5) a good counsel, (6) good witnesses, (7) a good jury, (8) a good judge, (9) good luck. Leases used to be granted for 999 years. Ordeals by fire consisted of three times three red-hot ploughshares.

There are three times three crowns recognized in heraldry, and three times three marks of cadency.

We show honor by a three times three in drinking a health.

The worthies are three Jews, three pagans, and three Christians: viz., Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabæus; Hector, Alexander, and Julius Cæsar; Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillon. The worthies of London are three times three also: (1) Sir William Walworth, (2) Sir Henry Pritchard, (3) Sir William Sevenoke, (4) Sir Thomas White, (5) Sir John Bonham, (6) Christopher Croker, (7) Sir John Hawkwood, (8) Sir Hugh Caverley, (9) Sir Henry Maleverer (Richard Johnson, The Nine Worthies of London).

⁂ Those who take any interest in this subject can easily multiply the examples here set down to a much greater number. (See below, the Welsh Triads.)

Three Ardent Lovers of Britain (The): (1) Caswallawn, son of Beli, the ardent lover of Flur, daughter of Mugnach Gorr; (2) Tristan or Tristram, son of Talluch, the ardent lover of Yseult, wife of March Meirchawn, his uncle, generally called King Mark of Cornwall; (3) Kynon, son of Clydno Eiddin, the ardent lover of Morvyth, daughter of Urien of Rheged.--Welsh Triads.

111Three Battle Knights (The), in the court of King Arthur: (1) Cadwr, earl of Cornwall; (2) Launcelot du Lac; (3) Owain, son of Urien, prince of Rheged, i.e., Cumberland and some of the adjacent lands. These three would never retreat from battle, neither for spear, nor sword, nor arrow; and Arthur knew no shame in fight when they were present.--Welsh Triads.

Three Beautiful Women (The), of the court of King Arthur: (1) Gwenhwyvar or Guenever, wife of King Arthur; (2) Enid, who dressed in “azure robes,” wife of Geraint; (3) Tegau or Tegau Euron.--Welsh Triads.

Three Blessed Rulers (The) of the island of Britain: (1) Bran or Vran, son of Llyr, and father of Caradawc (Caractacus). He was called “The Blessed,” because he introduced Christianity into the nation of the Cymry from Rome; he learnt it during his seven years’ detention in that city with his son. (2) Lleurig ab Coel ab Cyllyn Sant, surnamed “The Great Light.” He built the cathedral of Llandaff, the first sanctuary in Britain. (3) Cadwaladyr, who gave refuge to all believers driven out by the Saxons from England.--Welsh Triads, xxxv.

Three Calenders (The), three sons of three kings, who assumed the disguise of begging dervises. They had each lost one eye. The three met in the house of Zobeidê, and told their respective tales in the presence of Haroun-al-Raschid, also in disguise. (See Calenders.)--Arabian Nights (“The Three Calenders”).

Three Chief Ladies (The) of the island of Britain: (1) Branwen, daughter of King Llyr, “the fairest damsel in the world;” (2) Gwenhwyvar or Guenever, wife of King Arthur; (3) Æthelflæd, the wife of Ethelred.

Three Closures (The) of the island of Britain: (1) The head of Vran, son of Llyr, surnamed “The Blessed,” which was buried under the White Tower of London, and so long as it remained there, no invader would enter the island. (2) The bones of Vortimer, surnamed “The Blessed,” buried in the chief harbor of the island; so long as they remained there, no hostile ship would approach the coast. (3) The dragons buried by Lludd, son of Beli, in the city of Pharaon, in the Snowdon rocks. (See Three Fatal Disclosures.)--Welsh Triads, liii.

Three Counselling Knights (The) of the court of King Arthur: (1) Kynon or Cynon, son of Clydno Eiddin; (2) Aron, son of Kynfarch ab Meirchion Gul; (3) Llywarch Hên, son of Elidir Lydanwyn. So long as Arthur followed the advice of these three, his success was invariable, but when he neglected to follow their counsel, his defeat was sure.--Welsh Triads.

Three Diademed Chiefs (The) of the island of Britain: (1) Kai, son of Kyner, the steward of King Arthur. He could transform himself into any shape he pleased. Always ready to fight, and always worsted. Half knight and half buffoon. (2) Trystan mab Tallwch, one of Arthur’s three heralds, and one whom nothing could divert from his purpose; he is generally called Sir Tristram. (3) Gwevyl mab Gwestad, the melancholy. “When sad, he would let one of his lips drop below his waist, while the other turned up like a cap upon his head.”--The Mabinogion, 227.

112Three Disloyal Tribes (The) of the island of Britain: (1) The tribe of Goronwy Pebyr, which refused to stand substitute for their lord, Llew Llaw Gyffes, when a poisoned dart was shot at him by Llech Goronwy; (2) the tribe of Gwrgi, which deserted their lord in Caer Greu, when he met Eda Glinmawr in battle (both were slain); (3) the tribe of Alan Vyrgan, which slunk away from their lord on his journey to Camlan, where he was slain.--Welsh Triads, xxxv.

Three Estates of the Realm: the nobility, the clergy, and the commonalty.

N.B.--The sovereign is not one of the three estates.

Three Fatal Disclosures (The) of the island of Britain: (1) That of the buried head of Vran “The Blessed,” by King Arthur, because he refused to hold the sovereignty of the land except by his own strength; (2) that of the bones of Vortimer by Vortigern, out of love for Ronwen (Rowena), daughter of Hengist, the Saxon; (3) that of the dragons in Snowdon by Vortigern, in revenge of the Cymryan displeasure against him; having this done, he invited over the Saxons in his defence. (See Three Closures.)--Welsh Triads, liii.

Three-Fingered Jack, the nickname of a famous negro robber, who was the terror of Jamaica in 1780. He was at length hunted down and killed in 1781.

Three Golden-Tongued Knights (The) in the court of King Arthur; (1) Gwalchmai, called in French Gawain, son of Gwyar; (2) Drudwas, son of Tryffin; (3) Eliwlod, son of Madog ab Uthur. They never made a request which was not at once granted.--Welsh Triads.

Three Great Astronomers (The), of the island of Britain: (1) Grwydion, son of Don. From him the Milky Way is called “Caer Gwydion.” He called the constellation Cassiopeia “The Court of Don,” or Llys Don, after his father; and the Corona Borealis, he called “Caer Arianrod,” after his daughter. (2) Gwynn, son of Nudd. (3) Idris.--Welsh Triads, ii. 325.

Three Holy Tribes (The), of the island of Britain: (1) That of Bran or Vran, who introduced Christianity into Wales; (2) that of Cunedda Wledig; and (3) that of Brychan Brycheiniog.--Welsh Triads, xxxv.

Three Guardsmen, trio of French gentlemen, who enter the army of Louis XIII., assuming the pseudonyms of Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Their adventures are traced through three books of Dumas, Les Trois Mousquetaires, Vingt Ans Après and Le Vicomte de Bragelonne.

Three Kings’ Day, Twelfth Day or Epiphany, designed to commemorate the visit of the “three kings,” or “Wise Men of the East,” to the infant Jesus.

Three Kings of Cologne (The), the three “Wise Men” who followed the guiding star “from the East” to Jerusalem, and offered gifts to the babe Jesus. Their names were Jaspar or Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar; or Apellius, Ameĕrus, and Damascus; or Magalath, Galgalath, and Sarasin; or Ator, Sator and Peratŏras. Klopstock, in his Messiah, says the Wise Men were six in number, and gives their names as Hadad, Selĭma, Zimri, Mirja, Beled, and Sunith.

⁂ The toys shown in Cologne Cathedral as the “three kings” are called Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.

113Three Learned Knights (The), of the island of Britain: (1) Gwalchmai ab Gwyar, called in French romances Gawain; (2) Llecheu ab Arthur; (3) Rhiwallon with the broom-bush hair. There was nothing that man knew they did not know.--Welsh Triads.

Three-Leg Alley (London), now called Pemberton Row, Fetter Lane.

Three Letters (A Man of), a thief. A Roman phrase, from fur, “a thief.”

Three Makers of Golden Shoes (The), of the island of Britain; (1) Caswallawn, son of Beli, when he went to Gascony to obtain Flur. She had been abducted for Julius Cæsar, but was brought back by the prince. (2) Manawyddan, son of Llyr, when he sojourned in Lloegyr (England). (3) Llew Llaw Gyffes, when seeking arms from his mother.--Welsh Triads, cxxiv.

“What craft shall we take?” said Manawyddan.... “Let us take to making shoes.”... So he bought the best cordwal ... and got the best goldsmith to make clasps ... and he was called one of the three makers of gold shoes.--The Mabinogion (“Manawyddan,” twelfth century).

Three Robbers (The). The three stars in Orion’s belt are said to be “three robbers climbing up to rob the Ranee’s silver bedstead.”--Miss Frere, Old Deccan Days, 28.

Three Stayers of Slaughter (The): (1) Gwgawn Gleddyvrud; the name of his horse was Buchestom. (2) Morvran eil Tegid. (3) Gilbert mab Cadgyffro.--Welsh Triads, xxix.

Three Tailors of Tooley Street (The), three worthies who held a meeting in Tooley Street, for the redress of popular grievances, and addressed a petition to the House of Commons, while Canning was prime minister, beginning, “We, the people of England.”

Three Tribe Herdsmen of Britain (The): (1) Llawnrodded Varvawe, who tended the milch cows of Nudd Hael, son of Senyllt; (2) Bennren, who kept the herd of Caradawc, son of Brân, Glamorganshire; (3) Grwdion, son of Don, the enchanter, who kept the kine of Gwynedd, above the Conway. All these herds consisted of 21,000 milch cows.--Welsh Triads, lxxxv.

Three Tyrants of Athens (The); Pisistrătos (B.C. 560-490), Hippias and Hipparchos (B.C. 527-490).

(The two brothers reigned conjointly from 527-514, when the latter was murdered.)

Three Unprofessional Bards (The), of the island of Britain: (1) Rhyawd, son of Morgant; (2) King Arthur; (3) Cadwallawn, son of Cadvan.--Welsh Triads, lxxxix, 113.

Three Weeks after Marriage, a comedy by A. Murphy (1776). Sir Charles Racket has married the daughter of a rich London tradesman, and, three weeks of the honeymoon having expired, he comes on a visit to the lady’s father, Mr. Drugget. Old Drugget plumes himself on his aristocratic son-in-law, so far removed from the vulgar brawls of meaner folk. On the night of their arrival the bride and bridegroom quarrel about a game of whist; the lady maintained that Sir Charles ought to have played a diamond instead of a club. 114So angry is Sir Charles that he resolves to have a divorce; and, although the quarrel is patched up, Mr. Drugget has seen enough of the beau monde to decline the alliance of Lovelace for his second daughter, whom he gives to a Mr. Woodley.

Three Writers (The). The Scriptores Tres are Richardus Corinensis, Gildas Badonĭcus and Nennius Banchorensis; three who wrote on The Ancient History of the British Nation, edited, etc., by Julius Bertram (1757).

⁂ The Five Writers, or Scriptores Quinque, are five English chronicles on the early history of England, edited by Thomas Gale (1691). The names of these chroniclers are: William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, Roger Hoveden, Ethelwerd, and Ingulphus of Croyland.

The Ten Writers, or Scriptores Decem, are the authors of ten ancient chronicles on English history, compiled and edited by Roger Twysden and John Selden (1652). The collection contains the chronicles of Simeon of Durham, John of Hexham, Richard of Hexham, Ailred of Rieval, Ralph de Diceto, John Brompton, Gervase of Canterbury, Thomas Stubbs, William Thorn and Henry Knighton. (See Six Chronicles.)

Thresher (Captain), the feigned leader of a body of lawless Irishmen, who attacked, in 1806, the collectors of tithes and their subordinates.

Captain Right was a leader of the rebellious peasantry in the south of Ireland in the eighteenth century.

Captain Rock was the assumed name of a leader of Irish insurgents in 1822.

Thrummy-Cap, a sprite which figures in the fairy tales of Northumberland. He was a “queer-looking little auld man,” whose scene of exploits generally lay in the vaults and cellars of old castles. John Skelton, in his Colyn Clout, calls him Tom-a-Thrum, and says that the clergy could neither write nor read, and were no wiser than this cellar sprite.

Thrush (Song of the). Marvellous, rippling music, like the sweet babble of a brook over stones; like the gentle sighing of the wind in pine trees ... a rhapsody impossible to describe, but constantly reminding one of running streams and gentle waterfalls, and coming nearer to “put my woods in song” than any other bird-notes whatever.--Olive Thorne Miller, In Nesting Time (1888).

Thrush (Golden-crowned). Commencing in a very low key ... he grows louder and louder, till his body quakes, and his chant runs into a shriek, ringing in my ear with a peculiar sharpness. This lay may be represented thus: “Teacher! teacher! Teacher! Teacher! TEACHER!” the accent on the first syllable, and each word uttered with increasing force and shrillness.--John Burroughs, Wake Robin (1871).

Thu´le (2 syl.), the most remote northern portion of the world known to the ancient Greeks and Romans; but whether an island or part of a continent nobody knows. It is first mentioned by Pythĕas, the Greek navigator, who says it is “six days’ sail from Britain,” and that its climate is a “mixture of earth, air and sea.” Ptolemy, with more exactitude, tells us that the 63° of north latitude runs through the middle of Thulê, and adds that “the days there are at the equinoxes [sic] twenty-four hours long.” This, of course, is a blunder, but the latitude would do roughly for Iceland.

115(No place has a day of twenty-four hours long at either equinox; but anywhere beyond either polar circle the day is twenty-four hours long at one of the solstices.)

Thule (2 syl.). Antonius Diogenês, a Greek, wrote a romance on “The Incredible Things beyond Thulê” (Ta huper Thoulen Apista), which has furnished the basis of many subsequent tales. The work is not extant, but Photius gives an outline of its contents in his Bibliotheca.

Thumb (Tom), a dwarf no bigger than a man’s thumb. He lived in the reign of King Arthur, by whom he was knighted. He was the son of a common ploughman, and was killed by the poisonous breath of a spider in the reign of Thunstone, the successor of King Arthur.

Amongst his adventures may be mentioned the following:--He was lying one day asleep in a meadow, when a cow swallowed him as she cropped the grass. At another time he rode in the ear of a horse. He crept up the sleeve of a giant, and so tickled him that he shook his sleeve, and Tom, falling into the sea, was swallowed by a fish. The fish being caught and carried to the palace gave the little man his introduction to the king.

⁂ The oldest version extant of this nursery tale is in rhyme, and bears the following title:--Tom Thumb, His Life and Death; wherein is declared many marvailous acts of manhood, full of wonder and strange merriments. Which little knight lived in King Arthur’s time, and was famous in the court of Great Brittaine. London: printed for John Wright, 1630 (Bodleian Library). It begins thus:

N.B.--“Great Britain” was not a recognized term till 1701 (Queen Anne), when the two parliaments of Scotland and England were united. Before that time, England was called “South Britain,” Scotland “North Britain,” and Brittany “Little Britain.” The date, 1630, would carry us back to the reign of Charles I.

Fielding, in 1730, wrote a burlesque opera called Tom Thumb, which was altered in 1778, by Kane O’Hara. Dr. Arne wrote the music to it, and his “daughter (afterwards Mrs. Cibber), then only 14, acted the part of ‘Tom Thumb’ at the Haymarket Theatre.”--T. Davies, Life of Garrick.

⁂ Here again the dates do not correctly fit in. Mrs. Cibber was born in 1710, and must have been 20 when Fielding produced his opera of Tom Thumb.

Thumb (General Tom), a dwarf exhibited in London in 1846. His real name was Charles S. Stratton. At the age of 25, his height was 25 inches, and his weight 25 lbs. He was born at Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1832, and died in January, 1879.

They rush by thousands to see Tom Thumb. They push, they fight, they scream, they faint, they cry, “Help!” and “Murder!” They see my bills and caravan, but do not read them. Their eyes are on them, but their sense is gone.... In one week 12,000 persons paid to see Tom Thumb, while only 133½ paid to see my “Aristidês.”--Haydon, the artist, MS. Diary.

Thunder (The Giant), a giant who fell into a river and was killed, because Jack cut the ropes which suspended a bridge which the giant was about to cross.--Jack the Giant Killer.

116Thunder (The Sons of). James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were called “Boaner´gês.”--Luke ix. 54; Mark iii. 17.

Thunder and Lightning, Stephen II. of Hungary, was surnamed Tonnant (1100, 1114-1131).

Thunderbolt (The). Ptolemy, king of Macedon, eldest son of Ptolemy Sotêr I., was so called from his great impetuosity (B.C. *, 285-279).

Handel was called by Mozart “The Thunderbolt” (1684-1759).

Thunderbolt of Italy (The), Gaston de Foix, nephew of Louis XII. (1489-1512).

Thunderbolt of War (The). Roland is so called in Spanish ballads.

Tisaphernês is so called in Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered, xx. (1575).

Thunderer (The), the Times newspaper. This popular name was first given to the journal in allusion to a paragraph in one of the articles contributed by Captain Edward Sterling, while Thomas Barnes was editor.

We thundered forth the other day an article on the subject of social and political reform.

Some of the contemporaries caught up the expression, and called the Times “The Thunderer.” Captain Sterling used to sign himself “Vetus” before he was placed on the staff of the paper.

Thundering Legion (The), the twelfth legion of the Roman army under Marcus Aurēlius acting against the Quadi, A.D. 174. It was shut up in a defile, and reduced to great straits for want of water, when a body of Christians, enrolled in the legion, prayed for relief. Not only was rain sent, but the thunder and lightning so terrified the foe that a complete victory was obtained, and the legion was ever after called “The Thundering Legion.”--Dion Cassius, Roman History, lxxi. 8; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, v. 5.

The Theban legion, i.e., the legion raised in the Thebaïs of Egypt, and composed of Christian soldiers led by St. Maurice, was likewise called “The Thundering Legion.”

The term “Thundering Legion” existed before either of these two was so called.

Thunstone (2 syl.), the successor of King Arthur, in whose reign Tom Thumb was killed by a spider.--Tom Thumb.

Thu´rio, a foolish rival of Valentine for the love of Silvia, daughter of the duke of Milan.--Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1595).

Thwacker (Quartermaster), in the dragoons.--Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).

Thwackum, in Fielding’s novel, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749).

Thyamis, an Egyptian thief, native of Memphis. Theagĕnês and Chariclēa being taken by him prisoners, he fell in love with the lady, and shut her up in a cave for fear of losing her. Being closely beset by another gang stronger than his own, he ran his sword into the heart of Chariclea, that she might go with him into the land of shadows, and be his companion in the future life.--Heliodorus, Æthiopica.

Thyeste´an Banquet (in Latin cæna 117Thyestæ), a cannibal feast. Thyestês was given his own two sons to eat in a banquet served up to him by his brother, Atreus [At.truce].

Procnê and Philomēla served up to Tereus (2 syl.) his own son Itys.

⁂ Milton accents the word on the second syllable in Paradise Lost, x. 688, but then he calls Chalybe´an (Samson Agonistes, 133) “Chalyb´ean,” Æge´an (Paradise Lost, i. 745) “Æ´gean,” and Cambuscan´ he calls “Cambus´can.”

Thyeste´an Revenge, blood for blood, tit for tat of bloody vengeance.

1. Thyestês seduced the wife of his brother, Atreus (2 syl.), for which he was banished. In his banishment he carried off his brother’s son, Plisthĕnês, whom he brought up as his own child. When the boy was grown to manhood, he sent him to assassinate Atreus, but Atreus slew Plisthenês, not knowing him to be his son. The corresponding vengeance was this: Thyestês had a son named. Ægisthos, who was brought up by King Atreus as his own child. When Ægisthos was grown to manhood, the king sent him to assassinate Thyestês, but the young man slew Atreus instead.

2. Atreus slew his own son, Plisthenês, thinking him to be his brother’s child. When he found out his mistake, he pretended to be reconciled to his brother, and asked him to a banquet. Thyestês went to the feast, and ate part of his own two sons, which had been cooked, and were set before him by his brother.

3. Thyestês defiled the wife of his brother, Atreus, and Atreus married Pelopia, the unwedded wife of his brother, Thyestês. It was the son of this woman by Thyestês who murdered Atreus (his uncle and father-in-law).

⁂ The tale of Atreus and that of Œdĭpus are the two most lamentable stories of historic fiction, and in some points resemble each other: Thus Œdipus married his mother, not knowing who she was; Thyestês seduced his daughter, not knowing who she was. Œdipus slew his father, not knowing who he was; Atreus slew his son, not knowing who he was. Œdipus was driven from his throne by the sons born to him by his own mother; Atreus [At´.ruce] was killed by the natural son of his own wife.

Thymbræ´an God (The), Apollo; so called from a celebrated temple raised to his honor on a hill near the river Thymbrĭus.

Thymert, priest and guardian of Guenn. Beloved by the fisherfolk, and secretly in love with his beautiful ward. He finds her drowned on the shore of his island home.--Blanche Willis Howard, Guenn (1883).

Thyrsis, a herdsman introduced in the Idylls of Theocrĭtos, and in Virgil’s Eclogue, vii. Any shepherd or rustic is so called.

Thyrsus, a long pole with an ornamental head of ivy, vine leaves, or a fir cone, carried by Bacchus and by his votaries at the celebration of his rites. It was emblematic of revelry and drunkenness.

Tibbs (Beau), a poor, clever, dashing young spark, who had the happy art of fancying he knew all the haut monde, and that all the monde knew him; that his garret was the choicest spot in London, for its commanding view of the Thames; that his wife was a lady of distinguished airs; and that his infant daughter would marry a peer. He took off his hat to every man and woman of fashion, and made out that dukes, lords, duchesses, and ladies addressed him simply as Ned. His hat was pinched up with peculiar smartness; his looks were pale, thin, and sharp, round his neck he wore a broad black ribbon, and in his bosom a glass pin; his coat was trimmed with tarnished lace; and his stockings were silk. Beau Tibbs interlarded his rapid talk with fashionable oaths, such as, “Upon my soul! egad!”

“I was asked to dine yesterday,” he says, “at the Duchess of Piccadilly’s. My Lord Mudler was there. ‘Ned,’ said he, ‘I’ll hold gold to silver I can tell you where you were poaching last night ... I hope Ned, it will improve your fortune,’ ‘Fortune, my lord? five hundred a year at least--great secret--let it go no further.’ My lord took me down in his chariot to his country seat yesterday, and we had a tête-à-tête dinner in the country.” “I fancy you told us just now you dined yesterday at the duchess’s, in town.” “Did I so?” replied he, coolly. “To be sure, egad! now I do remember--yes, I had two dinners yesterday.”--Letter liv.

Mrs. Tibbs, wife of the beau, a slattern and a coquette, much emaciated, but with the remains of a good-looking woman. She made twenty apologies for being in dishabille; but had been out all night with the countess. Then, turning to her husband, she added, “And his lordship, my dear, drank your health in a bumper.” Ned then asked his wife if she had given orders for dinner. “You need make no great preparation--only we three. My lord cannot join us to-day--something small and elegant will do, such as a turbot, an ortolan, a----”

“Or,” said Mrs. Tibbs, “what do you think, my dear, of a nice bit of ox-cheek, dressed with a little of my own sauce?” “The very thing,” he replies; “it will eat well with a little beer. His grace was very fond of it, and I hate the vulgarity of a great load of dishes.” The citizen of the world now thought it time to decamp, and took his leave, Mrs. Tibbs assuring him that dinner would certainly be quite ready in two or three hours.--Letter lv.

Mrs. Tibbs’s lady’s-maid, a vulgar, brawny Scotchwoman. “Where’s my lady?” said Tibbs, when he brought to his garret his excellency the ambassador of China. “She’s a-washing your twa shirts at the next door, because they won’t lend us the tub any longer.”--Goldsmith, A Citizen of the World (1759).

Tibert (Sir), the name of the cat in the beast-epic of Reynard the Fox (1498).

Tibet Talkapace, a prating hand-maid of Custance, the gay and rich widow, vainly sought by Ralph Roister Doister.--Nicholas Udall, Ralph Roister Doister (first English comedy, 1534).

The metre runs thus:

Tibs (Mr.), a most “useful hand.” He will write you a receipt for the bite of a mad dog, tell you an Eastern tale to perfection, and understands the business part of an author so well that no publisher can 119humbug him. You may know him by his peculiar clumsiness of figure, and the coarseness of his coat; but he never forgets to inform you that his clothes are all paid for. (See Tibbs.)--Goldsmith, A Citizen of The World, xxix. (1759).

Tibullus (The French), the chevalier Evariste de Parny (1742-1814).

Tiburce (2 or 3 syl.), brother of Valerian, converted by St. Cecile, his sister-in-law, and baptized by Pope Urban. Being brought before the Prefect Almachius, and commanded to worship the image of Jupiter, he refused to do so, and was decapitated.--Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (“Second Nun’s Tale,” 1388).

⁂ When Tiburce is followed by a vowel it is made 2 syl., when by a consonant it is 3 syl., as:

Tibur´zio, commander of the Pisans, in their attack upon Florence, in the fifteenth century. The Pisans were thoroughly beaten by the Florentines, led by Lu´ria, a Moor, and Tiburzio was taken captive. Tiburzio tells Luria that the men of Florence will cast him off after peace is established, and advises him to join Pisa. This Luria is far too noble to do, but he grants Tiburzio his liberty. Tiburzio, being examined by the council of Florence, under the hope of finding some cause of censure against the Moor, to lessen or cancel their obligations to him, “testifies to his unflinching probity,” and the council could find no cause of blame, but Luria, by poison, relieves the ungrateful state of its obligation to him.--Robert Browning, Luria.

Tichborne Dole (The). When Lady Mabella was dying, she requested her husband to grant her the means of leaving a charitable bequest. It was to be a dole of bread, to be distributed annually on the Feast of the Annunciation, to any who chose to apply for it. Sir Roger, her husband, said he would give her as much land as she could walk over while a billet of wood remained burning. The old lady was taken into the park, and managed to crawl over twenty-three acres of land, which was accordingly set apart, and is called “The Crawls” to this hour. When the Lady Mabella was taken back to her chamber, she said, “So long as this dole is continued, the family of Tichborne shall prosper; but immediately it is discontinued, the house shall fall, from the failure of an heir male. This,” she added, “will be when a family of seven sons is succeeded by one of seven daughters.” The custom began in the reign of Henry II., and continued till 1796, when, singularly enough, the baron had seven sons and his successor seven daughters, and Mr. Edward Tichborne, who inherited the Doughty estates, dropping the original name, called himself Sir Edward Doughty.

Tickell (Mark), a useful friend, especially to Elsie Lovell.--Wybert Reeve, Parted.

Tickler (Timothy), an ideal portrait of Robert Sym, a lawyer of Edinburgh (1750-1844).--Wilson, Noctes Ambrosianæ (1822-36).

Tiddler. (See Tom Tiddler’s Ground.)

Tiddy-Doll, a nickname given to Richard Grenville, Lord Temple (1711-1770).

Tide-Waiters (Ecclesiastical). So the 120Rev. Lord Osborne (S. G. O.) calls the clergy in convocation whose votes do not correspond with their real opinions.

Tider (Robin), one of the servants of the earl of Leicester.--Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Tiffany, Miss Alscrip’s lady’s-maid; pert, silly, bold, and a coquette.--General Burgoyne, The Heiress (1781).

Tigg (Montague), a clever impostor, who lives by his wits. He starts a bubble insurance office--“the Anglo-Bengalee Company”--and makes considerable gain thereby. Having discovered the attempt of Jonas Chuzzlewit to murder his father, he compels him to put his money in the “new company,” but Jonas finds means to murder him.--C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).

Tiglath-Pile´ser, son of Pul, second of the sixth dynasty of the new Assyrian empire. The word is Tiglath Pul Assur: “the great tiger of Assyria.”

Tigra´nes (3 syl.), one of the heroes slain by the impetuous Dudon soon after the arrival of the Christian army before Jerusalem.--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, iii. (1575).

Tigranes (3 syl.), king of Arme´nia.--Beaumont and Fletcher, A King or No King (1619).

Tigress Nurse (A). Tasso says that Clorinda was suckled by a tigress.--Jerusalem Delivered, xii.

Roman story says Romulus and Remus were suckled by a she-wolf.

Orson, the brother of Valentine, was suckled by a she-bear, and was brought up by an eagle.--Valentine and Orson.

Tilburi´na, the daughter of the governor of Tilbury Fort; in love with Whiskerandos. Her love-ravings are the crest unto the crest of burlesque tragedy (see act ii. 1).--Sheridan, The Critic (1779).

“An oyster may be crossed in love,” says the gentle Tilburina.--Sir W. Scott.

Tilbury Fort (The governor of), father of Tilburīna; a plain, matter-of-fact man, with a gushing, romantic and love-struck daughter. In Mr. Puff’s tragedy, The Spanish Armada.--Sheridan, The Critic (1779).

Tim Syllabub, a droll creature, equally good at a rebus, a riddle, a bawdy song or a tabernacle hymn. You may easily recognize him by his shabby finery, his frizzled hair, his dirty shirt and his half-genteel, but more than half-shabby dress.--Goldsmith, A Citizen of the World, xxix. (1759).

Times (The), a newspaper founded by John Walter in 1785. It was first called The London Daily Universal Register; in 1788 the words The Times or ... were added. This long title was never tolerated by the public, which always spoke of the journal as The Register, till the original title was suppressed, and the present title, The Times, remained. In 1803, John Walter, son of the founder, became manager, and greatly improved the character of the paper, and in 1814 introduced a steam press. He died in 1847, and was succeeded by his son, John Walter III. In the editorial department, John (afterwards “Sir John”) Stoddart (nicknamed “Dr. Slop”), who began to write political articles in The Times in 1810, was appointed 121editor in 1812, but, in 1816, was dismissed for his rabid hatred of Napoleon. He tried to establish an opposition journal, The New Times, which proved an utter failure. Sir John Stoddart was succeeded by John Stebbing; then followed Thomas Barnes (“Mr. T. Bounce”), who remained editor till his death, in 1841. W. F. A. Delane came next, and continued till 1858, when his son, John Thaddeus Delane, succeeded him. The following gentlemen were connected with this paper between 1870 and 1880:--

An East End Incumbent, Mr. Rowsell, a volunteer correspondent.

Anglicanus, Arthur P. Stanley, dean of Westminster, a volunteer correspondent.

C., Dr. Cumming, who often dates from Dunrobin.

C. E. T., Sir Charles E. Trevelyan, a volunteer correspondent.

Church Matters, the Rev. Henry Wace, preacher at Lincoln’s Inn.

City Article, M. B. Sampson.

Colleagues To Correspondents, Dr. Charles Austin, with Messrs. Dallas, Broome, and Kelly.

Correspondents in every chief town of the United Kingdom, and in all the most important foreign countries.

Critic. Fine Arts, Tom Taylor; Dramatic, John Oxenford (died 1876); Musical, T. J. Davidson.

Editor, John Thaddeus Delane, who succeeded his father; Assistant, Mr. Stebbings, who succeeded G. W. Dasent (“The Hardy Norseman”).

H., Vernon Harcourt, M. P., a volunteer correspondent.

Hertfordshire Incumbent, Canon Blakesley, dean of Lincoln.

Historicus, Vernon Harcourt, M. P., who also wrote slashing articles in the Saturday Review.

Irish Correspondent, Dr. G. V. Patten, editor and proprietor of the Dublin Daily Express.

Irish Matters, O’Conor Morris.

J. C., Dr. Cumming (see C.), a volunteer correspondent.

Leaders, Leonard H. Courteney, Dr. Gallenga, Mr. Knox, Robert Lowe, Canon Moseley, Lawrence Oliphant.

Manager of Office, Mowbray Morris.

Manager of Printing and Machinery, Mr. Macdonald.

Mercator, Lord Overstone, a volunteer correspondent.

Military Affairs, Captain Hozier.

Religious Matters, the Rev. Henry Wace, preacher at Lincoln’s Inn.

Reporters, about sixteen.

Runnymede, Benjamin Disraeli, afterwards earl of Beaconsfield, a volunteer correspondent.

Senex, Grote (died in 1871), a volunteer correspondent.

S. G. O., the Rev. Lord Sidney Godolphin Osborne, a volunteer correspondent.

Special Correspondent, Dr. W. Howard Russell, famous for his letters from the Crimēa, in 1854; from India, in 1857; from America, in 1861; from Bohemia, in 1866; from France, on the Franco-Prussian war, in 1870-71; etc. Occasionally, Captain Hozier has acted as “Our Own Correspondent.”

Vetus, Capt. Edw. Sterling, a volunteer correspondent.

Viator, John Alexander Kinglake, a volunteer correspondent.

⁂ Paper is supplied from the Taverham Mills; ink by Messrs. Fleming and Co., Leith, and by Messrs. Blackwell and Co., London; Daily Issue, between 70,000 and 80,000, which can be thrown from the press in two hours; Working Staff, 350 hands.

Called “The Thunderer” from an article contributed by Captain E. Sterling, beginning: “We thundered forth the other day an article on the subject of social and political reform;” and “The Turnabout,” because its politics jump with the times, and are not fossilized whig or tory.

Tim´ias, King Arthur’s squire. He went after the “wicked foster,” from whom Florimel fled, and the “foster,” with his two brothers, falling on him, were all slain. Timias, overcome by fatigue, now fell from his horse in a swoon, and Belphœbê, the huntress, happening to see him fall, ran to his succor, applied an ointment to his wounds, and bound them with her scarf. The squire, opening his eyes, exclaimed, “Angel or goddess; do I 122call thee right?” “Neither,” replied the maid, “but only a wood-nymph.” Then was he set upon his horse and taken to Belphœbê’s pavilion, where he soon “recovered from his wounds, but lost his heart” (bk. iii. 6). In bk. iv. 7 Belphœbê subsequently found Timias in dalliance with Amoret, and said to him, “Is this thy faith?” She said no more, “but turned her face and fled.” This is an allusion to Sir Walter Raleigh’s amour with Elizabeth Throgmorton (Amoret), one of the queen’s maids of honor, which drew upon Sir Walter (Timias) the passionate displeasure of his royal mistress, Queen Elizabeth, (Belphœbê).--Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. (1590).

Timms (Corporal), a non-commissioned officer in Waverley’s regiment.--Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).

Timo´leon, the Corinthian. He hated tyranny, and slew his own brother, whom he dearly loved, because he tried to make himself absolute in Corinth. “Timophănês he loved, but freedom more.”

Timon, the Man-hater, an Athenian, who lived in the time of the Peloponnesian war. Shakespeare has a drama so called (1609). The drama begins with the joyous life of Timon, and his hospitable extravagance; then launches into his pecuniary embarrassment, and the discovery that his “professed friends” will not help him; and ends with his flight into the woods, his misanthropy, and his death.

When he [Horace Walpole] talked misanthropy, he out-Timoned Timon.--Macaulay.

⁂ On one occasion, Timon said, “I have a fig tree in my garden, which I once intended to cut down; but I shall let it stand, that any one who likes may go and hang himself on it.”

Timon’s Banquet, nothing but cover and warm water. Being shunned by his friends in adversity, he pretended to have recovered his money, and invited his false friends to a banquet. The table was laden with covers, but when the contents were exposed, nothing was provided but lukewarm water. (See Schacabac.)--Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, act iii. sc. 6 (1609).

Timoth´eos, a musician, who charged double fees to all pupils who had learned music before.--Quintilian, De Institutione Oratoria, ii. 3.

Ponocrates made him forget all that he [Gargantua] had learned under other masters, as Timŏthĕus did to his disciples who had been taught music by others.--Rabelais, Gargantua, i. 23 (1533).

Timothy (Old), ostler at John Menge’s inn, at Kirchoff.--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Timothy Quaint, the whimsical, but faithful steward of Governor Heartall; blunt, self-willed, but loving his master above all things, and true to his interests.--Cherry, The Soldier’s Daughter (1804).

Ti´murkan, the Tartar, and conqueror of China. After a usurpation of twenty years, he was slain in a rising of the people, by Zaphimri, “the orphan of China.”

Tinacrio, “the Sage,” father of Micomico´na, queen of Micom´icon, and husband of Queen Zaramilla. He foretold that after his death his daughter would be dethroned by the giant, Pandafilando, but that in Spain, she would find a champion in Don Quixote, who would restore her to the throne. This adventure comes to nothing, as Don Quixote is taken home in a cage, without entering upon it.--Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. iv. 3 (1605).

Tinclarian Doctor (The Great), William Mitchell, a whitesmith and tin-plate worker, of Edinburgh, who published Tinkler’s Testament, dedicated to Queen Anne, and other similar works.

The reason why I call myself the Tinclarian doctor, is because I am a tinklar, and cures old pans and lantruns.--Introduction to Tinkler’s Testament.

⁂ Uniformity of spelling must not be looked for in the “doctor’s” book. We have “Tinklar,” “Tinkler,” and “Tinclarian.”

Tinderbox (Miss Jenny), a lady with a moderate fortune, who once had some pretensions to beauty. Her elder sister happened to marry a man of quality, and Jenny ever after resolved not to disgrace herself by marrying a tradesman. Having rejected many of her equals, she became at last the governess of her sister’s children, and had to undergo the drudgery of three servants, without receiving the wages of one.--Goldsmith, A Citizen of the World, xxviii. (1759).

Tinker (The Immortal or The Inspired), John Bunyan (1638-1688).

Tinsel (Lord), a type of that worst specimen of aristocracy, which ignores all merit but blue blood, and would rather patronize a horse-jockey than a curate, scholar, or poor gentleman. He would subscribe six guineas to the concerts of Signor Cantata, because Lady Dangle patronized him, but not one penny to “languages, arts, and sciences,” as such.--S. Knowles, The Hunchback (1831).

Tintag´el or Tintagil, a strong and magnificent castle on the coast of Cornwall, said to have been the work of two giants. It was the birthplace of King Arthur, and subsequently the royal residence of King Mark. Dunlop asserts that vestiges of the castle still exist.

Tinto (Dick), a poor artist, son of a tailor in the village of Langdirdum. He is introduced as a lad in the Bride of Lammermoor, i. This was in the reign of William III. He is again introduced in St. Ronan’s Well, i., as touching up the sign-board of Meg Dods, in the reign of George III. As William III. died in 1702, and George III. began to reign in 1760, Master Dick must have been a patriarch when he worked for Mrs. Dods.--Sir W. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor (1819); St. Ronan’s Well (1823).

Meg Dods agreed with the celebrated Dick Tinto to repaint her father’s sign, which had become rather undecipherable. Dick accordingly gilded the bishop’s crook, and augmented 124the horrors of the devil’s aspect, until it became a terror to all the younger fry of the school-house.--St. Ronan’s Well, i.

Tintoretto, the historical painter, whose real name was Jacopo Robusti. He was called Il Furioso from the extreme rapidity with which he painted (1512-1594).

Tintoretto of England (The), W. Dobson was called “The Tintoret of England” by Charles I. (1610-1646).

Tintoretto of Switzerland (The), John Huber (eighteenth century).

Tiphany, the mother of the three kings of Cologne. The word is manifestly a corruption of St. Epiphany, as Tibs is of St. Ubes, Taudry of St. Audry, Tooley [Street] of St. Olaf, Telder of St. Ethelred, and so on.

Scores of the saints have similarly manufactured names.

Ti´phys, pilot of the Argonauts; hence any pilot.

⁂ Another name for a pilot or guiding power is Palinūrus; so called from the steersman of Ænēas.

Tippins (Lady), an old lady “with an immense, obtuse, drab, oblong face, like a face in a tablespoon; and a dyed ’long walk’ up the top of her head, as a convenient public approach to the bunch of false hair behind.” She delights “to patronize Mrs. Veneering,” and Mrs. Veneering is delighted to be patronized by her ladyship.

Lady Tippins is always attended by a lover or two, and she keeps a little list of her lovers, and is always booking a new lover, or striking out an old lover, or putting a lover in her black list, or promoting a lover to her blue list, or adding up her lovers, or otherwise posting her book, which she calls her Cupĭdon.--C. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, ii. (1864).

Tipple, in Dudley’s Flitch of Bacon, first introduced John Edwin into notice (1750-1790).

Edwin’s “Tipple,” in the Flitch of Bacon, was an exquisite treat.--Boaden.

Tippoo Saib (Prince), son of Hyder Ali, nawaub of Mysore.--Sir W. Scott, The Surgeon’s Daughter (time, George II.).

Tips or “Examination Crams.” Recognized stock pieces of what is called “book work” in university examinations are: Fermat’sFermat’s theorem, the “Ludus Trojanus” in Virgil’s Æneid (bk. vi.), Agnesi’s “Witch,” the “Cissoid” of Diocles and the famous fragment of Solon, generally said to be by Euripidês.

In law examinations the stock pieces are the Justinian of Sandars; the Digest of Evidence of Sir James Stephen; and the Ancient Law of Sir Henry Maine.

The following are recognized primers:--Hill’s Logic; Spencer’s First Principles; Maine’s Ancient Law; Lessing’s Laocoon; Ritter and Preller’s Fragmenta; Wheaton’s International Law.

Tip-tilted. Tennyson says that Lynette had “her slender nose tip-tilted like the petal of a flower.”--Tennyson, Gareth and Lynette (1858).

Tiptoe, footman to Random and Scruple. He had seen better days, but, being found out in certain dishonest transactions, had lost grade, and “Tiptoe, who once stood above the world,” came into a 125position in which “all the world stood on Tiptoe.” He was a shrewd, lazy, knowing rascal, better adapted to dubious adventure, but always sighing for a snug berth in some wealthy, sober, old-fashioned, homely, county family, with good wages, liberal diet, and little work to do.--G. Colman, Ways and Means (1788).

Tiran´te the White, the hero and title of a romance of chivalry.

“Let me see that book,” said the curé; “we shall find in it a fund of amusement. Here we shall find that famous knight, Don Kyrie Elyson, of Montalban, and Thomas, his brother, with the Knight Fonseca, the battle which Detriantê fought with Alano, the stratagems of the Widow Tranquil, the amour of the empress with her squire, and the witticisms of Lady Brillianta. This is one of the most amusing books ever written.”--Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. i. 6 (1605).

Tiresias, a Theban soothsayer, blind from boyhood. It is said that Athêna deprived him of sight, but gave him the power of understanding the language of birds, and a staff as good as eyesight to direct his way. Ovid says that Tiresias met two huge serpents in the wood and struck them with his staff, when he found himself turned into a woman, in which shape he remained for seven years. In the eighth year, meeting them again, he again struck them, and was changed back to a man. Dante places Tiresias in the Eighth Chasm of the Fourth Circle of the Lower Hell among the sorcerers, and other dealers in magic arts.

Meeting two mighty serpents in the green wood he struck their intertwined bodies with his staff, and, oh, wonderful! he found himself changed into a woman, and so remained for seven years. Again he sees them, in the eighth year. “And if,” he cried, “so powerful was the effect of my former blow, once more will I strike you!” And, the serpents struck with the same blows, his former shape returned, and his original nature.--Ovid, Metamorphoses, iii.

⁂ Milton, regretting his own blindness, compares himself to Tiresias, among others.

Tirlsneck (Jonnie), beadle of old St. Ronan’s.--Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well (time, George III.).

Tirso de Moli´na, the pseudonym of Gabriel Tellez, a Spanish monk and dramatist. His comedy called Convivando de Piedra (1626) was imitated by Molière in his Festin de Pierre (1665), and has given birth to the whole host of comedies and operas on the subject of “Don Juan” (1570-1648).

Tiryn´thian Swain (The), Her´culês, called in Latin Tirynthius Heros, because he generally resided at Tiryns, a town of Ar´golis, in Greece.

Tisapher´nes (4 syl.), “the thunderbolt of war.” He was in the army of Egypt, and was slain by Rinaldo.--Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xx. (1575).

⁂ This son of Mars must not be mistaken for Tissaphernês, the Persian satrap, who sided with the Spartans, in the Peloponnesian 126war, and who treacherously volunteered to guide “the ten thousand” back to Greece.

Tisbi´na, wife of Iroldo. Prasildo, a Babylonish nobleman, fell in love with her, and threatened to kill himself. Tisbina, to divert him, tells him if he will perform certain exploits which she deemed impossible, she will return his love. These exploits he accomplishes, and Tisbina, with Iroldo, takes poison to avoid dishonor. Prasildo discovers that the draught they have taken is harmless, and tells them so; whereupon Iroldo quits the country, and Tisbina marries Prasildo. Bojardo, Orlando Innamorato (1495). (See Dianora, and Dorigen.)

Tisellin, the raven, in the beast-epic of Reynard the Fox (1498).

Tisiph´one (4 syl.), one of the three Furies. Covered with a bloody robe, she sits day and night at hell-gate, armed with a whip. Tibullus says her head was coifed with serpents in lieu of hair.

The Desert Fairy, with her head covered with snakes, like Tisiphonê, mounted on a winged griffin.--Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“The Yellow Dwarf,” 1682).

Ti´tan, the son of Hēlĭos, the child of Hyperi´on and Basil´ea, and grandson of Cœlum, or heaven. Virgil calls the sun “Titan,” and so does Ovid.

Titans, giants, sons of Heaven and Earth. Their names were Ocēănos, Kœos, Krios, Hyperīon, Iapĕtos, and Kronos.

The Titanĭdês were Theia [Thi-a], Rhea, Themis, Mnemosynê, Phœbê, and Tethys.

Titan´ia, queen of the fairies, and wife of Obĕron. Oberon wanted her to give him for a page a little changeling, but Titania refused to part with him, and this led to a fairy quarrel. Oberon, in revenge, anointed the eyes of Titania, during sleep, with an extract of “Love in Idleness,” the effect of which was to make her fall in love with the first object she saw on waking. The first object Titania set eyes on happened to be a country bumpkin, whom Puck had dressed up with an ass’s head. While Titania was fondling this unamiable creature, Oberon came upon her, sprinkled on her an antidote, and Titania, thoroughly ashamed of herself, gave up the boy to her spouse; after which a reconciliation took place between the willful fairies.--Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream (1592).

Tite Barnacle (Mr.), head of the Circumlocution Office, and a very great man in his own opinion. The family had intermarried with the Stiltstalkings, and the Barnacles and Stiltstalkings found berths pretty readily in the national workshop, where brains and conceit were in inverse ratio. The young gents in the office usually spoke with an eye-glass in the eye, in this sort of style: “Oh, I say; look here! Can’t attend to you to-day, you know. But look here! I say; can’t you call to-morrow?” “No.” “Well, but I say; look here! Is this public business?--anything about--tonnage--or that sort of thing?” Having made his case understood, Mr. Clennam received the following instructions in these words;--

You must find out all about it. Then you’ll memorialize the department, according to the regular forms for leave to memorialize. If you get it, the memorial must be entered in that department, sent to be registered in this department, then sent back to that department, then sent to this department to be countersigned, and 127then it will be brought regularly before that department. You’ll find out when the business passes through each of these stages by inquiring at both departments till they tell you.--C. Dickens, Little Dorrit, x (1857).

Tite Poulette, daughter (supposed) of a quadroon mother. “She lives a lonely, innocent life, in the midst of corruption, like the lilies in the marshes.... If she were in Holland to-day, not one of a hundred suitors would detect the hidden blemish of mixed blood.” When the young man, who thus describes her loves her, Lalli, her putative mother confesses: “I have robbed God long enough. Here are the sworn papers. Take her--she is as white as snow--so!... I never had a child. She is the Spaniard’s daughter.”--G. W. Cable, Old Creole Days (1879).

Titho´nus, a son of Laomedon, king of Troy. He was so handsome that Auro´ra became enamored of him, and persuaded Jupiter to make him immortal; but as she forgot to ask for eternal youth also, he became decrepit and ugly, and Aurora changed him into a cicada, or grasshopper. His name is a synonym for a very old man.

Tithonus (The Consort of), the dawn.

Tithor´ea, one of the two chief summits of Parnassus. It was dedicated to Bacchus, the other (Lycorēa), being dedicated to the Muses and Apollo.

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), an Italian landscape painter, especially famous for his flesh-tints and female figures (1477-1576).

Titian (The French), Jacques Blanchard (1600-1638).

Titian (The Portuguese), Alonzo Sanchez Coello (1515-1590).

Titmarsh (Michael Angelo), a pseudonym used by Thackeray, in a number of his earlier writings. Like Michael Angelo, Thackeray had a broken nose.

Titmouse (Mr. Tittlebat), a vulgar, ignorant coxcomb, suddenly raised from the degree of a linen-draper’s shopman, to a man of fortune, with an income of £10,000 a year.--Warren, Ten Thousand a Year.

Tito Mele´ma, a Greek, who marries Romola.--George Eliot, Romola.

Titurel, the first king of Graal-burg. He has brought into subjection all his passions, has resisted all the seductions of the world, and is modest, chaste, pious, and devout. His daughter, Sigunê, is in love with Tschionatulander, who is slain.--Wolfram von Eschenbach, Titurel (thirteenth century).

⁂ Wolfram’s Titurel is a tedious expansion of a lay already in existence, and Albert of Scharfenberg produced a Young Titurel, at one time thought the best romance of chivalry in existence, but it is pompous, stilted, erudite, and wearisome.

Titus, the son of Lucius Junius Brutus. He joined the faction of Tarquin, and was condemned to death by his father, who, having been the chief instrument in banishing the king and all his race, was 128created the first consul. The subject has been often dramatized. In English, by N. Lee (1678) and John Howard Payne (1820). In French, by Arnault, in 1792; and by Ponsard, in 1843. In Italian, by Alfieri, Bruto, etc. It was in Payne’s tragedy that Charles Kean made his début in Glasgow, as “Titus,” his father playing “Brutus.”

Titus, “the delight of man,” the Roman emperor, son of Vespasian (40, 79-81).

Titus, the penitent thief, according to the legend. Dumăchus and Titus were two of a band of robbers, who attacked Joseph in his flight into Egypt. Titus said, “Let these good people go in peace;” but Dumachus replied, “First let them pay their ransom.” Whereupon Titus handed to his companion forty groats; and the infant Jesus said to him:

Tityre Tus (long u), the name assumed in the seventeenth century by a clique of young blades of the better class, whose delight was to break windows, upset sedan-chairs, molest quiet citizens, and rudely caress pretty women in the streets at night-time. These brawlers took successively many titular names, as Muns, Hectors, Scourers, afterwards Nickers, later still Hawcubites, and lastly Mohawks or Mohocks.

“Tityre tu-s” is meant for the plural of “Tityre tu,” in the first line of Virgil’s first Eclogue: “Tityre, tu patulæ recubans sub tegmine fagi,” and meant to imply that these blades were men of leisure and fortune, who “lay at ease under their patrimonial beech trees.”

Tit´yrus, in the Shepheardes Calendar, by Spenser (ecl. ii. and vi.), is meant for Chaucer.

Tityus, a giant, whose body covered nine acres of ground. In Tartărus, two vultures or serpents feed forever on his liver, which grows as fast as it is gnawed away.

Promētheus (3 syl.) is said to have been fastened to Mount Caucasus, where two eagles fed on his liver, which never wasted.

Tizo´na, the Cid’s sword. It was buried with him, as Joyeuse (Charlemagne’s sword) was buried with Charlemagne, and Durindāna with Orlando.

Tlal´ala, surnamed “The Tiger,” one of the Aztĕcas. On one occasion, being taken captive, Madoc released him, but he continued the unrelenting foe of Madoc and his new colony, and was always foremost in working them evil. When at length the Aztecas, being overcome, migrated to Mexico, Tlalala refused to quit the spot of his father’s tomb, and threw himself on his own javelin.--Southey, Madoc (1805).

129Toad-Eater (Pulteney’s). Henry Vane was so called in 1742, by Sir Robert Walpole. Two years later, Sarah Fielding, in David Simple, speaks of “toad-eater” as “quite a new word,” and she suggests that it is “a metaphor taken from a mountebank’s boy eating toads in order to show his master’s skill in expelling poison,” and “built on a supposition that people who are in a state of dependence are forced to do the most nauseous things to please and humor their patrons.”

Tobo´so (Dulcinĕa del), the lady chosen by Don Quixote for his particular paragon. Sancho Panza says she was “a stout-built, sturdy wench, who could pitch the bar as well as any young fellow in the parish.” The knight had been in love with her before he took to errantry. She was Aldonza Lorenzo, the daughter of Lorenzo Corchuelo and Aldonza Nogalês; but when Signior Quixāda assumed the dignity of knighthood, he changed the name and style of his lady into Dulcinea del Tobōso, which was more befitting his rank.--Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. i. 1 (1605).

Toby, waiter of the Spa hotel, St. Ronan’s, kept by Sandie Lawson.--Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well (time, George III.).

Toby, a brown Rockingham-ware beer jug, with the likeness of Toby Filpot embossed on its sides, “a goodly jug of well-browned clay, fashioned into the form of an old gentleman, atop of whose bald head was a fine froth answering to his wig” (ch. iv.).

Gabriel lifted Toby to his mouth, and took a hearty draught.--C. Dickens, Master Humphrey’s Clock (“Barnaby Rudge,” xli., 1841).

Toby, Punch’s dog, in the puppet-show exhibition of Punch and Judy.

In some versions of the great drama of Punch, there is a small dog (a modern innovation), supposed to be the private property of that gentleman, and of the name of Toby--always Toby. This dog has been stolen in youth from another gentleman, and fraudulently sold to the confiding hero who, having no guile himself, has no suspicion that it lurks in others; but Toby, entertaining a grateful recollection of his old master, and scorning to attach himself to any new patron, not only refuses to smoke a pipe at the bidding of Punch but (to mark his old fidelity more strongly) seizes him by the nose, and wrings the same with violence, at which instance of canine attachment the spectators are always deeply affected.--C. Dickens.

Toby, in the periodical called Punch, is represented as a grave, consequential, sullen, unsocial pug, perched on back volumes of the national Menippus, which he guards so stolidly that it would need a very bold heart to attempt to filch one. There is no reminiscence in this Toby, like that of his peep-show namesake, of any previous master, and no aversion to his present one. Punch himself is the very beau-ideal of good-natured satire and far-sighted shrewdness, while his dog (the very Diogĕnês of his tribe) would scorn his nature if he could be made to smile at anything.

⁂ The first cover of immortal Punch was designed by A. S. Henning; the present one by Richard Doyle.

Toby (Uncle), a captain, who was wounded at the siege of Namur, and was obliged to retire from the service. He is the impersonation of kindness, benevolence, and simple-heartedness; his courage is undoubted, his gallantry delightful for its innocence and modesty. Nothing can exceed the grace of Uncle Toby’s love-passages with the Widow Wadman. It is said that Lieutenant Sterne (father of the novelist), was the prototype of Uncle Toby.--Sterne, Tristram Shandy (1759).

130My Uncle Toby is one of the finest compliments ever paid to human nature. He is the most unoffending of God’s creatures, or, as the French would express it, un tel petit bonhomme. Of his bowling-green, his sieges, and his amours, who would say or think anything amiss?--Hazlitt.

Toby Veck, ticket-porter and jobman, nicknamed “Trotty” from his trotting pace. He was “a weak, small, spare man,” who loved to earn his money, and heard the chimes ring words in accordance with his fancy, hopes, and fears. After a dinner of tripe, he lived for a time in a sort of dream, and woke up on New Year’s day to dance at his daughter’s wedding.--C. Dickens, The Chimes (1844).

Todd (Laurie), a poor Scotch nailmaker, who emigrates to America, and, after some reverses of fortune, begins life again as a backwoodsman, and greatly prospers.--Galt, Laurie Todd.

Tod´gers (Mrs.), proprietress of a “commercial boarding-house;” weighed down with the overwhelming cares of sauces, gravy, and the wherewithal of providing for her lodgers. Mrs. Todgers had a soft heart for Mr. Pecksniff, widower, and being really kind-hearted, befriended poor Mercy Pecksniff in her miserable married life with her brutal husband, Jonas Chuzzlewit.--C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).

Tofa´na, of Palermo, a noted poisoner, who sold a tasteless, colorless poison, called the Manna of St. Nicola of Bara, but better known as Aqua Tofana. Above 600 persons fell victims to this fatal drug. She was discovered in 1659, and died 1730.

La Spara or Hieronyma Spara, about a century previously, sold an “elixir” equally fatal. The secret was ultimately revealed to her father confessor.

Tofts (Mistress), a famous singer towards the close of the eighteenth century. She was very fond of cats, and left a legacy to twenty of the tabby tribe.

Toinette, a confidential female servant of Argan, the malade imaginaire. “Adroite, soigneuse, diligente, et surtout fidèle,” but contractious, and always calling into action her master’s irritable temper. In order to cure him, she pretends to be a travelling physician of about 90 years of age, although she has not seen twenty-six summers; and in the capacity of a Galen, declares M. Argan is suffering from lungs, recommends that one arm should be cut off, and one eye taken out to strengthen the remaining one. She enters into a plot to open the eyes of Argan to the real affection of Angelique (his daughter), the false love of her stepmother, and to marry the former to Cléante, the man of her choice, in all which schemes she is fully successful.--Molière, Le Malade Imaginaire (1673).

Toison d’Or, chief herald of Burgundy.--Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward, and Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Toki, the Danish William Tell. Saxo Grammaticus, a Danish writer of the twelfth century, tells us that Toki once boasted, in the hearing of Harald Bluetooth, that he could hit an apple with his arrow off a pole; and the Danish Gessler set him to try his skill by placing an apple on the head of the archer’s son (twelfth century).

131Tolande of Anjou, a daughter of old King Réné of Provence, and sister of Margaret of Anjou (wife of Henry VI. of England).--Sir W. Scott, Anne of Geierstein (time, Edward IV.).

Tolbooth (The), the principal prison of Edinburgh.

Lord Byron refers to the “duel” between Francis Jeffrey, editor of the Edinburgh Review, and Thomas Moore, the poet, at Chalk Farm, in 1806. The duel was interrupted, and it was then found that neither of the pistols contained a bullet.

Tolme´tes (3 syl.), Foolhardiness personified in The Purple Island, fully described in canto viii. His companions were Arrogance, Brag, Carelessness, and Fear. (Greek, tolmêtês, “a foolhardy man.”)

Tom, “the Portugal dustman,” who joined the allied army against France in the war of the Spanish Succession.--Dr. Arbuthnot, History of John Bull (1712).

Tom, one of the servants of Mr. Peregrine Lovel, “with a good deal of surly honesty about him.” Tom is no sneak, and no tell-tale, but he refuses to abet Philip, the butler, in sponging on his master, and wasting his property in riotous living. When Lovel discovers the state of affairs, and clears out his household, he retains Tom, to whom he entrusts the cellar and the plate.--Rev. J. Townley, High Life Below Stairs (1750).

Tom Folio, Thomas Rawlinson, the bibliopolist (1681-1725).

Tom Jones (1 syl.), a model of generosity, openness, and manly spirit, mixed with dissipation. Lord Byron calls him “an accomplished blackguard” (Don Juan, xiii. 110, 1824).--Fielding, Tom Jones (1749).

A hero with a flawed reputation, a hero sponging for a guinea, a hero who cannot pay his landlady, and is obliged to let his honor out to hire, is absurd, and the claim of Tom Jones to heroic rank is quite untenable.--Thackeray.

Tom Long, the hero of an old tale, entitled The Merry Conceits of Tom Long, the Carrier, being many Pleasant Passages and Mad Pranks which he observed in his Travels. This tale was at one time amazingly popular.

Tom Scott, Daniel Quilp’s boy, Tower Hill. Although Quilp was a demon incarnate, yet “between the boy and the dwarf there existed a strange kind of mutual liking.” Tom was very fond of standing on his head, and on one occasion Quilp said to him, “Stand on your head again, and I’ll cut one of your feet off.”

The boy made no answer, but directly Quilp had shut himself in, stood on his head before the door, then walked on his hands to the back, and stood on his head there, then to the opposite side and repeated the performance.... Quilp, knowing his disposition, was lying in wait at a little distance, armed with a large piece of wood, which, being rough and jagged, and studded with broken nails, might possibly have hurt him, if it 132had been thrown at him.--C. Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, v. (1840).

Tom Thumb, the name of a very diminutive little man in the court of King Arthur, killed by the poisonous breath of a spider, in the reign of King Thunstone, the successor of Arthur. In the Bodleian Library there is a ballad about Tom Thumb, which was printed in 1630. Richard Johnson wrote in prose, The History of Tom Thumbe, which was printed in 1621. In 1630, Charles Perrault published his tale called Le Petit Poucet. Tom Thumb is introduced by Drayton in his Nymphidia (1563-1631).

“Tom” in this connection is the Swedish tomt (“a nix or dwarf”), as in Tomptgubbe (“a brownie or kobold”); the final t is silent, and the tale is of Scandinavian origin.

Tom Thumb, a burlesque opera, altered by Kane O’Hara (author of Midas), in 1778, from a dramatic piece by Fielding, the novelist (1730). Tom Thumb, having killed the giants, falls in love with Huncamunca, daughter of King Arthur. Lord Grizzle wishes to marry the princess, and when he hears that the “pygmy giant-queller” is preferred before him, his lordship turns traitor, invests the palace “at the head of his rebellious rout,” and is slain by Tom. Then follows the bitter end: A red cow swallows Tom, the queen, Dollallolla, kills Noodle, Frizaletta kills the queen, Huncamunca kills Frizaletta, Doodle kills Huncamunca, Plumantê kills Doodle, and the king, being left alone, stabs himself. Merlin now enters, commands the red cow to “return our England’s Hannibal,” after which the wise wizard restores all the slain ones to life again, and thus “jar ending,” each resolves to go home “and make a night on’t.”

Tom Tiddler’s Ground, a nook in a rustic by-road, where Mr. Mopes, the hermit, lived, and had succeeded in laying it waste. In the middle of the plot was a ruined hovel, without one patch of glass in the windows, and with no plank or beam that had not rotted or fallen away. There was a slough of water, a leafless tree or two, and plenty of filth. Rumor said that Tom Mopes had murdered his beautiful wife from jealousy, and had abandoned the world. Mr. Traveller tried to reason with him, and bring him back to social life, but the tinker replied, “When iron is thoroughly rotten you cannot botch it, do what you may.”--C. Dickens, A Christmas Number (1861).

Tom Tiler and His Wife, a transition play between a morality and a tragedy (1578).

Tom Tipple, a highwayman in Captain Macheath’s gang. Peachum calls him “a guzzling, soaking sot, always too drunk to stand himself or to make others stand. A cart,” he says, “is absolutely necessary for him.”--Gray, The Beggar’s Opera, i. (1727).

Tom Tram, the hero of a novel entitled The Mad Pranks of Tom Tram, Son-in-Law to Mother Winter, whereunto is added His Merry Jests, Odd Conceits and Pleasant Tales (seventeenth century).

Tom-a-Thrum, a sprite which figures in the fairy tales of the Middle Ages; a “queer-looking little auld man,” whose chief exploits were in the vaults and cellars of old castles. John Skelton, speaking of the clergy, says:

Tom o’ Bedlam, a ticket-of-leave madman from Bethlehem Hospital, or one discharged as incurable.

Tom of Ten Thousand, Thomas Thynne; so called from his great wealth. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, but why, the then dean has not thought fit to leave on record.

Tom the Piper, one of the characters in the ancient morris-dance, represented with a tabor, tabor-stick and pipe. He carried a sword and shield, to denote his rank as a “squire minstrel.” His shoes were brown; his hose red and “gimp-thighed;” his hat or cap, red, turned up with yellow, and adorned with a feather; his doublet blue, the sleeves being turned up with yellow; and he wore a yellow cape over his shoulders. (See Morris-Dance.)

Tom Turner (Mrs.), unsophisticated country dame, whose head is turned by the feigned devotion of a man to whom “flirting is a part of daily existence.” “Mrs. Tom” dresses flashily, in imitation of the butterflies of fashion whom she meets in her new career as a woman of the world, affects airs and graces foreign to her nature, and plays the fool generally until shocked into her senses by a letter from her quiet, commonplace husband, telling her that he “has gone away and that she will not see him again.” She follows him, entreats forgiveness, returns to home and plain living, and, as a characteristic penance, wears her gaudy costumes out as everyday gowns. There were thirty of them at first. “I’ve worn them all almost out. When I get to the end of them I’ll have my own things again.”--H. C. Bunner, Mrs. Tom’s Spree (1891).

Tomahourich (Muhme Janet of), an old sibyl, aunt of Robin Oig M’Combich, the Highland drover.--Sir W. Scott, The Two Drovers (time, George III.).

Tom´alin, a valiant fairy knight, kinsman of King Obĕron. Tomălin is not the same as “Tom Thumb,” as we are generally but erroneously told, for in the “mighty combat” Tomalin backed Pigwiggen, while Tom Thum or Thumb, seconded King Oberon. This fairy battle was brought about by the jealousy of Oberon, who considered the attentions of Pigwiggen to Queen Mab were “far too nice.”--M. Drayton, Nymphidia (1563-1631).

Tomb (Knight of the), James, earl of Douglas in disguise.

His armor was ingeniously painted so as to represent a skeleton; the ribs being constituted by the corselet and its back-piece. The shield represented an owl with its wings spread--a device which was repeated upon the helmet, which appeared to be completely covered by an image of the same bird of ill omen. But that which was particularly calculated to excite surprise in the spectator was the great height and thinness of the figure.--Sir W. Scott, Castle Dangerous, xiv. (time, Henry I.).

Tomboy (Priscilla), a self-willed, hoydenish, ill-educated romp, of strong animal spirits, and wholly unconventional. She is a West Indian, left under the guardianship of Barnacle, and sent to London for her education. Miss Priscilla Tomboy lives with Barnacle’s brother, old [Nicholas] Cockney, a grocer, where she plays boy-and-girl love with young Walter Cockney, which consists chiefly in pettish quarrels and personal insolence. 134Subsequently she runs off with Captain Sightly, but the captain behaves well by presenting himself next day to the guardian, and obtaining his consent to marriage.--The Romp (altered from Bickerstaff’s Love in the City).

Tomès [Tō-may], one of the five physicians called in by Sganarelle to consult on the malady of his daughter, Lucinde (2 syl.). Being told that a coachman he was attending was dead and buried, the doctor asserted it to be quite impossible, as the coachman had been ill only six days, and Hippocrătês had positively stated that the disorder would not come to its height till the fourteenth day. The five doctors meet in consultation, talk of the town gossip, their medical experience, their visits, anything, in short, except the patient. At length the father enters to inquire what decision they had come to. One says Lucinde must have an emetic, M. Tomès says she must be blooded; one says an emetic will be her death, the other that bleeding will infallibly kill her.

M. Tomès, Si vous ne faites saigner tout à l’heure votre fille, c’est une personne morte.

M. Desfonandrès, Si vous la faites saigner, elle ne sera pas en vie dans un quart-d’-heure.

And they quit the house in great anger (act. ii. 4).--Molière, L’Amour Médecin (1665).

Tomkins (Joseph), secret emissary of Cromwell. He was formerly Philip Hazeldine, alias Master Fibbet, secretary to Colonel Desborough (one of the parliamentary commissioners).--Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).

Tom´yris, queen of the Massagētæ. She defeated Cyrus, who had invaded her kingdom, and, having slain him, threw his head into a vessel filled with human blood, saying, “It was blood you thirsted for; now take your fill!”

Ton-Iosal was so heavy and unwieldy that when he sat down it took the whole force of a hundred men to set him upright on his feet again.--The Fiona.

If Fion was remarkable for his stature, ... in weight all yielded to the celebrated Ton-Iosal.--J. Macpherson, Dissertation on Ossian.

Ton-Thena (“fire of the wave”), a remarkable star which guided Larthon to Ireland, as mentioned in Ossian’s Tem´ora, vii., and called in Cathlin of Clutha, “the red traveller of the clouds.”

Tonio, a young Tyrolese, who saved Maria, the sutler-girl, when on the point of falling down a precipice. The two, of course, fall in love with each other, and the regiment, which had adopted the sutler-girl, consents to their marriage, provided Tonio will enlist under its flag. No sooner is this done than the marchioness of Berkenfield lays claim to Maria as her daughter, and removes her to the castle. In time, the castle is besieged and taken by the very regiment into which Tonio had enlisted, and, as Tonio had risen to the rank of a French officer, the marchioness consents to his marriage with her daughter.--Donizetti, La Figlia del Reggimento (1840).

Tonna (Mrs.), Charlotte Elizabeth (1792-1846).

135Tonto (Don Cherubin), canon of Tole´do, the weakest mortal in the world, though, by his smirking air, you would fancy him a wit. When he hears a delicate performance read, he listens with such attention as seems full of intelligence, but all the while he understands nothing of the matter.--Lesage, Gil Blas, v. 12 (1724).

Tonton, the smallest dog that ever existed. When the three princes of a certain king were sent to procure the tiniest dog they could find, as a present to their aged father, the White Cat gave the youngest of them a dog, so small that it was packed in wadding in a common acorn shell.

As soon as the acorn was opened, they all saw a little dog laid in cotton, and so small it might jump through a finger-ring without touching it.... It was a mixture of several colors; its ears and long hair reached to the ground. The prince set it on the ground, and forthwith the tiny creature began to dance a saraband with castanets.--Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“The(“The White Cat,” 1682)

Tony Lumpkin, a young booby, fond of practical jokes, and low company. He was the son of Mrs. Hardcastle by her first husband.--Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer (1773).

Tony Tyler, on the editorial staff of the Tecumseh Chronicle. “He knows about eighteen hundred times as much as Samboye (managing editor) does, only somehow, he hasn’t the faculty of putting it on paper. Too much whiskey!”--Harold Frederic, Seth’s Brother’s Wife (1886).

Toodle, engine-fireman, an honest fellow, very proud of his wife, Polly, and her family.

Polly Toodle, known by the name of Richards, wife of the stoker. Polly was an apple-faced woman, and was mother of a large, apple-faced family. This jolly, homely, kind-hearted matron was selected as the nurse of Paul Dombey, and soon became devotedly attached to Paul and his sister, Florence.

Robin Toodle, known as “The Biler,” or “Rob the Grinder,” eldest son of Mrs. Toodle, wet-nurse of Paul Dombey. Mr. Dombey gets Robin into an institution called “The Charitable Grinders,” where the worst part of the boy’s character is freely developed. Robin becomes a sneak, and enters the service of James Carker, manager of the firm of Dombey and Son. On the death of Carker, Robin enters the service of Miss Lucretia Tox.--C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).

Toom Tabard (“empty jacket”), a nickname given to John Balliol, because his appointment to the sovereignty of Scotland was an empty name. He had the royal robe or jacket, but nothing else (1259, 1292-1314).

Tooth Worshipped (A). The people of Ceylon worship the tooth of an elephant; those of Malabar, the tooth of a monkey. The Siamese once offered a Portuguese 700,000 ducats for the redemption of a monkey’s tooth.

Tooth-picks. The Romans used tooth-picks made of mastic wood, in preference to quills; hence, Rabelais says that Prince Gargantua “picked his teeth with mastic tooth-pickers” (s’escuroit les dents avecques ung trou de lentisce), bk. i. 23.

Toots (Mr.), an innocent, warm-hearted 136young man, just burst from the bonds of Dr. Blimber’s school, and deeply in love with Florence Dombey. He is famous for blushing, refusing what he longs to accept, and for saying, “Oh, it is of no consequence.” Being very nervous, he never appears to advantage, but in the main, “there were few better fellows in the world.”

“I assure you,” said Mr. Toots, “really I am dreadfully sorry, but it’s of no consequence.”--C. Dickens, Dombey and Son, xxviii. (1846).

Topas (Sir), a native of Poperyng, in Flanders; a capital sportsman, archer, wrestler, and runner. Chaucer calls him “Sir Thopas” (q.v.).

Topas (Sir). Sir Charles Dilke was so called by the Army and Navy Gazette, November 25, 1871 (1810-1869).

Topham (Master Charles), usher of the black rod.--Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).

Topsy, a young slave-girl, who never knew whether she had either father or mother, and being asked by Miss Ophelia St. Clare, how she supposed she came into the world, replied, “I ’spects I growed.”--Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852).

Tor (Sir), the natural son of King Pellinore, and the wife of Aries, the cowherd. He was the first of the knights of the Round Table.--Sir. T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 24 (1470).

Toralva (The licentiate), mounted on a cane, was conveyed through the air with his eyes shut; in twelve hours he arrived at Rome, and the following morning returned to Madrid. During his flight he opened his eyes once, and found himself so near the moon that he could have touched it with his finger.--Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. iii. 5 (1615). (See Torralba.)

Tordenskiol [Tor´.den.skole], or the “Thunder-Shield.” So Peder Wessel, vice-admiral of Denmark (in the reign of Christian V.), was called. He was brought up as a tailor, and died in a duel.

Torfe (Mr. George), provost of Orkney.--Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).

Tormes (Lazarillo de), by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (sixteenth century); a kind of Gil Blas, whose adventures and roguish tricks are the first of a very popular sort of novel called the Gusto Picaresco. Lesage has imitated it in his Gil Blas, and we have numberless imitations in our own language. (See Tyll Owlyglass.)

The ideal Yankee, in whom European prejudice has combined the attractive traits of a Gines de Passamonte, a Joseph Surface, a Lazarillo de Tormes, a Scapin, a Thersitês, and an Autolycus.--W. H. Hurlburt.

⁂ “Gines de Passamonte,” in Don Quixote, by Cervantes; “Joseph Surface,” in The School for Scandal, by Sheridan; “Scapin,” in Les Fourberies de Scapin, by Molière; “Thersitês,” in Homer’s Iliad, i.; “Autolycus,” in the Winter’s Tale, by Shakespeare.

Tormot, youngest son of Torquil, of the Oak (foster-father of Eachin M’Ian).--Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).

137Torquato, that is, Torquato Tasso, the Italian poet, author of Jerusalem Delivered (1544-1595). After the publication of his great epic, Tasso lived in the court of Ferrara, and conceived a violent passion for Leonora, one of the duke’s sisters, but fled, in 1577, to Naples.

Torquil of the Oak, foster-father of Eachin M’Ian. He was chief of the clan Quhele, and had eight sons, the finest men in the clan. Torquil was a seer, who was supposed to have communication with the invisible world, and he declared a demon had told him that Eachin or Hector M’Ian, was the only man in the two hostile clans of Chattan and Quhele who would come off scathless in the approaching combat (ch xxvi.).--Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).

A parallel combat is described in The Cid. When Sancho of Castile was stabbed by Bellĭdo of Zamora, Diego Ordoñez, of the house of Lara, challenged five of the knights of Zamora to a single combat. Don Arias Gonzalo and his four sons accepted the challenge. Pedro Arias was first slain, then his brother, Diego. Next came Herman, who received a mortal wound, but struck the charger of Diego Ordoñez. The charger, furious with pain, carried its rider beyond the lists, and the combat was declared to be drawn.

Torralba (Dr.), carried by the spirit Cequiel from Valladŏlid to Rome and back again in an hour and a half. He was tried by the Inquisition for sorcery (time, Charles V.).--Joseph de Ossau Pellicer (seventeenth century). (See Toralva.)

Torre (Sir), son of Sir Bernard, baron of Astolat. His brother was Sir Lavaine, and his sister Elaine “the lily maid of Astolat.” He was blunt-mannered, but not without kindness of heart.--Tennyson, Idylls of the King (“Elaine”).

The word “Torre” is a blunder for Tirre. Sir Torre or Tor, according to Arthurian legend, was the natural son of Pellinore, king of Wales, “begotten of Aries’ wife, the cowherd” (pt. ii. 108). It was Sir Tirre who was the brother of Elaine (pt. iii. 122).--Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur (1470).

Tor´rismond, general of the forces of Aragon. He falls in love with Leonora, the usurping queen, promised in marriage to Bertran, prince of the blood-royal, but she falls in love with Torrismond, who turns out to be the son of Sancho, the deposed king. Ultimately Sancho is restored, and Leonora is married to Torrismond.--Dryden, The Spanish Fryar (1680),

Torso Farne´se (3 syl.), Dircê and her sons, the work of Apollonius and Tauriscus of Rhodes.

Toshach Beg, the “second” of M’Gillie Chattanach, chief of the clan Chattan, in the great combat.--Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).

Tottenham in Boots, a popular toast in Ireland in 1734. Mr. Tottenham gave the casting vote which threw out a Government bill very obnoxious to the Irish, on the subject of the Irish parliament. He had come from the country, and rushed into the House, without changing his boots just in time to give his vote, which prevented the bill from passing by a majority of one.

138Totterly (Lord), an Adonis of 60, and a ci-devant Jeune Homme.--C. Selby, The Unfinished Gentleman.

Touchet [Too-shay]. When Charles IX. introduced Henri of Navarre to Marie Touchet, the witty Navarrese made this anagram of her name, Je charme tout.

Touchetts (The). Mrs. Touchett, “plain-faced old woman, without coquetry, and without any great elegance, but with an extreme respect for her own motives. Mrs. Touchett might do a great deal of good, but she never pleases.” She lives in Florence, her husband in London.

Mr. Touchett, “a gentle, refined, fastidious old man, combining consummate shrewdness with a sort of fraternizing good humor.” His feeling about his own position in the world is of the democratic sort.

Ralph Touchett, philosophical invalid, whose interest in his cousin Isabel is believed by most people to be brotherly. In order that she may not feel obliged to marry for a support, he persuades his father to divide his (Ralph’s) inheritance into two equal parts and give one-half, unconditionally, to Isabel. She is married for this fortune, and, a miserable woman, comes against her husband’s will, to see her cousin die happy because she is with him.--Henry James, Jr., Portrait of a Lady (1881).

Touchfaucet (Captain), in Picrochole’s army, taken captive by Friar John. Being presented to Grangousier and asked the cause of his king’s invasion, he replied, “To avenge the injury done to the cake-bakers of Lernê” (ch. 25, 26). Grangousier commanded his treasurer to give the friar 62,000 saluts (£15,500) in reward, and to Touchfaucet he gave “an excellent sword of a Vienne blade, with a gold scabbard, and a collar of gold weighing 702,000 merks (576,000 ounces), garnished with precious stones, and valued at £16,000 sterling, by way of present.” Returning to King Picrochole, he advised him to capitulate, whereupon Rashcalf cried aloud, “Unhappy the prince who has traitors for his counsellors!” and Touchfaucet, drawing “his new sword,” ran him through the body. The king demanded who gave him the sword, and being told the truth, ordered his guards “to hew him in pieces.”--Rabelais, Gargantua, i. 45-47 (1533).

Touching for the King’s Evil. It is said that scrofulous diseases were at one time very prevalent in the island, and that Edward the Confessor, in answer to earnest prayer, was told it would be cured by the royal touch. Edward, being gifted with this miraculous power, transmitted it as an heir-loom to his successors. Henry VII. presented each person touched with a small coin, called a touch-piece or touch-penny.

Charles II. of England, during his reign, touched as many as 92,107 persons; the smallest number (2983) being in the year 1669, and the largest number in 1684, when many were trampled to death (see Macaulay’s History of England, xiv.). In these “touchings,” John Brown, a royal surgeon, superintended the ceremony. (See Macbeth, act iv. sc. 3.)

Prince Charles Edward, who claimed to be prince of Wales, touched a female child for the disease in 1745.

The French kings claimed the same divine power from Anne of Clovis, A.D. 481. And on Easter Sunday, 1686, Louis XIV. touched 1600, using these words, Le roy te touche, Dieu te guerisse.

139⁂ Dr. Johnson was the last person touched. The touch-piece given to him has on one side this legend, Soli Deo gloria, and on the other side, Anna D: G. M. BR. F: et H. REG. (“Anne, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, queen”).

Touchstone, a clown filled with “quips and cranks and wanton wiles.” The original of this character was Tarlton, the favorite court jester of Queen Elizabeth.--Shakespeare, As You Like It (1598).

His famous speech is “the seven degrees of affront:” (1) the retort courteous, (2) the quip modest, (3) the reply churlish, (4) the reproof valiant, (5) the counter-check quarrelsome, (6) the lie circumstantial, (7) the lie direct (act v. sc. 4).

Touchwood (Colonel), “the most passionate, impatient, unreasonable, good-natured man in Christendom.” Uncle of Major and Clarissa Touchwood.

Sophia Touchwood, the colonel’s daughter, in love with her cousin, Major Touchwood. Her father wants her to marry Colonel Clifford, but the colonel has fixed his heart on Clarissa, the major’s sister.

Major Touchwood, nephew of Colonel Touchwood, and in love with his cousin, Sophia, the colonel’s daughter. He fancies that Colonel Clifford is his rival, but Clifford is in love with Clarissa, the major’s sister. This error forms the plot of the farce, and the mistakes which arise when the major dresses up to pass himself off for his uncle constitute its fun and entanglement.

Clarissa Touchwood, the major’s sister, in love with Colonel Clifford. They first met at Brighton, and the colonel thought her Christian name was Sophia; hence the major looked on him as a rival.--T. Dibdin, What Next?

Touchwood (Lord), uncle of Melle´font (2 syl.).

Lady Touchwood, his wife, sister of Sir Paul Pliant. She entertains a criminal passion for her nephew, Mellefont, and, because he repels her advances, vows to ruin him. Accordingly, she tells her husband that the young man has sought to dishonor her, and when his lordship fancies that the statement of his wife must be greatly overstated, he finds Mellefont with Lady Touchwood in her own private chamber. This seems to corroborate the accusation laid to his charge, but it was an artful trick of Maskwell’s to make mischief, and in a short time a conversation which he overhears between Lady Touchwood and Maskwell reveals the whole infamous scheme most fully to the husband.--Congreve, The Double Dealer (1700).

(Lord and Lady Touchwood must not be mistaken for Sir George and Lady Frances Touchwood, who are very different characters.)

Their Wildairs, Sir John Brutes, Lady Touchwoods and Mrs Frails, are conventional reproductions of those wild gallants and demireps which figure in the licentious dramas of Dryden and Shadwell.--Sir W. Scott, The Drama.

⁂ “Wildair,” in The Constant Couple, by Farquhar; “Brute,” in The Provoked Wife, by Van Brugh; “Mrs. Frail,” in Love for Love, by Congreve.

Touchwood (Sir George), the loving husband 140of Lady Frances, desperately jealous of her, and wishing to keep her out of all society, that she may not lose her native simplicity and purity of mind. Sir George is a true gentleman of most honorable feelings.

Lady Frances Touchwood, the sweet, innocent wife of Sir George Touchwood. Before her marriage she was brought up in seclusion in the country, and Sir George tries to keep her fresh and pure in London.--Mrs. Cowley, The Belle’s Stratagem (1780).

Touchwood (Peregrine), a touchy old East Indian, a relation of the Mowbray family.--Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well (time, George III.).

Tough (Mr.), an old barrister.--Sir W. Scott, Redgauntlet (time, George III.).

Touran. The death of the children of Touran forms one of the three tragic stories of the ancient Irish. The other two are The Death of the Children of Lir and The Death of the Children of Usnach.

Tournemine (3 syl.), a Jesuit of the eighteenth century, fond of the marvellous. “Il aimait le merveilleux et ne renonçait qu’avec peine à y croire.”

Touthope (Mr.), a Scotch attorney and clerk of the peace.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).

She ordered the fellow to be drawn through a horse-pond, and then to be well rubbed down with an oaken towel.--The Adventure of My Aunt.

Tower of Hunger (The), Gualandi, the tower in which Ugolino with his two sons and two grandsons were starved to death in 1288.--Dantê, Inferno (1300).

Tower of London (The), was really built by Gundulphus, bishop of Rochester, in the reign of William I., but tradition ascribes it to Julius Cæsar.

Tower of Vathek, built with the intention of reaching heaven, that Vathek might pry into the secrets seen by Mahomet. The staircase contained 11,000 stairs, and when the top was gained, men looked no bigger than pismires, and cities seemed mere bee-hives.--Beckford, Vathek (1784).

Townley Mysteries, certain religious dramas; so called, because the MS. containing them belonged to P. Townley. These dramas are supposed to have been acted at Widkirk Abbey, in Yorkshire. In 1831, they were printed for the Surtees Society under the editorship of the Rev. Joseph Hunter, and J. Stevenson. (See Coventry Mysteries.)

Townley (Colonel), attached to Berinthia, a handsome young widow, but in order to win her he determines to excite her jealousy, and therefore pretends love to Amanda, her cousin. Amanda, however, repels his attentions with disdain; and the colonel, seeing his folly, attaches himself to Berinthia.--Sheridan, A Trip to Scarborough (1777).

Townley (Lord) a nobleman of generous mind and high principle, liberal and manly. Though very fond of his wife, he insists on a separation because she is so extravagant and self-willed. Lady Townly 141sees at length the folly of her ways, and promises amendment, whereupon the husband relents and receives her into favor again.

Lady Townly, the gay, but not unfaithful young wife of Lord Townley, who thinks that the pleasure of life consists in gambling; she “cares nothing for her husband,” but “loves almost everything he hates.” She says:

I dote upon assemblies; my heart bounds at a ball; and at an opera, I expire. Then I love play to distraction; cards enchant me; and dice put me out of my little wits.--Vanbrugh and Cibber, The Provoked Husband, iii. 1 (1728).

(Mrs. Pritchard, Margaret Woffington, Miss Brunton, Miss M. Tree, and Miss E. Tree, were all excellent in this favorite part.)

Tox (Miss Lucretia), the bosom friend of Mr. Dombey’s married sister (Mrs. Chick). Miss Lucretia was a faded lady, “as if she had not been made in fast colors,” and was washed out. She “ambled through life without any opinions, and never abandoned herself to unavailing regrets.” She greatly admired Mr. Dombey, and entertained a forlorn hope that she might be selected by him to supply the place of his deceased wife. Miss Tox lived in Princess’s Place, and maintained a weak flirtation with a Major Bagstock, who was very jealous of Mr. Dombey.--C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).

Tozer, one of the ten young gentlemen in the school of Dr. Blimber, when Paul Dombey was there. A very solemn lad, whose “shirt-collar curled up the lobes of his ears.”--C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).

Trabb, a prosperous old bachelor, a tailor by trade.

He was having his breakfast in the parlor behind the shop.... He had sliced his hot roll into three feather-beds, and was slipping butter in between the blankets.... He was a prosperous old bachelor, and his open window looked into a prosperous little garden and orchard, and there was a prosperous iron safe let into the wall at the side of the fireplace, and without doubt, heaps of his prosperity were put away in it in bags.--Dickens, Great Expectations (1860).

Traddles, a simple, honest young man, who believes in everybody and everything. Though constantly failing, he is never depressed by his want of success. He had the habit of brushing his hair up on end, which gave him a look of surprise.

At the Creakle’s school, when I was miserable, he [Traddles] would lay his head on the desk for a little while, and then, cheering up, would draw skeletons all over his slate.--C. Dickens, David Copperfield, vii.(1849).

Trade´love (Mr.), a broker on ’Change, one of the four guardians of Anne Lovely, the heiress. He was “a fellow that would out-lie the devil, for the advantage of stock, and cheat his own father in a bargain. He was a great stickler for trade, and hated every one that wore a sword” (act. i. 1). Colonel Feignwell passed himself off as a Dutch merchant named Jan van Timtamtirelereletta herr van Feignwell, and made a bet with Tradelove. Tradelove lost, and cancelled the debt by giving his consent to the marriage of his ward to the supposed Dutchman.--Mrs. Centlivre, A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1717).

Tragedy (Father of Greek), Thespis, a traditional actor of Athens. Æschylos is also called “The Father of Greek Tragedy” (B.C. 525-426).

Tragedy of Gorboduc, otherwise entitled the Tragedy of Ferrex and Porrex, the earliest English tragedy, was the joint production of Thomas Sackville, afterwards 142Lord Buckhurst, and earl of Dorset, and Thomas Norton, a Puritan clergyman. It was produced before Queen Elizabeth, at Whitehall, January 18, 1562. Sackville was already known as the most important of the writers who produced “The Mirror for Magistrates,” a collection of narratives of various remarkable English historical personages, which was first published in 1559. Norton had been associated with Sternhold and Hopkins in their metrical version of the Psalms. On the title-page of the first edition of Gorboduc, published in 1565, without the consent of the authors, it is stated that the first three acts were written by Norton and the last two by Sackville, but Charles Lamb expresses himself “willing to believe that Lord Buckhurst supplied the more vital parts.”

Trainband, the volunteer artillery, whose ground for practice was in Moorfields.

Trajan (The Second), Marcus Aurelius Claudius, surnamed Gothĭcus, noted for his valor, justice, and goodness (215, 268-270).

Trajan and St. Gregory. It is said that Trajan, although unbaptized, was delivered from hell in answer to the prayers of St. Gregory.

Trajan and the Importunate Widow. One day a mother appeared before the Emperor Trajan, and cried, “Grant vengeance, sire! My son is murdered.” The emperor replied, “I cannot stop now; wait till I return.” “But, sire,” pleaded the widow, “if you do not return, who will grant me justice?” “My successor,” said Trajan. “And can Trajan leave to another the duty that he himself is appointed to perform?” On hearing this the emperor stopped his cavalcade, heard the woman’s cause, and granted her suit. Dantê tells this tale in his Purgatory, xi.--John of Salisbury, Polycraticos de Curialium Nugis, v. 8 (twelfthtwelfth century).

Dion Cassius (Roman Historia, lxix.) tells the same story of Hadrian. When a woman appeared before him with a suit as he was starting on a journey, the emperor put her off, saying, “I have no leisure now.” She replied, “If Hadrian has no leisure to perform his duties, let him cease to reign!” On hearing this reproof he dismounted from his horse and gave ear to the woman’s cause.

A woman once made her appeal to Philip of Macedon, who, being busy at the time, petulantly exclaimed, “Woman, I have no time now for such matters.” “If Philip has no time to render justice,” said the woman, “then it is high time for Philip to resign!” The king felt the rebuke, heard the cause patiently, and decided it justly.

Tramecksan and Slamecksan, the High-heels and Low-heels, two great political factions of Lilliput. The animosity of these Guelphs and Ghibellines of punydom ran so high “that no High-heel would eat or drink with a Low-heel, and no Low-heel would salute or speak to a High-heel.” The king of Lilliput was a High-heel, but the heir-apparent a Low-heel.--Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (“Voyage to Lilliput.” iv., 1726).

Tramp (Gaffer), a peasant at the execution of old Meg Mudochson.--Sir W. 143Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).

Tramtrist (Sir), the name assumed by Sir Tristram, when he went to Ireland to be cured of his wounds after his combat with Sir Marhaus. Here La Belle Isold (or Isold “the Fair”) was his leech, and the young knight fell in love with her. When the queen discovered that Sir Tramtrist was Sir Tristram, who had killed her brother, Sir Marhaus, in combat, she plotted to take his life, and he was obliged to leave the island. La Belle Isold subsequently married King Mark of Cornwall, but her heart was ever fixed on her brave young patient.--Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, ii. 9-12 (1470).

Tranchera, Agricane’s sword which afterwards belonged to Brandimart.--Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

Tra´nio, one of the servants of Lucentio, the gentleman who marries Bianca (the sister of Kathari´na, “the Paduan shrew”).--Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew (1594).

Transfer, a usurer, who is willing to advance Sir George Wealthy a sum of money on these easy terms: (1) 5 per cent. interest; (2) 10 per cent. premium; (3) 5 per cent. for insuring the young man’s life; (4) a handsome present to himself as broker; (5) the borrower to pay all expenses; and (6) the loan not to be in cash but goods, which are to be taken at a valuation and sold at auction at the borrower’s sole hazard. These terms are accepted, and Sir George promises besides a handsome douceur to Loader for having found a usurer so promptly.--Foote, The Minor (1760).

Transformations. In the art of transformation, one of the most important things was a ready wit to adopt in an instant some form which would give you an advantage over your adversary; thus, if your adversary appeared as a mouse, you must change into an owl, then your adversary would become an arrow to shoot the owl, and you would assume the form of fire to burn the arrow, whereupon your adversary would become water to quench the fire; and he who could outwit the other would come off victorious. The two best examples I know of this sort of contest are to be found, one in the Arabian Nights, and the other in the Mabinogion.

The former is the contest between the Queen of Beauty and the son of the daughter of Eblis. He appeared as a scorpion, she in a moment became a serpent; whereupon he changed into an eagle, she into a more powerful black eagle; he became a cat, she a wolf; she instantly changed into a worm and crept into a pomegranite, which in time burst, whereupon he assumed the form of a cock to devour the seed, but it became a fish; the cock then became a pike, but the princess became a blazing fire, and consumed her adversary before he had time to change.--“The Second Calendar.”

The other is the contest between Caridwen and Gwion Bach. Bach fled as a hare, she changed into a greyhound; whereupon he became a fish, she an otter-bitch, he instantly became a bird, she a hawk; but he became as quick as thought a grain of wheat. Caridwen now became a hen, and made for the wheat-corn and devoured him.--“Taliesin.”

Translator-General. Philemon Holland is so called by Fuller, in his Worthies of England. Holland translated Livy, Pliny, Plutarch, Suetonius, Xenophon, 144and several other classic authors (1551-1636).

Transome (Harold), takes a leading part in George Eliot’s novel Felix Holt.

Transome (Mrs). Mother of Harold.

Trapbois (Old), a miser in Alsatia. Even in his extreme age, “he was believed to understand the plucking of a ‘pigeon’ better than any man in Alsatia.”

Martha Trapbois, the miser’s daughter, a cold, decisive, masculine woman, who marries Richie Moniplies.--Sir W. Scott, The Fortunes of Nigel (time, James I.).

Trapper (The). One of the titles of Natty Bumpo, a character introduced into several of Cooper’s novels. In The Pioneers, he bears his own name, in others he is “The Trapper,” “The Deerslayer,” “The Pathfinder,” “The Hawk-eye” and “Leatherstocking.”

Traveller (The). The scheme of this poem is very simple: The poet supposes himself seated among Alpine solitudes, looking down upon a hundred kingdoms. He would fain find some spot where happiness can be attained, but the natives of each realm think their own the best; yet the amount of happiness in each is pretty well equal. To illustrate this, the poet describes the manners and government of Italy, Switzerland, France, Holland, and England.--O. Goldsmith (1764).

Traveller (Mr.), the stranger who tried to reason with Mr. Mopes and bring him back to society, but found the truth of the tinker’s remark, “When iron is thoroughly rotten, you cannot botch it.”--C. Dickens, A Christmas Number (1861).

Travellers’ Tales. Marco Polo says,

“Certain islands lie so far north in the Northern Ocean, that one going thither actually leaves the pole-star a trifle behind to the south.”

A Dutch skipper told Master Noxon, the hydrographer of Charles II., that he had himself sailed two degrees beyond the pole.

Maundeville says, in Prester John’s country is a sea of sand which ebbs and flows in great waves without one drop of water. This sea, says the knight of St. Alban’s, men find full of right good fish of most delicious eating.

At the time of the discovery of America by Columbus, many marvellous tales were rife in Spain. It was said that in one part of the coast of El Nombre de Dios, the natives had such long ears that one ear served for bed and the other for counterpane. This reminds one of Gwevyl mab Gwestad, one of whose lips hung down to his waist, and the other covered his head like a cowl. Another tale was that one of the crew of Columbus had come across a people who lived on sweet scents alone, and were killed by foul smells. This invention was hardly original, inasmuch as both Plutarch and Pliny tell us of an Indian people who lived on sweet odors, and Democrĭtos lived for several days on the mere effluvia of hot bread. Another tale was that the noses of these smell-feeders were so huge that their heads were all nose. We are also told of one-eyed men; of men who carried their heads under one of their arms; of others whose head was in their breast; of others who were conquered, not by arms, but by their priests holding up before them a little ivory crucifix--a sort of Christian version of the taking of Jericho by the blast of the rams’ horns of the Levites in the time of Joshua.

Travels ... in Remote Nations, 145by “Lemuel Gulliver.” He is first shipwrecked and cast on the coast of Lilliput, a country of pygmies. Subsequently he is thrown among the people of Brobdingnag, giants of tremendous size. In his third expedition he is driven to Lapūta, an empire of quack pretenders to science and knavish projectors. And in his fourth voyage he visits the Houyhnhnms [Whin´.n´me], where horses were the dominant powers.--Dean Swift (1726).

Travers, a retainer of the earl of Northumberland.--Shakespeare, Henry IV. (1598).

Travers (Sir Edmund), an old bachelorbachelor, the guardian and uncle of Lady Davenant. He is a tedious gossip, fond of meddling, prosy, and wise in his own conceit. “It is surprising,” he says, “how unwilling people are to hear my stories. When in parliament I make a speech, there is nothing but coughing, hemming, and shuffling of feet--no desire of information.” By his instigation, the match was broken off between his niece and Captain Dormer, and she was given in marriage to Lord Davenant, but it turned out that his lordship was already married, and his wife living.--Cumberland, The Mysterious Husband (1783).

Travia´ta, an opera, representing the progress of a courtezan. Music by Verdi, and libretto from La Dame aux Came´lias, a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils (1856).

Treachery of the Long-Knives (The). Hengist invited the chief British nobles to a conference at Ambresbury, but arranged that a Saxon should be seated beside each Briton. At the given signal, each Saxon was to slay his neighbor with his long knife, and as many as 460 British nobles fell. Eidiol, earl of Gloucester escaped, after killing seventy (some say 660) of the Saxons.--Welsh Triads.

Stonehenge was erected by Merlin, at the command of Ambrosius, in memory of the plot of the “Long-Knives.”... He built it on the site of a former circle. It deviates from older bardic circles, as may be seen by comparing it with Avebury, Stanton-Drew, Keswick, etc.--Cambrian Biography, art. “Merddin.”

Trecentisti, the Italian writers of the “Trecento” (thirteenth century). They were Dantê (1265-1321); Petrarch (1304-1374); Boccaccio (1313-1375), who wrote the Decameron. Among the famous artists were Giotto, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Andre Orcagna. (See Cinquecento, Seicento.)

Tree (The Bleeding). One of the superstitous tales told of the marquis of Argyll, so hated by the royalists for the part he took in the execution of Montrose, was this: “That a tree on which thirty-six of his enemies were hanged was immediately blasted, and when hewn down, a copious stream of blood ran from it, saturating the earth, and that blood for several years flowed out from the roots.”--Laing, History of Scotland, ii. 11 (1800); State Trials, ii. 422.

Tree (The Poet’s), a tree which grows over the tomb of Tan-Sein, a musician at the court of [Mohammed] Akbar. Whoever chews a leaf of this tree, will be inspired with a divine melody of voice.--W. Hunter.

His voice was as sweet as if he had chewed the leaves of that enchanted tree, which grows over the tomb of the musician, Tan-Sein.--Moore, Lalla Rookh (1817).

Tree (The Singing), a tree, each leaf of 146which was musical, and all the leaves joined together in delightful harmony.--Arabian Nights (“The Story of the Sisters who envied their Younger Sister”).

In the Fairy Tales of the Comtesse D’Aunoy, there is a similar tale of a tree which bore “the singing apple,” but whoever ate of this fruit received the inspiration of poetry as well.--“Cherry and Fairstar.”

Tregeagle, the giant of Dosmary Pool, on Bodmin Downs (Cornwall). When the wintry winds blare over the downs, it is said to be the giant howling.

Trelawny Ballad (The), is by the Rev. R. S. Hawker, of Morwenstow.--Notes and Queries, 441 (June, 1876).

Tremor (Sir Luke), a desperate coward, living in India, who made it a rule never to fight, either in his own house, his neighbor’s house, or in the street. This prudent desperado is everlastingly snubbing his wife. (See Trippet.)

Lady Tremor, daughter of a grocer, and grandchild of a wig-maker. Very sensitive on the subject of her plebeian birth, and wanting to be thought a lady of high family.--Mrs. Inchbald, Such Things Are (1786).

Tremydd ap Tremhidydd, the man with the keenest sight of all mortals. He could discern “a mote in the sunbeam in any of the four quarters of the world.” Clustfein ap Clustfeinydd was no less celebrated for his acuteness of hearing, “his ear being distressed by the movement of dew, in June, over a blade of grass.” The meaning of these names is, “Sight, the son of Seer,” and “Ear, the son of Hearer.”--The Mabinogion (“Notes to Geraint,” etc., twelfth century).

Trenmor, great-grandfather of Fingal, and king of Morven (north-west of Scotland). His wife was Inibaca, daughter of the king of Lochlin or Denmark.--Ossian, Fingal, vi.

In Temora, ii. he is called the first king of Ireland, and father of Conar.

Trent (Fred), the scapegrace brother of little Nell. “He was a young man of one and twenty, well-made, and certainly handsome, but dissipated, and insolent in air and bearing.” The mystery of Fred Trent and little Nell is cleared up in ch. lxix.--C. Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop (1840).

Tres (Scriptores): Richardus Corinensis, or Richard of Cirencester (fourteenth century); Gildus Badonicus; and Nennius Banchorensis; published by Professor Bertram (1757).

Tresham (Mr.), senior partner of Mr. Osbaldistone, Sr.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).

Tresham (Richard), same as General Witherington, who first appears as Matthew Middlemas.

Richard Tresham, the son of General Witherington. He is also called Richard Middlemas.--Sir W. Scott, The Surgeon’s Daughter (time, George II.).

Tresham (Thorold, Lord), head of a noble family, whose boast was, that “no blot had ever stained their ’scutcheon,” though the family ran back into pre-historic times. He was a young, unmarried man, with a sister, Mildred, a girl of 14, living with him. His near neighbor, Henry, earl of Mertoun, asked permission to pay his addresses to Mildred, and Thorold accepted the proposal with much pleasure. The 147old warrener next day told Thorold he had observed for several weeks that a young man climbed into Mildred’s chamber at night-time, and he would have spoken before, but did not like to bring his young mistress into trouble. Thorold wrung from his sister an acknowledgement of the fact, but she refused to give up the name, yet said she was quite willing to marry the earl. This Thorold thought would be dishonorable, and resolved to lie in wait for the unknown visitor. On his approach, Thorold discovered it was the earl of Mertoun, and he slew him, then poisoned himself, and Mildred died of a broken heart.--Robert Browning, A Blot on the ’Scutcheon.

Tressilian (Edmund), the betrothed of Amy Robsart. Amy marries the earl of Leicester, and is killed by falling into a deep pit, to which she has been cruelly inveigled.--Sir W. Scott, Kenilworth (time, Elizabeth).

Tre´visan (Sir), a knight to whom Despair gave a hempen rope, that he might go and hang himself.--Spenser, Faëry Queen, i. (1590).

Tribulation [Wholesome], a pastor of Amsterdam, who thinks “the end will sanctify the means,” and uses “the children of perdition” to promote his own object, which he calls the “work of God.” He is one of the dupes of Subtle, “the alchemist,” and his factotum, Face.--Ben Jonson, The Alchemist (1610).

Tribune of the People (The), John Bright (1811-1889).

Tricolor, the national badge of France since 1789. It consists of the Bourbon white cockade, and the blue and red cockade of the city of Paris combined. It was Lafayette who devised this symbolical union of king and people, and when he presented it to the nation, “Gentlemen,” said he, “I bring you a cockade that shall make a tour of the world.” (See Stornello Verses.)

If you will wear a livery, let it at least be that of the city of Paris--blue and red, my friends.--Dumas, Six Years Afterwards, xv. (1846).

Tricoteuses de Robespierre (Les), Robespierre’s Knitters. During the sittings of the Convention and at those of the popular Clubs and the Revolutionary Tribunal, certain women were always seen knitting. Encouraged by the rabble they carried their insolence so far that they were called the Furies of the Guillotine. They disappeared with the Jacobins.--Bouillet, Dict. Universel.

Triermain (The Bridal of), a poem by Sir Walter Scott, in four cantos, with introduction and conclusion (1813). In the introduction, Arthur is represented as the person who tells the tale to Lucy, his bride. Gyneth, a natural daughter of King Arthur and Guendŏlen, was promised in marriage to the bravest knight in a tournament; but she suffered so many combatants to fall, without awarding the prize, that Merlin threw her into an enchanted sleep, from which she was not to wake till a knight as brave as those who had fallen claimed her in marriage. After the lapse of 500 years, Sir Roland de Vaux, baron of Triermain, undertook to break the spell, but had first to overcome four temptations, viz., fear, avarice, pleasure and ambition. Having come off more than conqueror, Gyneth awoke and became his bride.

Trifal´di (The countess), called “The Afflicted Duenna” of the Princess Antonomasia 148(heiress to the throne of Candaya). She was called Trifaldi from her robe, which was divided into three triangles, each of which was supported by a page. The face of this duenna was, by the enchantment of the giant, Malambru´no, covered with a large, rough beard, but when Don Quixote mounted Clavilēno, the Winged, “the enchantment was dissolved.”

The renowned knight, Don Quixote de la Mancha, hath achieved the adventure merely by attempting it. Malambruno is appeased, and the chin of the Dolorida dueña is again beardless.--Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. iii. 4, 5 (1615).

Trifal´din of the “Bushy Beard” (white as snow), the gigantic squire of “The Afflicted Duenna,” the Countess Trifaldi.--Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. iii. 4 (1615).

Trifle (Miss Penelopé), an old maiden sister of Sir Penurious Trifle. Stiff as a ramrod, prim as fine airs and graces could make her, fond of long words, and delighting in phrases modelled in true Johnsonian ponderosity.

Trifle (Miss Sukey), daughter of Sir Penurious, tricked into marriage with Mr. Hartop, a young spendthrift, who fell in love with her fortune.

⁂ Sir Penurious Trifle is not introduced, but Hartop assumes his character, and makes him fond of telling stale and pointless stories. He addresses Sir Gregory as “you knight.”--Foote, The Knights (1754).

Trim (Corporal), Uncle Toby’s orderly. Faithful, simple-minded and most affectionate. Voluble in speech, but most respectful. Half companion, but never forgetting he is his master’s servant. Trim is the duplicate of Uncle Toby in delf. The latter at all times shows himself the officer and the gentleman, born to command and used to obedience, while the former always carries traces of the drillyard, and shows that he has been accustomed to receive orders with deference, and to execute them with military precision. It is a great compliment to say that the corporal was worthy such a noble master.--Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy (1759).

Trimalchi, a celebrated cook in the reign of Nero, mentioned by Petronius. He had the art of giving to the most common fish the flavor and appearance of the best. Like Ude, in our own day, he said that “sauces are the soul of cookery, and cookery the soul of festivity,” or, as the cat’s-meat man observed, “’tis the seasonin’ as does it.”

Trin´culo, a jester.--Shakespeare, The Tempest (1609).

A miscarriage ... would (like the loss of Trinculo’s bottle in the horse-pond) be attended not only with dishonor but with infinite loss.--Sir W. Scott.

Trin´ket (Lord), a man of fashion and a libertine.

He is just polite enough to be able to be very unmannerly, with a great deal of good breeding; is just handsome enough to make him excessively vain of his person; and has just reflection enough to finish him for a coxcomb; qualifications ... very common among ... men of quality.--G. Colman, The Jealous Wife, ii. (1761).

Tri´nobants, people of Trinoban´tium, that is, Middlesex and Essex. Their chief town was Trin´ovant, now London.

Trinquet, one of the seven attendants of Fortunio. His gift was that he could drink a river and be thirsty again. “Are yon always thirsty?” asked Fortunio. “No,” said the man, “only after eating salt meat or upon a wager.”--Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“Fortunio,” 1682).

Trip to Scarborough (A), a comedy by Sheridan (1777), based on The Relapse, by Vanbrugh (1697). Lord Foppington goes to Scarborough to marry Miss Hoyden, daughter of Sir Tunbelly Clumsy, but his lordship is not known personally to the knight and his daughter. Tom Fashion, younger brother of Lord Foppington, having been meanly treated by his elder brother, resolves to outwit him; so, passing himself off as Lord Foppington, he gets introduced to Sir Tunbelly, and marries Miss Hoyden before the rightful claimant appears. When at length Lord Foppington arrives he is treated as an impostor, till Tom Fashion explains the ruse. As his lordship behaves contumeliously to the knight, matters are easily arranged, Lord Foppington retires, and Sir Tunbelly accepts Tom Fashion as his son-in-law with good grace.

Tripe (1 syl.), the nickname of Mrs. Hamilton, of Covent Garden Theatre (1730-1788).

Triple Alliance (The).

1. A treaty between Great Britain, Sweden, and the United Provinces, in 1668, for the purpose of checking the ambition of Louis XIV.

2. A treaty between George I. of England, Philip, duke of Orleans, regent of France, and the United Provinces, for the purpose of counteracting the plans of Alberoni, the Spanish minister, 1717.

Trippet (Beau), who “pawned his honor to Mrs. Trippet never to draw sword in any cause,” whatever might be the provocation. (See Tremor.)

Mrs. Trippet, the beau’s wife, who “would dance for four and twenty hours together,” and play cards for twice that length of time.--Garrick, The Lying Valet (1740).

Tripping as an Omen.

When Julius Cæsar landed at Adrumētum, in Africa, he happened to trip and fall on his face. This would have been considered a fatal omen by his army, but, with admirable presence of mind, he exclaimed, “Thus take I possession of thee, O Africa!”

A similar story is told of Scipio. Upon his arrival in Africa, he also happened to trip, and, observing that his soldiers looked upon this as a bad omen, he clutched the earth with his two hands, and cried aloud, “Now, Africa, I hold thee in my grasp!”--Don Quixote, II. iv. 6.

When William the Conqueror leaped on shore at Bulverhythe, he fell on his face, and a great cry went forth that the omen was unlucky; but the duke exclaimed, “I take seisin of this land with both my hands!”

The same story is told of Napoleon in Egypt; of King Olaf, son of Harald, in Norway; of Junius Brutus, who, returning from the oracle, fell on the earth, and cried, “’Tis thus I kiss thee, mother Earth!”

When Captain Jean Cœurpreux tripped in dancing at the Tuileries, Napoleon III. held out his hand to help him up, and said, “Captain, this is the second time I have seen you fall. The first was by my side 150in the field of Magenta.” Then, turning to the lady, he added, “Madam, Captain Cœurpreux is henceforth commandant of my Guards, and will never fall in duty or allegiance, I am persuaded.”

Trismegistus (“thrice greatest”), Hermês, the Egyptian philosopher, or Thoth, councillor of Osīris. He invented the art of writing in hieroglyphics, harmony, astrology, magic, the lute and lyre, and many other things.

Tris´sotin, a bel esprit. Philaminte (3 syl.), a femme savante, wishes him to marry her daughter, Henriette, but Henriette is in love with Clitandre. The difficulty is soon solved by the announcement that Henriette’s father is on the verge of bankruptcy, whereupon Trissotin makes his bow and retires.--Molière, Les Femmes Savantes (1672).

Trissotin is meant for the Abbé Crotin, who affected to be poet, gallant and preacher. His dramatic name was “Tricotin.”

Tristram (Sir), son of Sir Meliŏdas, king of Li´onês, and Elizabeth, his wife (daughter of Sir Mark, king of Cornwall). He was called Tristram (“sorrowful”) because his mother died in giving him birth. His father also died when Tristram was a mere lad (pt. ii. 1). He was knighted by his uncle, Mark (pt. ii. 5), and married Isond le Blanch Mains, daughter of Howell, king of Britain (Brittany); but he never loved her, nor would he live with her. His whole love was centered on his aunt, La Belle Isond, wife of King Mark, and this unhappy attachment was the cause of numberless troubles, and ultimately of his death. La Belle Isond, however, was quite as culpable as the knight, for she herself told him, “My measure of hate for Mark is as the measure of my love for thee;” and when she found out that her husband would not allow Sir Tristram to remain at Tintag´il Castle, she eloped with him, and lived three years at Joyous Guard, near Carlisle. At length she returned home, and Sir Tristram followed her. His death is variously related. Thus the History of Prince Arthur says:

When, by means of a treaty, Sir Tristram brought again La Belle Isond unto King Mark from Joyous Guard, the false traitor, King Mark, slew the noble knight as he sat harping before his lady, La Belle Isond, with a sharp-ground glaive, which he thrust into him from behind his back.--Pt. iii. 147 (1470).

Tennyson gives the tale thus: He says that Sir Tristram, dallying with his aunt, hung a ruby carcanet round her throat; and, as he kissed her neck:

Another tale is this: Sir Tristram was severely wounded in Brittany, and sent a dying request to his aunt to come and see him. If she consented, a white flag was to be hoisted on the mast-head of her ship; if not, a black one. His wife told him the ship was in sight, displaying a black flag, at which words the strong man bowed his head and died. When his aunt came ashore and heard of his death, she flung herself on the body, and died also. The two were buried in one grave, and Mark planted over it a rose and a vine, which became so interwoven it was not possible to separate them.

⁂ Sir Launcelot, Sir Tristram and Sir Lamorake were the three bravest and best of the 150 knights of the Round Table, but were all equally guilty in their amours: Sir Launcelot with the queen; Sir Tristram with his aunt, King Mark’s wife; 151and Sir Lamorake with his aunt, King Lot’s wife.

Tristram’s Horse, Passetreûl, or Passe Brewell. It is called both, but one seems to be a clerical error.

(Passe Brewell is in Sir T. Malory’s History of Prince Arthur, ii. 68).

History of Sir Tristram or Tristan. The oldest story is by Gotfrit of Strasbourg, a minnesinger (twelfth century), entitled Tristan and Isolde. It was continued by Ulrich of Turheim, by Heinrich of Freyburg, and others, to the extent of many thousand verses. The tale of Sir Tristram, derived from Welsh traditions, was versified by Thomas the Rhymer, of Erceldoune.

The second part of the History of Prince Arthur, compiled by Sir T. Malory, is almost exclusively confined to the adventures of Sir Tristram, as the third part is to the adventures of Sir Launcelot, and the quest of the Holy Graal (1470).

Matthew Arnold has a poem entitled Tristram; and R. Wagner, in 1865, produced his opera of Tristan and Isolde.

See Michel, Tristan; Recueil de ce qui reste des Poèmes relatifs à ses Aventures (1835).

Tristrem l’Hermite, provost-marshal of France, in the reign of Louis XI. Introduced by Sir W. Scott in Quentin Durward (1823), and in Anne of Geierstein (1829).

Tritheim (J), chronicler and theologian of Treves, elected abbot of Spanheim at the age of 22 years. He tried to reform the monks, but produced a revolt, and resigned his office. He was then appointed abbot of Würzburg (1462-1516).

Triton, the sea-trumpeter. He blows through a shell to rouse or allay the sea. A post-Hesiodic fable.

Triumvirate (The), in English history: The duke of Marlborough, controlling foreign affairs, Lord Godolphin, controlling council and parliament, and the duchess of Marlborough, controlling the court and queen.

Triumvirate of England, (The): Gower, Chaucer, and Lydgate, poets.

Triumvirate of Italian Poets (The): Dantê, Boccaccio, and Petrarch.

Boccaccio wrote poetry, without doubt, but is now chiefly known as “The Father of Italian Prose.” These three are more correctly called the “Trecentisti” (q.v.).

Triv´ia, Diana; so called because she had three faces, Luna in Heaven, Diana on earth, and Hecate in Hell.

Trog´lodytes (3 or 4 syl.). According to Pliny (Nat. Hist., v. 8), the Troglodytes lived in caves under ground, and fed on serpents. In modern parlance, we call those who live so secluded as not to be informed of the current events of the day, troglodytes. Longfellow calls ants by the same name.

Troglody´tes (4 syl.), one of the mouse 152heroes in the battle of the frogs and mice. He slew Pelĭon, and was slain by Lymnoc´haris.

Troil (Magnus), the old udaller of Zetland.

Brenda Troil, the udaller’s younger daughter. She marries Mordaunt Mertoun.

Minna Troil, the udaller’s elder daughter. In love with the pirate.--Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).

(A udaller is one who holds his lands by allodial tenure.)

Tro´ilus (3 syl.), a son of Priam, king of Troy. In the picture described by Virgil (Æneid, i. 474-478), he is represented as having thrown down his arms and fleeing in his chariot, not equal to meeting Achilles; he is pierced with a lance, and, having fallen backwards, still holding the reins, the lance with which he is transfixed “scratches the sand over which it trails.”

In the Troilus and Creseide of Chaucer, and the Troilus and Cressida of Shakespeare, we have a story unknown to classic fiction. Chaucer pretends to take it from Lollius, but who Lollius was, has never been discovered. In this story Troilus falls in love with Cressid, daughter of the priest Chalchas, and Pandărus is employed as a go-between. After Troilus has obtained a promise of marriage from the priest’s daughter, an exchange of prisoners is arranged, and Cressid, falling to the lot of Diomed, prefers her new master to her Trojan lover.

Chaucer’s Troilus and Creseide is not one of the Canterbury Tales, but quite an independent one, in five books. It contains 8246 lines, nearly 3000 of which are borrowed from the Filostrato of Boccaccio.

Trois Chapitres (Les), or The Three Chapters, three theological works on the “Incarnation of Christ and His dual nature.” The authors of these “chapters” are Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa. The work was condemned in 553 as heretical.

Trois Echelles, executioner.--Sir W. Scott, Quentin Durward and Anne of Geierstein (time Edward IV.).

Trojan, a good boon companion, a plucky fellow or man of spirit. Gadshill says, “There are other Trojans [men of spirit] that ... for sport sake are content to do the profession [of Thieving] some grace.” So in Love’s Labor’s Lost “Unless you play the honest Trojan, the poor wench is cast away” (unless you are a man of sufficient spirit to act honestly, the girl is ruined).

“He is a regular Trojan,” means he is un brave homme, a capital fellow.

Trompart, a lazy but wily-witted knave, grown old in cunning. He accompanied Braggadoccio as his squire (bk. ii. 3), but took to his heels when Talus shaved the master, “reft his shield,” blotted out his arms, and broke his sword in twain. Being overtaken, Talus gives him a sound drubbing (bk. v. 3).--Spenser, Faëry Queen (1590-6).

Trondjem’s Cattle (Remember the bishop of), i.e., look sharp after your property; take heed, or you will suffer for it. The story is, that a certain bishop of 153Trondjem [Tron´.yem] lost his cattle by the herdsmen taking his eyes off them to look at an elk. Now this elk was a spirit, and when the herdsman looked at the cattle again they were no bigger than mice; again he turned towards the elk, in order to understand the mystery, and while he did so, the cattle all vanished through a crevice into the earth.--Miss Martineau, Feats on the Fiord (1839).

Tropho´nios, the architect of the temple of Apollo, at Delphi. After death he was worshipped, and had a famous cave near Lebadia, called “The Oracle of Trophonios.”

The month of this cave was three yards high and two wide. Those who consulted the oracle had to fast several days, and then to descend a steep ladder till they reached a narrow gullet. They were then seized by the feet, and dragged violently to the bottom of the cave, where they were assailed by the most unearthly noises, howlings, shrieks, bellowings, with lurid lights and sudden glares, in the midst of which uproar and phantasmagoria the oracle was pronounced. The votaries were then seized unexpectedly by the feet, and thrust out of the cave without ceremony. If any resisted, or attempted to enter in any other way, he was instantly murdered.--Plutarch, Lives.

Trotley (Sir John), an old-fashioned country gentleman, who actually prefers the obsolete English notions of domestic life, fidelity to wives and husbands, modesty in maids, and constancy in lovers, to the foreign free and easy manners which allow married people unlimited freedom, and consider licentiousness bon ton.--Garrick, Bon Ton (1776). (See PRIORY.)

Trotter (Job), servant to Alfred Jingle. A sly, canting rascal, who has at least the virtue of fidelity to his master. Mr. Pickwick’s generosity touches his heart, and he shows a sincere gratitude to his benefactor.--C. Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (1836).

Trotter (Nelly) fishwoman at old St. Ronan’s.--Sir W. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well (time, George III.).

Trotters, the Punch and Judy showman; a little, good-natured, unsuspicious man, very unlike his misanthropic companion, Thomas Codlin, who played the panpipes, and collected the money.

His real name was Harris, but it had gradually merged into Trotters, with the prefatory adjective “Short,” by reason of the small size of his legs. Short Trotters, however, being a compound name, inconvenient in friendly dialogue, he was called either Trotters or Short, and never Short Trotters, except on occasions of ceremony.--C. Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, xvii. (1840).

Trotty, the sobriquet of Toby Veck, ticket-porter and jobman.

They called him Trotty from his pace, which meant speed, if it didn’t make it. He could have walked faster, perhaps; most likely; but rob him of his trot, and Toby would have taken to his bed and died. It bespattered him with mud in dirty weather; it cost him a world of trouble; he could have walked with infinitely greater ease; but that was one reason for his clinging to his trot so tenaciously. A weak, small, spare old man; he was a very Herculês, this Toby, in his good intentions.--C. Dickens, The Chimes, i. (1844).

Trotwood (Betsey), usually called “Miss Betsey,” great aunt of David Copperfield. Her idiosyncrasy was donkeys. A dozen times a day would she rush on the green before her house to drive off the donkeys, and donkey-boys. She was a most kind-hearted, worthy woman, who concealed her tenderness of heart under a snappish austerity of manner. Miss Betsey was the true friend of David Copperfield. She married in her young days a handsome man, who ill-used her, and ran away, but 154preyed on her for money till he died.--C. Dickens, David Copperfield (1849).

Trouil´logan, a philosopher, whose advice was, “Do as you like.” Panurge asked the sage if he advised him to marry. “Yes,” said Trouillogan. “What say you?” asked the prince. “Let it alone,” replied the sage. “Which would you advise?” inquired the prince. “Neither,” said the sage. “Neither?” cried Panurge; “that cannot be.” “Then both,” replied Trouillogan. Panurge then consulted several others, and at last the oracle of the Holy Bottle.--Rabelais, Pantagruel, iii. 35 (1545).

Molière has introduced this joke in his Marriage Forcé (1664). Sganarelle asks his friend Géronimo, if he would advise him to marry, and he answers “No.” “But,” says the old man, “I like the young woman.” “Then marry her, by all means.” “That is your advice?” says Sganarelle. “My advice is, do as you like,” says the friend. Sganarelle next consults two philosophers, then some gypsies, then declines to marry, and is at last compelled to do so, nolens volens.

Trovato´re (4 syl.), or “The Troubadour” in Manrico, the supposed son of Azuce´na, the gypsy, but in reality, the son of Garzia (brother of the conte di Luna). The Princess Leono´ra falls in love with the troubadour, but the count, entertaining a base passion for her, is about to put Manrico to death, when Leonora intercedes on his behalf, and promises to give herself to him, if he will spare her lover. The count consents; but while he goes to release his captive Leonora kills herself by sucking poison from a ring. When Manrico discovers this sad calamity, he dies also.--Verdi, Il Trovatore (1853).

(This opera is based on the drama of Gargia Guttierez, a fifteenth century story.)

Troxartas (3 syl.), king of the mice, and father of Psycarpax, who was drowned. The word means “bread-eater.”

Trudge, in Love in a Bottle, by Farquhar (1698).

True Thomas, Thomas the Rhymer. So called from his prophecies, the most noted of which was his prediction of the death of Alexander III. of Scotland, made to the earl of March. It is recorded in the Scotichronĭcon of Fordun (1430).

Trueworth, brother of Lydia, and friend of Sir William Fondlove.--S. Knowles, The Love-Chase (1837).

Trull (Dolly). Captain Macheath says of her, “She is always so taken up with stealing hearts, that she does not allow herself time to steal anything else” (act ii. 1).--Gay, The Beggar’s Opera (1727).

Trulla, the daughter of James Spenser, a Quaker. She was first dishonored by her father, and then by Simeon Wait (or Magna´no), the tinker.

Trul´liber (Parson), a fat clergyman; ignorant, selfish, and slothful.--Fielding, The Adventures of Joseph Andrews (1742).

155Parson Barnabas, Parson Trulliber, Sir Wilful Witwould, Sir Francis Wronghead, Squire Western, Squire Sullen; such were the people who composed the main strength of the Tory party for sixty years after the Revolution.--Macaulay.

⁂ “Sir Wilful Witwould,” in The Way of the World, by Congreve; “Sir Francis Wronghead,” in The Provoked Husband, by C. Cibber; “Squire Western,” in Tom Jones, by Fielding; “Squire Sullen,” in The Beaux’ Stratagem, by Farquhar.

Trunnion (Commodore Hawser), a one-eyed naval veteran, who has retired from the service in consequence of injuries received in engagements; but he still keeps garrison in his own house, which is defended with drawbridge and ditch. He sleeps in a hammock, and makes his servants sleep in hammocks, as on board ship, takes his turn on watch, and indulges his naval tastes in various other ways. Lieutenant Jack Hatchway is his companion. When he went to be married, he rode on a hunter which he steered like a ship, according to the compass, tacking about, that he might not “go right in the wind’s eye.”--T. Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1750).

It is vain to criticize the manœuvre of Trunnion, tacking his way to church on his wedding day, in consequence of a head wind.--Encyc. Brit., Art. “Romance.”

⁂ Dickens has imitated this in Wemmick’s house, which had flag and drawbridge, fortress and gun in miniature; but the conceit is more suited to “a naval veteran” than a lawyer’s clerk. (See Wemmick.)

Truscott (Jack), officer in U. S. Army, and, according to his wife, “gallant, noble, gentle, tender, true, faithful--and--um--sweet!” Truscott’s character, said to be drawn from life, is one of the finest in Captain Charles King’s series of military novels. Truscott leads the rescuing party to the cottonwood copse where a handful of U. S. soldiers are penned in by Indians.